I have always been a fan of Lisa Gardner's writing. This book will not disappoint readers with a quick pace read.

Frankie Elkin finds missing persons, and has problems of her own. She travels to Tucson, Arizona to find an Afghan refugee in the fourth installment of the Frankie Elkin series, Kiss Her Goodbye: A Frankie Elkin Novel. by bestselling author, Lisa Gardner. Frankie meets with the missing woman, Sabara Ahmadi’s best friend, Aliah, and feels like she must take the case. First she has to find a place to stay, since she is a wanderer. Luckily she finds a place with free room and board, and although she is essentially a pet sitter (a giant Iguana named Petunia and a huge Albino Boa Constrictor named Marge as well as a dozen babies), the offer is too good to turn down. Her employer is a billionaire gamer who made it big in software; the other live-in employees, a huge ex-con named Daryl, who is a chauffeur, and Genni, who is a transgender cook all get involved in finding Sabara.

Gardner is an excellent storyteller, and even though Frankie’s missing person investigation makes some sense, it isn’t particularly believable. This is fiction, after all, and Gardner has used her imagination to add twists and turns to the story. There are even some political undertones in this novel emphasizing Obama and Biden’s failures in Afghanistan, and what those lucky enough to come to America have gone through. One thing that also stands out is that there are food references to Afghan food, which will make foodie readers look up and try some of the Afghan dishes at home.

Gardner does an excellent job of developing her characters. Frankie is a great protagonist and is likeable. The supporting characters (including Petunia and Marge) are likewise well-developed and are fun. Even though this is a serious thriller with plenty of murder and violence (not graphic however), there is some humor that gives comic relief during stressful times.

All told, this is an excellent novel that is difficult to put down.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

A not-to-be-missed read, #KissHerGoodbye is LG at her best. The storyline is more than a simple missing person case. For Frankie Elkin, recovering alcoholic turned investigator, the itch to find the missing refugee Sabera is an escape from her own issues and in a way an opportunity for redemption. The characters are striking, the unfolding of the plot riveting and the loss of family poignant. I can't remember a book that drew me in so quickly from the very first scene.

Told through both women's POV, Sabera's voice is powerful, wistful and her story - terrifying. Tragedy strikes and Sabera is witness to a fallen Kabul, struggling to survive in the aftermath. Her saving grace is her daughter Zahra and the memories of her mother and older brother Farshid. She's a woman of secrets. She knows things and is clever at never quite revealing herself, lessons learned from her mother. Relocated to Tucson, AZ, Sabera accepts her new life stoically but then she disappears. Without. Her. Daughter.

Enter one Frankie Elkin. She has questions and she is relentless in digging for answers in her usual snarky, unrepentant manner that drives others to gnash teeth, grumble and tear out hair. I love this about her! Frankie's temporary lodging includes caregiving to a bunch of reptilian pets, much to her horror and our amusement as readers.

Frankie enlists an interesting cast in her search, from her "employer's" driver and housekeeper to the aid workers involved in relocating families. What moves the story forward is the "why" --- why did Sabera disappear? And LG teases us and teases us while also enlightening us to the plight of Afghan refugees and the stark reality of adapting to a new life in a new country.

While I thought the last Frankie Elkin book was stellar, #KissHerGoodbye is in a stratosphere all its own! Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC, I highly recommend #KissHerGoodbye.

I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Written by Lisa Gardner and published by Grand Central Publishing division of Hatchette Book Group in 2025, this is a Story about the efforts of Frankie Elkin, finder of the missing. In this story, Frankie has been called to Tucson, Arizona to find a wife and mother who has disappeared. Sebera comes from a wealthy family in Afghanistan. She developed a close bond with her mother before she died of breast cancer. Sabera later becomes pregnant in Afghanistan with her daughter Zahra, who today is only four years old. The three generations of women seem to possess a special talent for solving encrypted messages, and for understanding foreign languages.

The story is set during and after the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and it follows Sabera’s travels as a refugee from Afghanistan, to Pakistan, to Abu Dhabi, to Texas and, ultimately to Tucson. Sabera has witnessed a lot of violence and trauma in her life, and it has affected her mental stability. She has a friend named Aliah who contacts Frankie and asks for help in finding Sabera after she fails to return home from work and is missing for three weeks. The first thing Frankie has to do after arriving in Tucson is to find a job and a place to live. She is hired by a very wealthy young man named Bart who owns a large mansion outside of town. All she must do to earn her room & board is to feed and care for the animals. Dogs? Cats? Easy, Peasy, right? Wrong!

The animals turn out to be an iguana named Petunia, who must be fed, massaged and entertained by the TV set every day, along with a five-foot-long albino Burmese python named Marge and twelve baby ball pythons. The babies must be fed live crickets every day, and Marge must be fed dead rats about twice a month. Bart earned his millions as a game developer and must travel to a gamers conference and world tour, so he leaves Frankie alone with the reptiles and his driver, a man named Daryl. The remainder of Bart’s staff consists of Genni, Bart’s 6’4” cook who appears to be a transgender woman who likes to wear a different costume every day. Frankie is able to control her fear of reptiles and successfully makes the feedings. Then, it is off to find Sabera.

This story has a very complex and confusing plot, and I had a lot of difficulty understanding what was going on for most of the book. Sabera’s family members play important roles in the story, and there is a lot of violence. The unique abilities of Sabera, her mother and her daughter seem to cross the bridge between adult fiction and fantasy. Truthfully, I did not find the story to be very believable. I also did not like the way it was written — a series of flashbacks by Sabera that slowly reveal what really might be going on. The author did tie up the loose ends at the end of the novel, but I still found it to be somewhat unsatisfying.

I normally appreciate this author’s works, and I usually award high reviews. Sadly, not this one. Rather than the usual five-star rating I grant to her stories, this one only rates three. If you are interested in the culture of Afghanistan, the give it a read. Otherwise, feel free to skip it.

This is a very good book, the author manages to create a likeable character in Frankie, with humor and intimacy issues, a compelling missing person case and a look at the pain and history of a time period in Afghanistan., where people who survived lost everything, the horrors of refugee camps, torture and a lot at ptsd, postpartum and other mental health issues as the ghosts of her past surround her, and to create a lovable community with a balldancing bodyguard , a transgender chef, an iguana and snakes and other memorable characters. 4.5

This is the fourth installment in the Frankie Elkin series. This can be read alone or with the series. This book is different from the previous series. It’s about an Afghan refugee who goes missing and Frankie is sent to find her. While it isn’t an edge of your seat thriller I enjoyed learning about the Afghanistan culture and history. It was apparent the author did her research and was thorough. Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

Lisa Gardner is a master of her craft, and Kiss Her Goodbye did not disappoint. Although this novel has a very different feel to it than previous ones in the series, it still has captivating writing, complex characters, and surprising plot twists. What I liked the most about the book is the very timely and thoughtful way that Lisa Gardner tells the story of a missing Afghan refugee. The intimacy of the letters from mother to daughter really sold me on having to find out what happened to her. I’m looking forward to going along with Frankie on her next adventure

While not my favourite Frankie Elkin novel (nothing can beat the heart-pounding drama of the second book) I really enjoyed this book. The mystery kept me guessing till the end and Frankie's newest team of misfits are all so enjoyable. I highly recommend this book.

Kiss Her Goodbye is a mildly interesting novel in the Frankie Elkin series of finding missing persons. This novel centers around a missing woman from Afghanistan who has been resettled in Tucson by the government. A lot is learned about the woman from a journal she keeps for her 4 year old daughter in the event that she is separated from her. There is a fair amount of action in this novel involving murders, iguanas, snakes and the plight of refugees entering the United States. I thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.

I loved the first two Frankie Elkin books, but this this book and Kiss Her Goodbye both disappointed me. They're not Frankie Elkin books. Where is her personality? Where if the nail-biting plot? This installment became a skimmer at 50%. The highlights of this book were Darryl, Bart, Genni and the iguana.

I’m always a big fan of Gardner’s work and this was no different. Always a good plot and twists and turns with endings usually wrapped up very neatly. Will definitely recommend this one to readers!

Frankie Elkin is back on the hunt for another missing person, this time an Afghan refugee that left her husband and young daughter behind. As usual, she takes a job locally to fund her basic living expenses - this time it's pet sitting for a wealthy game developer. Frankie is a strong character, but this installment had the side characters playing a much larger role than usual. This book can technically be read as a standalone, but it's the fourth in the series and I highly recommend that you start at the beginning so you can fall in love with flawed Frankie from day one. This story focuses on a very serious issues with deadly twists and turns, but Gardner folds in some wit and humor that balances out these issues. The characters are all fully formed, flawed, and a delight to get to know.

I can't wait to see where Frankie lands next! Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this book prior to its publication in exchange for this honest review.

Another amazing Frankie adventure! I love how researched these communities she dives into are - even if this one was particularly heart wrenching. Frankie comes in with some much compassion and grit, you just feel inspired to make a difference too. I personally could have done without the snakes… but it did add for quite the comedic relief at times. Already can’t wait for her next adventure!

“Kiss Her Goodbye” is the fourth installment in the Frankie Elkin series and it’s the best one so far. Here, Frankie is searching for a young refugee mother from Afghanistan, Sabera. As Frankie digs deeper into the immigrant community and into Sabera’s past as a potential government informant, the possibility of finding her alive dwindles.

I really appreciated the research and level of detail that went into creating a story about the immigrant experience while simultaneously keeping me on the edge of my seat. Sabera’s letters to her daughter throughout the book are heartbreaking and her firsthand accounts of surviving war only to be cast into the fresh hell of refugee camps are shocking.

However, the standouts in this book are the cast of characters that Frankie finds to help her along the way. Due to her nomadic lifestyle, she needs a job and a place to stay when she arrives to look for Sabera. She finds both as a pet sitter for an eclectic tech nerd on his palatial estate. There, she cares for Petunia, a huge Iguana with her own backyard lanai and a penchant for massages, Marge, a five-foot Python that has figured out how to escape her enclosures and a dozen assorted baby snakes who need to be hand-fed live crickets. The estate comes complete with Daryl, a ballroom dancing ex-con chauffeur and Genni, a 6+ foot drag queen who dresses to the nines in a different theme each day. A cranky detective and his social worker sister round out the crew.

For a topic as heavy as a missing war-torn immigrant, the eclectic cast of side characters helps to lighten the mood quite a bit. It also provides for a very satisfying if not completely believable grand finale.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Frankie is back in an unputownable thriller that has her searching for a missing woman. The case is complex, the side characters are all interesting, and F is F…funny, dry, with a heart of gold and the resolve of stone. Can’t wait to see where she goes next.

This one had me hooked right from the start. A missing woman, a shady husband, a genius kid, and a brutal double murder? Yeah, I was in.

Frankie Elkin is such a solid character—relentless, smart, and just stubborn enough to push through when no one else will. The story moves fast, with just enough twists to keep you guessing, and the tension ramps up quick once that video drops. From that point on, it’s clear this isn’t just a simple missing person case.

What really got me was the family dynamic. The Ahmadis are way more complex than they seem at first, and little Zahra is honestly one of the most memorable parts of the book. Her photographic memory adds a whole new level of suspense—and worry.

It’s not a perfect five for me because a few moments felt a little over the top, but honestly, I didn’t care much. The emotional weight, the pacing, and the mystery all hit hard. If you like thrillers with heart, danger, and characters worth rooting for, this one delivers.

Lisa Gardner’s Say Goodbye is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the darkest corners of human behavior. The story follows Frankie Elkin as she investigates a disturbing case involving a missing mother. Gardner weaves a complex, layered narrative full of tension, dread, and emotional stakes.

What sets this book apart is the depth of its characters—especially Franky, who is both tough and vulnerable, shaped by her past trauma. As the investigation unfolds, Gardner keeps readers on edge with chilling twists and a relentless pace. The villain is one of the most disturbing you’ll encounter in crime fiction, and the themes of abuse, survival, and control are handled with unflinching intensity.

With razor-sharp writing and a deeply unsettling atmosphere, Kiss Her Goodbye is not just a thriller—it’s an emotional and psychological deep dive. Disturbing, addictive, and impossible to put down, this novel proves why Lisa Gardner is a master of the genre.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

The newest installment in the Frankie Elkin series is a race against time to find a missing Afghan woman in Arizona. We learn bits and pieces of her backstory as Frankie works with her friends before something happens go Sabera. I love this series and Gardner’s writing, and while this is a really good book it’s not my favorite of the series so far.

I will absolutely keep reading this series and highly recommend it!

This is my second favorite Frankie Elkin novel! I loved the variety of characters and all of them coming together. The story was fast-paced and just so good. Highly recommend!!

Frankie is back at it! Searching for a young afghan refugee. Loved the added cultural aspect of this story as well as the exploration into the different challenges these refugees face. Overall another compelling story in the series highly recommend!