Fans of Wendy Walker will enjoy this family drama full of suspense and tragedy. Molly Clarke is a mom who has seemingly walked away from her family after suffering a devastating loss 5 years earlier. The story is told from the perspective of the mom and her daughter Nicole who is looking for her own answers. Nicole goes searching for her mother in the Hastings area where her mother’s car was abandoned and she was sighted by a witness. This book has many twists and intertwines two stories about girls needing their mothers. I enjoyed the book and am always eager to read a book from this author.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

It was on Netgalley that I first came across this title and author. The title grabbed my attention and got me wanting to read what this book was about. I really enjoy a good mystery suspense when it isn't overly dark, disturbing, or too graphic. This book totally fit the bill. I really enjoyed reading it. Enough suspense and creepiness to give me the shivers, but nothing that made it hard to sleep at night. I loved the premise of this woman disappearing, but then a few days later leaving a goodbye note to her family which seemed plausible due to the all of the grief and hardships the family had been experiencing. But then twist after twist as her 20-something daughter keeps returning to the town where her mom abandoned her car and was last seen. Who in the town should she trust? Who could be in on the disappearance? I loved that you got the dual narrative of the mom and what was happening to her alongside the narrative of her daughter out looking for her. Great, fun, suspenseful read that I would pass on to friends who like a little crime drama.

This book has ALL of the Criminal Mind feels! Wendy Walker hits the gas right from the beginning and doesn’t let up.

A twisting turning tale of kidnapping, murder, missing persons, runaways. If you like Criminal Minds- this book is hands down for you!

This was my first Wendy Walker book- it will not be the last!

I received an ARC through NetGalley when this novel was offered as a ‘Read Now’ selection. I chose it solely based on the fact that I was drawn to the cover. This is the first novel I have read by Wendy Walker, but it will NOT be my last.

I felt a connection with each character. I appreciated the writing style, and like that I thought I knew more than the characters at times.

An interesting mystery about a women who, after the worst possible tragedy, appears to have walked away from her unappreciative, unsympathetic family. Walker twists this into a very interesting story of her disappearance, so different from the obvious.

So many complications and so many emotions involved. The disappearance leads Molly and her daughter to reset their relationship as her daughter becomes the investigator.

Interesting read. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Couldn't put this book down! Author Wendy Walker knows how to spin a tale! Excellent writing that keeps you engrossed in the story right from the beginning. Very fast-paced and suspenseful. Did Molly walk away from her family on the anniversary of a tragedy... or was she taken? Where did she go? The family's drama has been building up for 5 years after the death of the Clarke's youngest daughter. There is a huge divide and a lot of harsh words directed at Molly by her two older children-- and a very cold shoulder from her husband. Did she find an opportunity to just disappear? Or did someone find an opportunity to take her? If you love thrillers-- this should be your next book! Walker does a great job introducing her characters and letting you get to know them, cry for them, laugh at them, and cheer them on. I will definitely be checking out more Wendy Walker books! I received a free advanced reader copy of this title from Netgalley.

5 exciting stars for being a fast paced and exciting read. It kept me guessing all through the book of who in the town is the one not to trust as it could have been any one of them. Almost every single character has flaws. Highly recommend to those who like psychological thrillers. A stormy night starts the scene, a creepy dead town, and then there are the townspeople! Strong women heroines.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

Hold on and enjoy the ride! All the twists and turns in Don’t Look For Me will make your head spin. It’s a fun, quick, and easy read - a great summer beach or quarantine book. This was my first Wendy Walker book and I really enjoyed her writing. Molly Clarke has gone through the worst tragedy a parent can suffer - the loss of a child. Not only that, it was her fault that her 9 year-old daughter was killed. The tragedy rips her entire family apart and changes her relationship with her husband and her other two children. One night when she’s driving home from one of her son’s boarding school football games, she runs out of gas and is stranded in the middle of a storm. She thinks her husband is having an affair, her daughter just told her that she hates her, and her son wouldn’t even look at her after she drove a few hours to watch him play. Maybe there’s no reason for her to try to get back to her life so quickly. Her clothes are found at a nearby casino with a note telling her family “Don’t Look For Me” because they’d be better off without her. But did she really write that note and where is she? You will have fun finding out. Thanks to #netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read anything by Wendy Walker before now, and this certainly will not be my last. This book led me on a twisty turny tale that kept me completely enthralled from the first page to the very last.

Since the tragic death of Molly Clarke's youngest child years ago, her life has not been the same. Her husband is disengaged and likely cheating, her children resent her, and she is desperate for love and affection from her family that appears to be non-forthcoming. So when she disappears in the middle of a terrible storm, the police rule it a "walk away" and the case is closed. But her eldest child Nicole, despite their complicated relationship, is convinced that her mother would not abandon her family. She sets out to find her mother, whether it's because walked away, or if she disappeared for more sinister reasons...

What was so special about this book was not only how thrilling and dark it was, but the incredible emotional depth Walker manages to portray through her pages. My heart ached for everyone in this story, and the mother-daughter relationship she weaved was absolutely gorgeous and so genuine. The relationship building and character building was impressive and natural. I felt like I was reading about a real family who experienced a horrible tragedy. I did not predict the ending, and was very pleased with how it all came together.

True 5/5. Would read again! Recommending it to my book club!! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you like intricate plots with lots of twists and turns this is the book for you. An accomplished writer with a good command of her storyline and characters the author keeps you guessing until the end.

I love when a book keeps me guessing, and this one sure did. Every time I thought I had it all figured out, the author threw more info at me that made me doubt myself. The twists and turns kept me from willingly putting down the book. This was a great thriller/mystery.

Molly is unappreciated.
She drives 8 hours to watch her sons football game and he cant even bother to say hi to her, at home she has a angry and often hateful daughter and a distant husband.
So when she disappears and asks her family not to look for her, the police are ready to put the case to bed.
But something doesn't sit right with her daughter who sets out to find the woman who doesn't want to be found.

The first chapter I thought for sure this book wouldn't be for me.
But... once it got going, it went. Fast.
I am so happy to report that I was blindsided.
Quite rare in this genre. But man, it happened, and it's a beautiful thing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Walker and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

WOW! This book was amazing!! The story is fast paced, well written and just overall exciting. I loved how the story was written from both Molly and Nicole's point of views, and I loved how creepy young Alice is.

Another home run from the very talented Wendy Walker!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It is rare that I give a thriller 5 stars, but this one deserves it!!!!! Don't Look For Me by Wendy Walker is more than just a fast-paced, suspenseful, super twisty book, it is a story of forgiveness and a mother's love.
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Five years ago Molly and her family suffered an unimaginable tragedy when they lost their daughter Annie in a car accident caused by Molly. The relationships between Molly, her husband, and her other two children, Evan and Nicole, have become so estranged and filled with pain and guilt that Molly sometimes wants to leave this life. When she goes missing in a small town after a bad storm, Nicole can't accept the police's assumptions that her mom walked away from her family and life. Nicole is hanging on to her own guilt over the accident and decides to investigate. She uncovers secrets the town has been hiding that make her question if someone knows more about the situation then they are letting on.
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This is such a phenomenal read. It made my heart hurt and had me cheering hard for the characters. I was so invested in the journey these two flawed women were on. It comes out September 15th and you MUST READ IT!
Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the early copy!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this book. This is a good, quick mystery. Molly Clarke is feeling abandoned by her family, so she has the idea to escape from them. Unfortunately, things go terrible wrong. There's some suspense along the way, as well as the healing of family relationships.. I would recommend this story to all mystery lovers. It is well-written with a well constructed plot.

Could you walk away from your life and not leave a trace? Molly did, or did she? Her life has certainly been complicated. Her family is all sorts of messed up. But will anyone look for her? The book was a good one that held my interest. There were slow spots that didn't seem important until the end. And what an ending! It was an excellent ending. It will be awhile before I walk down the road alone. How about you?

While I likely won't remember this plot in years to come, as I read many, many thrillers, I still think this is worth the read as it had me turning pages and guessing the entire time.

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: Don’t Look for Me was written by Wendy Walker and is set to be released on September 15, 2020 by St. Martin’s Press. It’s a mystery/thriller novel, which is Walker’s specialty; her previous psychological suspense novels have hit international bestseller lists. The tagline reads, “The greatest risk isn’t running away. It’s running out of time.”

PLOT RUNDOWN/BASICS: It’s been exactly one year since Molly lost her 9-year-old daughter Annie in a tragic accident - one where Molly had been behind the wheel. Her life has fallen apart in multiple ways - her son is away at boarding school, her oldest daughter seems to hate her guts and is in the throes of her own downward spiral, and her husband barely acknowledges her existence.

Just as she thinks it can’t get any worse, she finds herself out of gas...in the middle of nowhere...at night...in the midst of a category four hurricane. The darkness brewing inside of her threatens to combust when faced with the darkness surrounding her, and she briefly considers starting a new life...but then headlights appear in her path, and she flags the vehicle down, relieved to have found safety after all. Or so she thought.

Two weeks later, Nicole is awoken by a phone call after yet another night of drinking and strange men. The woman on the other end of the line tells her that she saw Nicole’s mother on the night of the hurricane...the night she disappeared without a trace. She gives Nicole details that weren’t released to the public, and that only someone who had actually seen Molly would know...and Nicole decides to take the stalled police investigation into her own hands. She packs her bags and heads to Hastings, the small town where her mother was last seen, vowing not to return home without Molly.

Nicole’s desperation to find out what has happened to her mother, and her mother’s own battle for her life, sets off a series of events and confrontations that reveal explosive twists and some seriously devious minds. What follows is a story of small-town secrets, corruption, captivity, poverty, abuse, and murder...and not everyone involved will make it out alive.

MY THOUGHTS: This was my first novel by Walker, although after reading it, I can safely say I will likely read her future books as well.

This is your basic psychological suspense novel, written from two different points of view - Molly’s and Nicole’s - in alternating chapters that take us backwards and forwards in time. We see Molly’s dilemma starting from the very beginning of her terrifying journey, up through the point where her and Nicole’s timelines merge days later; Nicole’s story in Chapter 2 starts on day 14, two weeks after her mom’s disappearance.

I enjoy a novel told from two points of view, especially with this type of storyline - and Walker makes it an easy transition from one point of view to the next, keeping some chapters incredibly short as the tension ratchets up. There are some twists and turns in the novel, although not necessarily ones that could go unpredicted, mind you (unlike in Alice Feeney’s roller-coaster His & Hers). This isn’t a surprise, considering the limited pool of guesses as to who Molly’s kidnapper could be in such a small town. However, this fact doesn’t deter from the addictiveness of the unfolding plot, which continually brings in new residents with their own intriguing secrets and unique potential reasons to break the law.

At its core, I think Don’t Look for Me is a darkly-told but heartbreaking view of the reality of living with the loss of a child, especially when you were responsible - even though it was an accident. We see the various ways people would cope with this type of immense loss: Molly longs to run away at the beginning of her story. She feels incredibly unloved and unwanted - and she's not wrong. Her own husband spends nights away from her and turns her own name into a way of belittling her when she experiences anxiety; he seems to throw himself into his work and away from his family. Nicole, who was just a teenager herself and witnessed the horror, feels responsible herself and lashes out both at Molly and her own life. She turns this loss - the "empty hollow spaces" that take over her life - into alcoholism and promiscuity, just searching for any numbing relief for the pain and loss of feeling.

These destructive coping mechanisms for grief could be the permanent undoing of relationships and someone’s quality of life, which Walker doesn’t shy away from in this novel. We can see the future for these people, and if things don’t change, it would be bleak. Don’t get me wrong; this novel is still a quick-read mystery/thriller at heart - and not the deep or overly “hopeful” and upbeat storyline of a general fiction novel. But Walker is here to tell us that, in our darkest hour, we must actively choose survival and life over death every day. Even if we’re wallowing in grief and loss so immense we can’t see the light for the darkness, there is still something worth fighting for, and Walker shows us what that is as we watch Molly and Nicole’s story unfold.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
-SO many amazing plot twists, even though the book was predictable
-The pacing
-The character development - especially Alice. SUCH an intriguing character

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝘿𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚:
-Predictable ending

Overall, I LOVED this one!

In “Don't Look for Me” by Wendy Walker we meet Molly Clarke. An unimaginable tragedy has happened to her family and it has affected everyone around her. Then during a bad storm Molly disappears. Everyone believes she simply walked away from her family. Everyone but her daughter, Nicole, who believes that her mother would never intentionally leave. But as she begins to get closer to the truth, the secrets of a small town start to unravel and what she uncovers begin to put not just herself but those around her in more danger then she could ever imagine.

I received this book through Net Galley, and this is my honest review