Where You Left Us is the tale of the infamous Prince family. Following two sisters who seemingly couldn’t be more different, this story introduces us to Cinnamon and Scarlett Prince and the mystery of their family’s legacy. Cinnamon Prince is angry. Somewhat involuntarily living at home to aid her rockstar father after his latest breakdown due to his worsening mental health issues, she’s stuck in a town that fears and admires the Prince name in equal measure ever since Cinnamon’s great aunt Sadie disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The only person Cinnamon can turn to, it seems, is her gorgeous new co-worker Daisy Leung. Scarlett Prince, meanwhile, is anxious. After getting away from the town that always hushes the moment the word prince is uttered, she returns to spend her summer with her sister and barely there dad, barely holding it together herself. But when Cinnamon’s ex-boyfriend-now-best-friend Will starts helping Scarlett to get to the bottom of her great aunt’s disappearance and unexpected feelings surface, things take a turn for the complicated.
If you want a story with characters that jump off the page, look no further. Rhiannon Wilde knows how to create distinct voices for her characters and her sophomore novel proves to be just as good as her debut in those terms. Cinnamon and Scarlett are seemingly opposites yet the more the story continues and anger at being left behind morphs to recognition of the others’ plight, the more you want to scream at them to hug it out already. While I loved Cinnamon just a tad more (I am a sucker for a character who pushes people away because she’s scared they’ll leave her behind when she lets them in), my favourite moments in the novel were for sure the sisters going head to head. From rage-induced stones thrown through windows to betrayal and eventual reconciliation, readers are in a for an exciting adventure—not just in terms of the mystery, but in the development of relationships within the novel. Of course there are also two romances that dealt sensitively with insecurities and fears that made my heart melt.
One of the primary topics of Where You Left Us is mental health. Wilde weaves a complex tale of the impact mental illness—whether spoken or hidden away—can have on a family. The depiction, not only of how Scarlett and Cinnamon’s father’s depression affects their lives but also how their own struggles with mental health shapes their daily lives—is handled with such a tender hand yet shows all the raw relatability. Anyone who’s ever struggled with mental health or knows someone who does is sure to relate to at least one of the characters’ fight with mental illness. I loved how Cinnamon’s repressed feelings, Scarlett’s anxiety and their father’s depression were all so distinct and showed that everyone’s experience with mental illnesses varies and that there’s no one size fits all treatment. It’s so refreshing to see accurate portrayals without didactic impulses or get-well quick schemes and instead seeing the focus on treatment and recovery.
There are also so many underlying plots that come together in order for the mystery at the center of the story to advance and I really loved that aspect. Even hints or unexpected appearances somehow tied in together and it’s always a fun time watching characters collect clues and try to work from there. Scarlett and Will especially turn into little detectives and the references to famous detectives (and an interesting fact about a certain someone having their first kiss in a cemetery that blew my mind) added an almost playful aspect to the novel despite the dark topics it explores. I can always appreciate a good mystery and I think the outcome will satisfy readers, whether they are mystery lovers or not.
Overall, if you’re in the market for a deeply atmospheric story with complex sibling relationships, sweet yet complicated romances and a candid look at mental illness, then Where You Left Us is the perfect read for you!
Where You Left Us is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A glittering gothic mystery about healing, home and how to pick up the pieces when you feel left behind.
Cinnamon Prince is angry. She’s living at home with her rockstar father after his latest breakdown, and she’s stuck in a town where people have whispered that the Princes aren’t quite right ever since her Great Aunt Sadie vanished without a trace. Not that Cinnamon cares about anyone else’s opinion. Except, she might be really starting to care what her gorgeous co-worker Daisy Leung thinks.
Scarlett Prince is anxious. Most of the time, and also about spending the summer with her sister and barely there dad. She’s holding it together. Just. But when sister’s ex-boyfriend-now-best-friend Will starts helping her search for the truth about Sadie, things get all-the-ways complicated.
Can finding the truth fix their broken family?
