Cassie returns to Yosemite Search and Rescue - a job she did ten years ago, and did her best to leave behind. We learn quickly that she’s come back to this role to get away from a very different life in New York City.

I really enjoyed how this thriller continued to reveal itself, with a dual timeline and pieces of mixed media including journal entries, YouTube transcripts, and Instagram posts. The other perspectives provided an interesting commentary about the cases the media pays attention to and how the internet/social media can further influence what the media broadcasts.

I was intrigued by Cassie’s life, what she disclosed to others, and why she chose to come back to the park. I wanted there to be more character development for the other SAR workers, and hear more about their work in the park.

This suspenseful novel was a page-turner for me. Whenever I thought I’d put it down, a new piece of information was shared and I had to keep reading. A solid 3.5 that I’ve rounded up to a 4.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie is a highly recommended slow burning thriller set in Yosemite National Park.

Cassie Peters is escaping her husband and returning to a job she previously held ten years earlier when she lived in her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. She has it all planned. After dumping her phone and purchasing a burner phone, she heads off to her summer job working with Yosemite Search and Rescue. A case that occurred 10 years ago was the impetus for her leaving and this case still haunts her.

Also in the area is Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with Sandy, her much older partner. She writes in a journal daily observations about life around her. Also in the park are social media influencers and recent college graduates, Jada and her boyfriend Jim, who are documenting their trip to Yosemite on Instagram. Then, when a crisis occurs and hikers go missing, tensions run high and all hands are needed in the search and rescue team.

The narrative is slow to build but sets perfectly into place the final twist. Chapters alternate between noted "now" and "then" chapters, as well as journal entries and Instagram posts. Readers who enjoy novels from several unique points of view expressed in different ways will appreciate the format of Have You Seen Her. Some readers will need to take extra care to follow the layout of the novel, but most should easily follow the setup.

Clearly, the tension builds as you know something awful is going to happen right from the start of the novel. Character development is slowly established and similarities between characters are established. The women in the novel are fully established personalities that resemble real people. Although there are several surprises in store for readers that involve the character's personalities.

Those who love twists, a narrative told in a differing structure, and strong female leads will appreciate and hopefully enjoy Have You Seen Her for a great summer read.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

Catherine McKenzie returns following Please Join Us with her 14th novel, HAVE YOU SEEN HER —A thrilling and timely novel about three women with dark secrets whose lives intersect in the picturesque and perilous Yosemite National Park.

Cassie Peters (main character) has left her hectic and secretive life in NYC for her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California, to work for Yosemite Search and Rescue. A case she worked on a decade ago continues to haunt her. She is running from her husband. No matter how often she changes her name, will she be found?

Two other young women's paths intersect:
Petal: lives in a trailer with diary entries of the park, revealing her marital status to an older dangerous woman, Sandy (controlling). Jada: a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, Jim in an airstream documenting their journey on Instagram, but is their relationship as perfect as their IG posts?

Is there a dark side to these relationships? How do these characters connect? Cassie must confront her past to move on.

Told via two timelines, then and now, with Cassie's POV mixed with journal entries, Instagram posts, news articles, and YouTube transcripts.

A young couple goes missing, bringing back haunting memories from the past for Cassie. Things are not as they appear. All of the main characters are running from something.

From the breathtaking atmospheric setting of Yosemite National Park with a cast of well-developed compelling characters, dark secrets, and numerous jaw-dropping twists, McKenzie CAPTIVATES with this fascinating adventure—keeping you guessing to the conclusion. You know darkness lurks, and the author cleverly keeps you hooked in anticipation in this stunning thriller—HAVE YOU SEEN HER.

I enjoyed the metaphors/parallels with the two sides of the picturesque picture-perfect postcard breathtaking setting (beautiful yet dangerous), much like the characters.

Will there be a sequel?

I got the Gabby Petito/Brian Laundrie vibe giving you that true-crime feel. For fans of Joyce Maynard's The Influencers and Rick Mofina's Everything She Feared.

Thank you to Atria Books for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: June 27, 2023
June 2023 Must-Read Books

This was a past paced and twisty thriller, with a wonderful backdrop of the national parks. I really enjoyed the main character here, and also didn’t see the twists coming!

I tried to like this one. I really did. I could not get interested at all. If I hadn’t been granted this as an ARC I would’ve DNF, but I kept going to give a fair review. I didn’t care about any of the characters. The story bounced around a lot. It just wasn’t for me at all.
I just reviewed Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie. #NetGalley

A great summer thriller! I loved the setting and the search and rescue aspect. I liked the different timelines and the social media posts as well.

Catherine McKenzie manages to keep me on the edge of my seat once again! Taking me out into a national park with a main protagonist who seems to be running from her problems. Add to that a story that goes between the "then" and the "now" and all kinds of missing people and I am a goner.

Have You Seen Her just had this great suspense thriller vibe, well-developed characters, and a fairly realistic motive( can I write that?🤔🤣). The greatest thing about a C.M. novel is that even when I feel like her novel is a "limited series", as a reader her characters always make me think "potential season 2 option."


Expected Publication Date 27/06/23
Goodreads Review 25/06/23

* Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.*

A entertaining summer thriller that’ll make you wary of stepping into a national park in the near future.

Missing hikers and abusive men are the primary focus in this thriller that takes place in the gorgeous Yosemite National park. This thriller has all the elements of the Gabi Petito case that was making the headlines two years ago with some crazy twists along the way. The characters were engaging and since the book was written in dual timelines, had me NEEDING to know what happens next. It’s a bit of a slow start but the action really ramps up near the end that is totally worth it to stick around for.

Things to look forward to:
-separate then and now timelines
-mixed media (diary entries, social media posts, newspaper clippings, video transcripts)
-descriptions of Yosemite that’ll make you want to visit
-descriptions of Yosemite that’ll make you scared to visit 😆
-a twisty thriller with an ending you didn’t see coming
-Smokey the bear

I received a digital ARC from Atria Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was drawn into this novel from the first sentence. I could not stop thinking about the characters when I was not reading. The way this novel is written is genius. All of it comes together in a way I did not expect.

"Have You Seen Her" by Catherine McKenzie is a thrilling rollercoaster set in the breathtaking backdrop of Yosemite. Cassie's escape from her abusive husband leads her back to her former role in the park's search-and-rescue team. As she dives into her new life, strange disappearances draw her attention, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a past case she once handled. Unbeknownst to everyone, Cassie carries her own hidden secrets.

I absolutely loved this book! The national park setting provided a refreshing and captivating backdrop, immersing me in the world of a search-and-rescue team. Exploring the day-to-day experiences of these dedicated individuals was a fascinating aspect of the story. Admittedly, the dual timeline initially posed a challenge, but as the plot progressed, it seamlessly came together.

For outdoor enthusiasts and thriller lovers alike, "Have You Seen Her" is a must-read. Its blend of nature's wonders and gripping suspense creates an enthralling and satisfying reading experience.

Overall I'd give this book 3 ⭐ but I'm giving an extra because I had NO IDEA where this book was going .. then I thought I did & NOPE . Until the last page there's little twisties thrown in so I gotta bump the ⭐ rating because I love when a book surprises me. Also Im born & raised in California & absolutely loved that this book was set around Yosemite. Truly one of the most beautiful, breath taking places .

Now that I feel like climbing a mountain I'm going to go watch vertical limit ✌️

Thank u again to #Netgalley for another great read . ❤️ The #arcs .

Have You Seen Her? is one of my favourite thriller reads this year!

It is about a young woman who flees her old life to start afresh doing search and rescue in Yosemite National Park. Her life becomes intertwined with two other women hiking in the park and just what is happening when people start going missing?

The story started off intense and alternated between “then” and “now” timelines, which was very easy to follow. The characters were nuanced and interesting and I enjoyed how the story was told via narrative text, Instagram posts, diary entries, and news articles. The writing was easy to read and the pacing was good. There was a great, unexpected twist which led to a an exciting ending. Very well plotted and clever. I think this is Catherine McKenzie’s best novel to date.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Great summer read by Catherine McKenzie. I enjoyed the multiple POVs. Lots of twists and tension. Filled with well developed characters. Some I liked and some that made me want to slap them!
Thank you Catherine McKenzie, NetGalley and AtriaBooks for the opportunity to read and review this book

I DNFed this one unfortunately. I only got about 20% of the way in and I was so bored. I did not connect with the characters and I did not like the layout (at least on my kindle).

I’m sure others will enjoy this book but it was too slow for me and I could not get in to it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

On the run from her past, Cassie has left her life in New York to begin a job as a search and rescue worker at Yosemite National Park. She had previously worked there ten years ago. Now, as Hikers start to go missing, Cassie is reminded of a case she work on from a decade ago, when Hikers start to go missing again. Cassie works with both old and new alliances to try to find the missing hikers, while keeping her own past hidden. But she may not be the only one with secrets to hide.

Cassie’s POV alternates from the past and the present, but I found it easy to follow. The National Park setting was very atmospheric, and I felt the Park become its own character. I enjoyed reading about and learning what a SAR team does on a daily basis. This is a great read for anyone who loves the outdoors and a good thriller!

I had the honor of reading this ARC thanks to Netgalley, the Author, Catherine McKenzie, and the Publisher Atria Books.


Pub Day for Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie is on June 27th, 2023

Have You Seen Her is an atmospheric, twisty, character driven thriller that delivers an impressive reveal. The three women at the heart of the story are distinct and fully fleshed out, and I loved the way the timelines wove together as we learned how two deaths years apart are related to one another. If you loved the atmosphere of Where The Crawdads Sing, but with a modern string of violence to solve, add this one to your list!

Believe it or not, Have You Seen Her is the first of Catherine McKenzie's books I've read. When I read the blurb for it, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. A thriller about complex women set in Yosemite National Park, a place as lethal as it is breathtakingly beautiful? That checks alllll the boxes for me.

The plot focuses on three women whose lives intersect in Yosemite. Cassie has fled her life in NYC to lay low and work as a Search and Rescue (SAR) officer for the summer. Jada and her boyfriend Jim have arrived at the park after a cross-country adventure in their Airstream, documented in Instagram posts. And Petal and her much older girlfriend, Sandy, have settled in a trailer at the park after living itinerant lives for the past two years. All of the women have secrets, and when someone goes missing, those secrets come to light with shocking and far-reaching consequences.

Have You Seen Her is an immersive and atmospheric thriller, bringing Yosemite's landmarks and environs completely to life. McKenzie puts us on the ground with the SAR team, and it was fascinating to read about their rescue operations. I loved the mixed media aspect of the story, which incorporates journal entries, news articles, and Instagram and YouTube transcripts (although I wish it would've included actual photos -- maybe the final copy will). The characters are interesting, but not as fully developed as they could have been.

The romance subplot felt entirely unnecessary, and the characters involved didn't have any chemistry whatsoever. I also felt that some of the dialogue rang false, and although the twist at the end wowed me, I do feel like some things were sacrificed earlier in the narrative to make it work (I won't be specific to avoid spoilers). But I always love discovering a new author with a lengthy backlist, and there was enough in Have You Seen Her to make me intrigued about McKenzie's earlier books. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

This seemed like a really thrilling ride from the get go. But it disappointed me because it just fell flat. I wanted to like this book so much because the summary was very intriguing but I just didn't.

I loved the setting of this book! The vivid descriptions of California and Yosemite brought it to life. Having a group of girls at the center of this thriller was even more unique. Typically thrillers are driven by a single main character, but Petal and Jada really make the story shine. Highly recommend!

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
I love the author’s previous books so I was so excited to read this one. This book is definitely slow paced and seems to drag on. I thought that the premise sounded really good with a woman who is on the run from her past, and missing hikers, unfortunately for me the ending was a letdown and left me feeling underwhelmed. I was wanting more! I did enjoy the two alternating timelines, the journal entries, hidden secrets, built up tension, and the true crime vibe. This one started off with a bang, but then it dragged on, and the conclusion left me wanting more. Overall, it was OKAY, but nothing that blew me away. However, I will definitely continue to read future books by Mckenzie!


𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞?
I think that this one will be a hit or miss. If you enjoy reading slow burn atmospheric thrillers then give this one a try!

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫3.5/5


Thank you to Atria books and Netgalley for my #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!