All That’s Bright and Gone

A Novel

Fans of Jodi Picoult and Fredrik Backman will fall for this tenderhearted debut mystery following a young girl on a quest to save her family.

I know my brother is dead. But sometimes Mama gets confused.

There’s plenty about the grownup world that six-year-old Aoife doesn’t understand. Like what happened to her big brother Theo and why her mama is in the hospital instead of home where she belongs. Uncle Donny says she just needs to be patient, but Aoife’s sure her mama won’t be able to come home until Aoife learns what really happened to her brother. The trouble is no one wants to talk about Theo because he was murdered. But by whom?

With her imaginary friend Teddy by her side and the detecting skills of her nosy next door neighbor, Aoife sets out to uncover the truth about her family. But as her search takes her from the banks of Theo’s secret hideout by the river to the rooftops overlooking Detroit, Aoife will learn that some secrets can’t stay hidden forever and sometimes the pain we bury is the biggest secret of them all.

Driven by Aoife’s childlike sincerity and colored by her vivid imagination, All That’s Bright and Gone illuminates the unshakable bond between families - and the lengths we’ll go to bring our loved ones home.

©2019 Eliza Nellums (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Unexpectedly great read

This was a freebie, and, honestly, a 6 year old tries to solve the mystery of her possibly murdered brother? BUT this book was completely unexpected. I'm still amazed that a story could touch on so many potentially heavy topics from the simple, innocent, perspective of a child. I think the child should have been portrayed just a bit older, but definitely 5 stars. loved it!

Sad but hopeful

This is a poignant look at family dysfunction, tragedy, faith, and mental illness. Told from the perspective of a 6-year-old girl, its the story of a family falling apart. But as the past is slowly revealed, truth starts to put things back together. I found myself totally engaged with Aoife, her uncle Donny, and the family secrets hidden for too long.

Bright & Fine

I struggled to finish this book. and what most of the others that left a review, I just didn't get it. I thought it was drawn out and just extremely boring at times. I started to quit a few times but wanted to see what all the fuss was about... I never found out. I think my biggest complaint was a child in the book. No 6-year-old mind thinks this way or talk this way and it really took away from the book in my opinion... but to each their own,... you may love it.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

This book floored me. Not only is the plot brilliantly executed, particularly in the way the truth of what truly happened is slowly uncovered, the way a child's understanding of the truth might come to light depending on what adults decide to share, but also in the way the narrator tells the story. She is AMAZING! She was the most perfect fit for an audiobook I've ever heard. The author and narrator combined has made this book one of the best reading experiences I've ever had. Seriously. And, as a writer myself, as well as a literary addict, I've read a lot of books in my lifetime.

Ehhh no

I wasn’t sure how I would like this book being read in the voice of a 6 year old. It was amazingly spot on but about halfway through I just didn’t care for it all and it became annoying. I tried speeding up the narration and that didn’t help so I just ended up fast forwarding to find out what happens at the end which isn’t exciting and I felt like there were a lot of loose ends.