Creeptastic!

Don’t Look for Me is a suspenseful psychological thriller about a woman who seems to have abandoned her family during a dark and stormy night.

Molly Clarke's family was destroyed by a terrible accident. Years have passed, and her children can’t forgive her. Her husband is distant and no longer seems to love her. While driving home one night during a terrible storm, Molly contemplates running away from her family. Shortly after, she goes missing. The police believe Molly abandoned her family, but her daughter Nicole won't give up hope that her mother didn't simply walk away and continues to investigate her mother's disappearance in the small and strange town of Hastings.

The narrative is split between Molly and Nicole. Both characters hold their own and develop throughout. Both are dealing with the trauma of loss in different ways, and the events of this book highlight their emotions. The transitions between Molly and Nicole were smooth and I was equally interested in both of their stories.

This book sucked me in from the very beginning and kept me distracted, which is much needed right now! It’s packed with tension, suspense, drama, and some sick and twisted characters. It also kept me guessing and had me suspicious of almost every character. There are some unexpected twists and turns, but none are over-the-top. Parts are a little unbelievable, but not ridiculously so. A couple of moments had my heart jumping out of my chest, and the final scene gave me the chills--little Alice is one creepy child!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I've had a solid run with mother/daughter thrillers, and this book caught my attention as soon as I saw it. This was my first Walker read, but it definitely won't be my last.

Molly's life hasn't been the same since the accident. Filled with grief and guilt following the death of her youngest daughter, an accident for which holds herself responsible, she disappears on the tragic anniversary, seeming to leave nothing behind except a note. However, Molly's been abducted by a nameless man and forced into playing the role of second mommy to a strange little girl. Nic, her oldest daughter, launches her own guilt-ridden investigation into the disappearance two weeks later, startling details come to light, and things she thought were true turn out to be lies. Where is her mother? Why is everyone lying to her? What really happened that night on the highway?

Don't Look for Me is a twisty masterpiece, full of manipulation, lies, and secrets. I found myself drawn to Molly, a good mother who's having a difficult time processing her role in her daughter's death. Grief ebbs and flows, and Molly is the embodiment of that tide, at times finding acceptance of her state, and others consumed by depression and sorrow. The captive situation in which she finds herself pokes at that grief, bleeds it out, and with outside stimulus removed, she's left with her own thoughts and works through her issues to find a middle ground. Her decisions might not be perfect, but they are based in her will to survive for her two remaining children, in spite of the enormous weight she carries.

I particularly loved the parallel relationships: of Molly and her daughters and the (essentially) surrogate daughter, of Molly and Daisy, of the reverberations of people's actions over the course of a decade. Molly's pain is never really physical, but the emotional toll that her character endures is one that left me gut-punched and breathless. Tiny tortures, as I started calling them, in something as seemingly innocuous as a cup of milk, were metaphorical puncture wounds, and I couldn't help but to root for Molly's will to live and ingenuity.

Her daughter, Nic, was also wonderfully-developed. By far from perfect, Nic struggles with alcohol, her own bad choices, and the grief over her sister's death (again, that parallel that worked so well). It is through her ferocious determination and faith in her mother that she is able to pick up the pieces of not only her broken heart, but of the mystery of her mother's disappearance, that ends in a tumultuous, tense climax. While I wasn't surprised by the big reveal, the final pages were filled with complex emotions and the not-so-perfect fallout from a tragedy.

This is the kind of book that will hit all the feels if you're a mother. Walker did an excellent job of layering the emotions surrounding motherhood and loss, and in Molly's struggle, I found myself wondering what I would do in a similar situation. Sometimes, there is no one to blame. Fate, accident--whatever it may be, circumstances don't always go as we planned, and as careful as you can be--as many safeguards and checks you put in place--things will still happen. This overarching theme resonated with me, and I think I won't be the only one who finds this to be true.

Taut, well-paced, and beautifully written, Don't Look for Me is a 2020 must-read. Walker is a wonderful writer with a haunting story, one you won't want to miss.

A dual narrator psychological thriller for the ages, what an amazing read! A mother disappears into a hurricane one night, leaving a note at a local motel behind saying that she can't take the guilt of having killed her youngest child anymore, and all the blame that comes with it. But her oldest daughter just isn't buying this pat explanation of the complete vanishing of her mother, and she'll go to any ends to find her again. It was fast paced, expertly written, tense, and filled with manipulation from multiple characters, with a twisty ending that I didn't see coming, great story!

A fast-paced psychological thriller, Don't Look for Me most certainly pulled a twist or two I didn't see coming.

All of my friends who've read this book, with the exception of one, gave it 5 stars. My expectations were high. This was my second Wendy Walker novel, and though I enjoyed it more than All Is Not Forgotten, it definitely was not a 5-star read for me.

While the characters were beautifully fleshed out, 9-year old Alice's voice was nearly indistinguishable from the multitude of other adults in the story. That's always an off-putting challenge for me to overcome when reading.

Told from dual narratives, those of Molly and Nicole--mother and daughter, this novel really is a quick, gripping read. There were a couple things, however, which rankled. (If you're interested in seeing these minor annoyances, please see my Goodreads review, and click on 'view spoilers..')

The red herrings were admirably done, but I was still able to figure out a large portion of the story by about the halfway mark.

Despite my minor criticisms, based on the reviews I'm seeing so far, this is clearly going to be a well-loved, huge hit for Wendy Walker...and I'm glad.

3.5 stars

Available September 15th in the United States.

**A huge thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

This is the first book by Wendy Walker I have read but I will be reading more of her books. She knows how to get into the heads of her readers by not making things easy to see what is coming next. Thank you for the ride from beginning to end with this book.
This is a book I am going to buy a copy for my daughter in law when it comes out in the fall.

I started reading this book and before long I was so hooked on it and could not wait to find out what happened.
The interaction and connection of all the people in the book was excellent. I could feel what each person was feeling.
The twisting story line kept me glued to the pages. I had to find out why things happened. I thought I could see where things were going but then it twisted a different way.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read ARC and introducing me to a fantastic new author.

BOOK REVIEW: Don’t Look for Me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

This thriller book was so creepy and crazy good. I stayed up way too late reading this one but I couldn’t help myself 🤷🏼‍♀️

Molly Clarke is a devastated mother who accidentally ran over her nine year old child. Her family is torn apart in the wake of this event and Molly is barely hanging on. Years later, on her way home from visiting her son, she runs out of gas on the side of the highway during a hurricane. She never makes it home. Her family is left a note saying she has left, but what really happened to her?

Wendy Walker is such a talented author and writes this story with a nonlinear timeline and cliffhangers at the end of every chapter! This book publishes September 15th and I highly recommend you pick this beauty up!

Don’t Look for Me was a heart thumping ride. It was a real page turner and a book I couldn’t put down.

Having said that, I did find the twists and turns a bit far fetched in places, but it did keep me guessing till the end. I’d like to say I loved this book, however, I’ll just say I liked it. Good suspense, the ability to keep you reading, and surprises you weren’t expecting.

This book drew me in from the first chapter - not only is the protagonist deep and complex, but her family and it’s dynamic adds so much to the story....I don’t want to give anything away, but this is a book you definitely won’t want to put down!

Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker

Thanks to NetGalley for my digital ARC of Wendy Walker’s Don’t Look For Me. I was shook by her novel All Is Not Forgotten and was excited to preview her new book. Right away I was drawn in by Walker’s quick, clipped writing. Her sentences are clear and paragraphs are short, pacing the story and pulling you quickly into the story line. Walker weaves the sweet with the horrible, drawing you deep into the characters goodness and evil. Overall, you won’t be able to shake that creepy feeling, along with the low-grade anxiety of what will be revealed next, all with the backstory of Molly’s original tragedy, from which every sin flows. Mixed in is the complexities of family love and hate, and the King of Emotions, guilt. There are also plenty of clever phrases and wonderful descriptive language which will hold readers who appreciate a fresh turn of phrase. Walker does an excellent job of leaving you with a taste of fear at the end of every chapter, which turns into hope at the beginning of the next one...and so it goes, this steady back and forth until you near the end. There’s a real whammy of a plot twist, and after that you won’t stop reading until you get to the end, and you’ll want to get there as fast as possible!

I’ve read Wendy Walker before and jumped at the chance to read this, but I just could not get into it, despite all the excellent reviews it is getting. The book fell really flat for me, I kept waiting for the story to really capture me and make me invested, but it did not.

Wendy Walkers ‘The Night Before’ was one of my favorite reads and I pushed this new novel to the top of my to-read list. And what a read it is! Just what I expected - twists, turns and really, really unexpected developments. Superb writing and great pacing. I can imagine Walker smiling as she came up with yet another extraordinary scene to keep me glued to the last page and wanting temporary amnesia so i could read it freshly again.

Don’t Look For Me is Wendy Walker’s newest thriller coming out in September and it will take you on a good, twisty ride!!

I think it’s best to go in blind on this one. I’ll reiterate the blurb for you. Molly Clarke’s abandoned car, a note left in a motel room. Did she run away from her family? Did she disappear? What happened to Molly Clarke?

One of my favorite things in a novel is an alternating timeline! This one switches from day one to day fourteen and so forth. I loved it! It worked very well and was written flawlessly. There were a lot of twists in this one. I had my predictions but ended up being wrong and the ending shocked me! One thing I loved is how well one of the characters is written. Honestly, I loved the ‘hero’ of the book because he seemed so genuine, but then he turned out to be the villain. His character was amazing! To make me love someone for most of the book and then hate them towards the end is a sign of a terrific writer!!

Thank you to Wendy Walker, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me an early reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

Definitely a page turner! This story follows the disappearance of Molly, a mother of three who is grieving the loss of one of her children. It alternates narratives between molly and her grown daughter, Nicole. This kept me guessing the whole time. A decent amount of plot holes but good writing and a fun read!

This book was fantastic, my first by Wendy Walker and it won't be my last. I could not put this book down. Don't look for me is a clever book that kept me guessing and I did not figure out the ending!

Molly is a grieving mother who debates walking away and leaving her pain behind. When Molly goes missing her family is left to pick up the pieces and figure out if she truly left to start fresh or something more sinister happened.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me this ARC to read in exchange for my honest review. When this book comes out in September, pick it up and I guarantee you won't put it down until you are done!

This book left me...unsettled at times. I am a huge fan of Wendy Walker’s thrillers, but this one just hit differently. Not in a way that was better or worse; it just sent chills up my spine and made me want to keep the lights on!

Molly Clarke is gone, and after a few days, the case is deemed a “walk away,” with Molly abandoning her family after a tragedy that tears them away from one another.

Until, Molly’s daughter Nicole gets a tip that brings her back to the last place Molly was seen. Flawed but relentless, Nic takes up the search for her mother.

Told from Molly and Nic’s narratives, the back and forth is what kept this story going for me. I was unsettled and deeply curious and found myself tearing through the thriller in under a day. While not my favorite Wendy Walker, it’s worth the read!

What an exciting book! When Molly goes missing, her daughter Nic knows she did not just walk away despite the tragedy she had faced. While Nic is on her journey to find her mother, we are left wondering just what will happen next!

Molly lost her youngest child, Annie, to an unimaginable accident. On the 5 year anniversary of Annie’s death Molly disappears in a small town on the way home from her son’s college football game. Nicole, Molly’s oldest child, returns to the small town searching for answers to her mother’s disappearance.
I loved this book. The author did an amazing job writing about everyone’s grief and guilt and the strength of a mother’s love. I was glued to the book and was disappointed when it was over.

The car abandoned miles from home.
The note found at a nearby hotel.
The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.
They called it a “walk away.”
It happens all the time.
Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.
But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

This is not a book you just pick up and casually scan through. There are little tidbits threaded throughout this book that you will miss if you are not paying attention. The reader cannot help but empathize with Molly and Nicole, even while not completely understanding their emotional states and personal issues. Alice is a complex and disturbing little girl whose troubling personality can't be totally explained by her circumstance(s).

All in all an intriguing read, even though parts of it might be somewhat far-fetched.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

I have just finished reading Don't Look for Me, by Author Wendy Walker from St. Martin's Press

I have not read anything from this Author before, and must say I did enjoy her style of writing. A Thriller that is easy to get into, and had me engaged the entire time.

A story of a woman who goes missing,while under a great deal of turmoil in her life. Has she just disappeared to get away, or perhaps she has been taken?

A really good storyline right through to the last page!

Thanks to NetGalley, Author Wendy Walker and St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy to review

#NetGalley

4.5 Stars!

Protagonist Molly Clarke is the most sympathetic character I have read about in a long time. She has lost everything, through no fault of her own, and her pain is palpable throughout the book. It made me angry that her family mistreated her so badly, and I wouldn't have blamed her for wanting to walk away. I found myself rooting for Molly page after page.

A less sympathetic second protagonist, daughter Nicole Clarke, grew on me as I read the book. The author, Wendy Walker, described Nic's attempts to ease her guilt and pain through high-risk behavior as a way to "fill the hollow places" inside. I thought that was a brilliant analysis. As the story continued, and I came to understand her, I found myself rooting for Nic too.

The secrets to the mystery were well kept and the red herrings were all plausible and well done. This book is an exciting read that I would have given 5 stars except that the big reveal felt a bit anticlimactic. The ending didn't clearly explain the motive behind the mystery, and that left me somewhat unsettled. Still, I'm glad I read the book and will recommend it to others.

Don't Look For Me is exceptionally well-written, fast paced, and highly entertaining. I plan to read the author's backlist titles and will look for future books. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for offering an ARC of this book for an honest review.