4.5/5

This book was really good!
It goes between two different timelines, a journal entry, and Instagram posts. The twists were great!
The ending was so good. A little expected but still so stinking good. Cassie, Jada, and Petal are quite the characters.

Cassie is coming back to her old life working for Yosemite's Search & Rescue. She left 10 years ago after a tragic discovery, and started a new, better life. Or so she thought. Now she is escaping that life and an abusive husband. At the same time, Jada and her boyfriend Jim are traveling across the country and make their way to Yosemite. And Sandy and Petal have also stopped to set up camp. Cassie, Jada and Petal all have secrets. Then one of them goes missing.

This is a book of secrets and unreliable narrators. It's hard to know who is telling the truth, or even half-truths. There are a lot of twists that increase the suspense... all the way until the end. I liked the setting; hiking in the wilderness can up the creepiness when people are being stalked.

I thought it was a great psychological thriller that keeps you reading as little bits about the women are revealed. The writing was good, although sometimes the breaks with Petal's diary, Jada's Instagram posts, and news articles could sometimes be distracting. Overall, a very good thriller!

3.5 stars

Well, THAT took a turn. There were a couple different story lines occurring throughout the book and they all had my attention. They all led to the assumption that something was going to happen, it was just a matter of figuring out how it all linked up and came together. I constantly found myself in situations where I felt like I was so close to figuring it out but so far at the same time.
Jada and Jim were impossible for me to not link to Gabby Petitio and Brian Landry with a lot of similarities between the two couples. That alone set this book apart from the typical “thriller” books for me. Not in a bad way either. Just more of a true crime type feel to it. But still being immersed in the storyline, creating a different reading experience for me. I loved the concept of it taking place in Yosemite, definately set the tone for the book, feeling both picturesque and mysterious.

This book has me wanting to dive into Catherine McKenzie’s catalogue.

TW: spousal abuse, controlling relationship

Release Date: June 27, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have You Seen Her follows a woman on the run from her past set against the backdrop of Yosemite National Park.

Cassie is running from her old life in New York City, equipped with a burner phone and a new job at Yosemite National Park. After ten years, she’s rejoining the Search and Rescue team. She becomes friendly with a group of seasonal workers and summer vacationers. But Cassie is not the only one running from her past. And the past will eventually catch up with them.

This atmospheric thriller has two timelines. It includes a mix of Cassie’s pov along with journal entries, Instagram posts, and YouTube transcripts.

This thriller is nicely paced, with compelling characters set against the vivid landscape of Yosemite. I’ve never been to Yosemite, but the author made me feel like I was there.

I was invested in this story right from the beginning. But the ending slightly fell apart for me. The final reveal was a bit of a letdown.

But other than that, this would be a great book to add to your summer tbr.

3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Cassie Peters has left her life in New York to become a search and rescue worker at Yosemite National Park - a job that she had years ago and involved her working on a case that still haunts her to this day. She quickly falls into old patterns and meets Petal the journalist and Jada the Instagram guru. When these three women cross paths, Cassie’s past catches up with her and there is no turning back.

This book was fast paced, unpredictable, and full of unstable, secretive, and dangerous characters. It was gripping and full of hidden agendas and jaw-dropping twists that you won’t see coming. Yosemite National Park was also brought to life with the atmospheric writing and made for an enjoyable backdrop.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Catherine McKenzie for a #gifted ARC of this book in exchange for our honest reviews.

I really enjoyed this read. Set in Yosemite Park, I could really get all the feels of the surroundings. Cassie is running away from her life and back to what she knows and is good at but also a place that holds secrets and a tragedy. A lot of interesting characters and a good twist towards the end. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Catherine McKenzie’s books just get better and better! I began reading her books several years ago and she’s really come so far. I loved her earlier novels and I recommend you go back and read them, they were so good. But she’s fully embraced suspense and Have You Seen Her is the latest. This is the story of Cassie Peters who returns home from NYC to work on a case from many years ago.

Synopsis:

Equipped with a burner phone and a new job, Cassie Peters has left her hectic and secretive life in New York City for the refuge of her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. There, she begins working again with Yosemite Search and Rescue, where a case she worked on a decade ago continues to haunt her.

She quickly falls into old patterns, joining a group of fellow seasonal workers and young adventurers who have made Yosemite their home during the summer. There, she meets Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with her much older wife, keeping a detailed diary of the goings on of the park, and Jada, a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, documenting their journey on Instagram.

This comes out on June 27.

Catherine McKenzie does it again! The twist and turn at the end was not expected at all!

Cassie is running away from her ex-husband Kevin who has been abusive. She calls her friend Jenny for help and a job as a search and rescue team member again. She meets some interesting people at the park who become intertwined in her story.

I don’t want to give too much away but the story will keep you guessing to the end! I really enjoyed it!

This suspense filled mystery is one that alternates between then and now, interspersed with diary type entries and hashtag postings. It was a new author for me and the story was in no hurry to build the tension thrumming in the background.
Cassie left her entire way of life, her friends and routines in Manhattan. She’s starting over by going back to a familiar place and job. Cassie is keeping lots of secrets and on the run from something or somebody. She will be part of the park’s Search And Rescue (SAR) team for the summer season. She soon befriends fellow rescuer, Ben, but doesn’t share much. Petal and Sandy are staying nearby in an RV with more hidden stories. The past sometimes repeats itself and secrets are hard to keep buried. People can easily become lost, succumb to the harsh elements, sustain injuries or even die, in this massive mountain terrain. Be prepared for the unexpected to happen. I liked the plot concept and the Yosemite park setting was very interesting. The final outcome was a total stunner, not at all what I had predicted. I will watch for more books by this author.
A digital advance reader copy of “Have You Seen Her” by Catherine McKenzie, Atria Books, was provided by NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

If you are not a fan of slow burns this is not for you, if you can handle a slow burn than this book is perfect for you. The build up is sooooo worth it in the end .

"Have You Seen Her?" is Catherine McKenzie's newest thriller. The reader gets to know Cassie Peters but what they think they know is all wrong. Cassie has a plan that will shock readers. Every character in this book plays an important part in her plan but the reader won't realize until the end.

Have You Seen Her will draw you in slowly but then quickly picks up speed that will have you hooked to the end.

Cassie has returned after many years to her job of Search and Rescue . She left under bad circumstances years ago . She is also running and in hiding from her ex husband.

Cassie quickly adapts to her new job and meets up with some interesting characters all with their own story and secrets.

When a couple does not return from a hiking trip the tension mounts.

Catherine McKenzie as she always does throws in twists and turns, red herrings and an ending that will surprise and shock you.

Highly recommend Have You Seen Her and once your start reading you wont want to put the book down

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an adventurous read.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Catherine McKenzie and Atria Publications for the opportunity to read an ARC of HAVE YOU SEEN HER, to be published 27 June 2023. WOW. A summer in Yosemite National Park with multiple POVs and timeframes (then and now) and people going missing left and right. It all boils down to one individual with a plan and commitment. Twists were often and very believable, as were the characters — if you could trust how they presented themselves to the world. 5/5 Stars for this suspenseful psychological thriller. #NetGalley. #CatherineMcKenzie. #AtriaPublications

📚Book Review 📚
Have You Seen Her?
by Catherine McKenzie
Pub Date 6/27/23

Cassie Peters leaves New York City and her abusive husband with only a burner cell phone and her backpack. She takes precautions so that he can’t easily locate her. She has a job lined up in her home town of Mammoth Lakes, California with the Yosemite Search and Rescue where she worked ten years ago.

Ten years ago Cassie and a coworker, Jenny, were involved in a search and rescue that didn’t turn out well. The media attention and trauma is what made Cassie leave the area. But she’s back to, hopefully, conquer her demons and start over with her life.

Petal, a young woman camping with her much older girlfriend, writes and documents everything in her journal. She’s been abused in the past by her father and seems like the same is happening with her girlfriend.

Jada, a college graduate, is on a cross country trip with her boyfriend. She is an avid Instagrammer, living and photographing her best life. She is showing signs of abuse and it’s starting to become apparent to the other campers and the search and rescue team.

This is one of the best mystery/thrillers I’ve read this year. The tension throughout and the twisty ending makes it so good.

Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks and @catherinemckenzieauthour for an electronic book ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) in exchange for an honest review.

#catherinemckenzie #haveyouseenher #mysteryandthrillers #mystery #thrillers #yosemite#literaryfiction #fiction #NetGalley
#reviewer #bookstagram #bookreview #bookreviewer #kindlebook #ebook #arc #books #read

Thank you NetGalley for this exciting book. A young couple is missing in Yosemite, again. This fast-paced mystery had me stumped until the very end.

Exploring relationships, nature and violence, Have You Seen Her is a fast-paced and layered thriller that will spike your anxiety before blowing your mind. Catherine McKenzie has crafted a propulsive novel that gives you no choice but to rush headfirst through every page with desperation to learn the truth.

Having left her husband and life in New York behind, Cassie Peters returns to her hometown to join the Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue team once again. Helping people in need is fulfilling and Cassie quickly connects with her team members as well as with some of the adventure seekers in the park. But try as she might, Cassie cannot outrun her past. Whether it’s events that took place 10 years ago during her first stint with Yosemite Search and Rescue or the unspoken reasons she left New York, Cassie can run but she can’t hide. And when her past does finally catch up with her, the consequences could be deadly.

This novel is all about the well-developed characters and their enigmatic, intriguing relationships. There’s Jada and Jim, a young couple on an adventure that looks perfect on Instagram but whose dynamic is different in private. Then we have Sandy and Petal, two nomadic women with a large age difference between them and seem to be running from something. And then there’s Cassie’s relationship with multiple people – her husband Kevin, the other members of the Search and Rescue team, and friends from her past – which are complicated, painful and mysterious. Which all come together to drive the story forward with unanswered questions that suddenly become crystal clear in an epic revelation that will have you muttering WTF!?!?!

Have You Seen Her is a perfect novel for outdoor enthusiasts and psychological thriller/murder mystery fans alike. Containing adventure, deep secrets and multiple twists, it will get the adrenaline flowing as if you’re free soloing Half Dome in Yosemite.

This novel is not only a thriller, but also one that exhibits domestic violence. Cassie, who is fleeing her husband, travels across the country to her hometown to join a Search and Rescue Team. Cassie is reluctant to befriend any of her colleagues or let anyone get close to her.

During her time there, Cassie runs into two women, Jada and Petal. Jada is a stubborn college student who is traveling the country in an RV with her boyfriend, and Petal is a young woman living with her much older wife.

What do these women have in common, and what happens when people start to go missing? I give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cassie is running away from her life in New York to Yosemite, where she left 10 years previously after a tragic accident. Now she’s back on the search and rescue team and trying to leave her old life behind.

She reunites with a couple people she knew a decade ago, as well as a couple traveling the country in their airstream and a couple living nearby in a trailer. Both couples appear to have less than healthy relationships and often run into Cassie in the area.

The story is told through several methods; there is a then and now timeline for Cassie (“then” starting around May and “now” being about August) as well as interspersed journal entries by Petal. There are a couple references/flashbacks to the incident that occurred a decade prior that caused Cassie to leave Yosemite/search and rescue.

It’s definitely a captivating story, but it took a few for me to get into it and I thought it wrapped up a little quickly at the end. The pacing was more slow in the beginning, kind of medium paced in the middle, and pretty quick at the end. It also doesn’t not wrap up perfectly in a bow so just don’t go into it expecting that sort of ending. It’s mostly wrapped up but a few things are (intentionally) left to the imagination at the end.

I saw another review reference this, but Jada and Jim gave me Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie vibes. I think because of the traveling the country in the airstream while blogging and the media attention they receive.

3.5 Stars

While reading this book I couldn't help but compare Jim and Jada to Gabrielle Venora Petito and Brian Laundrie. I don't know why but these characters just gave off that vibe to me and I liked it because it gave the book a true-crime feel. The book is about two deaths decades apart and the story is told in two timelines fairly close together, it is never clarified but it comes across as mere months. We have Cassie in the now and Cassie a few months ago as she has quickly left her husband and has gone back to the area where she grew up. In fact, all of the main characters are running away from something and we the reader eventually find out what and why that is. The book was very diverse with characters of different ethnicities and included LGBTQ characters. We get a clear background on all of them as well.

Petal is a character in the book that I liked a lot, her journal entries were the highlight for me. I really enjoy epistolary novels and this was a good way to get into Petal's head and understand her internal thoughts. The book was quite the adventure, to say the least...I loved the location as it becomes a character itself and Yosemite National Park sounds beautiful yet dangerous. The rescues and descriptions were amazing, realistic and well-researched. This was a twisty rollercoaster ride, very fast-paced and the ending threw me for a loop. I wonder if there will be a book two? I would read it.

One thing I did not like about the story is the fact that Cassie hooked up with someone. Why does every book have sex and/or romance in it?! It is not needed in thriller books and it added nothing to the story. She is running away from her husband but hooks up with someone right away, women do not need men. Hence the half-star taken off.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU to NetGalley and Atria books for an advanced copy of this ebook because it was a wild ride!

This was my second book by Catherine McKenzie and I’m coming to learn this lady doesn’t disappoint in the twisty thriller department. From page one I was absolutely hooked. There were so many missing pieces to the mystery surrounding Cassie in the past and present that I was itching to find out what was going to happen. I love that in addition to the dual timelines, we got excerpts from articles, journal entries, and true crime blogs to add another level to the story - that kind of stuff always gets me. 😂

My thriller loving besties are going to eat this up!