Lisa's FIRST standalone in decades?? WOW! What a fun story this was. It's clearly a Gardner book, yet it is still fresh. I really enjoyed the main character. Gardner spent lots of time on development of this character, which was appreciated. I thought the story was unique and definitely in-keeping with current times. Fast-paced, yet detail-oriented in the best way. Go Lisa Gardner!

This is a new stand-alone book for Gardner!! Even though, after meeting Frankie, I doubt this will be a stand-alone for long! This book was inspired by a woman named Lissa Yellowbird-Chase who is a civilian who searches for missing persons for a living. I loved the premise of this book but it was a little too slow paced for me.

Frankie was a lovable character but I wish the Paul stuff was more laid out. I still have no idea about the true inner workings of their relationship so I wish that would have been laid out a bit more.
The story of the missing persons was interesting and I love Gardners writing but I feel like there was a lot of fluff. Most time I was reading I would be desperate to skip ahead to the next part of the story. I did find the Detective Lotham to be an addicting character. For fans of Gardner, people said they saw a lot of DD in Frankie but I see a lot of DD in Lotham! Overall, I am a huge Gardner fan, so I definitely recommend this. But I think comparing this to “Find Her” I wasn’t on the edge of my seat.

Lisa Gardner is an auto-buy author for me and I love her DD Warren books. This stand alone was different but still enjoyable. However I didnt connect with Frankie or her limited back story. I didnt feel like all the pieces quite fit and the "twists" werent very...twisty. However, a good mystery and I'll keep reading everything Lisa puts out!

This novel may be a standalone, but I would definitely be okay seeing this character again in a series. Frankie is a middle-aged, recovering alcoholic who just so happens to be really good at getting people to talk and open up about secrets. Which comes in handy when you're searching for missing people. Flawed and gritty, Frankie is a fighter with intuition, a lot of guts, and a painful past. This was a really intriguing character with some fun dialogue.

Per Gardner's usual, this book is full of suspense and twists. While the beginning of this story felt slower, I appreciated how the pacing built throughout. The writing was descriptive, the plot unique, and I enjoyed puzzling out the truth behind Angelique's disappearance along with the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance read!

I read everything Lisa Gardner writes and I was excited to see a new character introduced, and I loved her! She felt like a little bit of a female Jack Reacher. I hope we see more of her in upcoming books!!

Wow! Lisa Gardner knocks it out again! This was another 5 star book! I loved being taken into another suspenseful thriller from page one to the very end. Lisa Gardner never ever disappoints. When two local teens go missing enter Frankie who isn’t a cop but is set on finding missing ppl. Yet Frankie is also fighting her own demons too. With so many twists and turns you will be wondering how it ends! Thanks to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review all opinions are my own.

I was so thrilled to get an advance copy of @lisagardnerbks latest from @netgalley and @duttonbooks - and you guys are in for such a treat for this thriller that comes out January 19! I'm a long-time fan of this author, and this is her first standalone thriller in 20 years - and it was SO GOOD. 👏

In this book, Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman, a recovering alcoholic with a lot of past hurt and regret - which is why she dedicates her life to one thing: searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for.

Her latest missing person brings her to Mattapan - a rough spot outside of Boston - and she needs to find the teen Angelique Badeau before it's too late.

Frankie isn't a cop and she doesn't have rules -making her such a great (and layered) main character. I loved Frankie, and I loved this book - and I hope Frankie gets her own series! 🙏

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3.5 Stars
Although Ms. Gardner has written over twenty novels and this is #15 for me; most of my reads have been DD. Warren. In fact, her last standalone was "The Other Daughter" back in 1999! Perhaps this isn’t a standalone and will be a series..

Frankie Elkin is a recovering alcoholic and her life is a mess she has no money and no job and she is trying to escaping from her life. For the past decade she has being on a one woman crusade to find missing children, No one has asked for her help, in fact she isn’t welcomed. Since she started this crusade she has found fourteen people; however, so far none alive.

At first, it was difficult reading and understanding Frankie; she has no training or even any special investigative skills.
Love Angelique’s little brother Emmanuel and the code were great. I liked the ending.

I always enjoy reading the Author’s note and Acknowledgements at the end of the book. To me it is an inside scoop into the story ~ a story about the story!
Lisa Gardner states she got this idea from a BBC article on AN everyday person named Lissa Yellowbird-Chase who made a difference by working missing person’s cold cases. (SO there goes my thought that Frankie’s story wasn’t realistic!) Additionally there is a real Piper, a rescue cat who now enjoys a pampered life!
I also appreciate all the research that went into working with the police departments on what really goes on in streets of Boston as well as the steps taken to get fake ID. She points out that she took liberties in entertaining her readers as well providing instructions on future forgers!

Want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group ~ Dutton for the early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 19, 2021

I love Lisa Gardner! She does not disappoint ever. I enjoyed Before She Disappeared. The story was captivating and riveting. Thank you for this amazing opportunity to read and review Lisa Gardner's newest book.

Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman, a recovering alcoholic with more regrets than belongings. But she spends her life doing what no one else will--searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.

A new case brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier. Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim's wary family tells Frankie she's on her own--and she soon learns she's asking questions someone doesn't want answered. But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing could be her.

I've been a Lisa Gardner fan forever, and was excited to read this new thriller. Gardner never disappoints: Before She Disappeared will keep readers guessing right up to the last scene. Highly recommended.

Years ago, I stumbled upon Lisa Gardner’s D.D. Warren series and read book five without reading the rest. When I found out it was a series, I immediately went back and read them all from book one on. It became my very favorite series and I recommend it to people all the time.

Naturally, when I saw that Gardner had a new, stand-alone book, I requested it as fast as I could.

In Before She Disappeared, Frankie, who has no police training, no formal education, and no roots, but does have plenty of flaws and an addiction, makes it her life’s work to find missing girls.

I was enthralled in this story from page one. It is so unique and real! I loved the story, the setting, the characters, the twists, and FRANKIE! I never wanted to put this book down.

I am crossing all of my fingers and toes that this is only the beginning of Frankie. It would be my new favorite series if we get to see more of her!! Four and a half stars from me!

Before She Disappeared is fast paced with several twists that keep you reading. Lisa Gardner gives the reader a new kind of heroine who keeps you waiting for her next move.

This book will capture your heart for those who have a missing person in their family and the love returned from strangers who give of their time to reunite families. The world is full of evil people preying on our young ones. I found it disturbing but unable to hide the fact it is real.
I was fascinated by the author’s descriptive details, style and the clue trail to locate a missing person.
This is a good read that you will not be disappointed. Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first read by Lisa Gardner and I was so excited to get the chance to read this one.
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Frankie is a single woman with a trouble past. She is also a recovering alcoholic who has a unique occupation. Frankie acts as a private investigator to find missing persons long after the police give up and the case goes cold. The most recent missing girl is named Angelique and one day she left school and was never seen again.
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Frankie has to battle her demons and a difficult environment to look for clues and try to locate Angelique. She ends up working closely with a police officer, Detective Lotham and enlists the help of Angeliques family and a man named Charlie that she met at an AA meeting. The case keeps throwing up many roadblocks and it feels like Frankie will never solve the case in this amazing thriller.
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I thought this was a solid thriller and I loved so many aspects of it. Firstly, Frankie was an really great character. She is a fierce badass that isn’t afraid of anyone and does things her way even if they get her into sticky situations. I also thought the story kept me guessing as to what happened to Angelique and I never guessed who was responsible. I would highly recommend this one to all thriller loves and I cannot wait to read another Lisa Gardner book again soon.

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner is a fantastic read. The story begins with a new girl in town by the name of Frankie Elkin. Frankie describes herself as “an alcoholic, an ex-lover and a lost soul.” Oh, but she’s so much more! Frankie is driven to cold cases that have stalled and are going nowhere. She finds her way to the victim’s family’s and with a keen awareness and common sense she starts putting together facts that the police might have missed or overlooked. Delving into a case of a missing teen who seems to have vanished into thin air throws Frankie into a part of town that is not only dangerous, but where she is totally unwanted. This is a fast read, and I was totally engrossed with the story line. I hope to see more of Frankie in the future works of Lisa Gardner. I Am A Fan! Thank You to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton and to the Author Lisa Gardner for the advanced digital copy of this great book, in return for an honest review.

Before She Disappeared is the new stand-alone novel from Lisa Gardner.

"Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman who is also a recovering alcoholic. Her mission now is to find the missing people - the ones whose cases have grown so cold that no one is looking anymore. She thinks that by asking some questions she might shake something loose. And so far she's found 14 people that no one else could find.
Frankie heads to the Mattapan neighborhood in Boston - a neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is looking for Angelique Badeau - a girl with big dreams who disappeared from school one day and never came back. But there are people that don't want her asking questions and Frankie finds herself threatened - but she will never stop searching for the truth."

Frankie is a new character from Gardner - damaged and full of flaws. But you have to admire her grit and determination to find these people. The story is fast-paced and you will find yourself flying through the pages. There is a lot of info about addiction and alcoholism here. There is a big leap in logic to the reason behind Angelique's disappearance - seemed a bit forced but doesn't take a way from the story. And there are some current events that drive the bad guys.

Gardner fans should enjoy this new book. Supense/thriller should enjoy it also. Another great, entertaining read from Gardner.

Thank you Net Galley.

Lisa Gardner has done it again! It has been a couple of years since I had read one of her novels and I had forgotten how engaging her books are. From the beginning, her descriptive writing style drew me in.
Many of the characters were not completely believable but this is what fiction is about.

I do plan on adding this to our collection for patrons that prefer fast paced thrillers.

Frankie Elkins makes her first appearance in Lisa Gardner's pantheon of strong, tough women fighting for justice in Boston's sometimes gritty and gang-ridden neighborhoods, in and out of uniform, with and without police shields or cooperation.. But if this crackling, strongly plotted stand-alone gets the reception from the author's fans it surely will and winds her new ones, she won't be c standing alone for long, and I already can't wait for the sequel.
Frankie' s backstory is only lightly sketched in, but as a recovering alcoholic,, she seems bent on making amends to and on behalf of missing girls in whatever city she finds herself in. She knows how to make a place for herself almost anywhere; there's always a bar that needs a skilled tender, and people willing to talk to a good listener. Frankie's skills in both get her a job and a rented room over a bar in Mattapan, where she's on the hunt for a teenage girl who vanished from her school, neighborhood and friends and family without leaving a trace.. The people who might be able to help Frankie find her aren't cooperating, and the police make it clear that an unlicensed, unknown investigator isn't welcome to whatever information they might have.. In fact, they're not even certain that the teenager is either missing or in danger.. By the time Frankie turns up enogh evidence to convince them it's almost too late, but by then she's won the grudging admiration as well as the heart of the tough but tender cop who ought to get second billing in the seque. Both of them have histories yet unwritten, but both are characters worth meeting again.
This is a taut, well l written, engaging read, sure to hit the best-seller list.

I was so excited to read this ARC because I'm a big fan of Lisa Gardner's DD Warren series, and this is her first stand alone novel in 20 years! I thought Frankie and Lotham were both great characters, and the story was both interesting and exciting. It really came together in a surprising way. I thought the ending really fit the character. I loved this book and already can't wait for more from Lisa Gardner

When I first started to read I thought the pace of the story was slow and dragged a bit. I’m happy to say it picked up about half way through. I hope we see more of Frankie in the future. A little slow or not, I recommend good story.