It’s been a few months since I read a thriller, and with everything being so dark in this world I didn’t think I would read one any time soon. However, I found myself desiring a read that made my heart race, and not in a way my favorite romance novels usually do. Don’t Look for Me by Wendy Walker did just that!

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Last year, I read Wendy Walker’s The Night Before after requesting it on NetGalley. It was a great read, 4 stars for me! Because I enjoyed it, St. Martin’s Press was kind enough to send me an ARC galley of Don’t Look for Me, Wendy Walker’s latest thriller, which will be published in September 15. This one, IMO, was even better than my previous read by the author.

The summary, from Amazon:

In Wendy Walker’s thrilling novel Don’t Look for Me, the greatest risk isn’t running away. It’s running out of time.

The car abandoned miles from home.

The note found at a nearby hotel.

The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.

They called it a “walk away.”

It happens all the time.

Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.

But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

Don’t Look For Me is:

“GRIPPING…WITH UNEXPECTED TWISTS… You’ve got a cracking mystery on your hands.”
—Adrian McKinty, author of The Chain

“A NAILBITER . . . SO MUCH MORE THAN A TWISTY THRILLER. It’s a heartbreaking portrait of a family coping with grief and an insightful study of guilt and blame, gaslighting and agency. If you love fast-paced page-turners with relatable, flawed characters, look no further!”
—Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek

Buy Don’t Look for Me here!

Don’t Look for Me is comprised of a compelling cast of suspicious characters as seen through the lens of two narrators. In first person, there is Molly Clarke. Molly is the mother of three. Her youngest child, Annie, died when Molly accidentally hit her with her car. This incident has caused a lot of grief and strained relationships in her family. On the day Molly disappears, she has a lot on her mind and contemplates running away, leaving her family behind – surely they’ll be happier without her. Of course, it’s a fleeting thought, but with her car out of gas, she finds herself running down the rural road in search of help. She’s wary, but thinks it might come in the help of a man and a young girl who reminds Molly of Annie when they pull over and take her home with them. However, the man’s intentions are far more sinister, and picking up Molly did not happen by chance.

Alternating chapters are told in third person from the point-of-view of Nic, Molly’s eldest daughter. Nic is 21 and has been a mess since her sister died. Like Molly, she feels a ton of responsibility and has spent recent years drinking herself into oblivion and sleeping around. She came to Hastings, the town here Molly disappeared, to search for her mother alongside her father, but the search was called off when a note is found in Molly’s handwriting insinuating that this was a “walk away” and that she doesn’t want to be found. But then a possible witness contacts Nic, and she returns to Hastings a few days later, determined to find her mother, whether she is kidnapped, dead, or ran away. Nic discovers some hidden secrets in the small town, including the strange departure of a teenage girl some years ago that ties together a number of the men she suspects as having played a role in her mother’s disappearance.

There are so many suspicious characters in Hastings, from washed up small town royalty to a bartender to a dirty cop and more. Early on in the novel, I had four suspects in mind, and I finally narrowed it down to one about halfway through. I was right – to a degree. In classic Wendy Williams style, there was a big twist at the end that I was not expecting.

The characters are rich and complex. I found Nic so easy to relate to and was rooting for her and Molly the entire time. And Molly’s feelings towards Alice, the young girl who picks her up with the man, are so complex and compelling. I found myself loving Alice and then hating her moments later, just like Molly, even though she is just a child.

Overall, this was a great thriller, and I give it 5 stars. I highly suggest you preorder this novel if you are looking for a great mystery. Walker writes like she is creating her novels with the plan for an HBO show in mind. You can almost hear the soundtrack, and her characters are written with the depth only an A-list actor could portray. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Wendy Walker for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Don’t Look for Me by Wendy Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this one, and in classic thriller/Wendy Walker style, I thought I had it all figured out only for a big twist at the end. Thank you to St. Martin’s, NetGalley, and Wendy Walker for sending me an ARC!

View all my reviews

P. S. I’m a huge fan of audiobooks. While my poison is nonfiction, if you like the sound of this book, why not try it out on Audible? I highly recommend this service, especially as libraries aren’t always able to get ebooks and audiobook files to you in a timely manner. (Blame the publishers – not the libraries.)

via GIPHY

Interested? Buy Don’t Look for Me.
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