One Weekend,
PORTLAND, OREGON. 1998.
THE BAR STAFF AT O'MALLEY'S ARE THE BEST OF FRIENDS. LIVING THEIR LIVES LIKE A MIXTAPE OF LATE NIGHTS AND BAD DECISIONS. WHEN A CHARISMATIC NEW BARTENDER NAMED JUDAH IS HIRED, HIS ATTENTION BECOMES A GAME THEY'RE PLAYING TO WIN. AT SUMMER'S END, HE VANISHES FROM A PARTY. AND NO ONE EVER SEES HIM AGAIN.
TEN YEARS LATER, ALLIE CARMICHAEL AND HER FORMER FRIENDS REUNITE AT A REMOTE LAKESIDE RESORT, DRINKS FLOW. OLD PATTERNS SNAP BACK INTO PLACE. AND A CAMERA WAITS IN A PRIVATE ROOM CALLED "THE CONFESSIONAL." ONE BY ONE, THEY DRAW THEIR QUESTIONS. THEN, SOMEONE PRESSES THE PLAY BUTTON ON A VHS TAPE FROM THE NIGHT HE DISAPPEARED.
BY MORNING, ONE OF THEM IS DEAD.
ONE WEEKEND. SIX CONFESSIONS.
THE ONE WHO RAN.
THE ONE WHO SPIRALED.
THE ONE WHO LIT THE MATCH.
THE ONE WHO CARRIED THE TORCH.
THE ONE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.
OR THE ONE WHO WANTED EVERYTHING TO STAY THE SAME…
forever.
SIX CONFESSIONS
Word on the Street
Readers & Reviewers
★★★★★
Did you spend your formidable years in the 1990s? Have you tried to explain to your millennial children about how magical this time was? How you were drinking cabernet in smokey, wood paneled bars? How you saw Nirvana in a dive bar? How you floated a river in the dead of night under a full moon? Did they get it? Either way, slide this book over to them with a wink and a smile because this book is the best description of a time long gone.
Also, there's INTRIGUE AND MYSTERY!
100% recommend for these reasons.
Julie K. Goodreads reviewer
"I’ll miss these characters (despite their imperfections)! I couldn’t stop reading it, so much story packed into what can be read in a weekend. I was transported to 90s Portland! I absolutely loved this book!!!"
★★★★★
Mimi I. Goodreads reviewer
I read All The Best People Are over a two day period... which is speedy for me. I really enjoyed the twists and the setting is nostalgic in a subtle way, the writer wrote characters that leave you wanting to know more about. If there's a follow up novel... I will read it!
★★★★★
NATASCHA S. GOODREADS Reviewer
I absolutely loved this book and brought back so much nostalgia of the 90s in Portland. If you love thoughtfully written characters and a unique perspective of friendships formed in your 20s, imperfections and human experiences read this! Loved every bit and I miss the characters now that I have finished. Can’t wait for the next.. or the movie!
★★★★★
Liz P. Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
Portland in the 90’s. A very messy group of friends. Confessionals. A touch of romance and a bit of murder. What else do you need? Nothing! Read this book! Also, be prepared for these sometimes unlikable characters to grow on you because they absolutely will. #TeamCharlie
Shannon V. Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
"This impressive debut novel knocked it out of the park. An immersive, sensual, sensitive, raw page-turner, it brought back the pain and pleasure of the highs and lows that being a Portlander in the 90s wrought. I loved this book, and you will, too."
Mara M. Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
Once upon a time, it was the 90s. Rent was cheap, tips were good, and life felt like an endless party. Reading this took me right back to those Jägermeister, microbrew, and Spanish coffee drenched nights. Sunday St. Marie’s cast of characters felt so real. The ones behind the bar and the ones pulled up to it in 90s Portland. I recognized half of them.
Carefree, right? But not everything is as it seems, and while memories fade, they never really disappear. Were those days as innocent as I remember? We all have secrets.
This book blends that Gen X, 90s Portland feeling with mystery and murder as long-buried secrets come to the surface. I loved it. The characters are so fully realized I’ve been casting the movie in my head ever since. A fun, suspenseful read.
MARCI M. Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
This was such a fun read! “All the Best People Are” is a dark romp through 90s Portland by an author who lived through it. It follows a core crew of bar staff and their closest friends, careening through their late twenties, fueled by cigarettes, alcohol, and secret crushes, trying not to hurt themselves or each other, but not always succeeding. Ten years later, old resentments and new revelations surface with disastrous effect.
This thriller with a streak of romance and a dash of mushroom tea will keep you guessing—will they/won’t they, who dunnit, and where’s Judah?—right up until the end.
Chloe E. Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
Sunday St. Marie wrote a moody, twisty tale about a group of friends who work at the same bar in Portland during the gritty nineties. They are beautiful, creative, screwed up and a kind of family you make in your 20’s. 20 years later they get together and do more than reminisce. I really enjoyed the book, it kept me guessing and it kept me smiling at the little things I recognized from being there.
I’m definitely giving copies to friends.
It is an enjoyable and mystifying read, I will definitely pick it up again!
Angie M. Goodreads reviewer