Title:Your Life Is Mine by Nathan Ripley
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Instant national bestseller Nathan Ripley follows up the success of Find You in the Dark with another suspenseful page-turner—this time about a woman whose notorious father died when she was a child, but whose legacy comes back to haunt her.
Blanche Potter never expected to face her past again—but she can’t escape it.
Blanche, an up-and-coming filmmaker, has distanced herself in every way she can from her father, the notorious killer and cult leader, Chuck Varner. In 1996, when she was a small child, he went on a shooting spree before turning the gun on himself.
Now, Blanche learns that her mother has been murdered. She returns to her childhood home, where she soon discovers there’s more to the death than police are willing to reveal. The officer who’s handling the case is holding information back, and a journalist who’s nosing around the investigation is taking an unusual interest in Blanche’s family.
Blanche begins to suspect that Chuck Varner’s cult has found a new life, and that her mother’s murder was just the beginning of the cult’s next chapter.
Then another killing occurs.
Review:
Your Life Is Mine by Nathan Ripley is an engrossing mystery.
Blanche Potter is the daughter of a notorious cult leader who went on a spree killing then committed suicide. She no longer has contact with her mother, Crissy, and Blanche has changed her name in order to keep anyone from knowing her true identity. Which is why she is so angry when Crissy tracks her down in New Orleans where Blanche and her best friend and business partner Jaya Chauhan are filming their latest true crime documentary. Then a few weeks later, she is furious when she is broadsided by a journalist Emil Chadwick who essentially tries to blackmail her into co-operating with his current project. But what really takes Blanche off guard is discovery that Crissy was murdered in her home right after her visit to her daughter. Blanche returns to Stilford, CA where she meets with Officer Dan Maitland to try to learn more information about Crissy’s death. But can she trust that Maitland is being completely forthcoming with her? And if he is not, what reason does he have for withholding information?
As a child, Blanche is extremely close with her murderous father, Chuck. He indoctrinates her with his crazy ideas and theories and she is present when he goes on his killing spree in the local mall. Despite numerous visits by social services and police, Blanche remains living with Crissy after Chuck’s suicide where her mother continues brainwashing her with her father’s philosophies. Blanche’s life finally becomes normal in her late teens when she moves in with Jaya and her mother. Blanche wants nothing to do with those long ago events but with Crissy’s murder, she has no choice but to try to understand if her mother’s death is the end or the beginning of another killing spree.
Blanche has always been very closemouthed about her childhood. She has kept much of her past a secret from Jaya and she tries to keep her friend from becoming mixed up with Crissy’s murder. She returns to Stilford by herself and she is immediately assailed by horrifying memories from her childhood. Blanche has no doubt that her mother’s murder is tied to the cult, but Dan is quite evasive when she tries to get information from him. Despite not having all of the details, Blanche has absolutely no doubt that Crissy’s death is meant to draw her back to Stilford. While waiting to see what will happen next, Jaya unexpectedly shows up and Blanche is eventually forced to tell her friend the painful and devastating truth about her life with Chuck and Crissy.
Although a little slow-paced, Your Life Is Mine is an intriguing mystery with a suspenseful and somewhat dark storyline. Blanche is an interesting character who has worked hard to rise above her tragic childhood. Does the truth about what is happening in the present lie in the detritus of her shattered past? Nathan Ripley provides the answer that this very pivotal question in the novel’s absolutely stunning dénouement. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this compelling mystery to fans of the genre.
