3.5 stars, solid Christian fiction suspense offering. It reads as more YA than adult fiction, because many of the segments are told from the perspective of ten-year-old in the past.

Faith Byrne is a podcaster who tells stories of hope and healing after tragedy. She receives a letter that is both shocking and a blast from the past. A woman named Brooke asks Faith to do a podcast highlighting her missing sister Heather. Faith is stunned--Heather was her best friend during the summer of 1987 when she and her family lived with her grandmother. She had always wondered why Heather never wrote back to the letters she sent after that summer, but now she knows that Heather disappeared soon after their family moved. Can Faith and her podcast help to solve this decades-old mystery?

I enjoyed this book overall, but I would have liked it more had it been focused more on the present day than the past. The parts in the past felt too young and added too much unnecessary filler. I really resonated with the current storyline, particularly that of Dora, Heather's mother, who is so mired in the past that she cannot move through her grief. Her journey is realistic and relatable. I also wish we had more from the story about Faith and her working through being separated from her kids for the summer. It kind of got lost and the romance storyline felt thrown in and forced.

The mystery aspects of this story are interesting and was what kept me invested to find out what had happened to Heather. It's well constructed and the conclusion is satisfying.

Although this book is a bit uneven, if you like Christian suspense you won't go wrong picking this one up.

First time reading this author and I loved it!!! Ever since the original serial podcast I have enjoyed books that have a podcast center (even though I don’t actually listen to podcasts often). The premise was intriguing enough to hook me in and the story just took off from there. Loved everything about this book and now I have to go back and read her past books!

I can’t imagine much worse than having your child disappear and not knowing what happened for decades. When Faith finds out that this is what happened to the Crane family, she agrees to bring light to the case on her podcast. Heather, the missing child, had been her best friend the summer Faith visited her grandmother.

This is a poignant story of grief and the ways people deal with all kinds of grief after devastating losses. The story goes back and forth between the past and present until they merge at the end so you get a real feel for Heather. It was interesting to see how things came to light decades later to solve the mystery. It was written well and handled a hard topic with grace and compassion. I’d recommend it.

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is a book you don't want to miss. This is a beautifully written heartwrenching story that will stay with you long after you read the last page. The author brings the story to life with her words and you feel like you are there. I loved it and highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House and Christina Suzann Nelson via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What Happens Next is my first experience in reading books from the talented Christina Suzann Nelson. It will definitely will not be my last. I enjoyed reading this story of healing and forgiveness. I really liked it.

I am giving What Happens Next four and a half stars. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading clean fiction. I am most definitely interested in reading more Christina Suzann Nelson in the future.

I received a digital copy of What Happens Next from Netgalley, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

I’ve read several other reviews of this book from among those who, like me, were gifted with an ARC of this title. I’d recommend reading those who gave a better summary of the plot than I will give here.

I enjoyed the way the book was formatted with thoughts of the three main characters, Faith and Dora in the present and Heather in 1987. The way the story was told really kept me engaged and wanting to learn what happened!

I do think the author missed an opportunity to learn more about Faith’s processing of all that happened by including at least excerpts from her podcast.

I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review. Four stars!

Another profoundly moving novel by Christina Suzann Nelson
Writing reviews for Christina Suzann Nelson’s books is tough! Her books are so much more than just the story being told. And putting my thoughts and feelings into words feels so inadequate compared to the depth of the book. As with Christina’s previous books, What Happens Next is a powerful story with so many layers. Layers of heartbreak, mystery, suspense, and guilt. Layers of faith and love and forgiveness.

On the surface, What Happens Next tells the story of former investigative reporter turned popular podcaster, Faith. She is recently divorced and at loose ends when her daughters leave to spend the summer in Hawaii with their father and his new wife. She is asked to bring new light to the disappearance of Heather, the only best friend she ever had, who went missing 36 years ago. She is contacted by Heather’s older sister, Brooke. Only, when Brooke reaches out, it is the first time Faith has heard about the disappearance.

It is also about Heather’s and Brooke’s mother, Dora, who has never let go of the belief that Heather will return, even after all these years. This belief has changed Dora from a loving wife and mother into a woman obsessed by the past. Her obsession has also built a barrier between Dora and her husband and her other two children.

Lastly, the book is about Heather. She is bright and funny and sometimes outspoken. She loves adventures. Ten-year-old Heather and Faith immediately become best friends and are joined on their summer “adventures” by ten-year-old Nathan. Heather takes the reader through that wonderful summer of bike riding, swimming and ice cream in the first person.

As Faith looks into the information about Heather’s disappearance, she encounters the grown-up Nathan, now called Nate. He is the cold-case detective for Heather’s case. The other people in the book are nicely drawn, but never take over the three primary narratives. One thing that I was impressed by is how the author showed that Heather’s disappearance didn’t only affect her family, but all the people within Heather’s neighborhood. It even affected Faith, who had already left town and didn’t even know about it. Faith was profoundly affected by what she thought was Heather’s abandoning their friendship. Though the subject matter is complex and sometimes hard to read, faith and hope do win. And while I don’t think it had what I would call an HEA, it did have resolution. I believe this book would be suitable for teen readers.

I received an eBook review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have to say this is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. What Happens Next totally drew me in from the first page to the last page. I literally could not put the book down.
The author writes the chapters from the view points of each main character. It took me a minute to get into the flow of this but, once I did…..I couldn’t stop reading!
The story is about Faith who is a podcaster. Her podcasts center around stories from people who have overcome tragic circumstances. Many years ago her best friend, Heather, mysteriously disappeared. Now her sister has contacted Faith to find out what happened to Heather. This is something Faith has never done before. Should she say no or yes? Can she find answers and bring closure to Heather’s family and herself?
There is a wonderful Christian theme intertwined within the story. A beautiful, wholesome story that in the end made me cry.
I was kept guessing to the very end.
I highly recommend this book.
Christina Suzann Nelson is a new author to me. I am already highly anticipating reading her other books. Her writing style is solid and flows smoothly.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a new author for me.this book was very well written. I laughed and I cried. This story is about a woman that had a girlfriend that disappeared 30 some years ago. The main character is a podcaster, so she starts to investigate her girlfriends disappearance. But oh boy what slot of twists and turns in the book.

Thanks net gallery for this opportunity to read this book.I loved it.

Christina has more books out that she wrote, so I'm going to see if I can get them to read cause I sure enjoyed this book.

This was a awesome read. I loved it.

Faith Byrne has been haunted most of her adult life by the loss of her childhood friend, Heather. Faith had spent the summer at her grandmother's home which was near Heather's family, but once she moved at the start of the school year, she was never told that Heather had gone missing. Now an adult, 36 years later, Faith has a pretty successful podcast and, once learning about Heather's disappearance, decides to use that podcast to help bring new light to this cold case. She returns to that small town to do some investigating of her own and learns some very important lessons along the way,

I thought this had such a good premise. I was excited to read it. I thought the characters were pretty memorable and I think the author did a good job in flushing out the whole story. I also think that it would be good for the YA crowd, only because of the way it was written. This book is Christian fiction, so there are faith based themes and lessons involved, which was also fine by me. I read it pretty quickly, too. I think a lot of people will enjoy it when it releases on January 17.! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy. No review was required.

Interesting premise. Kind of choppy and writing style didn't flow for my taste. Liked the different point of views

Christina Suzann Nelson’s stories are as virtuous as they are insightful. You can’t read one without taking away something helpful about relationships and the redemptive work of God in a person’s life. And she doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects. Her latest book deals with grief and other forms of loss.

In What Happens Next, Faith Byrne confronts a heartache that has lingered from childhood – a treasured friendship with Heather Crane that had mysteriously vanished decades ago. Circumstances reunite Faith with her past amid the isolation brought on by recent losses.

Nelson uses a striking literary device to build reader empathy for her protagonist. Faith's friend Heather comes alive as she narrates in the first person but from a timeframe well before the book's open. As in her earlier books, Nelson excels in developing female characters from childhood forward. The reader bounces back and forth between present day and decades prior. Heather is a rough-and-tumble adolescent one can’t help but like, which makes Faith’s loss feel more acute. The resolution of the mystery of Heather’s absence unfolds in her own narrative and engages the reader throughout the novel. Hence, the title.

Heather’s mother, Dora Crane, is limping badly through life. Past heartaches and present-day disappointments render her an emotional cripple. Anyone who’s hostage to the past will connect with this character. To some degree, that’s all of us.

I was expecting to hear through Faith's podcast what she learned and the takeaways she would deem important enough to share with listeners. I think that was a missed opportunity to further engage the reader, to dig deeper into Faith’s psyche.

What Happens Next crafts a mosaic of the disconnected soul, one that suffers from loss, broken relationships, and deep, unfulfilled longings. We all experience events that banish us from love, lock us into isolation, and threaten to keep us there. To learn how to become unshackled from hurts and disappointment, consider Christina Suzann Nelson’s take on it in What Happens Next.

I was provided a free Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion.

Wow wow wow, I knew just by reading the blurb that I was going to love this book but nothing prepared me for the twists, turns and anticipation of finally finding out what happened to Heather all those years ago. Christina Suzann Nelson tackled a really difficult subject in such a beautiful way.

The story is told from several people’s points of view and they all blended seamlessly together. I really felt the character’s heartache and journey to find peace.

Although I partially guessed the ending as the book unravelled, this didn’t at all take away from my enjoyment.

Overall, a really unique story of grief, heartache, friendship and learning to move on, I’d definitely recommend.

Thanks so much to Net Galley, Bethany House Publishers and Christina Suzann Nelson for the advanced copy of What Happens Next.

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson is a Contemporary Women's fiction novel. I really do not read a lot in this said genre. Yes, the story will have truths for the readers to learn and grasp onto, but it really is not for me. The suspense element of the missing Heather from many years ago is what grabbed my attention. I grew up in the eighties and nineties. I loved my childhood. Many found memories playing with my best friend, Robin, and the neigborhood kids. Many hours spent outside. No electronics. Imagination was our friend and sometimes it got us into trouble. I feel bad for this generation because they do not do those things. The plot is told from three different perspectives. First, Faith, the friend for the missing girl from 1987 and the podcoster, Dora, the mother of Heather, and Heather, the missing girl. In the plot, readers will be interested in the movement forward and the healing process of Dora and her family. I could not wait to see what actually happen to Heather. Of course, this happens in the last ten percent of the novel, so readers will have to hang on for quite a while to see the climactic moment. The story is about justice and learning to forgive and move on. Overall, What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson was not a bad story. It was told nicely and the characters were hurting because of the lost in their lives.

I received a complimentary copy of What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

I love books by this author and this did not disappoint. From beginning to end the pages flew as I looked for answers.

A read that is told from several points of view and is melded together beautifully.

One glorious summer three young kids, one boy and two girls, spend as much time as possible together. Faith is visiting her Grandmother for the summer, and becomes best friends with Heather, but shortly after Faith has gone to her new home, Heather turns up missing.

Thirty six years later a mother is unable to move on, she can't keep hoping her daughter is out there.

When Heather's sister asks Faith, now a pod caster, for help, we hope that bringing this case back into the news will turn up answers.

What a journey, and I kept hoping they would find Heather alive, but after 36 years!

Was I right in my assumptions? Well, partly, but there are answers coming, along with big surprises!

This was such a great read, and wished I could continue on in the lives of these people, I now cared about, but the story does wrap up with a lot of answers!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bethany House, and was not required to give a positive review.

What Happens Next was one of the best books I read in 2022. I loved that the book was written from three points of view, each main character telling her story in various chapters. The mystery element to the story added a wonderful element to a women's literature novel that had me reading into the night.

Faith is a newly divorced podcaster who finds out a childhood best friend went missing over thirty years ago. Heather tells her story of summer of 1987 and of her friendship with Faith...before she goes missing. Dora is Heather's mom whose life stopped the moment Heather went missing. Present day Faith decides to find out what happened to Heather in 1987 and podcast the story as she investigates the truth of what happened to her friend.

This women's lit gives all the elements to make a great novel-hurt, friendship of a BFF and second chance at life.
I recommend this to all women who were teens in the 1980's. The author using the most popular girl names of the time period and all the 1980's references in the book was my favorite element of this novel. I have bought this book to share with my friends.

I received a complimentary copy of What Happens Next thanks to Bethany Publishing and NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

This was a compelling mix of mystery and introspection for the characters involved. How does one move on from such a tragic loss? If a family member is so stuck in the past that they can't see the present with the people still there, do they move on alone and leave the stuck family member behind? Or do they then lose 2 family members?

I could appreciate the journeys the characters had to take and I was invested in finding out what had happened to Heather. It was an odd juxtaposition to see things through her ten-year-old eyes, compared to those who had aged without her, but as she was forever ten in their memories, it made sense.
As always, this author's writing is engaging, raw, and fairly realistic.

I received a copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

Christina Nelson has always taken on the tough subjects. Ones that don't always leave you comfortable. With What Happens Next, Nelson approaches the subject of a missing child. It is a mother worst nightmare. One that I am not sure I could recover from.
Nelson gives the perspective of the story from not only the best friend who didn't even know her friend had gone missing until years later, but also the mother who is still waiting for her child to come home. You also here Heather's side of the story set in the summer of her disappearance.
A well written sensitive story, Nelson also included the mystery of what happened to a 10 year old girl in a quiet little town when everyone new everyone.

There was so much more depth in this book than I expected. I loved that there was an element of mystery, but to me this story was not about that. It was about dealing with grief and learning to live and finding hope and forgiveness. Well-written and heartfelt. Highly recommended for fans of inspirational women's fiction.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Once again she writes a winner!
A heartbreaking story of a lost child, a mother who can’t let go and healing.
Heather, Faith, and Nate were childhood friends until Faiths parents decided to move,
Years later Faith is a podcaster. Heathers sister contacts her to help find out what happened to Heather and to help get her mother closure and grief consulting. Faith had no idea Heather was missing.
She moves to grandmas house and begins the search for answers, Can she find the answers to bring closure to mother and others?