A parent's worst nightmare, twelve year old Cora and her friends sneak off in the middle of the night during a sleepover gone wrong. Cora is brutally attacked and almost killed, and her friends are both suspects as police try to gather evidence and piece together clues. I particularly enjoyed the way Heather Gudenkauf told the story from various perspectives, and this novel left me guessing until the very last page. If you are looking for a page turner, look no further---this book was impossible to put down.

I made it a little more than halfway, but found the basic plot sort of done-to-death. There were very few surprises and I wasn't at all curious to see how it would end.

Quick read with a nice pace, but there was times I wanted to put it down .but over all I did enjoy it . But it could also be the reason I wanted to put it down is because I'm in a some what of a reading slump

I wanted to keep reading on, but wasn't really enjoying what I was reading and kept feeling disappointed in the direction it was taking. Quick read with a nice pace but not something I'll be thinking about positively or negatively in the future.

3.5 stars rounded up. Twelve year old Cora Landry has victim written all over her. She is bullied by most of her classmates and has no real friends. Her only sort of friend is Violet, the new girl in town. Cora and Violet work together on a school project about Urban Legends and their teacher adds Jordyn to their group. Jordyn is the queen bee and the ringleader of the bullying. While working on the project, Cora begins communicating with someone who identifies himself as the murderer the girls are researching. When the three of them spend a night at Cora's house for a sleepover, they sneak out and end up at the old railyard. By the end of the night, Cora is close to death, Violet is almost catatonic and Jordyn is missing. As an investigation begins to determine who almost killed Cora, lies, secrets and questions yield no results. What happened in the railyard?

From the blurb, it says: Before She Was Found is a timely and gripping thriller about friendship and betrayal, about the power of social pressure and the price of needing to fit in. It is about the great lengths a parent will go to protect their child and keep them safe - even if that means burying the truth, no matter the cost. I totally agree with assessment, but add it is also about bullying and its affect on the victim. Cora is such a pitiful character who will do anything to fit in. Jordyn is a child who was abandoned by her parents and has taken to bullying to feel that she has some power and control in her life, while Violet is caught in the middle. I felt for all these girls, but Jordyn made me angry. The book started strong. There was some creepiness and it had me suspecting many people. I wanted to know who J.W. really was and why he was after Cora. There were secrets revealed, so many suspects and no answers. Then something happened. It was almost as if the author wasn't sure how to wrap it all up and reread and listened again to several chapters thinking I had missed something. The final couple of chapters tied up the loose ends, but it was anti-climatic at that point. For the most part, this was a creepy, dark and disturbing story and although I was disappointed with the ending, the story kept me interested up to that point. If you enjoy a creepy mystery, with some taut and intense moments, then this will be the book for you.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this one, but definitely not my favorite by this author. I was a little shocked at how it ended.

This book just wasn't for me but I do appreciate the chance to read and review it. I wish I could say more but...

Having recently finished “Before She Was Found” by Heather Gudenkauf, I am happy to have had the chance for the e-book copy; thank you NetGalley and Park Row Books!

This was a different kind of “who-done-it” that had me wondering until… the very end!! I was absorbed by the personalities of the characters in the story and all the in-appropriate choices that were made whether adults, or teens. This was my first time reading Ms. Gudenkauf and if all her stories are as suspenseful as this one, it definitely won’t be my last!

I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

The story is in the words of a child psychiatrist who tells a story about 3 girls who sneak out in the middle of the night and are found bloody and one clinging to life. It is different in the sense that while it is a thriller it discusses bullying, teacher-student relationships, as well as cyber issues. It certainly brings you into a perspective that things are not at all what they seem.

I love how this book took me back to my own preteen years. How that feeling of fear could bloom from your own imagination and multiplied when you shared your feelings with friends. This book and its characters is so well done. While there are questions right to the very end, we get to know Cora, Violet snd Jordyn very well. Setting is crucial. Thank you Heather Gudenkauf for such a great story. Thank you to Park Row for early access.

It was a cool night on the eve of spring break when three tweens found themselves at the railyard in their small Iowa town. Before the night was over one of them was critically injured, one was in shock and one was a suspect. And the small Iowa community of Pitch is turned upside down by the events at the trainyard. It gets worse when they hear that the girls said that it was Joseph Withers. Joseph Withers is an old local urban legend saying that he took young girls. Logic tells us that Joseph Withers was not the culprit and the police are determined to get to the bottom of it.

Before She Was Found was another fabulous mystery by Heather Gudenkauf. From the very beginning I thought for sure it was another "mean girls" kind of story but added the new twist with the involvement of a local urban legend. Cora and Violet seemed like good kids. A little naive, especially Cora, but good kids. Violet hasn't had the easiest childhood, but she has a hardworking mother who loves her very much. From almost the first page I did not like or trust Jordyn. She was shady and the ultimate mean girl. I thought that I had everything figured out, including the creepy teacher, but I was wrong. And I sure didn't see the twist that seemed to come out of nowhere. CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.

Bottom Line - There is no other author who can make me miss Iowa as much as Heather Gudenkauf. She has mastered the nuances of rural Iowa better than anybody else that I have read. Throw in a good thriller and that moves her to the list of my favorite authors.

Details:

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf
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Pages: 368
Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date: 4/16/2019
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for a review.

I will read and recommend anything Heather Gudenkauf will write. I was so excited about this one that I immediately pitched it to my book club. The group loved it, and it made for such a great discussion.

I’m always on the lookout for a good mystery or thriller, and I’ve heard good things about author Heather Gudenkauf from former Bewitched Bookworm Kristen in the past. When this author’s latest book, Before She Was Found came along on tour, I couldn’t pass up the chance to find out what Kristen loved so much about her writing. The story of three twelve-year-old girls who go to an abandoned train depot in the middle of the night–and only two of them return unscathed–had me interested from the first pages. Told in several different points of view and through one of the girls’ journals as well as text messages and online chat room discussions between various characters, Before She Was Found really captured the social dynamics at play today–between families, adolescents, as well as perfect strangers that are thrown together when tragedy strikes.

Cora is a quiet, shy girl with no real friends, but when Violet moves to town, they quickly form a friendship. But a popular girl has taken an interest in Violet as well, and Cora’s daily life at school turns from looking up to taking a turn for the worst. Having been picked on and bullied by resident troubled mean girl Jordyn, Cora is surprised when Jordyn takes an interest in her–and not just in torturing her–after the three of them have been assigned to work together on a project for class. Since they have to research and present an urban legend, Jordyn pushes her original project of their local bogey man on the two girls, and Cora’s fascination with this supposed ghost that can take you away from this small town life grows to disturbing proportions. But when the three of them go to the rail yard and Cora is stabbed and nearly beaten to death, no one is talking about what happened that night.

What follows the crime is an investigation that threatens to tear families apart, threaten someone’s job, and give the local small town police force a run for their money. The girls aren’t talking and it’s putting pressure on their parents or guardians, with Cora needing surgery and extensive treatment, Violet showing extreme fear and flightiness, and Jordyn covering her mean-girl tracks any way that she can. The suffocating small town atmosphere only makes things more intense as everything spins out of control before it comes into focus in the end.

I give Before She Was Found a four out of five. I love unreliable narrators, and this book was full of them. You never knew who or exactly what to believe, and I had so much fun trying to pick the threads of truth from the lies. The ending had me a bit stumped, and I was quite surprised when the big reveal hit. I love it when a book is a bit harder to figure out. The bouncing back and forth between different times was hard to follow when reading on Kindle though, so it was a bit confusing as well as the multiple characters in the beginning until you get to know everyone. Heather Gudenkauf is an author that I will be on the lookout from now on since I really did enjoy how the story was woven together. I’m a sucker for small town Midwestern settings since they remind me of why I moved to the Chicago suburbs and will never move back!

Heather Gudenkauf is one of my favorite authors. This book was no exception and was a great read. Could not put it down. I will definitely be recommending this one! Thank you for the advanced copy.

Loved this book! My favorite of 2019! The story kept me entertained and gave me the shivers! Gudenkauf knows how to build the suspense to an exciting crescendo!

It took me a minute to write this review because I wasn’t sure if my choice of words would do this book justice. I also knew it wouldn’t be professional to write – BUY THE BOOK!! – a hundred times in my review.

The book starts with a seemingly innocent sleepover with three 12-year-old girls, which ends with one girl clinging to her life, another girl in shock, and the third girl nowhere to be found. What happened on the railroad tracks that fateful night? What prompted the girls to leave the house so late at night?

The events revealed in this book had my nerves in overdrive. The scariest thing about it all is these events are happening in real life. I felt my body tensing up a few times because as a parent, I could feel what these parents were going through. It’s a hard concept to grasp of not being able to protect our children from painful experiences.

The story alternates from past and present events, that allows the reader to fully understand what led up to the tragic events of that night. Sometimes when authors alternate from past and present, it can cause readers to get frustrated and confused. But Author Heather Gudenkauf showcased her ability to weave her words seamlessly to create this excellent read.

Author Heather Gudenkauf has worked her literary magic once again, causing my mind to endure some extreme twists and turns before she pulled the rug from under my feet with the book’s explosive ending.

This book is full of suspense, so I didn’t want my review to be a summary of the book. I want the reader to read this book without any warnings of what’s to come. Trust me! You are not ready!

Reviewed by: Orsayor

This book is about three girls who decide to go to an abandoned train yard in the middle of the night during a sleepover. The girl hosting the sleepover is found badly injured. She has been stabbed and beaten multiple times and nearly loses her eye. The other girl is covered in blood and clearly in shock. The third girl also has some blood on her. The book then switches between the three families and moves from past to present. The story is also narrated from a child psychiatrist's point of view. The book covers topics such as bullying, the role of social media, teacher-pupil relationships and many other current topics. Lots of twists and an ending I really didn't expect. Great page turner.

In this compelling thriller were we are sucked into the story of young girls, centering around Cora as well Violet and Jordyn. The girls sneak out and go down to the rail yard while at a sleepover following an urban legend. One of the girls if found badly beaten. As the book progresses and the police attempt to figure out what happened on that fateful night you are so drawn into the story and then you get a jolt with an ending you didn't see coming.

Heather Gudenkauf is a go to author for me. Her books always keep me on the edge of my seat and guess the who, what why!

5 stars

Heather Gudenkauf novels are always suspenseful and Before She Was Found was certainly no exception.

12 year old Cora Landry is having her friends Violet and Jordyn over for a sleepover so how does that end up with Cora found beaten and stabbed in the abandoned train yard, Violet covered in Cora's blood and obviously traumatized from what occurred and Jordyn back home but not quite acting normal. Did the girls turn against each other or was some other person stalking them and responsible for Cora's injuries.

Before She Was Found weaves a very tangled web that kept me turning pages at a rapid pace and guessing until the very end. For those reasons, I rated this a four star read, however I was disappointed in the ending and without revealing any spoilers, I didn't quite feel that all the threads were connected or answered. The ending left me a little underwhelmed and with unanswered questions, but the rest of the book had me on the edge of my seat.

I received this book courtesy of Park Row through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.