Every Moment Since
The aftermath story that you must read.
I am typically leery of true crime. As a woman and a mother, these headlines always feel too-possible. So I am fascinated by
and her deep interest in the genre. For her, following these stories, and tracking the outcomes, is a way to honor both the victims and their families. It is a way to ensure that they are not forgotten in our ever-changing and fast-moving news cycles. Thus her column, This Week In True Crime (which she will resume shortly on her personal Substack). So it will come as a surprise to no one that true crime is the focus of Marybeth’s latest novel—Every Moment Since—which publishes today.What may surprise you is that—despite my apprehension of the genre—I absolutely loved this novel! Every Moment Since is a dual timeline story that alternates between the disappearance of a little boy named Davy Malcor in 1985, and twenty years later when his cold case is reopened due to new evidence. The book bounces back and forth between the “before” and the “after,” slowly increasing the tension until it cleverly culminates as past and present collide.
Told from multiple perspectives, the story dives deep into the hearts and motivations of those who knew, loved, and were impacted by Davy. In 1985 we meet Davy Malcor himself, a sweet eleven year old boy obsessed with Back To The Future and we can’t help falling in love with him. His mother, Tabitha, has deep desire to create an identity outside of motherhood—but twenty years later we see how Davy’s disappearance has become her very life. Thaddeus begins the story as a normal teenager who wants his freedom, especially from his pesky little brother, and ends up a guilt-ridden adult who has written a bestselling memoir about those events. Other characters, including the sheriff investigating Davy’s disappearance, the public information officer who knows more than she can say, and the person of interest in the case add depth and dimension to a story whose impact ripples throughout the whole community. (On a side note, I highly recommend the audiobook version of this story as it is populated with a full cast which helps you get to know all of these characters).
What I really appreciated about the telling of this story is that the focus is not on the trauma of Davy’s disappearance, but instead on the humanity of those left behind and how they survived and learned to live again afterward. In the hands of a less experienced author, this would have only been a story about loss. Instead, it is a story of redemption with echoes of real life. It is the way true crime stories should be treated, and it is the novel that Marybeth was born to write.
At its core, Every Moment Since is about hope and healing and the resilience of the human spirit. And if there is one thing we know about Marybeth Whalen, that is the kind of story she excels at writing.
~Abby
I’m so looking forward to reading Marybeth’s new book!