The Guilt We Carry

An Enjoyable Suspense Novel

4 out of 5 stars

I honestly jumped into this one without a ton of knowledge of what it was going to be about. A lot of times I’ll read the first sentence of a synopsis just to make sure it sounds up my alley but I won’t “ruin” the rest of the book by reading the rest of it. This was one of the times that I’m glad I did that because I honestly had no idea what was going to happen throughout this book and it make an already suspenseful book – even more suspenseful.

Gailey wrote a book that kept me interested, I really wanted to know what was going to happen with Alice. I wanted to know both what had happened to her to turn her into the 21-year-old runaway, but also how and why she was still running. Once I felt like I knew a little about her, she was thrown into an unbelievable situation that just seemed to keep getting worse. Even if you didn’t like her, you couldn’t help but want to root for her.

The Guilt We Carry definitely contains some dark themes and numerous times things got a bit “heavy” but that’s to be expected in a book like this. Without those scenes and without those backstories, each character would have been 2 dimensional and maybe even a bit stale. I thought that Gailey did a good job writing Alice and then later a few of the other characters in a way that kept me interested.

Jake Perrine does a great job with this book. I had no issues enjoying his style and speed and flew through the book thanks to him. The voice that he gives to Sinclair was eerie and really ratcheted up his creepiness to an 11.

Overall, an enjoyable suspense novel that kept me guessing.

Book Description:

The Guilt We Carry
The Guilt We Carry
Samuel W. Gailey
Narrated byJake PerrineLength9 hrsPublished byOceanview Publishing · February 6th 2020
Brian's rating★★★★☆
Publisher description

Since the tragic accident that brutally ended her childhood, Alice O’Farrell has been haunted by her past. Unable to bear the guilt of negligence that led to the death of her younger brother, 15-year-old Alice runs away from home. She lives on the streets, makes one bad decision after another, and drowns her guilt in alcohol. But everything changes when she stumbles upon a startling scene: a dead drug dealer and a duffel bag stuffed with 91 thousand dollars in cash.

Recognizing this as an opportunity for a fresh start, Alice takes the money and runs. However, she soon finds herself fleeing from more than her own past. The dead dealer’s drug supplier wants his money back and will destroy her to get it. A merciless manhunt ensues, headed by Sinclair, a formidable opponent who is relentless, shrewd, and brutal. As blood is spilled all around her, Alice is eventually faced with her day of reckoning.

In the end, The Guilt We Carry is a story about redemption and forgiveness, but at what cost?

Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and Winter’s Bone, Publishers Weekly praises The Guilt We Carry as “a gripping tale of redemption” and New York Journal of Books declares it “the Breaking Bad of the book world".