All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers

The first true crime podcast I ever listened to was Crime Junkie. It was the episode on the Delphi murders, “Killer on a High Bridge” released in early 2018. Listening to this episode and many more Crime Junkie podcasts sparked my interest in true crime cases. So when I heard Ashley Flowers, host of the Crime Junkie podcast, wrote her first novel I was excited to read it!

This book takes place in a small town called Wakarusa, Indiana. A young girl, January Jacobs, was found dead hours after her family noticed she was missing from her bed. Another young girl, Margot Davies, was her neighbor.

Twenty years later Margot Davies, now a crime reporter, goes back to her hometown of Wakarusa, Indiana to care for her uncle who is suffering from dementia. Soon after she arrives news breaks that a young child has been abducted from a playground. Margot is convinced that this case is connected to the murder of January Jacobs. Margot commits her time to investigating these two crimes and writing an article for the newspaper. As she digs deeper she discovers that the people in this small town know more than they may be sharing and she feels that they are hiding something.

The story presents the reader with two points of view; Margot’s present point of view and the past point of view of the Jacobs’ family. 

What I Loved: Overall this was an enjoyable read. The characters were developed well. I liked the complexity of the story, how it included two cases, one that was current and one from twenty years prior. 

What I Didn’t Love: I’ve read a lot of other reviews where people complained that this book was so similar to the true story of the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey. When reading this book that’s what I immediately thought as well. There are so many similarities that my mind would unconsciously think of the Jon Benet Ramsey case. It made the story seem not as original.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

This book is for the one who: wants a quick thriller you won’t want to put down!

If you like this book, you may also like:

• The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart

• The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart 

• All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

*Ashley Flowers’ next book, The Missing Half, comes out next month - May 6, 2025!