This was my first read by Kathryn Croft and I loved it! So many twists and turns that actually made my head spin. I loved how the story unfolded, eventually switching between past and present and though that finally revealing bit by bit what really happened to Sophie and everyone else involved.
I loved getting to know Sophie and admire her determination to keeping her family safe and happy but still trying everything to reach her dreams. Vanessa was another character that I found very intriguing. How much pain can one person take before snapping? She too has to be admired for fighting back and revealing what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the chance to dive into this story!

Sophie Was Here by Kathryn Croft
Holy buckets. This was intense from page one. The buildup only created more pressure until things exploded.

I loved how twisted this story was. The way the last was intertwined with the present. I love it when an author can curate the plot so deceitfully that you cannot guess who the bad guy is.

I loved Emmie. She was bold, and I loved getting to know her. I also liked Vanessa. She felt like someone who just needed to be seen, and I love that Emmie gave that to her.

I enjoyed the way the relationships felt authentic throughout this novel. Relationships are complicated, romantic or otherwise, and this story beautifully toggled the balance between good and evil.

I loved how this plot unfolded. Each page added more dimension to the story, and I was hooked.

Publication date: July 3, 2025
Publisher: Bookouture

🥹 WoW 🥹Sophie Was Here by Kathryn Croft was a excellent psychological thriller and so addictive. I was hooked from the very beginning, I was lucky to have the audiobook and book to review and I loved it. Sophie Was Here was a twisty throughout which made it a roller coaster read. Best of all, at had some great red herrings within it - which as very clever!
The ending was Superb. .. . . . .This audiobook - if you are looking for an audiobook to listen to was one of the best I have listened to this year and its a great holiday read especially if you are on a long flight.

I Highly recommend this to any mystery/thriller fan, it does not disappoint! 5 ⭐️ audiobook/book.

Big Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio for my ARC's.

I have read and enjoyed many books by Croft and each one becomes my new favourite...at least until the next one.

It's an engaging and easily bingeable thriller. I was hooked from the prologue alone!

Weaving across dual timelines and narrated from multiple POV, Croft takes us on a twist strewn journey of secrets, lies and SOPHIE...because she was here and now she's gone!

An enjoyable slow burning suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kathryn Croft, and Bookouture for the eARC. I’m a big fan of Kathryn Croft, and this one definitely delivers! A fast-paced whodunit with a chilling farmhouse setting that adds the perfect eerie touch. A must-read for thriller lovers!

I loved Sophie Was Here! It had everything I want in a thriller - an eerie old house, a small town full of secrets, and dual timelines that kept me hooked. I was flipping pages trying to figure out how Sophie’s past connected to Emmie’s present, and just when I thought I had it all figured out… I didn’t.

The creepy vibe was just right. It wasn't over the top, but enough to make you feel unsettled in the best way. And the twists? So good. I couldn’t put it down and finished it way too fast.

If you love twisty, atmospheric mysteries with a little emotional depth, definitely add this one to your list. I’ll be thinking about it for a while!

This is another fantastic thriller by Kathryn Croft. The writing is fast paced, and the characters are all intriguing. I raced through it, I’d definitely recommend this book.

Wow.

“Sometimes there are things you do for love that go against your instinct.” This quote embodies the whole book.

So first up the characters were so well written, especially Vanessa. I think it’s important in all kind of books to have mental health represented.

The actual plot, so many times I thought I’d cracked it but nothing prepared me for the truth, I was hooked. The amount of twists in the book would have have me whiplash

An amazing book, I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Disappointing, far fetched and not brilliantly edited.

I read it out of curiosity and in hope it would get better but after one too many obvious red herrings I’m left feeling a bit flat.

Not for me, but everyone else seems to love it.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Was Here is a tense and fast paced read that reeled me in right from the very beginning. It’s a tense and fast paced read that didn’t slow down at any time. That’s something I love in a thriller as sometimes this genre can slow down a bit in the middle of the story, this most certainly wasn’t the case with this one. Kathryn Croft has again written a brilliant psychological thriller which contains everything I love in this genre, brilliant well developed characters , plenty of twists and turns and a couple of red herrings thrown in that threw me off track at times. I loved it and give it all the stars

Wasn’t a bad read but was kind of drawn out and easy to predict!
A quick good read but wasn’t something I needed to go out of my way at for

the perfect family or is it? this was a new author for me and the storyline had been intrigued from the start.
so many twists you don’t see coming
i will definitely be looking for other books by this author

Sophie Was Here is a chilling psychological thriller by author Kathryn Croft that blends domestic suspense with small-town secrets, in an atmospheric setting. This is a mystery of a missing girl and a family home that is hiding more than memories.

When Emmie moves into Forest Farm, her boyfriend Charlie’s idyllic family estate, it seems like the fresh start she’s always dreamed of. A beautiful farmhouse, a supportive partner, and the sense of belonging she’s long craved. But from the moment the villagers begin whispering behind her back, Emmie learns that Charlie’s past and the haunting story of his vanished teenage girlfriend, Sophie is still very much alive. When Emmie makes her way down to the basement she is shocked to see scratched on the walls ‘Sophie was here’

This is an atmospheric novel where the tension steadily build and the suspense is fever pitch as it reveals more and more. This is well written and will keep you guessing.

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

Kathryn Croft delivers a chilling and intricately plotted psychological thriller in Sophie Was Here, a story that unravels the haunting mystery of a missing girl and the dark secrets that refuse to stay buried. When Emmie learns that Sophie—the ex-girlfriend of her current boyfriend—vanished under suspicious circumstances, her life begins to spiral as she receives disturbing messages and is pulled deeper into the shadows of the past.

Croft masterfully builds tension throughout the narrative, weaving in layers of deception, suspicion, and emotional complexity. Emmie’s growing obsession with uncovering the truth keeps the momentum high, while the steady stream of revelations creates a sense of unease that lingers on every page.

What sets this novel apart is its intricate detailing and the way the story escalates, leading to a climax where everything unravels with devastating impact. Just when you think you understand what’s happening, Croft delivers another twist, making the journey as unpredictable as it is gripping.

Sophie Was Here is a dark, twist-filled thriller that keeps readers questioning motives and truths right up until the final pages. With its compelling mystery and emotionally charged tension, it’s a must-read for fans of domestic suspense and psychological thrillers.

Yet another great book from this author. Sophie and her partner were given his family home to move into. Whats not to like it's a five bedroomed house. Not everyone is pleased to see her boyfriend back in the village and when it also comes to light that her boyfriend was the last to see a girl that disappeared years ago she wonders why he mentioned her.
Great book with plenty to keep you guessing.

Happy (day after) PUB DAY! 🎉

Wellll….that was a shocking and twisty four-star read! While I had my suspicions and kept flipping back and forth on the “whodunnit,” I was totally wrong—and I loved that!

After Emmie is made redundant from her job as a child behavioral therapist, she gives up her London flat to move in with her boyfriend, Charlie, into the family home his parents gifted him. Charlie, a corporate lawyer, met Emmie when he accidentally knocked her off her bike - a fun meet cute, right?!

But when Emmie first sees the house, her unease kicks in. It has a basement, and years ago, her father died in a basement while she was asleep upstairs.
Things get even weirder when she finds a message scrawled on the basement wall: “Please Help Me”—with what looks like blood underneath it.
Charlie admits seeing it, then later acts like he has no idea what she’s talking about.
When Emmie checks again, the message is gone… but another one appears: “Sophie was here.”
She snaps a picture this time and becomes obsessed with finding out who Sophie is.
But the more Emmie uncovers, the less sure she is of anything—or anyone.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Kathryn Croft, and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this twisty tale in exchange for a review! 🖤🔍📚

*this is now available to enjoy for free for Kindle Unlimited members!

This was a good book to read, a definite page turner.
Written in the first person, a woman and her boyfriend are given a beautiful family home, no strings attached. It becomes very clear that she has her own secrets, and she soon comes to realize her boyfriend has several secrets of his own, starting with Sophie, his teenage girlfriend that disappeared when she was 17,
This is one of those books where you can't say too much in the review, because it will give too much away. Let's just say the words "Sophie was here" becomes a dangerous warning.
I have never read anything by Kathryn Croft, but I am already going online to see what books of hers I can get.

When Emmie and her boyfriend Charlie are given Charlie's family home called Forest Farm, Emmie feels like she has everything she could ever want in life. Another plus is being accepted into Charlie's family. At first the house is everything and more. With five bedrooms, gorgeous views, and close proximity to Charlie's parents, it seems like Forest Farm is the perfect fresh start they need. But, then the gossip around town starts and the townspeople avoid Emmie and Charlie like the plague. Whispered rumors of Charlie's ex-girlfriend Sophie make their way to Emmie. It appears that Sophie went missing when she was 17 and she was never heard from again. When Emmie tries to talk to Charlie about Sophie, a wall goes up and Emmie instinctively knows not to pry. Then, in the basement, she finds three words that will chill her to her bones.. Sophie was here. What secrets are hidden deep within her new house?

Kathryn Croft is quickly becoming an auto read author for me! This story is an atmospheric thriller with family secrets galore! Split between two timelines, Emmie in the present day and then before Sophie disappeared, Croft seamlessly transitions the two without the story being affected. For the first good half of the book we have a deliberate and methodical slow burn, that in my opinion is necessary to lay a good foundation. Throughout the story the tension ramps up steadily, keeping you glued to the pages! Overall I definitely recommend this story for fans of atmospheric mysteries with multiple POVs and great twists!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kathryn Croft, and Bookouture for this ARC! Publication date was July 3rd 2025.

3⭐️

Started off slow and then picked up a bit in the middle. However, it felt way too dragged out. The twists were quite predictable as well.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for me honest review.

Sophie Was Here by Kathryn Croft is a gripping and compelling page turner from start to finish and I enjoyed every single minute of it!
This was an entertaining and suspenseful story with interesting characters as the threads were woven into place to a satisfying end.
I was completely entranced with how this story would end. I could not get enough.
This turned out to be a great read and I’m looking forward to reading more books from Croft.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

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