DON’T LOOK FOR ME is an atmospheric psychological thriller with a tone that is, at times, dark and claustrophobic as it follows unusual and unforeseen circumstances that literally derail Molly Clarke when she runs out of gas on a dark and lonely road and is given a ride by a helpful stranger and his little girl.

The narrative is terrifyingly thought provoking ands author Wendy Walker toys not only with the minds of her compelling characters but the reader as well. This is more than just a mystery. It is a meditation on family and identity related in such an alluring way that it keeps you hooked as it delves into the darkest corners of the human heart.

This book will appeal to both those who like a tough edge to their mysteries as well as those who prefer a softer, gentler touch.

4.5🌟
What am completely insane, intriguing book!
In the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to 1) like this story 2) continue reading it 3) finish it. Well, I did end up getting pulled into the story and what a roller coaster ride!
The main character, Molly, mysteriously disappears one night driving home....what happened???? Her daughter, Nicole, searches for the answer to what happened to her mother.
If you are looking for a suspenseful read, Don’t Look For Me should be the book you pick up. Definitely a thriller to the end. And, the twist at the end is quite intriguing.
Wendy Walker is a new author for me and one I hope to read more from.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and give my honest review about this book .

A book of many layers, I found this hugely enjoyable and very well told.

Molly Clarke is a wife and a mother. Her marriage is on the rocks. Her son at college and her oldest daughter has changed beyond recognition after that day five years ago. The day her youngest daughter was killed in front of her sister and Mollys part in it.

Molly is finding it impossible to live with the guilt. When her car is found abandoned on the side of a road after a heavy storm and a note turns up later in a nearby hotel from her, it looks like she is walking away from her life to start anew. But is she really or is there more sinister things at play?

Told from two perspectives, Mollys and her eldest daughter Nic in alternate chapters from both, it’s a hugely enjoyable and intriguing read.
It’s a thriller for sure but that’s nearly the back drop for what the story is really about - grief, family, our own mortality and our attitude to it. Our relationships and how we treat people and value them. How it takes a tragedy of a death for us to stop and take stock.

The story is intriguing and creepy. Largely set in a small town, there’s plenty of secrets in the walls and trees and land of this town. Some very well written characters and some truly creepy ones, this will have you hooked from the off and keep you guessing for the most part.

Some of the reveals were more than a little obvious but that’s not really the point of the book. On a base level it’s a really good thriller and satisfying read and if you want something deeper there’s a really nice thin layer on top of character study etc.

I really enjoyed this one on a couple of levels. A few characters that will certainly stay with me for a while.

Many thanks to Netgalley, St Martins Press and Wendy Walker for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Don't Look for Me was seriously one of the best mystery books I have read this year. I could not put it down. Wendy Walker did an excellent job of writing about a mother outcasted from her family - until she goes missing and their world is again tilted with loss. Her daughter does not give up on her disappearance and instead finds herself in the same situation as her mother.

Thank you NeGalley, St. Martin's Press, and author Wendy Walker for this ARC!

Wendy Walker hit it out of the park with this book. I could not put it down. So many twists, but they all come together in the end, and it is good. I would definitely recommend this book.

Convinced that Molly Clarke's disappearance was the voluntary act of a runaway wife and mother, the police seem as unionterested in finding her as her husband, who may already be having an ffaur, and her daughter Nicole, who blames her for the accidental death of her younger sister. When a note is found in a hotel room near her abandoned car imploring her family not to look for her and apologizing again for the accident that fractured their otherwise happy family, there's no reason to mount a search - except Inc' s gradual realization that her mother loved her and her brother to much to abandon them despite her overwhelming burden of guilt for not seeing her younger child until the wheels of the car drive over and killed her. Undertaking her own investigation, Nic is ultimately led to exactly where the man who abducted her mother wanted her to be, but not before the reader is hooked into this domestic thriller

Hang on for a great ride! Don't Look For Me by Wendy Walker is an amazing suspenseful, mystery that doesn't stop until the book is done!
Molly Clarke is a mom desperately trying to keep what is left of her family intact after the tragic death of her nine-year old daughter. On her way back from her teenage son's ballgame, she runs out of gas in the middle of a terrible storm. Luckily, a kind man and child offer to pick her up and get her some gas. Little does Molly know, she isn't going to get gas.
After the police search for her and declare that Molly left the area on her own accord, they stop looking for Molly. Her daughter Nicole knows she would never leave her living two children no matter what. Nicole starts her own investigation and it all starts to unravel.
Overall, Don't Look For Me packs a great punch! I will definitely be recommending this to others, as well as looking for other works by Wendy Walker. I read this book over the course of one day. I'd put it down just to pick it back up again, unable to stay away. Special Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wendy Walker for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book sucked me in from the very beginning! I found it to be a really great psychological thriller. There was suspense, drama and overall it was just really good! This book has alternating POV's with Molly and Nicole which I really liked. I read this book in one sitting because it was so captivating to me!

Thank you Netgally and St. Martin's press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Loved!! This is a fast paced action packed, suspenseful psychological thriller. Well written, loved the damaged characters in this book, the plot blew me away!
5 stars!

Going to make this short and sweet, if you enjoy great psychological thrillers with really good character development, a totally believable storyline, and a story that gives you that creepy feeling, then this book is for you!!
There are no cons with this one, all pros. I loved so many things about this book, the attention to detail was excellent. I highly recommend!! Well done….
I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. This is a 5-star review. Highly recommend.

My favorite Wendy Walker read to date! This story gripped me from the beginning and didn't let up at all. The story is told in alternate POV'S -- those of Molly Clarke and her daughter, Nicole. Through these alternating chapters, we learn about the issues facing the Clarke family, and how they were falling apart. Would Molly really just up and leave her husband and 2 kids, or did something more sinister happen? This book has a great, twisted cast of characters. Nobody can be trusted. I did have an idea of what would happen at the end, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of this novel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book!

I would like to begin by thanking NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press and Wendy Walker for the opportunity to read this book. Wow, what a book it is! The suspense starts quickly and it continues to the very last page. This book has great characters and the author did a wonderful job at creating them. She didn’t need a lot of descriptive words to let you know what the characters were thinking or feeling, she could instill fear or pain with a few well placed words, a sign of a great writer in my opinion. It is difficult to review this book without giving away important events so let me just say this book is full of suspense, fear, mental anguish, love and some very creepy moments. The female characters are strong willed and smart even though their lives have completely fallen apart. The story builds to a great finale and it will keep you reading into the wee hours of the night. I highly recommend this book if you like to be fooled as to who the villain is.

Molly Clark, in an impulsive move, partly because her husband was having an affair & no longer loved her; because her daughter hated her & her son was embarrased by her presence, walked away from her life on a storm-swept night. She decided to leave the life she built behind while she had the opportunity, with only a small suitcase, her purse & phone & the clothes on her back. Then she ran out of gas in the middle of a storm & was picked up by a man & his daughter. That was the last time she had an opportunity to contact her family.
And so the novel begins. This terrific read by Wendy Walker entertained me all the way through. When I began reading, I had the awful feeling that Molly Clark would never be seen alive. When her daughter Nicole (Nic) begins her own investigation into her mother’s whereabouts, the plot begins to round out. At that point I was worried for both mother & daughter. Both of them end up in the dying, post industrial town of Hastings. Nic feels all the major players are lying to her & she just can’t get off the barstool when the night time comes. The police believe Molly is a “walk-away” &, after a rather cursory investigation, stop looking for her.
I just loved this novel! Ms. Walker did a wonderful job developing the plot & major characters. Her writing was polished & engaging. At the conclusion all the loose ends were brought together, my questions were answered, & I was left saying “Wow!” to myself. I’ve read a few of Wendy Walker’s novels & loved them all. But this one was my favorite. I recommend it to those readers who enjoy domestic thrillers, women’s fiction & psychological drama.
Thank you, MacMillan U.S.A. & NetGalley for the opportunity to read & review this novel. This review consists of my own honest thoughts.

This was awesome! Creepy, suspenseful and unpredictable from start to finish. This is my second book by Wendy Walker and it’s sure to be a bestseller.

When Mollie Clarke travels out of town to attend her son’s football game, she never makes it home. Her car is found abandoned and after the authorities find a note presumably written by Mollie, the search is called off and she is presumed to have “walked away” from her life.

Mollie and her family had suffered a terrible tragedy a few years before and had each struggled to get back to some semblance of a normal life. Mollie’s daughter, Nicole, feels tremendous guilt over her mother’s disappearance and when she receives a credible tip, she decides to go back to the town where her mother went missing and conduct another search. Nicole soon learns that the town has secrets and it is hard to know who to trust.

I can’t even say which part of the story fascinated me the most because I don’t want to give away any details. This is a fairly safe story for sensitive readers. It has just a very minimum of violence. This is one that you won’t want to pass up!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

Book Review: Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker
(Published by St. Martin's Press, September 15, 2020)

4.5 Stars.

Chapter Fifty-Three.

"...I do not know what I am seeing, but it has led me into a deep pool of confusion...."

- A protagonist, "Don't Look for Me" by Wendy Walker.

With a twist so shocking, the reader will be compelled to re-read this chapter, just to reacquaint the forsaken thought process completely flummoxed from what was proffered up to this point to get to surely where this gripping family drama /crime thriller was headed.

Humdrum elements of daily suburbia routines and life along rural routes crossing the Boston-Albany/Schenectady corridor, - who woulda thunk?

This novel is a sparkling example of how good writing, effective use of dramatic irony, and the exceptional creativity of an author to patch it all together, doesn't need any of those sexy, shiny objects to concoct one gem of a tale and knock the socks off the poor, unsuspecting reader.

And Wendy Walker is one such terrific author, whose works I'll definitely anticipate.

Unputdownable!

Review based on an ARC from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

"There are so many shades of gray that sometimes I feel life is one long, beautiful, cloudy gray."
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Wow! Don't Look For Me is my first Wendy Walker novel and it will NOT be my last!
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The Clarke family suffered a major tragedy five years ago and all four members are reeling from the loss. Molly, the mother, loves her family but feels no place in their lives anymore. Her daughter hates her, her son won't acknowledge her, and her husband sometimes doesn't even come home at night. One stormy night, Molly disappears into the rain. Is she dead? Or did she simply run away from her family, hoping they wouldn't look for her so she could start anew?
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Parts of this book were CHILLING AF. I was so compelled to read on and on and on to know what happened and at the same time horrified (in a good way) at the story. This is definitely a twisty thriller/mystery with so many red herrings that you will be guessing all the way to the end! I highly recommend picking this one up :)!

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Hard to put down, makes you sad, angry, just a great read. The Clarke family is broken. The youngest child Annie, was killed by a car which was driven by her mother, Molly. It broke everyone. Molly disappeared leaving a note asking them not to look for her. But did she really disappear? Full of tension, a gripping thriller.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Molly Clarke's life is falling apart. Her marriage is on the rocks after the loss of their 9 year old daughter, her children and husband blame her for her death, her son doesn't acknowledge she exists, and her daughter hates her. While driving home, feeling rejected by her family, she is caught in a storm and runs out of gas. She gets out of her car and decides to leave it all behind. Days go by and Molly has still not returned home and her daughter begins looking for her. Did her mom just leave them without a trace or did something more sinister happen?

I really enjoyed the book. I don't want to give away more than my description because part of the enjoyment of this book is the slow reveal of events. It is told in dual perspectives and timelines - Molly on the day she disappears and her daughter, Nicole, starting two weeks later. I would recommend this to any thriller fan.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. You can purchase this book on September 15, 2020 or preorder now.

This book was amazing! It reminded me of a mix between Gone Girl, The Room, and Orphan (the movie). It was fast-paced and had short chapters which made it easy to get through. The switching POV wasn't confusing at all. There were multiple twists that I couldn't figure out and Don't Look for Me was more engaging than most thrillers I've read this year. It is by far my favorite thriller of 2020. 5/5 stars!!

Don’t Look for Me, by Wendy Walker

Short Take: Kill all DARLINGs before you start this book.

(*Note: I received an advance copy of this book for review.*)

Good morning, my beloved nerdlings! Today I want to discuss something very serious that affects all readers at one time or another- the most dreaded DARLINGs (Dumb Annoying Real Life Interruptions - Not Good). We’ve all been there - the heroine is just about to open the door that’s been locked for 200 pages, or the villain raises the knife, and suddenly, lunch break is over or the doctor calls your name or the kids need fed. You’ve just been hit by a DARLING, and it’s LITERALLY THE WORST.

I raise this issue right now, because I just read Don’t Look For Me, and if there’s ever a book that demands a DARLING-free day, this is it. Until you have blocked out the time to finish it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT start. Don’t flip the pages, don’t crack the spine, don’t even sniff it or turn on your ereader until you have a clear schedule. Trust me, have I ever steered you wrong?

Ok, maybe that one time. Or that other one.

Anyway.

Molly Clarke has a life that most people would want to walk away from. After a horrific tragedy, her nearly-adult son and daughter push her away. Her marriage is hanging by a thread that’s unraveling every minute. Surely anywhere, any life, would be better than this one.

And that’s what happens. Her car is abandoned, there’s a note, it’s totally obvious what happened to Molly. Probably.

I’m not going to dump a lot of plot details on y’all, because I know you’ll be reading the book anyway, right? I will say that Molly is a great character - imperfect and walking that fine line between stubborn and resilient that’s probably kept more than one person going through bad times. Should Molly keep clinging to being a mother, or should she put her own well-being first? Her daughter, Nicole, is her mother’s girl for better or worse, and even as part of her wants to just let Molly disappear, that stubborn/resilient streak keeps asking questions.

For a book I’d classify as Ludicrous Speed,, Don’t Look For Me is also a thoughtful look at what happens to a perfect family when the unthinkable happens. Is there such a thing as “unbreakable” when it comes to the bonds we have with each other? Where’s the line between respecting boundaries and giving up?

There was at least one twist I saw coming, because I’ve been doing this a long time and I know some stuff about some stuff, but duckies, this is a thriller in the best sense of the word. Like literally heart-pounding, breath-holding, OMG all the way through. And let me just tell you, a DARLING while you’re reading this book will have you howling in frustration. So do whatever you have to do to kill all of them. Call off work, reschedule your doctor’s appointment, load the fridge with pre-made snacks and tell the kids they’re on their own. Would Auntie Nerdy ever let you down?

Maybe don’t answer that so fast.

The Nerd’s Rating: FIVE HAPPY NEURONS (and a big bottle of water, I forgot to hydrate while I was reading. Seriously, it’s that good.)