The most compelling aspect of Where I Left Her by Amber Garza is the author's depiction of a parent's anguish at the thought that her child is missing. I hope no parent ever feels that, but I can relate. The book takes me along for an adventure ride. The ending does leave me wondering about what happens next. It provides a conclusion as to what happened but definitely leaves an opening as to what comes next. Wonder if a sequel might be coming?

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/09/where-i-left-her.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and the HTP Mystery/Thriller Summer 2021 tour ( )

This was an interesting story and could be hard for me to follow at times. Whitney is a single divorced mom and very protective of her 16 year old daughter. We learn a little about Whitney and a little about her daughter and her friend. Then her daughter does not come home from a sleepover. Whitney goes crazy like any parent would. At this point the story gets crazier and crazier. I was very surprised by what happens in the end. I loved this part of the book. I really did not like any of the characters very well. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest review that I gave of my own free will. ( )

A moody teenager who had changed the past few months and an overnight with a friend didn't turn out well.

The nightmare began when Amelia didn't show up the next day and her phone was turned off.

Amelia wasn't where her mother left her off when she went to pick her up in the morning, and the house where she thought she left daughter had an older couple living there and said no girls lived there.

The police were called, but Whitney, Amelia's mother, didn't have much to give them other than that her daughter hadn't been herself lately, her daughter had a boyfriend she didn't know about, and she was talking to an older man.

The days dragged, and Amelia still wasn’t found. Where could she be? What could have happened to her?

WHERE I LEFT HER goes back and forth from the childhood of Amelia to present day as well as back and forth with Whitney’s life.

I wasn’t as impressed with this book as I was with WHEN I WAS YOU.

There was a lot of back story that could have been left out, but there are some very tense moments in the back stories and present-day stories.

It truly was slow and didn’t hold my interest until three quarters of the way through when the secrets and truths were revealed.

WHERE I LEFT HER isn’t a bad read, but could have gotten there more quickly.

The ending was worth the wait, though, and took my rating up a notch.

Excellent ending so don’t give up. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

The opening of Amber Garza's novel, Where I Left Her, will leave any parent's stomach in knots. Whitney drops her 16 year-old daughter Amelia off at her new friend Lauren's house for a sleepover. The next morning she texts Amelia asking what time to pick her up and Amelia does not answer.

After hours of no contact with Amelia, Whitney checks Amelia's social media accounts and there is no activity, which is strange. Whitney then goes to what she believes is Lauren's house, and an older woman answers the door and tells her there is no Lauren or Amelia there, just her and her husband.

Now Whitney starts to panic. She calls Becca, Amelia's best friend who hasn't been around much lately. Becca tries to text Amelia to no avail. Becca reluctantly tells Whitney that Amelia has been seeing an older man but she doesn't know more than that.

Whitney contacts her ex-husband who is in Amsterdam when she learns that Amelia was planning on getting a passport to come visit him and his new young wife. She also discovers Amelia took all her money out the bank.

Now the police have been called, and Whitney is in true panic mode as any parent would be. When Whitney was a teenager, she got into some trouble with her best friend Millie, getting involved with some older boys. Could Amelia be following in her footsteps?

As Whitney delves deeper into her daughter's life, and more time goes by with no word from Amelia, she becomes more and more frightened.

Garza does a terrific job putting us into the head of a panicked parent. Any parent who has survived the teenager years will relate to trying to get information out them. Becca is less than forthcoming, trying to protect her friend. That so rang true.

The twist at the end of the book, while hinted at, took me by surprise. It is one that you will gasp at, and maybe even throw the book against the wall (in a good way) when it comes.

If twisty psychological thrillers that keep your heat pounding all the way through are your idea of a good read, definitely pick up Where I Left Her.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer 2021 Mystery/Thriller Tour. ( )

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza is a recommended psychological thriller.

When overprotective mother Whitney drops off Amelia, her 16-year-old teenage daughter, to spend the night with her friend Lauren, she has reservations about not going to the door with because she has never met Lauren's parents. The next day Whitney calls to see if Amelia is ready to come home, but there is no answer. She tries to track her phone, but it's off. When she returns to the house where she dropped Amelia off, an elderly couple lives there and they know nothing about Amelia. Whitney then begins to frantically search for her daughter and uncovers secrets and lies she has been told.

While this is certainly an intriguing novel, it also requires you to set disbelief aside several times. There are plenty of secrets and lies going on between all of the characters. The narrative jumps between the relationship of Whitney and Amelia before and after the drop off, her present day search for her daughter, and Whitney's childhood and her experiences. Additionally there are excerpts from another teens diary about a friend named Millie who is a bad influence on her. While this plot structuring can be successful in some novels, once I reached the ending it was clear that the structure didn't work for me in this particular novel.

The search for Amelia will hold your attention, in spite of the fact that Whitney isn't very likable. It might have helped the novel if she were a more sympathetic character. There are twists, but too many coincidences. I stuck the novel out to the end, suspicious about the direction it was going to take, and, although others seem to be shocked by the ending, I wasn't. I liked the novel. It is a decent read for escapism but doesn't stand out above others in the genre.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of MIRA Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/08/where-i-left-her.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4179479956 ( )