LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — Did you know Lynchburg boasts it’s very own book club? The folks at the Moore County Public Library’s Brown Bag Book Club meets on the fourth Friday of each month and their March pick will be We Are the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin.

The novel takes readers into the shadows of a small Texas town still haunted by a long-ago disappearance. From bestselling author Heaberlin — who also penned Paper Ghost and Black-Eyed Susans — the book is a literary thriller that blends mystery, memory and the complicated weight of secrets carried over decades.

The novel opens 10 years after a teenage girl vanishes without a trace — a case that reshaped her hometown and derailed the promising future of the boy who was once its golden child. When a police officer rescues a near-feral young woman in the woods, a second mystery emerges. The two cases begin to intertwine, forcing the town to confront buried truths and the narratives it has long accepted as fact.

Rather than relying solely on plot twists, Heaberlin leans into atmosphere and character, exploring how grief and suspicion linger in tight-knit communities. The story unfolds through shifting perspectives and timelines, inviting readers to consider how memory can distort reality and how justice is rarely clean or simple. At its core, the novel asks unsettling questions about who gets believed, who gets forgotten, and how far people will go to protect their version of the truth.

Since its release, the book has drawn praise for its layered storytelling and emotionally resonant take on the crime genre. It’s not just a whodunit; it’s a meditation on loss, identity and what happens when a community decides — consciously or not — to look away.

As a book club pick, it promises plenty to discuss: the ethics of small-town loyalty, the reliability of eyewitness accounts, and the way unresolved trauma can ripple through generations. The group will meet on March 27 at 1 p.m. at the Moore County Public Library located at 17 Majors Boulevard in Lynchburg.

For more information about future book club picks or library events, visit their Facebook page by clicking here. •

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