Book Review: What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange

Rating: 4.5⭐

Two and a half years after he left his friends and family in Potsdam, New York, forty-two-year-old Kyle McCray is called back home after his father suffers a stroke.

Returning home means facing everything and everyone he left behind - his father Danny, his ex-wife Casey with whom he had been together for twenty years, his former brother-in-law Wyatt whose concern for his sister has prevented him from moving away on his own and his friends and colleagues. Casey tries to hold him at arm’s length, but her concern for Danny with whom she shares a close bond makes it difficult to keep a distance. Kyle initially intends to leave once his father recovers, leaving everyone to get on with their lives, but he is unable to stay aloof and begins to realize how his departure impacted those close to him. As Kyle is roped in to coach the middle school hockey team, he will have to adjust to working with Casey, a teacher who is also involved in managing the team, but it won’t be easy for either of them.

As the narrative progresses, we get to know more about Kyle and Casey, their backstory and the events that resulted in the collapse of their marriage and follow them as they navigate their feelings for one another, their grief over all they have lost and much more.

Heartbreaking yet hopeful, What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange is a beautifully written novel that touches upon themes of love, family, grief and second chances. The narrative is presented in dual timelines - “Then” and “Now,” with the past timeline covering the history of Casey and Kyle’s relationship from when they were teenagers up to the events that prompted Kyle to leave and the significant events that occurred between then and “Now,” and the present timeline following Casey and Kyle after Kyle’s return.

Presented from the perspectives of Kyle and Casey, the narrative allows us to understand our main characters and their innermost thoughts and emotions in great depth and you cannot help but feel invested in their journeys – both as individuals and as a couple. The secondary characters are also well-developed and each of them has a significant role to play, including Star, the family dog whose reactions to Kyle and the shifting dynamics within the family are sensitively depicted.

Author Tracey Lange writes with deep insight and compassion as she tackles issues such as grief, mental health and much more. The author’s strength lies in her characterizations and the deep insight, maturity and compassion with which she writes about complex human emotions. Each of these characters is flawed and relatable and their struggles, regrets, guilt, pain and hope inspire pause and reflection.

Overall, I found this novel to be an incredibly moving story that left me with a smile on my face and a lump in my throat. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy character-driven fiction. Please note that there are certain sensitive issues tackled in this novel that might prove disturbing for some readers.

I paired my reading with the audiobook expertly narrated by Stephanie Németh-Parker and William DeMeritt, who have done a brilliant job of breathing life into these characters making for a satisfying immersion reading experience.

This is my third Tracey Lange novel and definitely my favorite of the three. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Many thanks to Celadon Books for the digital ARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.