Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley was a surprising read for me. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, yet it wasn’t the most amazing book that those who recommended this book to me made it out to be. This book is focused on Cullen Witter, who lives in a small town in Arkansas. Nothing ever happens in this small town, until a birdwatcher comes to town and claims to have found a type of woodpecker thought to be extinct. Upon the claim that this man has seen the Lazarus Woodpecker, the town goes wild. They create new ways to bring tourism to the town from this bird, including Lazarus haircuts, Lazarus burgers, and even a Lazarus Festival. During the chaos of trying to find this bird, Cullen’s little brother disappears without a trace. Multiple viewpoints tie together to show how and why Cullen’s brother disappeared, and follows Cullen’s journey to finding his brother.

I was certainly surprised by this book. I loved the writing style and the way the story was told. But, as much as the multiple viewpoints helped to tie the story together, I felt as if they were not necessary. I had a hard time connecting the dots as to how each character connected to either Cullen or his brother’s disappearance. I feel like I would have enjoyed the book more if it would have had only Cullen’s perspective, although I do understand why the author wanted the other perspectives.

I gave Where Things Come Back a 3.75 stars.

*SPOILERS*

I found Cabot Searcy to be a little too insane. I really could not imagine someone being insane enough to fly to a little Arkansas town and after his wife tells him to leave, to not actually leave but try and stalk her date. It was very unexpected to me that Cabot wouldn’t even try and verify that Gabriel was Cullen. I have read quite a few psychological thrillers, yet I have never seen someone so insane not think through a crime as big as this.