On a routine visit to the business employing someone possibly involved with a missing persons case she's working on, Detective Theodora "Theo" Madsen is gravely injured and put out of commission for weeks. Meanwhile, the missing persons case goes cold, and Theo is frustrated with her damaged body, guilty about the grief of the girl's mother, and worried about her own fast approaching motherhood with her wife's nearing delivery date. Then, another girl goes missing, and this case bears a striking resemblance to the previous case, down to the girls' family lives and possible reasons for the disappearances. There is a complication, however: the second girl has lupus, and needs her drugs to maintain her somewhat fragile health, so it's imperative to locate her and the other girl.

At the same time, we see the situation of the second missing girl, Annabelle, both before and after she disappears, and come to understand her reasons for her actions, and how she ended up where she did.

I’ve never read anything by this author before, but I’m now interested in reading other mysteries she's written because I enjoyed this book. The pacing was good, and Theo and Annabelle were well characterized.

Annabelle elicited my sympathy, and despite her family and health difficulties, proved herself to be tough.

I could empathize with Theo as she worried about how her life would change with a baby, and her fears and ambivalence about becoming a mother. She’s a cop who’s given a lot of herself to her job, and fears she won’t be able to commit to a child. She also sees the missing girls' mothers' lives ripped to shreds through their fear and grief; Theo can’t help wondering how she’d handle that. Also, with her no longer totally strong body, she’s afraid she won’t be able to do her job, much less keep up with her wife and soon-to-be child. I would love to see Detective Theo Madsen tackle another case.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for this ARC in exchange for my review.

A fun women loving women thriller, which I am here for! Loved the whole thing from start to finish.

Full disclosure, I would read literally anything with lesbians in it - and the bar gets even lower when there’s also murder involved. I had high hopes for this book but also would’ve finished it regardless of how good it was, just because it happened to hit those two criteria.

That being said, this book was FANTASTIC - hooked from the beginning, couldn’t put it down fantastic. I loved the storyline of the missing girls and found it both compelling and super disturbing. Even with the switching POVs between Theo and Annabelle, which at first I was worried would give away too much about what happened to the missing girls before the end, I was invested in every chapter couldn’t stop reading until I got to the end.

The only part of this story I didn’t feel connected to was the subplot of Theo and Bree’s relationship, and Theo’s journey to parenthood. I wasn’t able to connect strongly with their struggles and found some of the side developments to be distracting from the main story.

All in all though, this was an awesome read! A solid 4-star book that I’d definitely recommend.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley

A tense, nail-biting suspense.

In Whereabouts Unknown we follow detective Theo trying to solve a mysterious case of a missing girl, that turns out to be much bigger than she at first imagined.

The prologue sets the tone for the rest of the book. Right off the bat, we have this chilling opening scene with gore elements that is a make it or break it if you want to keep reading. I couldn't stop.

We learn what is happening through two POVs: the detective's and the victim's. This was a very interesting experience, especially because the victim's timeline is not chronological. For me, that added to the mystery, not knowing exactly where/when we are.

The downside for me was the romance. It didn't feel like added much to the story. The struggles that she deals with in her personal life doesn't really translate into a big character development in the end.

Overall a fast paced thriller that will keep you up trying to figure out what is going to happen next!

*An arc was provided to me by BSB via netgalley in exchange for a review*

What an interesting story. I was hooked from page one. It’s a thriller and crime novel that will grip you through the last page.

This was an intriguing, complex story exploring various elements such as mystery, family life and trauma. I struggled to follow the story at points as there was a lot going on and it was difficult to keep track. I loved Theo and how complex and interesting she was. However, the other characters fell flat for me and I struggled to imagine them as much as I would have liked. Overall, I loved the case and Theo’s complexity and realness. Some parts just weren't for me, unfortunately, as it was too much of a struggle to keep track of what was going on. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for a chance to read and review this book.

I read Whereabouts Unknown for fun, not as a teacher. I found it to be engaging. The mystery kept me guessing!

This one is a mixed bag...I feel like I missed a book exploring Bree and Theo that would have elevated their back story and made me a little more invested in their lives. Overall the writing is solid, even if parts of the book are somewhat disjointed. I enjoyed the criminal aspect of the story, but the characters feel kind of flat for me so it wasn't as good as it possibly could have been.

Really good lesbian crime novel tackling the scary subject of a militia group in the US who are exploiting young women. Loved this book, lots of plot and action which starts straight away, strong relationship between Theo the detective and her partner Bree who is pregnant with their first child. Good working relationships with Theo and her colleagues and a gripping story of Annabelle a young girl trapped in a shipping container, her narrative is woven with Theo's.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meredith Doench’s WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN drips with dread from the first page and doesn’t let up until the last painful twist. Switching between the POVs of Detective Theo with all of her apprehensions about having a baby with her partner and Annabelle, a teen girl trapped in a horrific situation possibly tied to another missing girl, Doench does an excellent job keeping readers on edge while building characters with emotional depth. Although this book is listed as a standalone, I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Detective Theo again.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy.

Brilliant! One of my favourite books I've read of 2022. Whereabouts unknown is a faced paced crime/ mystery story. Keeps you on your toes and is definitely a page-turner!

I've given whereabouts unknown 5/5. Can't wait to read more of Meredith Doenchs books.

There is a cult called the New Nation which is abducting pregnant females. Theo us a detective on the case and is getting nowhere. Thye plot revolves around solving the case of the missing women. There are many twists and turns t6o this wst6iry and makes for good reading. I recommend this book fo0r action and thriller readers.
I just reviewed Whereabouts Unknown by Meredith Doench. #WhereaboutsUnknown #NetGalley

Really good mystery/thriller. This is a genre I don't read very often, but I'm glad that I read this book. This book was gripping from start to finish. The first chapter snagged my attention, and didn't let go until the end. The characters were really developed well and you could just feel the terror and despair from what was happening to each person throughout this book. The police perspective seemed spot on to me, and the the villain was such a surprise that it shocked me a bit. This is the first-time I have read anything from this author, but I can honestly say it won't be the last time. I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends and family, and I look forward to what this author writes next.

I am entertained by mysteries. I thought the read was interesting and held my attention. Detective Theodora Madsen works for the Dayton Police Department. She is in a relationship and they are expecting a child. Bree is an understanding partner. Theo is a talented and dedicated detective. She is also worried about being a parent, a good parent. The different points of view made for an interesting read. While waiting for their child, Theo is trying to solve a kidnapping/mystery which is causing her all sought of trouble including getting injured. I also appreciated how police procedures were presented and the challenges of solving crimes.

This book was ambitious. We've got two POV characters, three timelines, at least two missing persons with cases being worked simultaneously in two different cities, and a fairly large cast of assembled and sometimes sordid characters. There was a lot happening, and yet I think this author possessed the skill to pull it off.

There were two things here that struck me the most:

(1) Theo starts the book feeling totally disconnected from the idea of being a parent to the baby her partner is carrying. And it's through working the case that she comes to terms with the reality of impending parenthood. Working with the mothers of these missing teens, seeing the uncertainty they face, forces Theo to confront the uncertainty she feels around starting a family. There's a parallel there that I think was very well done.

(2) I am a queer person who loves to see queer rep like this where being queer is normalized. Theo's identity is not a titillating plot point, but rather, a facet of the makeup of her character. Her queerness is woven into the fabric of the story so that it's part of the story without becoming the point of the story. She is casually queer and out there fighting crime like any other detective. I valued that.

This book is not my usual thing but it certainly sucked me in and didn't let me go until the dramatic conclusion when everything came together. Highly recommend!

I like police procedurals/thrillers/mysteries, & this is a new author to me.....& I liked it! It follows an Ohio police detective injured in the line of work....how it affects the current cases & her relationships with her coworkers, & her life at home with her partner who happens to be expecting a baby very soon. It's a pretty quick read with a lot going on, I like that........but a couple of times I found myself kind of wondering how we got to a certain point, I wondered if I'd missed something that I should have gotten earlier? It didn't stop me though, or overly hinder my review.....it just made me do some wondering? I did like the Ohio setting & will watch for more from M.Doench. I thought she put together a pretty good story.
I received this e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a very well written thriller. But very dark and grime. Strangely I found myself not being very sympathetic to the young woman victim. She seemed overly naive.
I was a bit annoyed with the format of going back and forth in time. Just when a scene was getting interesting the story would flip to another situation.
What I really enjoyed was Theo, the lead detective. She is definitely not perfect and including her disability that hindered her ability to function fully in her job, including her frustration, was creative and refreshing. I enjoyed Theo and Bree's personal struggles and I would have liked a little more romance and a little less darkness. I kept thinking "why were the villains so mean. They had the victims corroperation when they treated her nice.
If you like dark thrillers with imperfect main characters, this book is for you.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Theo Madsen was one of the best homicide detectives working with the Dayton Police Department and she loved her job. She’s been lucky so far but when checking out a suspect's alibi she along with her partner Cody were under attack, leaving one person dead and Theo seriously hurt.
This wasn’t just any case, this was a search trying to find what happened to a young teen, Grace. Now they finally had a somewhat questionable suspect but before they could look into the case another teen, Annabelle, had also disappeared without a trace.
Now home trying to get herself back in shape she’s still kept in the loop by her fellow police officers. On top of everything else Theo’s girlfriend, Bree is pregnant with their baby. But for now it seems the only thing Theo can think about is where the teens are and how to find them. That’s if either girl is still alive.
Ms Doench has written one of those books that is full of twists and turns, with characters that you can’t help liking. A wonderful mystery. Very nice read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books.

I thought the book was a well written mystery and suspense, The characters were well developed. I enjoyed the story and thought the author did a great job. I recommend 4 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thriller meets romance meets…confusion in this novel by Meredith Doench.

The book started off strong. The dual perspective of a girl trapped in a storage container and the investigator on the hunt to find her was interesting. But that was the most interesting thing about it. There was minimal character development, a lack of relationship dynamics and growth, and just an overall lack of depth in the writing.

Was it entertaining? Certainly. But would I recommend it at the top of my list? No. It felt rushed but drawn out at the same time. It was predictable. It lacked that intensity that so many thrillers provide. It left me wanting more and at times the timeline was jumbled and hard to follow.