Author: Kate Crane
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Genre: Memoir; True Crime
Format: Audio ALC and Kindle ARC
Narrator: Vivienne Lehany
Length: 8 hrs 59 mins
No. of Pages: 304
Date of Publication: April 7, 2026
My Rating: 4 Stars
DESCRIPTION:
A dazzlingly crafted, addictively readable blend of memoir and true crime that calls to mind David Carr’s The Night of the Gun, Michael Hainey’s After Visiting Friends and Becky Cooper’s We Keep the Dead Close.
One September night in 1987, Eddy Crane called to say he was on his way home from his trucking business in industrial Baltimore. He never showed up. Initially, detectives figured he must have taken off. But Kate, 12 years old and a new eighth grader, felt certain he was dead. She and her family were shocked and adrift, with no explanation or resolution on the horizon.
Twenty years later, now a journalist in New York City, Kate is determined to seek out answers. She reopens the investigation with Baltimore’s Cold Case Unit, tracks down the retired detectives who’d worked Eddy’s case, and chases leads with old friends through her hometown’s dark alleys.
Part memoir, part true crime, part psychological suspense, What Ever Happened to Eddy Crane? A Memoir and a Murder Investigation is a brilliantly written, deeply felt account of unfathomable loss and blazing resilience, of Baltimore, of family ghosts, and the bravery required to confront the past.
One September night in 1987, Eddy Crane called to say he was on his way home from his trucking business in industrial Baltimore. He never showed up. Initially, detectives figured he must have taken off. But Kate, 12 years old and a new eighth grader, felt certain he was dead. She and her family were shocked and adrift, with no explanation or resolution on the horizon.
Twenty years later, now a journalist in New York City, Kate is determined to seek out answers. She reopens the investigation with Baltimore’s Cold Case Unit, tracks down the retired detectives who’d worked Eddy’s case, and chases leads with old friends through her hometown’s dark alleys.
Part memoir, part true crime, part psychological suspense, What Ever Happened to Eddy Crane? A Memoir and a Murder Investigation is a brilliantly written, deeply felt account of unfathomable loss and blazing resilience, of Baltimore, of family ghosts, and the bravery required to confront the past.
MY THOUGHTS:
The blurb describes this book as blend of memoir and true crime. Had it strictly been a true crime story, it is unlikely that I would have been interested in it. The memoir aspect of the story is very intriguing. In fact, the more Kate Crane is determined to find out why her father Eddy Crane simply disappeared off the face of the earth the more the story drew me in. It had been twenty years since he disappeared and Kate intends on using her contacts as a journalist to find out what happened to her father once and for all.
With the elements of a well-written psychological thriller, it is easy to fully fall into this story and how readable it is. But, never forget that Eddy Crane had gone missing and that his family members are deserving of answers. The circumstances behind his disappearance just don’t make sense to Kate, and the fact that the case was never solved increases the intensity of this story.
This book deeply resonated with me. My heart broke for Kate throughout the story. Closure is essential for everyone, and Kate embodied that perfectly. The captivating narrative, brought to life by Vivienne Lehany’s exceptional narration, made this story even more enjoyable.
Many thanks to Harlequin Audio and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
In the first part of my career, I did journalism in NYC for both Wall Street Journal publications and an alt weekly. I copy-chiefed for almost every magazine that ever existed, and I loved laboring over page proofs. I covered music regularly for Time Out New York and Brooklyn Rail for about a decade... a joy.
I’ve read all 72 Nero Wolfe books. McNally Jackson Books on Prince and Housing Works on Crosby are holy places. NYC is home, and I also spent a decade in Silicon Valley. There, I saw coyotes, bobcats and rattlesnakes on the regular. We’ll see what comes next.
I began work on What Ever Happened to Eddy Crane?, my first book, in 2007. The book will be published by Hanover Square Press, an imprint of HarperCollins, on April 7, 2026.
