All That’s Left Unsaid
The internationally bestselling novel by Tracey Lien
For fans of Everything I Never Told You and The Mothers, a deeply moving and unflinching debut following a young Vietnamese-Australian woman who returns home to her family in the wake of her brother’s shocking murder, determined to discover what happened—a dramatic exploration of the intricate bonds and obligations of friendship, family, and community.
Just let him go. These are the words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny—optimistic, guileless, brilliant Denny—is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, an indifferent police force, and the worst heroin epidemic in Australian history.
Returning home to Cabramatta for the funeral, Ky learns that the police are stumped by Denny’s case: a dozen people were at Lucky 8 restaurant when Denny died, but each of the bystanders claim to have seen nothing.
Desperately hoping that understanding what happened might ease her suffocating guilt, Ky sets aside her grief and determines to track down the witnesses herself. With each encounter, she peels back another layer of the place that shaped her and Denny, exposing trauma and seeds of violence that were planted well before that fateful celebration dinner: by colonialism, by the war in Vietnam, and by the choices they’ve all made to survive.
buy book
Praise & Reviews
“One that may linger the longest in your memory, because it’s that powerful… Lien’s debut is moving and beautifully rendered.”
—THE WASHINGTON POST
“An unforgettable debut, utterly compelling from start to finish. Original. Heartbreaking. Gripping. I just loved it!”
—Liane Moriarty, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of BIG LITTLE LIES and NINE PERFECT STRANGERS.
“Lien’s poignant and impeccable storytelling shines as she lays waste to the pretenses.”
—OPRAH DAILY
“This novel will make you travel through time: to an embattled Australia in 1996, to a youth shaped by your parents’ pain, to the day after the biggest mistake of your life. Tracey Lien’s story pulls you back twenty years, then pushes you, heartbroken and stunned, into today’s bright light. ALL THAT’S LEFT UNSAID is honest, aching, and filled with beauty. It will transport you."
—Julia Phillips, National Book Award finalist for DISAPPEARING EARTH
“Set in 1996, Lien’s insightful, emotional debut intelligently incorporates cultural concerns into a tightly focused mystery.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"An urgent story that commands an audience. ALL THAT'S LEFT UNSAID is a gripping and unflinching narrative that is as heart-wrenching as it is unputdownable.”
—Karin Slaughter, NYT and International Bestselling Author
“A fictional tragedy evoked with such clarity and specificity that it will linger in your memory as if it really happened.”
—KIRKUS
"ALL THAT’S LEFT UNSAID is a stunning debut, an unputdownable mystery combined with a profoundly moving family drama about the ways we hurt and hide from those we love most—and how we mend and strengthen those lifelong bonds. It blew me away."
—Angie Kim, international bestselling author of MIRACLE CREEK
"A story of great grief and even greater love, this beautiful and powerful book will break you open and change you inside."
—Alice Pung OAM, author of ONE HUNDRED DAYS
“Tracey Lien's debut novel, ALL THAT’S LEFT UNSAID, is poignant and timely. A finely crafted novel about family, trauma, and the ways in which they bind us all.”
—Catherine Dang, author of NICE GIRLS
“One of the most profoundly affecting novels I've ever read, ALL THAT’S LEFT UNSAID is a wrenching, propulsive story about the desire to belong, the collision course between displacement and injustice, the long life of inherited trauma and the short lives we all live; a reminder that we don't have to be perfect to be worthy: of love, of life, of community. Every character is rendered with astonishing precision and empathy, creating a vital and unforgettable portrait not just of a Vietnamese-Australian community, but a family fighting its way forward in the aftermath of a violent crime. This book is for anyone who has ever been told they are the lucky ones.”
—Katie Gutierrez, national bestselling author of More Than You’ll Ever Know
“A shocking, deeply moving and truly special debut. Savage and heart-breaking, All That’s Left Unsaid tackles some hugely important issues, yet is also a richly crafted mystery, a story that is both impossible to put down and impossible to forget.”
—Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End
WINNER 2023 Indie Book Awards for Debut Fiction
WINNER 2023 MUD Literary Prize
WINNER 2023 Davitt Award for Best Adult Novel
WINNER 2023 Readings New Australian Fiction Prize
FINALIST 2022 The Los Angeles Times Book Prize Mystery/Thriller
SHORTLISTED 2023 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year
SHORTLISTED 2023 The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year
SHORTLISTED 2023 BookPeople Nielsen Book of the Year
LONGLISTED 2023 Stella Prize
LONGLISTED 2023 Voss Literary Award
HIGHLY COMMENDED 2023 Victorian Premier's Award
BetterReading 2023 Top 100 Books
Apple Books Best of 2022
Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2022
Booktopia Best Books of 2022
Awards