Some books take a while to pull me in.
All Good People Here was not one of them.
I originally read this for my ABC Reading Challenge for the letter A, and it also happened to be my first book of 2023. I gave it a solid 5 stars then, so for this refreshed All Good People Here review, I wanted to look back at what worked so well for me.
The book is Ashley Flowers’ debut novel. Flowers is best known for hosting the true-crime podcast Crime Junkie, and that background definitely shows in the kind of mystery she chose to write. Her official site describes All Good People Here as a thriller about a journalist digging into a crime that happened in her own backyard.
You can read more about Ashley Flowers here: Ashley Flowers official site
And if you know her from podcasting: Crime Junkie official site
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
What Is All Good People Here About?
The story is set in Wakarusa, Indiana, a small town where everybody seems to know everybody else.
That is exactly the kind of place where an old unsolved murder can hang over a community for years.
January Jacobs was a little girl who was murdered years earlier. Margot Davies grew up across the street from her and was the same age at the time. Now an adult and working as a journalist, Margot returns to Wakarusa to help care for her uncle, who has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia.
Not long after Margot comes home, another young girl disappears from a nearby town.
The similarities between the cases are hard for her to ignore.
Margot starts wondering whether the new disappearance could somehow be connected to January’s unsolved murder, and once she starts asking questions, she begins uncovering the kind of secrets people in a small town may have spent years trying to bury.
The story moves between two timelines: Margot’s investigation and the events surrounding January’s family years earlier.
I’m keeping the summary deliberately short because this is one of those books where knowing too much could take some of the fun out of trying to piece everything together yourself.
The True-Crime Influence Is Hard to Miss
Ashley Flowers built her career around true-crime storytelling, so I wasn’t surprised that her first novel went in this direction.
There are parts of the setup that may remind true-crime readers of a very famous real-life case. I’m not going to name it because once somebody makes that comparison for you, it could influence the way you read the mystery.
Flowers’ own site even notes that the story involves an unsolved childhood murder and another missing girl years later, so the true-crime DNA is very much built into the premise.
For me, that wasn’t a problem. It actually made me more curious about how the story would develop.
The Small-Town Setting Works Really Well
Wakarusa is a good fit for this kind of mystery.
It’s the kind of place where people know who belongs, who doesn’t, who is related to whom, and what happened years ago.
That means Margot is not just investigating an old crime. She is digging into families, friendships, old grudges, rumors, and secrets that people may have been carrying for decades.
That small-town pressure is a big part of what made the mystery work for me.
The publisher’s current description also emphasizes how unchanged and secretive Wakarusa feels when Margot returns, which is exactly the atmosphere the book needs.
What Worked for Me
This book moved.
The chapters were a good length, the cast never became so large that I had trouble keeping everyone straight, and a lot of chapters ended with just enough of a cliffhanger to make stopping annoying.
That is dangerous when you are somebody who reads before bed.
I remember telling myself I would read one more chapter one night, only to reach an ending unsettling enough that I had to read another one before I could actually put the book down.
That is one of the things I want from a thriller.
I do not necessarily need nonstop action. I need the book to keep giving me a reason to turn the page.
This one did.
The twists also kept me adjusting what I thought was happening. Some of my guesses were right. Others definitely were not.
And the ending?
Yeah. I was not expecting that.
The Dual Timeline Adds to the Mystery
I also liked the decision to move between Margot’s investigation and the earlier timeline.
Margot is trying to understand what happened to January years after the fact.
The past sections give us a closer look at the family and the town around the time of the original crime.
That lets the reader know things Margot does not yet know without completely handing over the answer.
For me, that made the past feel like part of the active mystery instead of just background information.
If you like thrillers where family secrets are tangled up in the mystery, I also have a list of thrillers about dysfunctional families and dark family secrets.
If You Like Missing-Person Thrillers
A big part of this book is built around disappearances, an old unsolved case, and a journalist trying to connect details that other people may have overlooked.
If that is your thing, I also have a list of thriller books about people who vanish without a trace.
Content Warnings
This is a dark mystery involving murdered and missing children, so it will not be the right read for everybody.
Potential content warnings include:
- Suicide
- Infidelity
- Child abduction and abuse
- Profanity
- Drug and alcohol use
- Illness
- Miscarriage
Who I Think Would Like All Good People Here
I think this is a good fit if you like small-town mysteries, cold cases, investigative journalists, missing-person stories, dual timelines, family secrets, true-crime-inspired fiction, and short chapters that tend to end with one more reason to keep reading.
It also works well for readers who enjoy mysteries where the community itself feels like part of the problem.
My Final Rating: 5 Stars
I was very impressed with All Good People Here, especially for a debut.
It hooked me early, moved quickly, and gave me the kind of thriller experience I enjoy: a manageable cast, plenty of twists, creepy moments, and chapters that kept making me say “just one more.”
I also liked that the characters felt like they had a reason to be in the story. Nobody seemed to be there just to make the mystery look more complicated.
The ending is the part that really stuck with me.
You may think you know where the story is going.
I definitely thought I did.
I did not.
★★★★★
All Good People Here
A twisty small-town thriller about an unsolved child murder, a new disappearance, and a journalist determined to uncover the connection.
Keep Exploring Thriller Books:
- Gone Without a Trace: Missing Person Thriller BooksFrom cold cases and vanished teenagers to missing people who suddenly return, these gripping thrillers explore disappearances, buried secrets, and the unsettling questions left behind.
- Twist the Tinsel: 12 Christmas Thrillers That Make Holiday Reading Way More SuspensefulDecember means twinkling lights, hot cocoa, and… sometimes a killer waiting in the snow. If your idea of holiday reading leans toward suspense, cold cases, and last-minute twists, this list is for you. These Christmas thrillers are set during the holidays, packed with tension, and guaranteed to keep you flipping pages while everyone else sings… Read more: Twist the Tinsel: 12 Christmas Thrillers That Make Holiday Reading Way More Suspenseful
- Lake Thrillers to Read If You Love Secrets, Suspense, and Small-Town TensionIf you love thrillers set on lakes, this list is for you. These books combine eerie settings, buried secrets, and suspense that keeps you guessing until the very end.