Frankie once again finds herself in an interesting missing person case. She travels to Tucson, AZ to work on the case of Sabera, an immigrant from Afghanistan. In looking for a job/place to live she finds herself in a beautiful, resort like, house where she is tasked with taking care of an Iguana, along with a large python and her babies for room and board. (Um...no thank you.)

The story was filled with so much information about immigrants and how their lives are so disrupted. I thought that the USA treated them better, but this book reveals that this might not be the case.

Another Frankie Elkin story that did not disappoint. I loved that, like life, not all parties survived and not all got a happy ending. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

This was another great installment of the Frankie elkin series! I was interested in the mystery, the pacing was great, the characters fascinating. You don’t even need to read the earlier books in the series to enjoy.

The fourth installment in the Frankie Elkin series takes her on a journey to Tucson, where she embarks on a quest to find Sabera, an Afghan refugee who vanished three weeks prior. Sabera’s closest friend, who believes Sabera would never abandon her young child, even in the face of an overbearing husband, summons Frankie to Tucson. When a video emerges showing Sabera fleeing the scene of a double murder, Frankie starts to unravel a complex and perplexing mystery.

This installment continues the series’ tradition of delivering fast-paced, engrossing, and suspenseful reads. It delves into two distinct themes: the fundamental mystery and the plight of refugees. I really appreciated Lisa Gardner’s research on the latter aspect and found it eye-opening and heartbreaking.

Frankie Elkin is a unique character. A recovering alcoholic who has forsaken a settled life to track down cold-case missing people, all of her possessions fit into one suitcase as she travels the country, seeking those whom others have forgotten. To support herself, Frankie takes on various jobs in the different locales she visits, and her job in this particular case is quite amusing.

Although references to Frankie’s past are made, which were previously explored in earlier installments, this book can be enjoyed as a standalone read.

While some aspects of the book may stretch the boundaries of believability, it remains an entertaining and captivating story. Be sure to read the author’s notes at the end.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Lisa Gardner’s Kiss Her Goodbye is a masterclass in tension, psychological depth, and relentless pacing. As the latest installment in the Frankie Elkin series, it solidifies Gardner’s ability to craft thrillers that are equal parts gripping and emotionally resonant.

Frankie Elkin, a self-taught investigator who specializes in finding missing people overlooked by law enforcement, once again steps into a case that’s as personal as it is perilous. This time, she’s searching for a young woman who vanished without a trace—a disappearance that seems routine at first but quickly unravels into something far more insidious.

What makes Frankie such a compelling protagonist isn’t just her skill at uncovering secrets but her vulnerability. She’s not a cop, not a detective—just a woman haunted by the ghosts of those she couldn’t save. Gardner weaves this emotional complexity into every interaction, making Frankie feel raw, real, and deeply human.

Gardner excels at crafting suspense that doesn’t rely solely on action but builds through atmosphere, character dynamics, and psychological nuance. The missing woman’s case isn’t just a mystery—it’s an intricate web of buried truths, manipulation, and the dark undercurrents of human nature. Every revelation feels earned, every twist sharp yet believable.

The supporting characters add depth to the narrative, from reluctant allies to those with hidden motives. Gardner’s writing ensures that even the quietest moments pulse with tension, making readers question who can truly be trusted.

Kiss Her Goodbye is a thriller that delivers page-turning suspense. Frankie Elkin continues to be one of the most fascinating protagonists in contemporary crime fiction, navigating the darkness with both determination and vulnerability.

For those who love intricate mysteries, morally complex characters, and writing that balances urgency with emotional depth, Gardner’s latest novel is an absolute must-read.

Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner starts out a little slow, but picks up after awhile and is definitely worth hanging in for the ending. I have read all of the Frankie Elkins novels and this one does not disappoint. I was a little unsure of the "reptile element", but the book was not graphic enough to cause nightmares about snakes. I'm definitely looking forward to Lisa Gardner's next adventure.

Release: August 12, 2025
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Rating: 4.25 ★ 

Sabera Ahmadi, a young Afghan refugee and mother, is trying to start over after a difficult past, but escaping old traumas isn’t easy. When she disappears from her job in Tucson and the police don’t seem to take it seriously, her friend pushes missing persons expert Frankie Elkin to get involved. Things take a dark turn when a video surfaces showing Sabera near a gruesome double murder.
As Frankie digs deeper, she discovers that the Ahmadi family is far more complicated than they appear. Sabera’s husband Isaad is a genius mathematician, Sabera herself is skilled in languages, and their young daughter Zahra has a remarkable memory—something that might actually put her in danger. When Isaad vanishes and Zahra becomes a target, Frankie realizes she must uncover the family’s hidden past before it’s too late.
With threats looming and violence on the horizon, Frankie faces a race against time to protect the family—and confront how far she’s willing to go for those she cares about.
I really enjoyed Kiss Her Goodbye and was drawn into the story right away. Frankie Elkin returns as the determined missing persons expert, this time searching for Sabera, a young Afghan refugee who disappears under mysterious circumstances. I appreciated how the book switches between the present and Sabera’s past, which helped me understand the deep struggles faced by refugees trying to start over in a new country. The author’s research shines through, making the story both powerful and emotional.
The characters felt very real and complex — Sabera, her brilliant mathematician husband Isaad, and their daughter Zahra with her amazing memory added a unique layer to the mystery. Frankie’s pet-sitting subplot brought some light moments and humor that balanced the heavier themes.
Although this is the fourth book in the Frankie Elkin series, I had no trouble following the story as a standalone, but I’m interested in reading the earlier books now. The pacing was sometimes a bit slow, but the emotional depth and twists kept me hooked until the very end. This thriller isn’t just about suspense; it also explores important social issues, which made it a meaningful read for me.
Overall, if you enjoy well-developed characters, a mix of suspense and heart, and stories that give insight into real-world challenges, Kiss Her Goodbye is definitely worth reading. I look forward to more adventures with Frankie.

Favorite Quote:
"you don't always have to be a hero. Sometimes, you just have to survive."

Frankie is one of my favorite book characters! I love her humor and how raw she is written in these books. These are of course a series, but you can pick up any of the books and have such a perfect sense of who Frankie is and love her all the same. This book is definitely the heaviest so far but that makes it even more important. I can’t wait to revisit this one when the audiobook comes out. If you haven’t read any of the books in this series, do it. You won’t regret it!

In 'Kiss Her Goodbye', Lisa Gardner delivers one of her most emotionally resonant thrillers to date, blending high-stakes suspense with a moving portrait of survival, identity, and displacement. This fourth installment in the Frankie Elkin series finds the unlicensed missing persons investigator far from home, pet-sitting two exotic reptiles in a Tucson mansion while searching for a missing Afghan refugee mother named Sabera Ahmadi.

Sabera vanished three weeks earlier, leaving behind a young daughter, Zahra, whose uncanny memory soon becomes key to unraveling what happened. As Frankie probes deeper into the family's life, she uncovers a tangled history that spans continents - from Kabul to Pakistan to Arizona - and begins to suspect Sabera's disappearance is more than a case of a woman quietly fleeing.

Gardner weaves two timelines with remarkable control: the present-day investigation, and Sabera's past, told in haunting letters to her daughter. The dual structure adds richness and urgency, especially as danger closes in. Frankie, as always, is dogged and damaged in equal measure - her outsider status giving her both an edge and an empathy others overlook.

What sets 'Kiss Her Goodbye' apart is its thematic weight. Gardner handles refugee trauma, language barriers, and post-war reinvention with nuance and humanity. The supporting cast - a transgender chef, a reformed convict turned chauffeur, and a sharp little girl with a photographic memory - bring texture and warmth without softening the darkness at the book's core.

The mystery builds with Gardner's signature precision, though the middle third dips slightly in momentum before accelerating into a tense and satisfying conclusion. Readers looking for nonstop action may feel the emotional beats slow the pace, but the payoff - both narratively and emotionally - is worth it.

Verdict: A gripping, compassionate thriller than expands the boundaries of the genre. 'Kiss Her Goodbye' is a standout in the Frankie Elkin series and a testament to Gardner's ability to merge adrenaline with heart.

This series is definitely a good one to start. Each book takes you on a new adventure and this one is no different.

Frankie Elkin is such a fun character to read about. She's always trying to peice together the puzzle of the missing person. Along the way she meets new friends who help her out. I enjoyed the ones in this one. They all worked together to help locate the missing mother, but will they be too late? This book kept me wondering and turning the pages to find out fast!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in return for my honest review.

Kiss Her Goodbye is the next welcome installment int the Frankie Elkin series and she puts her all into one of her most challenging cases to date.

Frankie is on a mission to find a missing Afghan refugee and nothing is a simple as it seems.

The locale is Tuscon Arizona where Sabera , her husband and daughter have been relocated to.

We learn about the life of an Afghan refugee and its not an easy one.

Sabera's story is a complicated one but Frankie is persistent even though it puts many lives in danger.

Lisa Gardner takes the reader down a path of twists and turns, murder, epsiponage and tension is on every page.

Lisa also goes into depth with realistic protrayal of refuggee camps and the process it takes to adapt to a new life. Her notes at the end of the book are fascinating.

I cant wait to see where Frankie is off to next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the privilege of reading and reviewing Kiss Her Goodbye.

I absolutely love Lisa Gardner’s books and was really excited to get to read this one early. However, the beginning started off confusing and overall the storyline just didn’t quite fit what I was hoping for. I would recommend it to others but just not my cup of tea. Frankie is an incredible person and no one can do what she does, so if you’re a fan of the other books with her in it, you’ll love this one.

Lisa Gardner is my favorite author, and I've read everything she's written, so I was excited to read "Kiss Her Goodbye," thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing selecting me to read the ARC. It did not disappoint.
This book brings Frankie Elkin to Arizona to find a missing Afghanistan refugee named Sabera Ahmadi who mysteriously disappeared leaving her small child and husband behind. LG immerses the reader in not only the mystery of finding the missing person, but also the Afghanistan culture, not only here in Arizona, but how it was in Afghanistan. Sabera is missing, but through flashbacks from her point of view we learn about her life in Afghanistan, the terror of the Taliban. How smart of LG to write through the eyes of the missing person, making the reader care about Sabera, but also giving subtle clues to what could have happened to her.
And true to form, Lisa adds a little humor with some of her not human "housemates," which were some of my favorite parts of the book.
I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it, but it wasn't my favorite Frankie Elkin novel for three reasons. First, I don't want to like Frankie because if LG is writing Frankie, she's not writing DDWarren, or Pierce Quincy and I miss them and want to know what they are up to. Second, while I loved learning about the Afghan culture, I felt it was a little too much of it and it slowed the flow of the plot. And lastly, Frankie is a newer character to us and I didn't feel like I learned more about her in this book. I'm not quite relating or understanding what motivates her yet. I want to like her as much as I do the rest of LG's cast of characters in her other works.
But as long as Lisa Gardner is writing, I'll read whatever she writes and will love it, like I did this one.

Was this a good read? Yes! Would I recommend it? Yes! The beginning was a little weird for me. I understood it more later on. The book did hold my attention for the most part. It was confusing at some points but left me needing and wanting more to figure it out. Not my favorite of Lisa Gardners but still a good one.

This book is loaded with twists and turns. There’s suspense and some tense and suspenseful scenes. It’s a roller coaster ride of intrigue. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Ok, let's just get this out of the way, shall we? I LOVE Lisa Gardner...and I LOVE the character of Frankie Elkin. Is she my favorite Lisa Gardner character? Possibly. Only time will tell. :)

"Kiss Her Goodbye" is yet another solid entry in the Lisa Gardner catalog...are you getting tired of me using that same descriptor yet? I can't help it. It's true! Gardner does an excellent job with the characters in this, the fourth installment of her Frankie Elkin series. I can only hope that I will see Daryl, Genni, Sabera, Zahra, and Petunia again in the future! I *swear* to you, I could hear Petunia's toenails...claws?...clickity-clacking on the floor of Bart's home as I read of her exploits.

There are very few authors who grab my attention and pull me into their work like Ms. Gardner. "Kiss Her Goodbye" was so exception. This time, it wasn't only the premise...the prologue...the setup...it was a line...well, two, that hit me...hard. So much so, that these words brought tears:

"When I was a girl, I dreamed. When I became a woman, I woke up."

The story was well written, at times heartwarming and gut-wrenching...simultaneously. So much pain...so much anguish...such a timely storyline. And yet, there was hope, which is something I look for in just about every book that I pick up. I so appreciate the amount of research this author puts into her books. I enjoy reading about the travel/reading/interviewing in the Acknowledgments just as much as the book itself.

The wrap-up? I don't know how I feel about it yet. I wasn't ready to let these characters go! As for the *very* end regarding Frankie's phone call? I think I was smiling so hard even my dimples put in an appearance. :)

As always, my profound thanks to Grand Central Publishing, Lisa Gardner, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Frankie Elkin spends her life looking for the missing. She scours websites and message boards to find her next case. Usually cold cases where police and search parties have given up locating the missing.

Her current case has brought her to Tucson, Arizona where she has been asked to help look for Sabera Ahmadi, a recent Afghan refugee. She was last seen leaving her place of work 3 weeks prior and the police have yet to open a case. Her husband doesn’t seem concerned, but her friend Aliah is convinced that Sabera would never willingly leave her 3 year old behind and that she must be in some kind of trouble.

With the help of Daryl, Genni and Petunia, Frankie starts to retrace Sabera’s final movements before her disappearance and learns that there is a lot more going on. With dead bodies starting to pile up, the police are now finally interested in the case as they race to find Sabera before the people looking for her do.

This book alternates between Frankie’s investigation and looking back on Sabera’s life growing up in Kabul and her journey to the US.

The story is fast paced and action packed and will grab you from the start. This is the 4th book in the series, but can also be read as a stand alone.
I look forward to the next Frankie Elkin adventure and see where she ends up next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced ebook for my review

I was really looking forward to another Lisa Gardner book but this one fell short for me. The story just did not land for me. It was wordy and quite cryptic and I was totally lost. It was a struggle to finish BUT still a huge Lisa Gardner fan.
Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Gardner and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the fourth in the Frankie Elkin series .
This was just ok for me. The others in the series were better . Things got complicated and confusing.
Hopefully the next installment will be better.
Totally worth a read, just not the best. Didn't keep me wanting to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e- ARC copy!

Frankie is a vibe. Not many people can do what she does time after time. This time, she is in Arizona looking for an Afghan refugee mom who is missing and appears to have no one looking for her. While the main plot is heartbreaking, Frankie's moments with Petunia and the rest of the gang provided some lovely breaks. Lisa Gardner continues to be one of favorite writers and I will wait for the next one in this series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

This is my 4th Frankie Elkin book. I really enjoyed the first two, these last two not as much. She is a fascinating character however, and I look forward to Frankie's next outing!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.