Book Review | Book Chatter

Before She Disappeared
By Lisa Gardner
Dutton, 9781524745042, January 19, 2021, 400pp.

The Short of It:

So far, Gardner has not disappointed me. Loved the amateur detective in this one.

The Rest of It:

Frankie Elkin is just an ordinary woman who chooses to find the missing people others have forgotten. She asks the questions that others don’t and because she has no personal ties or even a steady job to hold her down, she can blend into the scenery and find the clues that everyone else seems to miss.

I really enjoyed Before She Disappeared. Frankie is one of those perfectly flawed characters. As a recovering alcoholic, she is constantly aware of her weaknesses which makes her so likable and easy to relate to. In this installment, because apparently this is Book #1 in the Elkin series, Frankie looks for a young girl who has gone missing. Her family has been holding onto hope for over a year but no new leads have been found. Frankie gets herself a bar job, yep, as a recovering alcoholic it’s what she knows, works out a deal for housing which includes a very hostile feline roommate, and digs into the case.

The pacing is really good and I found myself reaching for my Kindle every chance I had. That’s the sign of a good read. I’ve lost count but this was read for 10 Books of Summer.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Last Thing He Told Me
By Laura Dave
Simon & Schuster, 9781501171345, May 2021, 320pp.

The Short of It:

I love a good page-turner that has a little bit of substance too.

The Rest of It:

I’ve enjoyed many of Reese Witherspoon’s club picks during this pandemic and The Last Thing He Told Me was no exception.

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. ~ Indiebound

The story goes back and forth between the present and the past, leading up to Owen’s disappearance. The message Owen leaves for Hannah is just cryptic enough to really confuse her. Hannah is well aware of Owen’s love for his daughter Bailey but that is what makes it all the more confusing. Why would he ever want to leave her?

After a friend contacts Hannah about what’s going on at Owen’s office and how they are being investigated, Hannah begins to worry that Owen has gotten himself in over his head. Is he a criminal? Was he forced to participate in something illegal? Does she know him at all? Bailey is equally perplexed by it all. She knows her dad and he would not go missing unless he had a very good reason to do so.

When it comes to these hyped book club reads, all you want to know is if it lives up to the hype, right? Well, I believe it does. There isn’t a whole lot of action but I like the way the story unfolded and I liked the dynamic between Hannah and Bailey, given the difficult circumstances.

Source: Won in a giveaway hosted by Hello Sunshine!
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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