Another good mystery from Dicker. I devoured "The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair", and was eager to read any follow-up from Dicker. I wasn't disappointed, but I will say that I found "... Harry Quebert..." to be more immediately gripping. (It's possible this is due to the different translator.) Nevertheless, and enjoyable and interesting read. Recommended.

I really enjoyed his previous book and this had all the same elements: a twisting plot full of surprises, fascinating characters and an emotional heart to the story.

Very, very long and not very gripping. Maybe it reads better in its original language.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC of this book.

Boy, this book is loooooong and dull. I should have enjoyed it; it features much of what I love in novels: contemporary American setting, teen romance, coming of age story, cute dog. I should have loved it, but it was so long and repetitive and the story is so drawn out that the final reveal is utterly underwhelming.

‘The Baltimore Boys’ is the story of Marcus Goldman, who incidentally is also the narrator of Dicker’s previous book ‘The Harry Quebert Affair’, and his obsession with his richer cousins and the tragedies which befall the Goldman family. It’s a thorough exploration of the dynamics of male jealously between cousins, brothers, friends etc. etc. We get it; even successful, rich, popular people can feel jealous of other people, even people they love. I found everyone pretty unlikable and found it quite hard to empathise with the rich spoiled white people and their problems

We know from the beginning of the book that something bad happens to the cousins who Marcus adores. It seems they are probably dead. I thought I would care what happens to them, that it would be some dreadful tragedy. However, when I got to the reveal at the end I was shocked we were supposed empathise with these characters who have done horrible things to each other and ruined their own lives. I definitely don’t think that was how the book wanted me to feel.

I’m afraid, I can’t recommend this book. I think Dicker’s first book was better but also found that one long, contemplative and overly drawn out, so I guess that’s just his style. They’re originally written in French or German, I think, so maybe something is lost in translation.

I really enjoyed The Baltimore Boys, despite not always liking all of the characters. As with Dicker's previous novel The truth about the Harry Quebert Affair, this is really a book within a book, or a book about the writing of a book, a structure which I find interesting, though I do wonder if this is the only way Dicker can write?

I do think the story holds up on its own without the addition of the writing theme, but it does allow Dicker to jump between 2, and sometimes more time periods, and to gradually reveal the truth - all of which are very satisfying. This isn't a whodunnit in the same way Harry Quebert was, but there is an oft-referenced tragedy at the heart of the novel. However, while there is a lot of sadness this is primarily a novel about families, and I really enjoyed the way Dicker explored the complexities of family life and relationships.

Like Joel Dicker's previous book, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, the twists and turns and details leave you feeling that you've lived through the book and with the book. Very powerful and extremely enjoyable.

I absolutely adored this book - if I'm feeling out of sorts, this author can lift me up with the beauty of his writing. The ordinary becomes extraordinary in this impeccably well crafted tale.
I have hand sold many copies of Harry Q and am proud to be doing the same again, bravo :)

Thanks to publishers and NetGAlley for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication. I have not been rewarded for providing this review, reading this was sufficient reward.
I was excited at the prospect of a new publication by Joel Dicker as absolutely loved his previous publication, The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair.
The Baltimore Boys follows the fortunes and misfortunes of two branchs of the Goldman family over a period of half a century. The characters are really strongly developed and you actually grow to feel as if you know them personally. As ever in any family drama covering a fifty year period there are trials and tribulations, family arguments and fall outs along the way.
Dicker's style of writing takes us from the current day, to a period a number of years back and then back to the present by chapter.
Don't wish to divulge too much of the story, I'll let you read and judge it for yourself.
Already looking forward with anticiaption to the next Joel Dicker publication.

“The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair” is one of my favourite books. I was so excited to read this but also a little apprehensive – would it be as good? I need not have worried. It is a worthy follow up.

Every book I read plays out in my mind like a movie. But there is something magical about Joel Dicker’s writing that keeps the story so vivid.

Based alone of the synopsis, this book would not have interested me. But it’s how the author tells the story. I just cannot get enough of his offerings!

I enjoyed this prequel/sequel to The Harry Quebert Affair. It is slow paced and the tone is measured, and I was instantly drawn into the story and it's characters. The reader is taken back and forth between the 1960-2012 to discover the story of the three Goldman cousins - including Marcus our narrator-and how their relationships and actions impact on the family.

This is the follow-up to the fantastic debut The Truth about the Harry Qubert Affair which I absolutely loved.  I guess that it is sometimes true that an amazing debut is usually followed up by a not-so-great second novel and whilst I wish it wasn't, I do feel that this is the case with The Baltimore Boys.

Marcus Goldman features in here as the main character but there are no links to the first novel so if you haven't already read it, don't feel that you need to in order to enjoy this book.  Marcus and his two cousins Woody and Hillel are inseparable whilst growing up, but a tragedy tears them apart.  We are left wondering if it has anything to do with singer Alexandra, a former love of Marcus' and friend to the three boys whilst growing up, who makes an unexpected reappearance in Marcus' life when her dog is found wandering on his property. 

The story weaves back and forth between the boys' youth and the present day as Marcus tries to come to find sense in his childhood, of his relationship with Alexandra and why his family, the poor relations, were treated so badly by the richer side of his father's family.  As you may expect, there are twists and turns as the story unfolds and it's certainly a worth-while read.  I'll certainly look out for the next book by Joel Dicker, of which I am sure there will be many more.

Marcus Goldman is struggling with the follow up to his novel The Truth About Harry Quebert when fate reunites his with his first and only love Alexandra​ Neville. Seeing her again brings back memories of his childhood and the years spent with his cousin Hillel and Woody. Together they were the Goldman Boys, or The Baltimore Boys and their futures were bright. But tragedy approaches and Marcus relives the golden years and the tarnished times that followed.



Without a doubt my favourite book this year. I was firmly on the love it side of the argument with Dickers previous novel but could understand why it divided opinions so much. Not this one though. I really won't have a word said against it. Reading this book I laughed and cried, sometimes I even got angry. It's a beautifully written novel and doesn't read like a translation at all. I'm hoping for much more from Joël Dicker soon, he's fast becoming one of my favourite writers.



I received this from Netgalley for an honest review.

This sequel to The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair was well written and suspenseful, although quite long and trying in places. Another original story and an array of interesting characters.

Already when he was a child, Marcus envied his cousins, the Goldmans from Baltimore. He himself is part of the Goldmans from Montclair, but in Baltimore, so much more was happening and he was only part of the gang during the holidays that he spent in Baltimore. The Baltimores adopted Woody, a sports prodigy and best friend of Hillel who was a frequent victim of bullying when he was a child. When they grow up and become teenagers, the friends turn into competitors for the first time: all the three of them fall in love with Alexandra, the girl from next door. School is over and college is calling. Star athlete Woody will have it easy, just as Hillel who is highly intelligent. But things turn out other than planned and only many years after the catastrophe Marcus manages to fully understand what happened.

Just like in “The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair”, Joel Dicker narrates his family saga in a discontinuous way but springs back and forward in time. Piece by piece is added to the story and it only integrates into a whole picture at the end. His tone is calm and relaxed, interrupted by the present time and thus creating breaks and delays which increase the tension and the readers’ interest to find out what happened.

Strongest in this novel are definitely the characters. None of the three is just the average boy with an average life. They all have their flaws and weaknesses which makes them quite interesting but not that singular that you could not imagine them in reality. Their friendship is deconstructed piece by piece thus shading a different light on what young Marcus perceived and felt.

I absolutely adored this book! The tragedy was so moving and the fluidity between the past and the present was engaging and swept me along. Much preferred this to Dicker's prior novel, personally. It was simply wonderful. More please!

I absolutely loved Joël Dicker’s The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair, and had been looking forward to The Baltimore Boys. Needless to say, I was delighted when my Netgalley request to read and review this novel was approved.
Marcus Goldman has bought a house in Boca Raton, Florida, somewhere quiet where we can get away from the hustle and bustle of New York and focus on writing his next book.
But running into an old acquaintance brings back memories of his cousins, Hillel and Woody. Best friends as well as family, the three were incredibly close when they were younger. But tragedy struck, and it’s now time for Marcus to discover what really happened to his cousins and to tell their story.
Their is always a risk in picking up the follow up novel to a book you loved. Expectations are high, and the author has a lot to live up to. And what if you don’t like it!? These were my feelings going into The Baltimore Boys, and I have to admit that whilst I liked it, I didn’t love it as much as The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair (TTATHQA).
The Baltimore Boys is quite a different novel to its predecessor, despite both featuring young writer Marcus Goldman. Whilst TTATHQA focused on his investigation into “the Harry Quebert Affair”, The Baltimore Boys sees him looking into his own past and working out what happened to his cousins. The reader knows from early on that there was a family tragedy, but the specifics aren’t revealed until quite late into the novel. To me, it came across as Marcus reminiscing about his past and therefore didn’t have the investigative quality of TTATHQA, although he does have to talk to various family members and friends in order to fit all of the puzzle pieces together.
In order to understand the events surrounding his cousins, Marcus takes the reader back to the 1960s to examine the relationship between his own father, his uncle Saul (Hillel’s father), and his grandfather, as well as his relationship as a child with Hillel and adoptive cousin, Woodrow (Woody) Finn, a young boy that Hillel’s family take in. The three boys formed an incredibly close bond as children, despite their being differences in their characters, and this bond was maintained into adulthood. I really enjoyed learning about their childhood antics and seeing them develop into young men with promising futures. For me, this was the best part of the story – seeing these young boys grow up, albeit it overlaid with the knowledge that some tragedy is coming, but with no idea of what happens or why which adds some tension to the tale.
Interspersed with Goldman’s reflections on the past is what is going on in his current life as he tries to write his novel and attempts to rekindle his relationship with an old flame. Because of the way that the novel jumps around in time, I found it a little harder to get into than I was expecting, although I did want to find out what happened. Along with the oncoming tragedy, there are multiple puzzling elements to the tale, such as why “the Baltimore Goldmans” – Saul, Hillel and family – were held in much higher esteem than “the Montclair Goldmans” – Marcus’s own family. All of the answers were tied up nicely by the end, and Dicker brings the novel to a satisfying conclusion.
Whilst The Baltimore Boys didn't quite live up to the promise of TTATHQA, this is still an enjoyable read, and one that I would recommend to those who enjoy the unravelling of a family mystery, such as Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread.
The Baltimore Boys was published on 18 May. Many thanks to the publisher, MacLehose Press, and Netgalley for providing a copy for review.

I must be one of the few people who has not read The Truth About Harry Quebert Affair so on receiving the ARC of this book I had no preconceived ideas as to what to expect. Early reviews I have seen of The Baltimore Boys compare it unfavourably to the brilliance of the previous book.
I really enjoyed the style of writing - the story flowed well and the author was astute in his character portrayals and life observations. The bond of friendships and rivalries between the characters was at the centre of the storyline and I really liked the way this was handled. The characters are complex but so cleverly created.
On the negative side, however, I found the alternating between the time periods a bit difficult to follow. The book was also, in my opinion, too long and I felt it could have been considerably shorter, without detracting from the overall effect. So to be honest sometimes I felt myself speed reading through bits.
3.5 stars - a good book without being unforgettable. Slightly disappointed as I hoped for more!

Not as good as Harry Quebert but very readable. Slight second novel symptom perhaps? Hopefully from here its onwards and upwards.

I really wasn't sure what to make of The Baltimore Boys as although Joel Dicker writes well, I did not feel involved enough in the three main characters, cousins Marcus, Hillel and Woody, whose story this is. When Marcus is reunited with his first love, Alexandra (whom all the boys love) the chemistry appeared lacking; We know that there is a tragedy from the beginning and skipping back and forth in time Dicker reveals what leads up to it.

Not having read Dicker's debut, The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair, which earned many plaudits, I don't know if this is a worthy successor or not. It reads like a novel about the rites of passage in a contemporary American family with all the usual misunderstandings and resentments found in such dramas but I don't feel I can recommend it as I have read better sagas of this type eg by Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Strout. Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for the opportunity to read and review The Baltimore Boys.

I wish I loved this - as I did with Joel Dicker's first novel - but I just didn't. The long drawn out build up to the "tragedy" and the cliches throughout. The unsubtle theme of male peer rivalry looking an admired or loved male approval was painful to watch unfolding for ALL male characters. There were no twists or surprises which I couldn't see coming. But I wanted to know what was happening and read it very quickly.. Overall - average, sadly.