I loved this book! I thought the main character was well written and I loved watching her bring out skills she had hidden for so long. This was one of those "I'll sleep later" kind of books! Highly recommend!

Wherever She Goes is a mystery/thriller that revolves around family issues. Aubrey Finch sees a young boy taken from a local park but no one believes her so she decides to investigate on her own. Her family has already been torn apart by her secrets...will this be the final straw.

I really enjoy Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series and this stand alone novel did not disappoint. If you are looking for an enjoyable mystery that you will keep reading to find out how the story ends give this one a try.

Kelley Armstrong’s newest book Wherever She Goes is a gripping psychological thriller that explores the lengths one woman will go to when she believes the police aren’t doing their jobs.

Single mom Aubrey Finch is in the neighborhood park one day and meets a young woman and her little boy. After some brief small talk, they go their separate ways, but the next time, Aubrey is in the park, she sees the same little boy being pulled unwillingly in an SUV which then speeds away. There’s no sign of his mother anywhere, so panicked and concerned for the boy’s safety, Aubrey phones the police. When they arrive on the scene, the reaction Aubrey gets is not at all what she is expecting. Because there’s no parent around reporting that their child has been abducted, the police refuse to believe Aubrey’s story and even go so far as to accuse her of being a mentally unstable attention seeker. Aubrey knows what she saw, and so, frustrated by law enforcement’s lack of action, she decides to take matters into her own hands to bring the little boy home safely…

Wow, what a wild ride this was. I had tremendous sympathy for Aubrey for so many reasons. I can’t even imagine trying to report something as important as a child abduction to the police and having them blow me off. I also honestly can’t imagine law enforcement behaving so irresponsibly, but it definitely serves as an effective device to move the story along and spur Aubrey into amateur sleuth mode. Even more so than the way she was treated by the police, however, my sympathy for Aubrey lies in the fact that she is newly divorced and trying to make it on her own without help from anyone. Her own child is living with her ex-husband full time now (Aubrey’s idea) because she’s living in a not-so-great neighborhood where the rent is cheap in hopes of saving up money for a better home that is more suitable for a child. I commend her for her independence in this matter but also felt bad for her because not having custody of her child immediately opens her up to all kinds of judgment from strangers. Everyone assumes she has done something terrible to not have her child living with her.

Aubrey also has her fair share of secrets that she has been hiding for years. I’ll admit that the fact she’s hiding something about herself, coupled with the way people kept questioning her sanity did give me pause as to whether or not Aubrey was a reliable narrator. I liked her so much though that I wanted her to be right so I was glued to the book to see what, if anything, she would find when she started looking for proof that there really was an abduction. The author does a fantastic job building up suspense here because when Aubrey starts trying to locate the woman she met in the park that day, she opens up a can of worms that is way more than she bargained for.

My only real complaint about Wherever She Goes is that I actually felt more invested in Aubrey’s personal dramas and in finding out about her past than I did in the abduction storyline. Both were interesting, of course, but the witnessing of a crime and having no one believe your story just felt a little stale to me, like it has been done many times before (The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window immediately come to mind). Aubrey’s personal story grabbed my attention and held it more since it was the more unique of the two.

Even with that one little quibble though, Wherever She Goes is still a very entertaining read. There were plenty of plot twists to keep me guessing and I found the ending to be very satisfying. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers and domestic dramas.

Aubrey and her husband Paul are separated and she only gets to see her daughter, Charlie, on the weekends. She befriends a fellow mom and her child at the park and soon witnesses the child being taken against his will. She tries to report it to police but they say no report has come in regarding a missing child - and the mother has vanished. Aubrey decides to take on finding the boy herself - soon getting in over her head and forced to confront her own past.
This is the first Kelley Armstrong book I've read but it definitely won't be my last! I enjoyed the quick, easy read that had me wondering "what happens next" all throughout..
Thanks to Kelley Armstrong, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this great book!

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for my review.

I normally adore and devour Kelley Armstrong’s novel
I found myself struggling through this one. I’ve read quite a few of her mystery novels but this one didn’t grip me as her other novels have.

The beginning was the best part to me when we’re first introduced to the character Audrey as she’s trying to rebuild her life with her three-year-old after her divorce. The anxiety and pressure she felt was honestly the most compelling part of the book and then I got kind of lost from there. I’ve read more than a few mystery/thriller novels and I feel like the plot has been recycled over and over. The woman witnesses a crime and has to do the digging herself because the police think she’s just a hysterical lady and doesn’t take it seriously.

Audrey’s past and the beginning of the book were the best parts for me but the rest of the book fell short, unfortunately

I love this authors Casey Duncan series, such a unusual setting and place. This one is a standalone, or maybe part of a new series. While this was suspenseful in parts, my feelings were mixed.

What I liked

The premise, Aubrey sees a young boy being kidnapped and becomes involved.
Her estranged husband, hard not too since he was a very nice man.
The easy style of writing and smooth pace.

What I had a little trouble with.

Aubrey's constant moaning about her past. Got a little old after a while and her regrets were mentioned way too often
The ending, too late by far.

Don't get me wrong, this is worth reading. It's quick and Armstrong is a good writer.

ARC from Netgalley.

This was my first book by this author and its definitely not going to be the last!! It was fast paced and full of excitement. It had to many twists and turns that I never knew what was going to happen next. There was never a dull moment from start to finish.

I didn't connect with this book at all. I didn't care for the main character and the mystery/inciting event was not all that intriguing to me.
It's not a bad book, but after reading the synopsis I was really looking forward to it and in the end, it just fell totally flat.
What is it with the books lately where total bystanders insert themselves into police investigations, to the peril of their families, jobs, and even themselves--FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON? Because of some misplaced sense of justice, like they feel like the police can't do their jobs (and in these books they don't seem to be able to do as well as the main character).
Aubrey could have been an interesting character, a total badass, but instead she just seemed like she was out of her element even when she wasn't. And don't get me started about her as a mother...maybe I'm one of those judgy moms she saw on the playground but it was incongruous that she could be this amazing investigator, but she couldn't remember to take her daughter to a princess tea that had been planned forever.
Onto the next book, hoping it keeps my interest more.

I have only read one other Kelley Armstrong book and this was head and shoulders above that one (and it was good). She is a fantastic writer and her characters and story keep you turning the pages.
I loved that this was a stand-alone thriller and I initially worried that it would fall into the same, tired trope as many other novels of late, where the female protagonist is telling people around her what she has witnessed and isn’t even believed by her own family. Fortunately, although recently separated, her ex- is more willing to listen and without spoiling the plot, this avoids the trope of the pathetic female who no one listens to as the heroine. Aubrey has a hidden past, good and bad, that is complicated. This clearly influences many of her decisions going forward and makes for a compelling and very readable story.
Highly recommend!! This was a pleasure to read. I hated to have obligations this week because I wanted to get time to read this!
#WhereverSheGoes #NetGalley

I have read a previous book by Kelley Armstrong and loved it and when I heard about this newest novel I couldn’t wait to get a copy of my own to read. I love her style of writing, and the way her writing draws your attention into the story and demands your attention all throughout. This book was no different and I was not disappointed.

Imagine witnessing a young boy being taken from someone into a vehicle and being driven off to who knows where. Only to report it to the police and they do nothing about it? In fact, they barely pay much attention to your story and you are frustrated because you know.. you are certain something sinister is at play, but what? Would you take matters into your own hands, put your own life on the line and risk your safety and the safety if your own family?

I loved how gripping this novel was. I loved the main character Aubrey. She has a dark, secretive past that even her estranged husband doesn’t know about. She keeps it hidden and secret from everyone she knows, and it eats her up inside. Her and her ex have a daughter together, that lives with her ex. Aubrey takes her on the weekends and many people do not understand why or how a mother can just up and leave their child behind. Don’t most judges side with the mother? Aubrey has her reasons and those reasons are revealed to us as the story moves along.

I enjoyed the various components of this book. We learn about Aubrey’s marriage and what leads to her marriage falling apart. We learn about her dark and mysterious past, that has made her into the woman she is today. What lead her to make all the decisions in life that she has made. We also learn about her current relationship with her ex. The feelings are still there, at least on her part, but he is seeing someone else and has been for a while now.

There is so much going on in this novel and I loved everything about it. I could seriously not put this book down. I flew through the chapters, completed engrossed in what was happening and wanting to know more. I loved the character development of the lead characters, and I was curious to know if Aubrey would be able to solve the situation with the kidnapped child on her own, with or without the police’s help.

A book that will have you flipping the pages to see what will happen next, be sure to add this book to your TBR list. You will love it!

I just finished Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong and it was so intense that sitting down to write this review now, my heart is still pounding a mile a minute in my chest. I’m a huge fan of the author’s thrillers, in particular her Rockton series, and it was a delight to find that this was in the same league in terms of excitement and drive, though of course it was also different enough to offer a new and refreshing change of pace.

In this standalone novel, we follow protagonist Aubrey Finch who has just recently separated from her husband Paul. But while she has long since accepted the fate of her doomed marriage, what she refuses to give up on is joint custody of her daughter Charlotte, who is Aubrey’s whole world. Despite being an independent, resourceful and smart woman, Aubrey knows her questionable past and lack of financial resources would not stand a chance in court against Paul, a successful defense lawyer who can provide stability for their child. And so she throws herself into being the best mother she can be, bringing Charlotte to the park on their weekends together, trying to mingle with the other moms to prove to others and herself that she is perfectly capable of taking care of her daughter.

This is how Aubrey first meets the young blonde woman, who shows up at the park sometimes with her little boy. They’ve talked on occasion, though never shared names. Just the usual kind of chitchat you have with your typical friendly mom who brings their kid to the playground. But then one day, during a jog through the park on her lunchbreak, Aubrey witnesses the blonde woman’s son being pulled forcefully into a car, with the woman herself nowhere to be seen. In a panic, Aubrey calls the police to report a kidnapping, expecting them put out an Amber alert, mobilize a search, the whole nine yards. Instead, nothing happens. The police say that no one has reported their child missing, so there’s nothing that can be done other than to follow up on the limited leads that Aubrey has provided, which have been checked and have gone nowhere. Frustrated, Aubrey decides to do her own digging into the situation, knowing what she saw was real, that somewhere out there, a child is in danger. And yet, the more she pushes, the more trouble she seems to find herself in. People are starting to question her sanity, wondering whether her fears of losing her own child might be making her delusional. Worse, her investigation activities might be drawing some unwanted attention, threatening to expose details from her past that she would prefer to leave unexplored.

Leave it to Kelley Armstrong to write such an addictive and immersive thriller! I was captivated from the moment it started, and I don’t think the pace slows down at all. Story-wise, Wherever She Goes might come across as the same old, same old—a missing child, an amateur detective protagonist whose obsession with the case leads others to doubt them, and so on and so forth—but what Armstrong does that few other authors can pull off is a perfect sense of timing and a writing style that can convey a sense of desperate immediacy. We’re with Aubrey every step of the way as she carries out her own investigation, feeling the full brunt of her anxiety, fears, and tension. Any moment this fragile situation could come tumbling down on her, jeopardizing her own life as well as those she loves.

And speaking of Aubrey, what a fascinating character Armstrong has created. Aubrey Finch a bright young woman with a real knack for technology, but life hasn’t exactly gone her way due to some unfortunate circumstances as well as mistakes on her part. Throw in a bit of social awkwardness, and others aren’t always willing to trust her because they find her aloof and slightly strange. The fact that this story takes place in a big city doesn’t help, where people are either apathetic to point of nihilism or so prying and judgmental that they always seem to be sticking their nose in your business. Aubrey finds herself dismissed as a crazy person trying to make trouble, and it was so frustrating seeing her brushed off by everyone. Still, this is a lady you don’t want to mess with. Whether she’s hacking into network systems of fighting off thugs that are more than twice her size, she can take care of herself. She’s also fiercely independent, refusing to accept help even if she could really use it. Despite her occasional bullheadedness and her tendency to run headlong into the unknown though, I still found her extremely likeable and relatable and easy to root for.

There were also some surprises in this otherwise straightforward thriller, including discovering that Paul was actually quite a decent guy despite Aubrey’s initial fears that he might fight her over custody arrangements for Charlotte. And there were so many twists and turns in the second half of the novel, it was hard to know who to trust anymore.

Bottom line, Kelley Armstrong is an author who knows how to keep you on your toes. Granted, I have not read many of her paranormal/fantasy work, but with books like Wherever She Goes, I definitely find myself gravitating more towards her thrillers. This was another winner for me, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys exciting and suspenseful mysteries.

Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong is one of those crazy thrillers that keeps you guessing whether there’s even anything to solve. What you have is an unreliable narrator hiding her own secrets while insisting a crime has happened.

Aubrey Finch has just left her marriage behind her after years of hiding her past from her husband. Aubrey and her husband still share custody of their daughter though while they work out the divorce with Aubrey getting to spend weekends with her daughter.

One day while out at the park Aubrey and her daughter meet another young mother and her son. Audrey feels drawn to the other woman because it seems the two share a lot in common and don’t fit with the other mothers. A few days later when Aubrey sees the boy alone she tries to keep an eye on him but he ends up pulled into a vehicle.

So what would you do if you saw a young child struggling with someone in a car? Call the police? Well, that’s what we have here except when no one other than the MC seems to have reported a child abduction the police find it hard to believe since parents should be frantic. So many questions the pages where definitely turning with this one and things only increase in intensity the more you learn. Great story to check out!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Very good book, can’t wait to read more by this author. Easy to follow along story and great characters.

I've been reading Kelley Armstrong's books for almost ten years now (!!) and at her best she is such a good comfort-read author. Cosy thrillers, fun paranormal romance, strong heroines... but unfortunately this one was just average for me. I think it's because I feel like I've read a few hundred versions of this same plot.

Wherever She Goes was most compelling in the beginning when we are first introduced to Aubrey and discover that she is trying to rebuild her life after a recent divorce. Her struggles to be a good mother to her three-year-old daughter, especially constantly being compared to her wealthy, got-his-shit-all-together ex-husband, made it emotionally engaging. I related to her anxiety, the pressure she felt, and the doubts she has about whether she will ever be good enough.

Then, one day, she gets pulled into someone else's mother/child drama. Well, maybe. Because even though Aubrey sees the son of a woman she met in the park getting dragged into a man's car, the police won't believe her. They think she might have imagined it, or even exaggerated events for attention. When no one reports a missing child, the case is pretty much closed.

Except Aubrey can't forget about it. She never got the woman's name, but she's determined to find out who and where she is, and hopefully save the boy from his kidnappers.

Aubrey's personal life was by far the most interesting part of the book because the crime/mystery aspect felt very recycled. Another case of a woman witnessing a crime and having to go digging herself because the police believe she is hysterical. It's yet another The Girl on the Train or The Woman in the Window, except in this case I couldn't really understand why the police assumed she made it up. Even with the absence of evidence, their immediate assumption that she was making it up seemed... not very believable.

Of course, Aubrey also has a dark past. Though I think it is played up more than necessary given what it actually is. It's not even that exciting.

The ending, too, was a little disappointing. I was underwhelmed by the reveals and how things turned out (view spoiler). The singular "twist" of the book, if it can even be called that, was immediately obvious.

I liked it most as a portrait of motherhood, anxiety and divorce. As a mystery/thriller, it was forgettable.

Great suspenseful read!!! I’ve read a lot of Kelley Armstrong’s books and this one did not disappoint.

Aubrey's life is, let's face it, a mess. She's recently divorced, her ex Paul has custody of her daughter, and she's working a low level job. She's the epitome of an unreliable narrator- or is she? She swears she saw a little boy kidnapped in the park and she reported it immediately but...no one believes her and no one knows anything about it. So of course, given that she can't control anything in her own situation, she decides to investigate and find the child. This is a nice thriller- it's well plotted with a good character in Aubrey (and some others you will dislike). The writing will pull you in. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A page turner perfect for travel or the beach.

Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong is a psychological thriller that tore me up. My heart bled all over the place for Aubrey. This is a fast paced read that will keep you flipping pages to find out what happens next. Kelley Armstrong is a fantastic story teller and has hit another out of the park.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Aubrey Finch is apparently on an island of her own. She has seen a child snatched and reported it within minutes. However, no one else reported it and the police will not take her seriously. Some go so far as to doubt Aubrey's sanity. She is currently working as a librarian. Aubrey was recently a stay-at-home mother, but now separated from husband Jack, she does not have primary custody of her young daughter Charlotte. So, the police - and others - worry about her motives. What is more, Aubrey keeping her past from Jack doesn't make things any easier.

Aubrey has very good reason in allowing her ex to be the custodial parent. She is hiding a past that she feels she cannot trust anyone with, and is more than worried about her future. Putting her own life and feelings aside, Aubrey takes it upon herself to discover the whereabouts of the little boy. She has very little to go on, but she hopes to start with the fact that she met the boy's mother just a day before the incident. Hopefully this will be enough for her to get started.

More than that, Aubrey has above par computer skills. It is those very skills that take Aubrey very far into a layer of deceit, secrets and danger. While searching, Aubrey has interactions with her ex-husband. Sharing custody is not easy, especially now that Jack is dating again.

What a finely-balanced book! It had great - and not-so-great - characters. The story had lots of twists and turns and culminated with an intense conclusion. Having previously read a series of Kelley Armstrong's, when this book came up, it was a great opportunity for me. I was thrilled to have been able to read and review it. I definitely will keep her future titles on my radar.

Many thanks Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a big fan of Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series, I was interested in what she was going to do with this standalone thriller. I found Wherever She Goes to be a decently paced story with an intriguing main character who is still holding herself accountable for the initially unclear transgressions of her past. The last 20% or so of the story greatly increased the tension and pace, and I thought the ending of this story was exactly right. Aubrey was an interesting main character, and I think Kelley Armstrong could definitely use her again as I think she could have more story to tell with her.

I only recently found Kelley Armstrong's books... surprising see how prolific an author she is! I began with her most recent Rockton novel and then went back to the beginning of that series after enjoying it so much. (I see another entry in that series is coming next year!) So when I saw this book, I had to request it! Happy that I did. A librarian out for a jog witnesses a kidnapping and no one believes what she saw so she decides to find proof. Secrets come out; things get complicated; the story gets fun. As with her Rockton novels, there is a complicated romantic relationship plotline, but it's not the main focus. I think this is a good fit for those who enjoy mystery/detective type novels with a strong female character.

I haven't read any of her fantasy (think vampires, witchcraft, monsters) novels, but if that's your thing, I'd give those a try.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.