We Begin at the End

A beautifully written mystery, packed with unforgettable characters. An intricately woven portrait of small town intrigue where old and new sins collide ― Jane Harper

I LOVED it. I mean, jeez, what a story. And so intricately, delicately written, with such care and affection for all the characters. I adored all the relationships and ALL the characters without exception - I mean Duchess!! I could seriously rave about every single character that people the world of this book . . . his descriptions are so vivid, so visual, so beautifully drawn.We Begin at the End is surely destined to conquer the world. This intensely captivating story and its uniquely intriguing characters holds you in its jaws till the very last word. Astonishingly good ― Ruth Jones

A magnificent crime novel. It deserves to win a hatful of awards. A BIG hat. Consider me a major fan ― Mark Billingham

The character of Duchess Day Radley is so beautifully written, she will remain with you for a long time ― Lynda La Plante

I love Duchess Day Radley so much I want to adopt her. She is every thirteen-year-old girl at risk, an outlaw both pure of heart and ill of intent, a fierce and melancholy girl, so memorable she will make camp in your brain and never leave. In We Begin at the End, Chris Whitaker has written a gorgeous, crystalline novel, a cautionary tale about the long shadows cast by our past selves, and one defiant girl with the bravery to hope for something better. I love this beautiful book ― Jeanine Cummins, author of American Dirt

An accomplished and moving story of crime, punishment, love and redemption ― Guardian, Books of the Month

Chris Whitaker's third novel, We Begin at the End, is the kind of breakout book that publishers dream about. Rich with character and story, conflict and tension, humor, tragedy and raw, unadulterated guts, this one has it all. Throw in the most compelling young protagonist I've read in at least a decade, and you have a deep and meaningful story that is an absolute delight from first page to last. Nicely done, Mr. Whitaker! ― John Hart

Let's begin at the end. After you've turned the final page of Chris Whitaker's magnificent new novel, you'll struggle - I struggled, certainly - to describe the experience . . . it's an instant classic, a West Coast Where the Crawdads Sing; its prose shimmers like a mirage; in intensity and lyricism, it recalls the very best of Tana French and Dennis Lehane; for pace and whiplash plot twists, it rivals C. J. Box and Peter May . . . This is a murder mystery, yes, and an extraordinarily gripping one - but like the murder mysteries of Louise Penny, Jane Harper, and Kate Atkinson, it's humanity that most enriches Whitaker's novel (and Whitaker's readers) . . . think of We Begin at the End as a novel at the same time distinctly American and profoundly universal: a book that explores both this particular community, these particular lives, even as it maps emotional territory rarely charted in contemporary fiction. What a special, vital novel. I'm grateful to have read it ― A. J. Finn

I LOVED this book. From the riveting plot, to the beautiful writing. But mostly what kept me longing to get back to it each day were the characters, especially young Duchess. Fierce, brave, vulnerable she leaps off the page fully formed. As does Walk. How aptly named. A chief of police on his own inexorable journey. This is a book to be read and re-read and an author to be celebrated ― Louise Penny

Beautifully written, We Begin at the End really reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird. And the spirit of Scout is very much alive in Duchess. A crime novel, or maybe a novel about a crime, and yet so much more ― Sarah Pinborough

Stunning, intoxicating, heart-breaking - without a doubt one of my favourite books of the year. A compelling story, beautifully-drawn characters and writing that leaps off the page: We Begin at the Endis in a class of its own ― T M Logan

An intense, evocative, and quite brilliant crime novel that stays with you long after you've finished the last page ― Simon Kernick