I love the Frankie Elkins series so I was really excited to get to read the 4th book Kiss Her Goodbye on @netgalley before it comes out August 12th. In this book Frankie heads to Tucson, Arizona to find Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi. This task proves to be difficult and Frankie realizes there’s a lot more to the story. This book has a lot of plot twists that had me flying three it just to see what happens next. I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

4.5 stars for yet another amazing thriller in the Frankie Elkin series by the amazing Lisa Gardner. This continues to be one of my most favorite series ever written for a couple of reasons - one the locations are really cool in this series - a different place but each place you feel like you really get to know well. Two, Frankie is the most lovable "unlovable" person there is - a down on her luck, recovering alcoholic, with no home to call her own - who goes on to solve missing persons that no one else seems to miss or care about - all without any formal training. By now, the no formal training has become training because of all she has seen and done.

This story takes us to a Tucson and the Afghan refugees that enter our country hoping and praying for a better life than the one the Taliban has destroyed. The depiction of their lives, what they have given up in Afghanistan, and what they are enduring here in the US is so hard to read at times - yet it is with the hope of a new beginning that keeps them coming here. A woman goes missing and Frankie is called to help find her.

Please do not miss the author's acknowledgments in the end of the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Lisa Gardner and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely cannot wait til the next one!

I’m obsessed with the Frankie Elkin series and will literally read any book in the series no matter what. I was stoked when I got approved for the ARC of the latest addition to the series!! Her latest features Frankie working in Tucson, Arizona to locate a missing Afghan refugee named Sabera last seen almost a month ago.

Honestly, I was worried at first because I couldn’t wrap my head around a lot of the details in the beginning chapters of the book. Once I had a good grasp of the characters, setting, etc.—things flowed well and it was classic Lisa Gardener writing. Sabera and her family had so much incredible depth to them and I found them absolutely fascinating. It seemed like there was something new to uncover about them with each turn of the page. This book also probably had my favorite subset of characters as they were a bunch of lovable and talented misfits that somehow fit together to bring Sabera and her family to a safe place.

This book was so well-written which is an incredible feat given the importance of the subject matter at hand. I’m so impressed with Lisa Gardener and could not recommend this series more. Always incredibly interesting with characters full of depth. Thanks you again to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for this amazing ARC!

Kiss her Goodbye is a solid book on its own. However, it lacks the sane intensity as others in the series. Frankie is as always a solid heroine and has the same determination but in this one the book is a slow starter and it took me time to get through the book there is a great deal of wide story that I think gets in the way and kind of overtakes the main storyline. In the end though I’m really glad I finished it. All the grit and passion that make Frankie amazing are still here within this story and it dies end on a great finish. I definitely think you should give it a read!

3.75 stars

This book is a bit tricky to rate. I think on its own it was enjoyable but compared to the previous books in the series it just didn’t hit quite the same. In the previous books Frankie was gritty and serious and had that vigilante justice charm that was so compelling to read about. In this book she almost veers into bumbling idiot territory. She was always in the way, made bad decisions, and was always joking around. I felt like this book lacked the tension and sense of urgency the previous books had. A lot of this book is just watching Frankie be scared of reptiles which didn’t really fit her character.
The plot was interesting enough but a little convoluted at times. A lot of the tension and uneasiness in this book came from the feeling of being a refugee in America. So while there wasn’t a lot of action and immediate danger, you could feel how anxious the characters were just in general because of their circumstances. I wish this would’ve played more into the ending, which I thought was kind of pointlessly confusing. I did really like the end of the epilogue and I am interested to see where this series goes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central for the ARC!

While I ultimately finished this book, it took me way too long a time to get through to the end. I was definitely interested in the plot and to see how it all played out….but the ending was a bit lackluster for me. I kept thinking “there has to be MORE of a reason for all of these violent shenanigans?”

The story centers around a missing woman (spoken in the absolute simplest way but believe me- the story is SO complicated) and is narrated by a woman who is apparently self-employed as a self-appointed “cold case solver.” Not connected to law enforcement at all, and doesn’t accept payment for her services. The drifter style she maintains seems implausible to me as in America you can’t do squat without some starting money. But maybe, what do I know?

I found it extremely difficult to keep all of the characters straight- there are two timelines to follow (our missing woman’s past trying to escape the Taliban and our narrator’s current timeline) and in each timeline there are numerous characters to remember. I normally don’t have a hard time staying in the loop but boy did struggle here. Very often a name would be dropped and I would find myself racking my brain to pin down which cousin or person or character was being discussed.

The book sort of missed the mark for me, though I enjoyed the dynamic of “the compound” to include Bart, Daryl, Genni, and the errr reptiles. I also learned the word “herper.”

Thank you to @Grand Central Publishing and #NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC and provide an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for this arc. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

4.75⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In this book Frankie Elkin, following the event of the last book Still See You Everywhere, Frankie is traveling to Tucson to find a missing woman Sabera Ahmadi after she mysteriously disappears after missing her bus at work. Nobody seems to care like local law enforcement or Sabera husband who is older than her, Isaad. Throughout the novel we find out that Sabera and Isaad are not actually married they said it in order to get save passage to the US and that Isaad isn’t the biological father to Sabera’s daughter. Sabera’s daughter biological father died when Kabul fell and her brother and father died as well. While at a refuge camp she sees her cousin who threatens her because she betrayed his father and their other uncles by stealing gold from them that they were mining and Sabera has half the location of the mines and her brother had the other half. Sabera’s death is faked at the end of the book in order to protect her and her daughter. I loved Penelope the lizard that Frankie is initial scared of but grows to love and even protects her from the intruders that they lower to Bart’s house with the lizard and snakes. Frankie is a pet sitter throughout the novel for Bart is a wealthy gamer and even helps the Afghan refugee community by supplying mattresses and furniture for them after Frankie is scared of Marge the Burmese phython after she escapes her in closer. There were both funny moments and serious moments and I love the balance in these books. I cannot wait for this book to come out and the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

I didn't realize this was apart of a series so I was lost on some parts but you can never go wrong with Lisa Gardener. I'll definitely be reading the others in the series.

3.5⭐️

Frankie really gets around! In her last investigation we were on an atolle, an island so different from others with wolf spiders and giant crabs!

Now we are transported to Tucson, AZ, hot and dry! I’ve visited there often and the heat is real!

Frankie is contacted to help find Sabera Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee who has been missing for 3 weeks. Her friend is very concerned as she knows Sabera would not willingly leave her young daughter behind.The police aren’t that concerned even when her husband also goes missing.

This was a bit of a slow burn but there is a lot of backstory to learn and characters to define, I was all in for this one.

The novel is told in the present through what Frankie’s actions and in the past by pages from a diary written by Sabera. What a sad and terrifying life she has led since the fall of Kabul - the Taliban have killed so many of her friends and family.

Since Frankie doesn’t have a permanent home and travels light, she always has to find a job that will hopefully include temporary housing.

When she answers the job for pet-sitting for a month she has no idea what she is getting herself into!! I don’t think any of us have ever been in a mansion occupied with less conventional pets - think giant iguana and snakes!!

There are lots of unique characters and an intricately layered plot. I had no idea how this book would end! Think of misdirection and illusions!

Can Frankie finally find a missing person still alive?? Has she taken on more than she is capable of?

This was a Witch's Words buddy read with Debra, be sure to read her awesome review.

I received a ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.

Frankie Elkin is back! In Kiss Her Goodbye, Frankie has traveled to Tucson, Arizona to find Sabera Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee who has gone missing. Her husband does not seem worried but Sabera's friend knows that Sabera would not go anywhere without taking her three year old daughter with her. After find a unique living situation in which she must care for An Iguana named Petunia and some snakes.

Once Frankie is able to dig into her investigation, it becomes abundantly clear that there is more to the Ahmadi family than she could even imagine. This book goes back and forth to the present with Frankie's investigation and in the past during Sabera's young life in Kabul. It is a time of upheaval and Sabera experiences so much in such a short period of time.


Frankie continues to be a character to root for. She is not without her flaws and has seen hardship and addiction in her life. She is also resilient, determined, brave, and compassionate. Fans of this series will be happy with this latest installment. For those who have not read a book in this series, Kiss Her Goodbye will work very well as a stand alone book for you. Lisa Gardner gives enough background information on Frankie for new readers to becomes acquainted with her and what she does.

This book is full of tension, dread, mystery, heartbreak, and twists. I also enjoyed the author's note at the end of the book where she informs readers of what inspired her to write this book.

I received an ARC of this book from Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I read everything Lisa Gardner writes, and I can now say I am growing more fond of Frankie Elkin.

This book was particularly impressive due to the subject matter and the research Ms. Gardner must have done into the conflict in Afghanistan, refugee camps (heartbreaking), and even traditional Afghan foods. I knew very little about any of these topics, but now I would love to try the firni pudding.

I also always love this author's cast of characters. How did she come up with a house of reptiles or a transgender chef? Or a ballroom dancing buff man? She always manages to add comic relief in the midst of murder and loss.

I had no idea where the mystery was going, which made it very satisfying, plus I didn't want to put the book down.

Will I eventually like Frankie Elkin as much as the FBI profiling Quincy family? Maybe. Do I already enjoy that the books now have very different settings than the USA northeast? Definitely.

I didn’t realize this was part of a series. It was fine as a standalone but sometimes I wasn’t quite sure about a few things. Overall not having read prior books wasn’t a problem. I very much enjoyed learning about the refugee experience which was heartbreaking. There were many twists and turns along the way. I would definitely recommend the book and will probably go back and read the earlier books in the series.

I was disappointed in this book and it did not feel to me like the type of book Lisa Gardner usually writes. I was confused a lot of the time and there so many characters I couldn’t keep track of everyone. There was also lots of killing, torturing and maiming. I was disappointed in the book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It makes no difference what you’re looking for,
you cannot go,wrong with our fearless, ingenious
investigator. It is always amazing that not only
does Frankie solve your problem and find your
missing, but she lives to tell about it!
Thank you to Grand Central Publisher
for the download copy of the book for
review purposes.

I have read the first three books in this series and loved them. I was really looking forward to this one, and it was good, but not my favorite in the series. I found myself losing interest about halfway through. Hopefully her next book in the series will be better.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC. I enjoyed the book immensely. Lisa Gardner did an amazing job with all of her research and it shows. The book was well written, the characters were lovable, and it was an enjoyable 5 star read for me.

Lisa Gardner delivers another gripping installment in the Frankie Elkin series with Kiss Her Goodbye. This time, Frankie is in Tucson, Arizona, searching for Sabera Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee and young mother who vanished without a trace. As Frankie delves deeper, she uncovers a complex web of secrets, including a video of Sabera leaving the scene of a brutal double murder.​
Goodreads

Gardner masterfully weaves a narrative that is both thrilling and emotionally resonant. The exploration of refugee experiences adds depth to the story, highlighting the challenges faced by those seeking a new life. Frankie's relentless determination and empathy shine through, making her a compelling protagonist.​

The pacing is tight, and the twists are unexpected, keeping me engaged throughout. Gardner's ability to tackle complex social issues within a suspenseful plot is commendable. This novel stands out as a testament to her skill in blending heart-pounding suspense with meaningful commentary.​

Highly recommended for fans of character-driven thrillers that don't shy away from real-world issues.

Although this wasn't my favorite of the Frankie Elkin books, I loved this for its unique and well written storyline. You can tell Lisa Gardner researches for her books in great detail and I learned so much about the life of a refugee in America through out this book. I also ended up looking up more information on this subject to better educate myself. My only thing is it didn't have enough "Frankie" in it. It just felt so different because of all the flashbacks into the missing persons life, which again I found fascinating and really enjoyed but I missed some of Frankie's character, her attention to details and her problem solving skills. Definitely recommend this book though. You will be shocked by the twists that come throughout the book.

"Maybe this kind of slow erosion is as powerful as any traumatic break. You lose your home, then your country. You lose your loved ones, then yourself. You lose your heart, then your soul."

Best Frankie Elkin Yet! I personally felt some much more invested in this story and attached to its characters than in any other of her books. It felt so real and emotional, and it’s because it is! Lisa Gardner was in Tucson learning about refugee camps and the afghan community that it really pays off in this newest edition of the Frankie Elkin books. I love the start, middle, and the ending. And I totally recommend this to anyone! HUGE thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read in exchange for my honest review.

(3.5/5 stars)
Kiss Her Goodbye is solidly written, smartly paced, and undeniably tense—but ultimately, it just didn’t click for me the way I hoped it would.

Frankie Elkin is a compelling character—flawed, relentless, and easy to root for—and Lisa Gardner clearly knows how to build a layered mystery with timely themes. The backdrop of Tucson and the focus on Afghan refugee experiences gave the story a unique, urgent texture. And the stakes? They’re high from the jump, with a child in danger, a missing father, and a family hiding secrets that could get them all killed.

But despite the high stakes and polished prose, I felt more admiration for the craft than emotional investment. The plot leans heavily into conspiracy and complex backstory, which at times felt more like exposition than momentum. There were moments that gripped me, sure—but others that felt like I was being held at arm’s length.

I can absolutely see why fans of the series or readers who love procedurals with international intrigue would enjoy this one. It just didn’t fully land for me on a gut level.

Not bad by any means—just not my kind of great.