Karen Grose: All June Left Behind

Ray Meadows is a farmer whose wife June, was shot during a botched restaurant robbery on their 40th wedding anniversary. Two years later, the convicted killer is granted a new trial, and Ray’s fragile world collapses.

As we follow Ray through the new trial, his hot-headed nature becomes more prevalent. An altercation with reporter Fan Mohamed leads to assault chargers. Ray is offered a way out – work with Fan and he’ll drop the charges. He agrees, but that doesn’t mean he won’t work on his own.

Ray isn’t exactly a polished sleuth – he’s stubborn, raw, contrary, and tenacious. What he does learn opens into a long-buried case tied to June’s family. And now Ray understands that he knew so very little about his wife.

Karen Grose writes in a plain, unsentimental style that allows love, anger, and guilt to sit side-by-side. The rural rhythms – farm work, weather, isolation – are Ray’s lifeline and bring texture without slowing the plot.

All June Left Behind, is a tense, psychological, and character-first book that has a strong heart underneath. Compassionate, and quietly harsh, it captures the pull between revenge and truth, asking the cost of closure.