This was a very refreshing book following tropes that are not seen too often. I really enjoyed it and was shocked by the surprise twist.

Julia walks into her house to find her husband, Robert, hanging from the eaves. Her daughter, Avery is in the same room.
Julia vanishes with Avery, and there is a suspicion that they have been taken.

Trigger warning - suicide and thoughts of suicide.

This has to be the most depressing book I have read this year. Every person is depressed or suicidal.
I have read a few books by this author, but this one didn't grab me and I personally did not enjoy it at all.
There are good reviews for it, but of course, this is my personal take on a book I have read.
Suspenseful - yes.
Just not my cup of tea.
3/5 stars from me.

Title: Please Don’t Find me
Author: Wendy Dranfield
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: May 22 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars

Story starts Julia Bowers comes home from a spa trip and finds her husband Robert dead and their little girl Avery sitting on the bed in the same room as her husband.

Julia knows she needs to vanish but wants it to looks like she and Avery your taken perhaps by the person who killed Roberts. So stages their abduction – first going through the house, pushing over chairs and rummaging violently through drawers. Even cuts herself to add some drops of blood to the mix.
Julia even scatters some of Robert’s items. She then gets the money she and Roberts have put aside and out they go.
When Officer Scott Walker learns of Julia’s situation, he goes to help but knows he isn’t part of the investigation so has to be careful. He dated Julia before she married Robert and he knows her secret. Also knows she never wanted to children so is surprised to learn about six year old Avery.

We soon discover that these characters are all complicated with secrets, resentments and unresolved trauma in many cases is holding then from moving on.

When I saw Wendy Dranfield had out a new novel I knew I wanted to read it ~ went into this story without any knowledge as to what it was about - other than I love this author.
I have only read four of her stories and all were GREAT!
These characters are all complicated with secrets, resentments and unresolved trauma holding them from moving on.

In a ‘’Letter from Wendy” Ms. Dranfield tells us she has continued to think about some of these characters and just may revisit sometime in the future. She also points out that she loves pets in fact her books usually contain animals- as she cannot imagine writing characters who wouldn’t want an animal in their lives - they can bring comfort in stressful times.

Hmmm Perhaps this story should have come with a trigger warning to ‘be fire to have your pet handy while reading this!

I love that one reader said – this story threw her from left to right by the sharp, surprising, and fantastic twists.

This is another great Dranfield story and is a glimpse of the twisted world of Julia Bower. Definitely a unputdownable nonstop read! I was sure I knew how it was going to end but had to keep on reading!

Not sure I can call it an enjoyable read but I certainly am looking forward to Wendy Dranfield’s next thriller with her typical complicated/complex characters and surely a dog or cat to help release some stress!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture
for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 22, 2025.

This book had me hooked from the first sentence. The opening is intense—waking up to a dead husband, a desperate escape plan, and a mother willing to do anything to protect her child. Talk about immediate stakes. The tension doesn’t let up, and every chapter feels like a ticking time bomb.

What I loved most was the raw urgency in the writing. You can practically feel the panic and determination in the narrator’s every move. The mystery behind her “secret” had me flying through the pages, needing to know what pushed her to this point and what she’s running from.

It’s the kind of story where you’re not sure who to trust, and I appreciated the dark, twisty vibes—it gave me serious Gillian Flynn meets Lisa Jewell energy. My only small gripe is that a couple of the twists felt a bit predictable, which kept it from being a full five stars for me. Still, an absolute page-turner with a fierce lead and a plot that doesn’t quit.

Perfect for fans of high-stakes domestic suspense and mothers who refuse to be victims.

I REALLY enjoyed this book a lot!! It had the perfect mix of suspense and twists and turns.

Initially, I was a bit confused as to what Julia’s secret could be, but the author did an excellent job of slowly revealing information in a way that kept me guessing and wanting more.

I used to work in the mental health field, so I especially appreciated seeing into the killer’s mind, seeing how they’d convinced themself that they weren’t a bad person and how much they claimed to actually want help to stop. It was a very interesting take on the normal suspense thriller.

My only small downside was that I wish there weren’t quite as many clues through the story to what I think was supposed to be a big twist at the end. I saw that coming from about a third of the way through the story.

Overall, I found it a very engaging read, and would definitely both recommend it as well as read other books by this author.

Wow! What a story. This has more twists and turns than a mountainous road! This psychological thriller is definitely one you won’t want to put down. Just when you think you might have things figured out, there’s another twist. I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opinions are my own.

This is really intriguing tale of secrets and lies. It did take some time to get into and get to grips with the characters. I did enjoy it on the whole though found it slightly unbelievable in places.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Julia Bowers lives in Sunset Heights, Upstate New York with husband Robert and adopted daughter Avery. One day she comes home to find Robert has hanged himself. Her reaction is strange: she fakes a burglary, takes Avery and disappears.

Her ex Scott Walker is a cop and intrigued by her disappearance which makes great waves in the media. He was also just about to commit suicide but now he takes his leave of absence from the police to travel to Sunset Heights to find out what's going on. Because he knows things about Julia that Robert probably discovered, and that the reader in due course will discover too, because Julia kidnaps a therapist to help her deal with her affliction, as you do.

Now the focus shifts not to find out who the baddie is but finding and stopping that person before they can do more harm. There are a few twists and turns but an early reveal takes some of the tension out.

There are three POVs: Julia, Scott and Robert's diary. The blurb and title gives us Julia's POV in first person but in the book it's third person, which really irritated me even though I prefer third person, but it sets the tone wrong.

There's a huge cast of intriguing characters, from Julia's mother Gloria to some neighbours and police officers and people from Julia's past who turn up dead. There are plenty of secrets to be discovered and the plot is certainly captivating, also in terms of nature vs nurture. I just hope for dog Maggie's sake that her owner will be around for a little longer, also to keep an eye on the girl. Read it if you like solid psychological thrillers dealing with maternal bonds and mentally unstable people.

3.5 stars

It took me longer than usual to get into this storyline, it just didn't seem to 'grab' me, I don't know why. I did persevere and it was a good thriller read but to be honest I liked it but didn't love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

This one pulled me in right from the first page. It’s tense, emotional, and full of twists that kept me totally hooked. A really well-done thriller that also had heart.
Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me dive into this one early!

Wendy Dranfield has done it again! Where do I even begin?

Public petition to rename Please Don't Find Me to Someone Please Find Her!! Just kidding! maybe? what a rollercoaster of emotions!

Nature vs Nurture is a huge theme in this book, and something that I have a personal interest in, so naturally I loved the characterisation in Please Don't Find Me.

Loved, loved, loved the ending... a book that will stay with you long after finishing it!

This had me hooked from the very beginning and went in a way I could have never expected!

The characterization was exceptional; the astonishing peeks into the thoughts of someone who comes across as good but instead is actually purely evil left me astounded. I had a difficult time pitting this one down!

Hooked from the first page! Great storyline and the characters were engaging. Emotional thriller! 4 stars!

3.75 ⭐️ I’m rounding up to 4 stars!

This had me hooked from the start. I could not put it down once I started it. Don’t bother reading the synopsis, NOTHING is what it seemed.

This made me feel all the feelings. Mostly anger, at Julia’s audacity. She was a tough character to like, but also kinda tough to hate. It’s complicated.

If you like thrillers, definitely give this one a try!

4 stars rounded up to 4.5

This book takes off the second you start reading. Julia comes home to find her husband dead and their little girl sitting on the bed in the same room as her husband. You immediately get the sense that Julia has secrets that her husband just couldn’t live with anymore. Julia and Avery go missing and soon a search is on to find them and Julia’s secrets will all come to light.

This book made me feel mad, sad, emotional, all the feels that you want from a book. This is a book that keeps you hooked and is page turner from the start! I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you, Bookouture, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC!

I have to admit that first, the story would go into a different direction with the hint of the secret Julia was having. Why she did not feel she would be safe staying in the house with gher daughter. Maybe that was why I was confused at first. But, it was still a good book and kept my attention enough all the time, making me want to know how it would end.

With every twist and turn, I have tried to guess what or whom would behind it. Sometimes I was wrong, sometimes I was right. The end certainly gave me a chill, and I was a bit reminded of the Inmate by Freida Mcfadden with the things going on with the child. Very much recommended!

There is a trigger warning regarding trigger.
This is a gripping read which had me up late into the night.
Well written and the ending is a real wow moment.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

The book stsrted kind of slow but gradially picked up pace. There are a couple red herrings along the way. The ending is the icing on the cake.

Ok well once this book hits 40%, it takes a turn you do not see coming. Julia comes home one night and finds her husband dead. Her little girl is watching him. Julia and Avery suddenly disappear. What happened to them? Julia's mom and ex boyfriend show up; people she hasn't seen for years, to look for her. This book took a lot of turns i did not see coming. Good suspense. Overall, very interesting topic.

What. A. Book.

As soon as you open it, you're surrounded by a sense that something isn’t quite right, and you know that Julia is going to make a disturbing discovery. You just don’t know exactly what yet. As you walk through the house with her, you feel the tension build until you finally find out what she discovers.

You empathize with her and her daughter, and it’s touching to see how concerned she is for her child.

BUT, as is often the case, nothing is what it seems...

The main character is cunning and manages to manipulate everyone around her to make herself look better and more innocent. On the other hand, she’s also a victim, desperately seeking help.

The story is perfectly put together, and the more you read, the more you want to keep reading. You get pulled in, and you have to keep up with the fast pace—whether you want to or not. And take it from me: you’ll want to!

You're thrown from left to right by the sharp, surprising, and fantastic twists.

I’ve read—no, devoured—many books by this author, and she has never disappointed me.

This is a gripping and toe-curlingly suspenseful book. Five stars just aren’t enough.

Thank you