Please Don’t Find Me is the latest thriller from author Wendy Dranfield.

Julia discovers her husband dead in their spare room and her daughter sitting nearby in eerie stillness. The police immediately identify it as a suicide, but Julia cannot accept their conclusions and feels there is another explanation. That same night Julia fearing for her own life vanishes with her daughter. From the outside, it looks like an abduction. But the truth is far more complicated and far more dangerous.

Julia’s ex, Scott is a police officer who is currently on a break from duty. He follows the story on the news and like Julia feels that something doesn’t seem right. Scott still holds feelings for Julia and together with his career intuition decides to do his own investigations.

This was a good read, well paced and an interesting plot. I would rate it somewhere between 3 and 4 stars but certainly worth reading.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book delivers a rollercoaster of emotions, leaving you questioning what you just read. Julia, a woman on the run with her six-year-old daughter Avery, is fleeing from a shocking discovery—her husband Robert’s suicide. But the reasons behind her escape run far deeper, delving into her dark and disturbing urges and resulting actions.

Julia’s actions are inexplicable, and the novel explores the reasons behind her behavior. But the story doesn’t stop there. Enter Officer Scott Walker, Julia’s ex-boyfriend, whose own disturbing reasons for breaking up with her years ago are revealed. His relentless pursuit of Julia becomes a central thread in the novel.

This haunting read takes you on a journey through Julia’s dark urges and the brutal extremes she goes through while on the run with Avery. It’s a shocking and compelling story that keeps you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning.

While it’s clear that Julia has dark urges, the novel also delves into Scott’s story. Even the deceased Robert has a voice, adding to the intensity of the read.

This fast-paced novel is thrilling from beginning to end. The question lingers: what is Julia’s story, and what is Scott’s? The book answers these questions and more, offering a unique and unexpected perspective. While the trigger warning at the opening of this book was warranted, it is most certainly worth the read. It’s a different and shocking experience that you won’t be able to put down.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

That was A FANTASTIC READ , i finished exams early and was so bored so i read this amazing work finally and my honest review is in the first chapters I felt that I was caught in a rollercoaster and the style of writing was really catchy but as someone who don't like spoiler that was A freaking awesome book so highly recommended

Dark, Twisted, and Emotionally Heavy

Please Don’t Find Me is a deeply unsettling psychological thriller that dives into grief, guilt, and mental illness. The story begins with a shocking tragedy—Julia returns home to find her husband has taken his own life, leaving their young daughter traumatized. What follows is a tangled web of secrets, trauma, and deception as mother and daughter disappear, leading to a case that seems like abduction—but nothing is quite as it seems.

The book is full of twists and turns, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, another layer is revealed. Mental health plays a major role in each character’s journey, and while the narrative is compelling and often compulsively readable, it’s also very bleak. Every character is struggling—depressed, suicidal, or emotionally unstable—which makes for a heavy read.

I found the pacing a bit slow at the start and had trouble connecting with the characters early on, but the tension builds steadily, and the mystery kept me engaged. A dark, messed-up story with a strong sense of unease throughout. Recommended if you enjoy thrillers that explore the darker corners of the human psyche.

Thank you to the author, Wendy Dranfield, NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book for review consideration. I am voluntarily leaving this review which is my honest, unbiased opinion.

Blimey, I have never read a book by Dranfield, but on the merit of Please Don't Find Me I now need to consume her entire back catalogue...Yes, it was that good!

The pace is fast, frantic and the suspense was through the roof! One chapter in and I was obsessed! My poor Kindle took quite the beating!

It's told in first and third person from multiple POV. It's dark, super twisty and has some great characters...none of whom I could trust. There were secrets, lies and the tension waiting for them to be revealed, hit hard!

A fantastic gripping page turner.

Loved it!

Please Don't Find Me by Wendy Dranfield is a dark and twisted psychological thriller that will have you hooked almost from the beginning. Perfect for fans of Alice Hunter and Lisa Jewell!

When Julia returns home from a rare spa day, she is expecting her husband Robert and their daughter Avery to be waiting for her. What she finds instead is Robert's body hanging from a beam in the ceiling. As word travels through the neighborhood of Robert's apparent suicide, Julia makes a plan to vanish from their life. Ransacking the house and faking their abduction is the only way Julia knows how to keep Avery safe. What is Julia hiding and why must they leave their life behind?
Meanwhile, Julia's ex Scott is a police officer who is supposed to be taking a mental health break. When he sees that Julia has vanished, he begins to look into the case if Robert's suicide and Julia's disappearance. What he uncovers is shocking and leaves him questioning whether Julia is as innocent as she seems...

This book is definitely dark and twisted!! Some heavy topics are discussed including discovery of a suicide and discussion and portrayal of suicidal ideation, so just be aware and protect your peace! This starts out a bit slow as we meet all of the characters but soon things race forward at a breakneck pace! The way Dranfield slowly trickled in pieces of the puzzle had me on edge, waiting not so patiently for the next scrap of information! The characters are well developed and written and I love how their internal dialogue actually sounds realistic unlike in other thrillers I have read lately 🤣 Overall I definitely recommend this one for fans of dark, twisted and fast paced thrillers!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Dranfield, and Bookouture for this ARC!! Publication date is May 22nd 2025.

This is a dark psychological thriller, and it will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.
When Julia finds her husband’s dead body in the spare room, with their daughter sitting on the bed looking at him, she is in shock.
The Police think it’s suicide but Julia knows there’s more to this.
That night she disappears with her daughter and the Police think she may have been abducted.
Julia’s ex, Scott, sees the story on the news and as a Policeman who is taking some time out, he is drawn to the case.
There’s lots more to this story but I don’t want to spoil it, as you need to discover the twists and turns for yourselves.
This is a great read.
Thanks to Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.

Wendy Dranfield writes amazing psychological thrillers that will make you read in one go. Please Don't Find Me is another one of her latest works that will keep you up all night.

Julia Bowers returns home after a long spa and was horrified to discover her husband has committed suicide. She discovers a picture that he was holding and when she saw what he was holding, Julia immediately takes her daughter Avery and leaves the house. Meanwhile, Scott is a police officer and when he hears the news about Julia's sudden disappearance, he knows that something is up as he has dated Julia and knows what Julia is capable of.

This was an unputdownable and fast paced thriller. We get to know that Julia is in fact a psychopath with an addiction of killing people that she kidnaps her own therapist to help her to overcome the urge. There are so many twist and turns along the way and it really makes you feel like you are at the edge of the seat while reading this. The ending was quiet unexpected. Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this and looking forward to read more standalone psychological thrillers from Wendy Dranfield. Overall worth 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

In true Wendy Dranfield fashion, this was a fast paced twisty thriller that kept me truly engaged!
Please Don't Find Me by Wendy Dranfield was so entertaining, with a tense atmosphere and the urge to keep reading just one more chapter.
I was absorbed throughout this psychological thriller.
Amazingly written, Wendy Dranfield knows how to hook and pull her readers straight into a wild and crazy ride.
This is a very good mystery as the suspense builds until you can't turn the pages fast enough.
I love when she releases a new book because I know I’m going to be pulling an all nighter.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I only glanced at the synopsis of this book so was expecting the latest installment in the Madison Harper series. What I got was something very different. This is a really dark story which really shows the depths that some people will go to. There were a few major twists but to be honest I spent most of the book with my mouth open in shock. So did I enjoy it? Yes, I did. It was unlike anything I'd ever read so if you fancy a psychological thriller with the emphasis on psycho then give it a go.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

When Julia arrives home from her spa day, she expects her husband Robert and daughter Avery to be waiting for her. When she steps into a quiet home, she knows something is wrong. She soon finds Robert hanging in the spare bedroom, with Avery sitting on the bed staring at him. Everything points to suicide. But when Julia and Avery disappear, everyone starts to suspect there is more to the story.

This was a fast-paced thriller, with every chapter leading you into a completely new directiok just when you think you know what's going on. It digs into the whole nature vs nurture debate, and whether homicidal tendencies are hereditary.
I'd love to see a sequel when Avery is older, and to see how her early childhood trauma plays out.
This is my first from this author, and I look forward to reading more.

“With a deep breath, she pushes the door open, and her brain takes a second to register what greets her. At first, she’s relieved to find her husband inside, but once it clicks that he’s hanging from and overhead beam and has been clearly dead for some time, her world comes crashing down”.

As Julia returns from her very rare night away the house feels almost empty. Inside should be her husband and daughter but they are no where to be found. That is until Julia makes the most shocking discovery her husband is no longer alive.

Scott, Julia’s ex partner is also looking for a way out of his life. The only thing stopping him is his dog and the news of Julia and her daughter’s disappearance. When he meets Natalie, an off duty cop, he sees this as his way into the case of missing Julia and Avery. However as feelings become involved and lives get taken the situation gets evermore complicated.

As Scott begins to take a deeper dive into Julia’s past he uncovers some horrifying truths forcing him to confront his own past and how his actions have contributed to events playing out in real time. With nosy neighbours, a string of murders and a killer on the run is anyone really safe?

This is a twisty and turning story jumping around from different time zones, diary entries and people’s perspectives.

A slightly slower start but once the story picked up it became a page turning thriller!

When I heard this was one for Lisa Jewell and Alice Hunter fans I knew I was going to love it.

4⭐️/5

TW - death, suicide and kidnapping are key themes throughout this story.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for sending me this copy.
#pleasedontfindme #NetGalley

Publication date - 22nd May 2025

Please Don’t Find Me by Wendy Dranfield

#PleaseDontFindMe
#WendyDranfield #Bookouture #NetGalley Special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Wendy Dranfield delivers a chilling thriller with Please Don’t Find Me—a dark, twisty ride that keeps you guessing until the very end.
The story jumps right in with Julia’s perfect life falling apart in an instant. She comes home from a relaxing day at the spa to find her husband dead—and their young daughter Avery alone in the house with him. The shock ripples through their quiet neighborhood, where everyone thought Julia’s family was happy and drama-free.
Not long after the tragedy, Julia and Avery vanish without a trace in what looks like a kidnapping. Was her husband’s death just the beginning? Or is something even more sinister going on?
When Julia’s ex, Scott Walker, steps in to investigate her disappearance, the story really starts to unravel. Hidden truths come to light, and nothing—and no one—is quite what they seem.
I’ll be honest: I struggled with the pacing early on and didn’t connect with the characters right away. But once things started clicking into place, I couldn’t stop reading. Each twist added a new layer, and the suspense kept me fully invested.
The characters, especially as their secrets began to surface, turned out to be fascinating. Just when I thought I had them figured out, the story took another sharp turn.
If you’re into psychological thrillers with buried secrets, complex characters, and plenty of “wait, what?!” moments, give this one a shot. It might start slow, but it’s absolutely worth sticking with. I’ll definitely be grabbing more of Wendy Dranfield’s books after this.
My Rating Scale:
1 Star – I wish I could get that time back. Just not good at all.
2 Stars – It was okay. I wasn’t excited about it, but it held my attention enough. I don’t feel like my time was totally wasted.
3 Stars – A really good read! I probably won’t pick it up again, but I enjoyed it and might recommend it to someone.
4 Stars – Great book! I really liked it and would definitely recommend it to others.
5 Stars – One of my absolute favorites! I likely own a physical copy. I’d happily read this one again.

Absolutely loved this book, it was full of twists & I didn’t see the final chapters coming! Highly recommend this read!

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Please Don’t Find Me’ written by Wendy Dranfield in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Julia returns home after a night away and finds her husband Robert hanging from a beam in their spare bedroom, and six-year-old Avery wearing her sunglasses and sitting on the bed opposite him. Julia can’t risk being found so messages up their house and fakes their abduction for her own safety and that of Avery. Scott, Julia’s ex-boyfriend from years before and police officer from another precinct, reads the news report and although he’s supposed to be on sick leave for his mental health he decides instead to go searching for them.

‘Please Don’t Find Me’ is a dark and fairly depressing psychological thriller that revolves around characters suffering from mental health problems and suicidal thoughts. From the initial blurb I’d expected a fast-paced story filled with secrets and lies but it was more of a slow-burn although there was still plenty of suspense and twists that made me want to know more about the characters. Initially I liked Julia but when I found out about her background my support transferred to Scott who came across as a lonely though likeable person. I liked this thriller but I didn’t love it as the undercurrent of mental health problems made it difficult to read.

So many twists and turns in this one!!

When Julia arrives home from a night away, excited to see her husband and daughter, she walks into tragedy. Her husband has taken his own life. Ruled a suicide, everyone is then surprised to learn of Julia and her daughter’s suspicious disappearance. What follows is a fast paced story with many twists and unsuspected turns.

I must admit that this wasn’t what I would have expected from this author, it seems quite a bit darker than her other books. Despite not having been directly affected by the issues raised in this story, I did find it a hard read especially at the start when another character, who is also considering taking his life, starts to see a bit of hope, but it’s quickly dashed away.

It’s well written, characters are developed well and I can envisage all the places they go, there is suspense and tension but I did struggle a little with the continuing theme throughout.

3.5 stars

Was an okay read, just was not that interested, expected more I guess? I have never read anything from this author so I did not know what to expect.

Please Don't Find me is a fast paced thriller that I couldn't put down. I liked the multiple points of view and the twists through out the book. I can't wait to read her other books.

Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for my gifted copy. This review will be shared to @coffee.break.book.reviews closer to publication date.

Ooh, now this was fun! I hope it becomes a series. Cop falls for suspect. Add in some drama, limited sex scenes, and a strong supporting cast, it has a little bit of everything. Fast-moving, interesting mystery to solve, tho some of the character history was a little too blurry to really solve this as a reader. Definitely a new author to watch out for.

Please Don’t Find Me is a standalone thriller by Wendy Dranfield. I am such a huge fan of the author!

I’ll be honest, I really didn’t think I would finish this book. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the pacing at the beginning of the book was confusing to me. I’m so glad I kept going. The more I read, the more the layers were revealed, the more I was hooked!

This was a masterfully written, dark, twisted, story and I want more! This truly was a page-turner. I never knew what was going to happen next.

The characters were actually fascinating. As each new facet was revealed, I was blown away!
I definitely recommend reading this!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Please Don't Find Me (A jaw-dropping and completely addictive psychological thriller) by Wendy Dranfield
Publisher:Bookouture
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: May 22, 2025