This! What a story! Emotionally charged, heartbreaking and shocking.
Siblings, friends, drugs, death, loss, so many deep feelings exquisitely portrayed. I loved this book.

I tried the audiobook for this one and I think I’ve come to accept that this genre isn’t for me. I found the story sad, but the pace was slow and it didn’t keep me engaged.
Probably one I’d recommend to friends, but not for me I’m sorry.

The book explores some heavy topics. This is well written and the characters are well developed. The culture element has been well researched.

Heart-rending and profound story of intricate family dynamics, identity and racism, set in 1990s Australia within a community of Vietnamese refugees.

Siblings Ky and Denny grew up in a hard working family as their parents made the best of the options open to them as refugees with marked accents and limited English against a backdrop of overwhelmingly white culture which leaves them misunderstood, undervalued and marginalised.

Now a journalist, Ky returns to her home town after learning of the death of her brother, and tries to discover what happened that fateful day.

First published in 2022 and out in paperback now, All That’s Left Unsaid is the gripping debut novel from Australian author Tracey Lien, exploring the aftermath of the death of 17 year old Denny, who is viciously murdered on the night of his high school senior formal in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta.

With the police apparently uninterested in finding out who murdered Denny, his sister Ky, a young journalist, sets about finding out the truth and pursuing justice for her brother, a task that takes her back to a lost friendship with her childhood best friend Minh Le (or Minnie as she’s known).

The book explores themes of multi-generational trauma for Vietnamese refugees who sought refuge in Australia, identity (the myth of the “model minority” comes under scrutiny), institutional and deep-rooted racism in Australian society, and drug addiction in 1990s Cabramatta, with the rigour of a journalist and the heart of a loving sister.

Kirkus Reviews describe this as “a fictional tragedy evoked with such clarity and specificity that it will linger in your memory as if it really happened” and this rings true. A heartbreaking, page-turning, suspenseful read that unsurprisingly, has been nominated for several awards, including the 2023 Stella Prize. Recommended. 4/5⭐️

*With thanks to HQ Books for the arc via @netgalley. As always, this is an honest review.

Such a moving and heart-breaking read. Tracey has done an amazing job putting this together with compassion, heart and realism. A decision can change everything, advice given can have an irrevocable consequence. Sadly, something that Ky comes to know when her brother is murdered and she finds herself driven to uncover the truth behind his death, A recommended read.

Ky, a young Vietnamese girl, returns home when her younger brother is murdered. Despite the murder taking place in a busy restaurant, everybody there that night claims not to have seen anything, leaving Ky desperate to know what happened. This book is not just a crime thriller but a book about racism, friendship, family and grief.

A really compelling read and, although, the answer to the 'who dunnit' question was not the big reveal I had hoped for, the characters and storyline made it one of my favourite reads of the year.

Compelling from start to finish. Astonishly good debut. Loved it and would absolutely recommend. Five stars.

A slow burner but a great book, very compelling and emotional in parts it’s one I thought was very good and I’d defo read more from the author

Ky is a Vietnamese Australian woman working in Melbourne when she receives a heartbreaking phone call from her father telling her that her younger brother, Denny has been killed. Ky decides to go home to Cabramatta, discovering the police have absolutely no interest in Denny's case, Ky will not accept this and decides that she will find out the truth. We the readers are introduced to the crime, deprivation and heroin trafficking that was such a huge part of Cabramatta life in the 1990s.
This book was emotive and moving with dark, deep thought provoking themes running through it, murder and the hardship of Vietnamese refugees trying to fit into the new world they live in while trying to hold on to their own culture and beliefs being the main two.
The characters were written so well, and you can tell a lot of research went into this novel. A Poignant, powerful heartbreaking and somewhat hard to read in places because of the sensitive topics raised debut novel that is a must read.
I was shocked when I learnt this was a debut Tracy Lein is definitely an author to look out for.

This was a great story, although initially it took me a while to get in to it and understand the characters but I think that was more me than the book.

Once I got there though I was hooked. Such a compelling read because although the story was about the main characters brothers death it was also about refugees and their continued struggles but also grief and its effect on families and the wider circle of friends. It was an eye opener and I will certainly be looking for more stories from this author

The story is told from the perspective of Ky a young Vietnamese girl growing up in a run down area of Australia. I will admit from the culture perspective the book was fascinating and really makes you think about how life is for “refugees” seeking a better life for their family whilst trying to maintain their own beliefs and family values.
Kys younger brother is murdered leaving her with lots of unanswered questions. I struggle to see how this book is a thriller but more a story of family and friendships. The pace of the story and the style of writing is however excellent so despite there not being an addictive “who done it” you can’t help but want the best for Ky and Minnie. I was left with lots of questions and felt other storylines could have been explored further. But overall a good read.

This is a great mix of mystery thriller and social commentary. Beautifully written it is at times heartbreaking and intriguing.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful debut novel.

A fabulous, emotional & intriguing debut.
If you are looking for a different take on a mystery then pick this one up.

All That’s Left Unsaid

They claim they saw nothing.
She knows they’re lying.

We follow Ky Tran, who wants to find out just what happened the night her younger brother, Denny, was killed. Denny had been celebrating his high school graduation with his friends, at a busy restaurant in Cabramatta Sydney, but Denny didn’t make it home, he was brutally murdered.
Denny wasn’t a trouble maker, he was a studious innocent, so what on earth happened?
Ky feels guilty as she had persuaded her parents to let him go, even though it was in a rough area.
To help her conscience, Ky begins to track down witnesses to talk to them, plead with them, t help her uncover the truth. Instead she is up against a community that daren’t speak up, in fear themselves. Will Ky ever discover the truth?
I shed a few tears whilst reading but for such a sad subject, the author handles it perfectly and as i read on i needed to see it through, I needed that ending.
This is a beautifully written book that deals with grief and trauma so well. Its hard to believe this is a debut novel!

Really sad the way people react to the death of this young man. Dad and heart breaking. Its well written, a good read but very sad too.

A beautifully-written novel about Ky, whose brother, Denny, is killed in a Vietnamese restaurant in SW Sydney, Australia. This book took me to a world (in particular, the deprived suburb of Cabramatta) that I knew very little about.

Cabramatta is home to a lot of Vietnamese immigrants. Ky has left, made a life for herself as a journalist in Melbourne. But many people in this Sydney suburb don't move on. Her younger brother, Denny, has just graduated high school, has a promising life ahead of him, when he is senselessly killed at the Lucky 8 restaurant on the night of the school prom.

Essentially, this is a novel about how people cover up the truth - how people won't tell the truth due to the fear of the repercussions this may have. Ky sets herself the challenge of doing what the police haven't done - to find out who killed her brother. One of the book's main strengths is the way Lien adopts different speakers' voices - specifically, when Ky visits the little girl's apartment whose parents are out at work.

At times, I found this a little disjointed - for example, the strong focus on Denny's geography teacher, Ms Faulkner, and then the fact she isn't mentioned again (and would a teacher be out with two of her students without other adults? Not sure...) It is also, perhaps, a little odd that no-one will admit to what has happened in the Lucky 8. I understand that gangs were rife in Cabramatta in the 1990s, and many people wouldn't speak as they feared what would happen to them, but I am not sure it is fully truthful. Regardless, the writer shows how determined someone can be when a loved one's life is in question - even if others, parents included, don't want to know.

'All That's Left Unsaid' is a very impressive debut and says a lot (even today, in 2023) about how minority groups can be treated so different to whites. Surely, this has to change but there is a long way to go before we are out the other side, I think.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a gripping story told with passion and charm. There were moments when I wondered if it was all a bit familiar, but I enjoyed it and would recommend it as a good escapist novel.

If you are looking to try a different take on mystery, All That’s Left Unsaid is a great book to start. It has the right amount of mystery and emotion to get you invested and keep you intrigued until the very end.

Synopsis

Just let him go. These are the words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny–optimistic, guileless, brilliant Denny–is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, an indifferent police force, and the worst heroin epidemic in Australian history.

Returning home to Cabramatta for the funeral, Ky learns that the police are stumped by Denny’s case: a dozen people were at Lucky 8 restaurant when Denny died, but each of the bystanders claim to have seen nothing.

Desperately hoping that understanding what happened might ease her suffocating guilt, Ky sets aside her grief and determines to track down the witnesses herself. With each encounter, she peels back another layer of the place that shaped her and Denny, exposing the seeds of violence that were planted well before that fateful celebration dinner: by colonialism, by the war in Vietnam, and by the choices they’ve all made to survive.

My Thoughts:

“You can’t be there for everyone. You can’t be everything to everyone. People will make their own choices, no matter what you do.”

My goodness, this book is beauty and heartbreak, brilliantly put together. It will hold a special place in my heart. All That’s Left Unsaid is quite close to me, not because Ky will lose a brother. I’ve never felt such loss and I hope to never feel it. But Ky speaks to me because of who she is and where she comes from. Being an immigrant myself, I could connect with Ky’s story in a way that I didn’t anticipate I would. I’ve read many books with this topic before, and didn’t quite click with a character in a way I clicked with Ky. The culture differences and the lost sense of belonging casts a shadow on every written page.

“When I’m away from Cabra, I feel like I’ve shed my own skin. But whenever I come back here, it’s like I didn’t shed anything at all. It’s like I’ve just flipped a switch, you know? And my old self was there all along.”

I devoured this book, because it entwined these motives into an interesting and emotional mystery. Ky is trying to find out who her brother has become in her absence from home. And why he is now suddenly dead. Everyone is keeping secrets and Ky is not sure who to trust.

“It wasn’t the punishment itself that Ky feared. It was the look. The look that said, I expected more from you. I’m disappointed in you. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

I also enjoyed how her past friendship ends up having a role in her present life. The author can portray broken relationships in a very relatable way. Drug abuse and drug dealing are a main topic in this book and they often come up – so please be aware if this may trigger you whilst reading.

“Would an explanation of why something was not done in the past make you feel better? Because if it would change your life for the better and put happiness in your heart, pull up a chair and I will explain everything I have never done.”

Thank you Netgalley for giving me chance to read this wonderful book.

All that's Left Unsaid is set within the Vietnamese community in Australia. The book follows Ky as she attempts to find out the truth behind her brothers murder whilst exploring people and places from her past.

This book was well written and I could feel the family's sense of loss from different perspectives. Highly recommended