I have read all of Heather Gudenkauf’s book and Before They Found Her did not disappoint!! Her characters are so richly developed and you either love them or love to dislike them. The first page had me hooked. Such beautiful writing. I would say Gudenkauf is one of my top psychological thriller writers. Warning! Do not start this if you expect to do anything else for the day and night! That good!!

Three twelve-year-old frenemies.
Two bloody girls.
One urban legend.

Violet, bloodied and traumatized emerges from the darkness into her mothers arms. Cora lies nearby near death, Jordyn nowhere to be found. The sixth-graders snuck out after midnight to find Joseph Wither. Legend says as a teen he burnt down his house, killing his family over a lost love. According to town folklore, he kidnapped and murdered other young women over the years. For a class project, the three girls research Joseph, convincing Cora he’s still alive.

I make no secret that I’ve been a Heather Gudenkauf fan since the Weight of Silence. I’m also a true crime buff, especially psychological crime involving children. I followed the Slenderman attacks and subsequent documentaries. At first glance, BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND might seem ripped from the headlines, but Gudenkauf created such an intricate, tight plot you won’t know how alike or similar the stories are until the very last page.

If I had asked Gudenkauf to write a book for me, she would have penned BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND. I’ve read good books and bad books, books that stayed with me forever, books that blew my mind and books I’ve re-read more than ten times. Never before have I read one that hit all my interests nearly perfectly. Gudenkauf’s writing gets crisper and cleaner every time, her characters more layered and nuanced. BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND utilizes text messages, journal entries, Violet’s mother’s first person point of view, Jordyn’s grandfather’s limited third person POV and personal notes from psychiatrist Dr Madeline Gideon’s to show (not tell) the story.

The plot had me guessing until the very last page with a number of viable suspects from the girls to a teacher to Violet’s brother’s friend to Joseph Wither himself and of course, others I placed lower on the list of possibilities. The last quarter of BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND was not stop action, twists and turns that felt organic to the story. Avoid reviews with spoilers, each revelation is a gift.

BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND appeals to readers who enjoy fiction, mysteries, suspense, women’s fiction, true crime as well as young adults.

Heather Gudenkauf is one of my favorite author’s for good reason and Before She Was Found definitely added to my love of her.

Three girls in rural Iowa have a sleepover one night and sneak off to the abandoned railway to try to find the elusive Joseph Wither, a product of local urban legend. When one of the girls ends up in the hospital badly beaten and stabbed, the police search to discover what really happened that night.

This had excellent character development and lots of twists and turns, with a completely unexpected ending. The only negative I have is that the transitions between alternating narrators and the back and forth between time periods was a little clunky at times. Otherwise, this was a flawlessly executed psychological thriller that I highly recommend to all.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Park Row and Heather Gudenkauf for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A pre-teen sleepover turns tragic when one girl is found bruised and bloody on the tracks of an abandoned rail line while the other girls have vanished. Who could hate a twelve year old girl so much that she’s now all but dead? Most assume that a drifter, someone from away attacked Cora. No one from their town would ever hurt a child….would they? This book is not for those with a weak heart (or a pre-teen daughter). Gudenkauf demonstrates just how far people will go to protect their children, even at the cost of another child’s life