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Not All Migrate
Mark Hansberg has lost everything. After his wife and children are killed in a horrific car crash, the authorities begin acting suspiciously. Depressed and desperate for answers, he takes it upon himself to investigate a mysterious local drug called Rapture. He’s thrust into a world of lies, violence, and conspiracy—none of which this insurance salesman is equipped for. He meets and befriends a variety of addicts from all walks of life and, eventually, becomes one himself. It’s not long before Mark is lost in the gritty world that took his wife’s life.
244 pages, Paperback
Published June 4, 2019
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23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 13, 2019
"Maybe this was the end; maybe there was nothing else to tell. Maybe there were mysteries better left unsolved, some truths too dark to come to light."
Much thanks to Edelweiss and Southern Fried Karma for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own.
DNF at 84%
📚 Series: No.
📚 Genre: Mystery. DARK.
📚 POV: Third person
📚 Cliffhanger: unknown.
⚠ Content Warnings: Excessive drug use. Suicide. Car accidents. Death and dealing with grief. Abuse. Rape. Murder.
⚠ Read if: you like extremely dark things.
Not All Migrate is not a novel for everyone. I tried to finish this but this is not for me.
The prologue and the first few chapters were so interesting, and the writing style got to me that I kept on reading.
I thought there is something deeper than all the drug talk, and the protagonist, Mark, messing around with all the drug addicts.
Spoiler Alert: Nope. It doesn't.
What made me stop reading:
I actually wished I had stopped reading sooner, because this has so many triggers, it's exhausting.
Review also appears on my blog.
June 10, 2019
This is a very difficult book to read. As I mentioned above, this book contains just about every kind of trigger you can think off with the exception of any involving children. I feel like I need to give readers fair warning because this book is NOT for everyone. Especially those faint of heart.
Okay that all said, let’s get into it.
Not All Migrate is incredibly disturbing, very heavy, and at times, downright disgusting! It’s also brilliantly written, enthralling, and the most realistic depiction of grief, drug addiction, and depravity that I have ever read. The only things close in my opinion, are two films, Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream. Both brilliant and both just as equally effed up!
Let’s be honest, some readers will not be able to handle this book, but if you have a strong stomach and the ability to put on you objectivity glasses, you will find yourself deeply immersed in the mind of a hardcore addict, and it is fascinating.
The author does a superb job putting us in scenarios we wouldn’t want to enter in our worst nightmares, and does so with great skill.
Go on and have a read, if you can handle it. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Rating… B
Okay that all said, let’s get into it.
Not All Migrate is incredibly disturbing, very heavy, and at times, downright disgusting! It’s also brilliantly written, enthralling, and the most realistic depiction of grief, drug addiction, and depravity that I have ever read. The only things close in my opinion, are two films, Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream. Both brilliant and both just as equally effed up!
Let’s be honest, some readers will not be able to handle this book, but if you have a strong stomach and the ability to put on you objectivity glasses, you will find yourself deeply immersed in the mind of a hardcore addict, and it is fascinating.
The author does a superb job putting us in scenarios we wouldn’t want to enter in our worst nightmares, and does so with great skill.
Go on and have a read, if you can handle it. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Rating… B
May 23, 2019
Thank you to SFK Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The unvarnished truth? There are no words to express how much I hated this book. The beginning was very jarring, and then it was a swift descent into hell. I have no interest in reading pages upon pages of people drugged to their eyeballs and trying to hold "conversations", search frantically for their next fix, excrete bodily fluids upon each other, wade through squalor in their flats and lives... yuck.. I kept picking the book up and trying again, thinking it must move forward at some point. It didn't. So I eventually gave up and moved on, and was never so happy to leave a book behind.
The unvarnished truth? There are no words to express how much I hated this book. The beginning was very jarring, and then it was a swift descent into hell. I have no interest in reading pages upon pages of people drugged to their eyeballs and trying to hold "conversations", search frantically for their next fix, excrete bodily fluids upon each other, wade through squalor in their flats and lives... yuck.. I kept picking the book up and trying again, thinking it must move forward at some point. It didn't. So I eventually gave up and moved on, and was never so happy to leave a book behind.
February 5, 2024
It's incredibly dark so definitely not for everyone. Objectively well written but the content matter is D A R K
December 16, 2021
3.5 stars rounded up.
I came across this book in a somewhat unconventional manner. I was in a FB group, and there was a discussion about a book that is quite popular in that group. This author posted that she would love feedback about her book. So me being me, asked about the book, and here I am reviewing it. I'm always up for reading/ reviewing new to me authors.
Now, let's get on with it. This story starts sad. A strung out mother gets too high and kills herself and children in a car wreck. The grieving hubby reaches out to an old friend, a druggie, in hopes of seeking answers at to who put his wife on dope, etc ... That's it in a nutshell. Meanwhile, there's lots of drug use, strippers, artwork, and drug addicted characters that make up an interesting story. Yes, it was interesting, but still left me with questions. Many questions. Did I miss something? I'm not sure. Overall, an okay read
One of my major qualms with this book was at the end of several chapters there were inserts that weren't part of the storyline. For example, (I'll paraphrase because I'm too lazy too look up the actually words).. 'to hear about what inspired the author to write about necrophilia, visit this YouTube channel xxxx". That's the gist of it. I haven't been on YouTube in years. Even though this book tried to direct me there several times, I didn't visit YouTube. Actually, I felt like it took away from the story. I would really be into what I was reading, and then I felt like I was watching television and was hit with a commercial break. Just my personal opinion. I read often. Other authors advertise their YouTube stuff either before or after their story. Not during. It honestly felt like commercials in a book. I have to wonder if some of my questions would be answered on that YouTube channel, but I'm a reader. Not a YouTube watcher. So onto the next book
I came across this book in a somewhat unconventional manner. I was in a FB group, and there was a discussion about a book that is quite popular in that group. This author posted that she would love feedback about her book. So me being me, asked about the book, and here I am reviewing it. I'm always up for reading/ reviewing new to me authors.
Now, let's get on with it. This story starts sad. A strung out mother gets too high and kills herself and children in a car wreck. The grieving hubby reaches out to an old friend, a druggie, in hopes of seeking answers at to who put his wife on dope, etc ... That's it in a nutshell. Meanwhile, there's lots of drug use, strippers, artwork, and drug addicted characters that make up an interesting story. Yes, it was interesting, but still left me with questions. Many questions. Did I miss something? I'm not sure. Overall, an okay read
One of my major qualms with this book was at the end of several chapters there were inserts that weren't part of the storyline. For example, (I'll paraphrase because I'm too lazy too look up the actually words).. 'to hear about what inspired the author to write about necrophilia, visit this YouTube channel xxxx". That's the gist of it. I haven't been on YouTube in years. Even though this book tried to direct me there several times, I didn't visit YouTube. Actually, I felt like it took away from the story. I would really be into what I was reading, and then I felt like I was watching television and was hit with a commercial break. Just my personal opinion. I read often. Other authors advertise their YouTube stuff either before or after their story. Not during. It honestly felt like commercials in a book. I have to wonder if some of my questions would be answered on that YouTube channel, but I'm a reader. Not a YouTube watcher. So onto the next book
June 30, 2019
Double D-Darkness & Depravity
Mark Hansberg is tortured by his grief. His family is killed in a car accident that leaves Mark questioning if something else was afoot. Thus begins his dark tale down the path to Rapture and beyond. Now what happens during his journey is what leads you as a reader speechless, emotional and oftentimes mortified.
I have to say this was tough to read in the sense that you were hit with so much of what makes this life difficult rape, suicide, addiction, abuse, death, etc. The very thing that made this book such gut-wrenching, disgusting read is the very thing that made it hard to put down for me and that’s the writing and the randomly placed sketches.
Author Krystyna Byers’ writing was to put it simply brilliant. She created such vivid depictions of each scene that you were in that moment with Protagonist Mark. Before you could recover from one violent and disturbing scene, you were hit with another. This is what propelled the story forward. The opening reminded me of a 2009 traffic accident involving Diane Schuler. You find out pretty early on what happened to Mark’s wife and why the accident occurred and Mark’s decline into depravity and all the immoral, reckless, disgusting stops on the way into hell takes over the story.
I would caution readers who do have a delicate constitution to take heed before diving into this tale. It will stick with you for a while. I won’t say don’t read it, because I think to experience new genres, new books aid in your literary growth.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Mark Hansberg is tortured by his grief. His family is killed in a car accident that leaves Mark questioning if something else was afoot. Thus begins his dark tale down the path to Rapture and beyond. Now what happens during his journey is what leads you as a reader speechless, emotional and oftentimes mortified.
I have to say this was tough to read in the sense that you were hit with so much of what makes this life difficult rape, suicide, addiction, abuse, death, etc. The very thing that made this book such gut-wrenching, disgusting read is the very thing that made it hard to put down for me and that’s the writing and the randomly placed sketches.
Author Krystyna Byers’ writing was to put it simply brilliant. She created such vivid depictions of each scene that you were in that moment with Protagonist Mark. Before you could recover from one violent and disturbing scene, you were hit with another. This is what propelled the story forward. The opening reminded me of a 2009 traffic accident involving Diane Schuler. You find out pretty early on what happened to Mark’s wife and why the accident occurred and Mark’s decline into depravity and all the immoral, reckless, disgusting stops on the way into hell takes over the story.
I would caution readers who do have a delicate constitution to take heed before diving into this tale. It will stick with you for a while. I won’t say don’t read it, because I think to experience new genres, new books aid in your literary growth.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
July 14, 2019
After his family is lost to his wife's drug addiction, Mark Hansberg begins to follow his her footsteps into a world that is darker and dirty than he could have imagined. Trying to piece together what happened, he loses himself to the tangled spiderweb of depression, drugs and grief that is his own mind. Much as Mark is lost, so is the reader lost in Krystyna Byers' artful prose. Her descriptive writing brings the reader deep into the world of addiction and despair that Mark and his friends inhabit. You can feel the elation and release that comes from losing your pain in a soul-numbing high. You can reach out and touch the grime that covers the addicts' home. You can smell the misery and anguish that exides from their pores, that they run from, that they hide from. Not All Migrate is hard and dark. It is a beautiful and terrible journey into the depths of humanity.
September 11, 2019
This book definitely not for the soft-hearted and those who expect HEA ending with all questions answered.
Opened with scene that will remind us on people with mental illness and tragic accidents later on, then we followed how Mark, the husband, was grieving and spiralling into a bad-worse - worst path. Intend to uncover the cause of his family's death, Mark was trapped into new drugs and the persons behind it.
The ending is unexpected, but somehow it's satisfying and I could relate that not every questions in our life will be answered and how we must be cautious in seeking said answered.
Thank you netgalley for providing the arc.
Opened with scene that will remind us on people with mental illness and tragic accidents later on, then we followed how Mark, the husband, was grieving and spiralling into a bad-worse - worst path. Intend to uncover the cause of his family's death, Mark was trapped into new drugs and the persons behind it.
The ending is unexpected, but somehow it's satisfying and I could relate that not every questions in our life will be answered and how we must be cautious in seeking said answered.
Thank you netgalley for providing the arc.
June 12, 2019
I received an ARC of this at AWP.
i’ve never before felt angry at myself for reading a book, so at least this provided a new experience. i had many issues with this, writing plot and character-wise, but at the moment immediately after finishing all i can fixate on is that the protagonist of this book rapes his dead girlfriend twice. the plot is pushed forward only by needless scenes of violence that have little bearing on the characters or story and by an ambiguous and uninteresting mystery/conspiracy subplot, wherein you find out what happened within the first few chapters (although some important elements are never explained), and there are no further twists or reveals. just really wish i had listened to my gut and DNF’d.
i’ve never before felt angry at myself for reading a book, so at least this provided a new experience. i had many issues with this, writing plot and character-wise, but at the moment immediately after finishing all i can fixate on is that the protagonist of this book rapes his dead girlfriend twice. the plot is pushed forward only by needless scenes of violence that have little bearing on the characters or story and by an ambiguous and uninteresting mystery/conspiracy subplot, wherein you find out what happened within the first few chapters (although some important elements are never explained), and there are no further twists or reveals. just really wish i had listened to my gut and DNF’d.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2019
A good read, structurally well written. Themes and plot reminded me of Herbert Shelby Jr.'s novels. Interesting journey of the destruction of the protagonist. I enjoyed the art work and paperback cover work. The print style of the cover reacted to touch and handling and left marks, I thought this was a interesting was of including themes in the design. The book had marks, fingers prints, and scratches when I finished reading. This was a nice reflection of the characters journey.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2019
Definitely not for the faint of heart or those not willing to be challenged emotionally by a book. Not All Migrate is a fantastic read and a serious pager turner. The only disappointment at the end of the book was wanting to read more of Krystyna Byers work.
July 21, 2019
Definitely not a light hearted read. I was intrigued from the first few pages and wanted to see Mark champion this fight and win.
The author gives readers a glimpse into the world of addiction and the darkness that exists within people.
No fairy tale ending here but a good read.
The author gives readers a glimpse into the world of addiction and the darkness that exists within people.
No fairy tale ending here but a good read.
August 6, 2019
This book is interesting to say the least. Unfortunately, just not for me, and I wish I had known that going in.
This book is about a man named Mark who has just lost his wife and two daughters in a car accident. When the autopsy report comes back, the doctors tell him that his wife had had an unknown drug present in her system at the time of death, which prompts Mark to look into the drug, why his wife was on it, and who had sold it or given it to her in the first place. This sounded extremely intriguing to me, but instead of being suspenseful or realistic, this book was straight-up strange.
To start, we never get any information on what kind of man Mark was before losing his family other than the fact he worked a lot of long hours at his corporate job. While it is understandable that he would change after the tragedy he experiences, it becomes unfathomable that his new personality or behaviors could ever resemble the hard-working family man he supposedly was before. All of the other characters in the book are even less-developed than Mark, so I was not invested in any of them.
The second and biggest problem I have with this book is that Mark is supposed to be searching for answers about his wife's death and the mysterious drug she was on... and yet once he finds out, he becomes an addict himself and loses sight completely of what he's looking for in the first place. (Not a spoiler, this addiction part is essentially the entire book). I just don't get it, or believe it.
While this book was very much NOT for me, it is possible that someone else could find it entertaining because of the out-of-the box storyline and graphic drug experiences. I just warn that if you are looking for a more traditional man-hunts-for-wife's-killer thriller, this is not it.
This book is about a man named Mark who has just lost his wife and two daughters in a car accident. When the autopsy report comes back, the doctors tell him that his wife had had an unknown drug present in her system at the time of death, which prompts Mark to look into the drug, why his wife was on it, and who had sold it or given it to her in the first place. This sounded extremely intriguing to me, but instead of being suspenseful or realistic, this book was straight-up strange.
To start, we never get any information on what kind of man Mark was before losing his family other than the fact he worked a lot of long hours at his corporate job. While it is understandable that he would change after the tragedy he experiences, it becomes unfathomable that his new personality or behaviors could ever resemble the hard-working family man he supposedly was before. All of the other characters in the book are even less-developed than Mark, so I was not invested in any of them.
The second and biggest problem I have with this book is that Mark is supposed to be searching for answers about his wife's death and the mysterious drug she was on... and yet once he finds out, he becomes an addict himself and loses sight completely of what he's looking for in the first place. (Not a spoiler, this addiction part is essentially the entire book). I just don't get it, or believe it.
While this book was very much NOT for me, it is possible that someone else could find it entertaining because of the out-of-the box storyline and graphic drug experiences. I just warn that if you are looking for a more traditional man-hunts-for-wife's-killer thriller, this is not it.
September 15, 2019
Krystyna Byers debut novel was enthralling. It is not the typical fiction that I read but was so well written I couldn’t put it down. It is chilling and it is intense and it is gritty. Ms Byers presents an interesting cast of characters and writes with such honesty and depth that you are often able to sympathize with her characters; that is until you cannot of course. Until these characters are so moved by their own despair that they do the unthinkable. I cannot wait to read more from this new Canadian voice.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews