What Happened to the McCrays?

by Tracey Lange ★★★★☆

What Happened to the McCrays? opens with Kyle McCray sitting in a sandwich shop in Spokane, WA. When some obnoxious teens come in and start harassing the young woman covering the shop by herself, Kyle rises to her defense, willing to engage in a one vs. four fight if necessary. Message received: Kyle McCray is a good guy.

When Kyle's father Danny has a stroke, Kyle heads home to be with him in Potsdam, NY, returning for the first time in almost three years. We soon come to learn that Kyle left abruptly, and he carries the guilt and shame of doing so as he starts to encounter those he was once closest to in Potsdam. But his father needs him, and Kyle decides to stay for a few months as Danny works through his rehabilitation. The choice to stay leaves Kyle no choice but to confront his past.

The biggest piece of that past is his ex-wife Casey. Like Kyle, Casey is quickly established as a "good one". She's a warm-hearted middle school teacher, who spends most days eating lunch in her classroom so she can devote extra time to kids who need it. Outside of school, she volunteers in a variety of roles, most notably as the manager of the local junior hockey team. Two Potsdam natives, two kind-hearted individuals who were married for over sixteen years...what could possibly have happened to the McCrays?

The truth is gradually revealed over the remainder of the novel. A few flaws with our main characters are finally exposed, and their imperfections help to make the story feel less like a Hallmark movie. It tackles grief and loss, the trade-offs and life choices we make for those we love, and the complexity of family dynamics in the face of tragedy. You know something significant happened to break apart Kyle and Casey, and most readers could likely narrow it down to a few likely candidates and you'd probably be right. But the circumstances of the event and aftermath are a mystery for most of the book, as well as what drove someone like Kyle to leave so abruptly, an act that seems increasingly out of character the more we get to know him.

Author Tracey Lange bounces the point of view narration between Kyle and Casey, as well as between the present and the past. We get to relive the couple's courtship during high school and the following fork-in-the-road moments of their lives that lead to the present-day narrative. The dual narration also allows us to live inside the heads of both characters. The foundational history and the multiple points of view both help to shed light on the choices each character makes in the present while also strengthening readers' connection to both Kyle and Casey.

It's a touching story, filled with human interactions that generally ring true and plenty of emotional moments. Where stories like this could sometimes lead readers to choose a side—for example, I'm definitely Team Frank over Team Beth in Broken Country—, I think the majority of readers will likely just root for a reunion. In terms of rating, I waffled between 4 and 5 stars, and ultimately I think this lands squarely in the middle. If you're looking for a small-town family drama with an abundance of sentimentality, you won't be disappointed with this one.