Thank you to the author, Kelly Simmons, the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

This book started out a bit slow for me, and while I did end up getting through it, I had a hard time picking it up to finish it as I didn't feel that it kept my interest like I was hoping.

I enjoyed reading about a mother and daughter and the emotions that a mother goes through when her daughter cannot be located, but I felt like the whole book was slow except for the end where it all came together. However, I didn't like how it just ended and really didn't give a resolution with the book.

I would love to read another book by this author as I'm sure it was just this book that caused me some hiccups with getting through it. I would give this a 3 out of 5.

Where She Went is my first book by Kelly Simmons. Having your freshman child disappear from her college is every parent’s nightmare. Maggie has to face the disappearance of Emma alone. Her husband, Frank, a policeman was killed. This is a fast-paced read for most of the story told by chapters alternating between Emma and Maggie. I think this would be a good bookclub book as there is lots to discuss. My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. Very slow moving and not any kind of suspense or mystery. Not my cup of tea.

Where She Went was a definite page turner and considering this is every parent's worst nightmare, I expected it to be.

I loved the characters of Maggie and Emma and the alternating chapters that were theirs. The story flowed well, I was pulled in immediately and I just wanted to read more and faster in an attempt to see how this would end.

I think every parent who ever sent a child off to college, a new job in a different city or anything similar understands Maggie's fear and can relate to it. That is what drew me in.

I think this book would make a great read for anyone who enjoys women's fiction or a thriller although I think this is less a thriller than it is women's fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for providing an ARC at my request. The opinions in this review are my own.

EXCERPT: She had loaded Sarah's number into her phone, just in case. If she couldn't reach her daughter; if she didn't respond to repeated texts or calls, she could call Sarah, and she could run and check on her. Wouldn't Sarah's mother want the same safety net? She still remembered the set of Emma's lips when she'd asked Sarah for her contact info. She was embarrassing her daughter. She was being ridiculous.

But now this.

"This afternoon, Sarah contacted Emma's RA, said she hadn't answered her texts last night, hadn't shown up for any of her classes, and her phone went to voice mail all day. She said this was completely out of character. "

"She had perfect attendance in high school," Maggie said dumbly. But she was thinking why the hell hadn't Sarah Franco called her, in addition to the RA?

"So the RA opened the room and called 911."

"What...was in the room?" Maggie said slowly.

"Ma'am, I really think we should sit down."

"What. Was. In. The. Room?"

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Her only daughter has just gone away to college, and Maggie O'Farrell knows she's turning into one of those helicopter parents she used to mock. Worrying constantly, texting more than she should, even occasionally dropping by the campus "just to say hi." But Maggie can't shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen to Emma. And then, just as Maggie starts to relax, her daughter disappears.

The clues are disturbing. An empty dorm room where Emma was supposedly living. A mysterious boy described as Future Husband in her phone. Dormmates who seem more sinister than friendly. As Maggie combs over the campus looking for signs of her daughter, she learns more about Emma's life than she ever thought possible.

MY THOUGHTS: Where She Went by Kelly Simmons was a good read, not great, but good. It was though, a book that I could put down, and not feel a compelling need to get back to.

The plot wasn't predictable, in fact it contains a surprise or two, but it was neither gripping nor suspenseful.

I enjoyed the characters of both Maggie, a somewhat overprotective mother, and Emma, who is definitely her mother's daughter, determined but not always logical.

Some aspects of this story seemed a little rushed and could have done with more fleshing out, while others were dwelt upon too much with not much benefit to the storyline. And there seems to be a gap, right where the most interesting point could have been.

As I said, a good read, but it could have been better.

My favourite passage: What was the difference between a person who was out of her mind with grief and exhaustion and a person who was out of her mind? How thin, how impossibly thin was that line?

#WhereSheWent #NetGalley

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THE AUTHOR: Kelly Simmons is a former journalist and advertising creative director specializing in marketing to women. She lives with her family outside Philadelphia.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Sourcebooks, Landmark via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Where She Went by Kelly Simmons for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page, or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

The nightmare that no parent wants to face. Your teenage, college going daughter goes missing, the Police do not seem to take it seriously and her colleagues are oblivious to the fact that she has been missing from her room and from her classes.

Most mothers hesitate as to whether they are over reacting, it finally dawns that you do not really know what is happening in your daughter's life, you have not been privy to the daily happenings unlike before and that she is now grown up and quite independent of you.

Maggie does not take inactivity lying down. She pursues it on her own despite it being bordering on the illegal. Her daughter is missing and that is all she can think about.

I agree with one reviewer who said this is women's fiction. It is typical of a mother's behaviour, single or married. Your children are your focus and you are there to protect them. Everything else is beside. The story of Maggie and the unravelling of Emma who wants to fit in, who wants to have friends, who wants to be in the in crowd is a typical growing up story.



A good read about two women trying to come to terms with growing up and becoming independent.

4 stars for Where She Went by Kelly Simmons! This book will definitely have you following breadcrumbs trying to figure out what would make a college freshman disappear into thin air, leaving behind her dorm room and belongings. And then, before you know it, you are caught up in a tightly-woven web of college secrets and a network of promiscuous activity. I loved how this book was written. I felt like I was side by side with a desperate mom, looking for answers, knowing her daughter better than anyone.

The narration flips back and forth between the missing woman and her mother, providing unparalleled suspense as you see the two drift apart and then the details start to line up. This book sheds tremendous light on the lengths that impressionable college women will go to in order to fit in, and conceptually, it was quite disturbing to think that many of the circumstances presented so well in the book could and may be happening on college campuses all over the world.

Wealth, entitled men, a missing woman, and a dark network of secrets make Where She Went 4-star worthy. It was suspenseful in a different way which was refreshing and thought-provoking.

Thank you to @Netgalley #netgalley and @sourcebooks #sourcebooks for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. #kellysimmons #whereshewent #4stars #bookreviewer #justreleased #getacopy #sendmebooks #loveabook #suspense #read #readersofinstagram #booksofinsta

Author, Kelly Simmons, knocks this one out of the park! Where She Went is a page-turning, must-read-nonstop, edge-of-your-seat, thriller that could've been pulled from recent headlines. It pulled at my mama heartstrings and had me twisted in knots until the end. I say this with each book that I read by Simmons, but this is my new favorite!

What was meant to be a twist went left somewhere between the pages. Kelly Simmons is a talented writer but this novel was a miss.

I really liked this book and read the whole thing in just over a few hours. It centers around Maggie and Emma, and the chapters go back and forth between each one's point of view. Maggie is Emma's mother and Emma is away at college, but not far from home. Emma disappears and the book alternates between what she was doing before this happened, and what Maggie is doing after it happens to find her.

Both of the main characters in the book were likeable and relatable, in my opinion. Maggie was a little overbearing in some areas, but I felt like the reader could empathize with her based on the situation she was in. The story that Emma is tracking down is interesting and unique, and thought the mix of naivety and vulnerability, paired with Emma's drive and quest for being seen as smart and grown-up was really well done- even when she made not-so-smart decisions, I felt for her. The end of the book was satisfying and tied everything up nicely.

I would recommend this book and plan on reading other books by this author. Netgalley provided me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very good book, couldn’t put it down. With so many twist and turns I had to know how it ended!! Will be recommending this book to all my friends!

Following the death of Maggie's husband Frank, she is determined to protect her daughter Emma from all the ways the world could harm her. Emma has left home for college and Maggie's worst fears are confirmed when a cop turns up to tell her her daughter is missing. Maggie turns detective and the book alternates with chapters from Maggie and Emma, that explain exactly what happened and where Emma went. Emma is struggling to make friends at college, and feels alone. She has an interest in journalism and is tasked with finding a story to get an internship. When she finds out that one of her roommates is part of a club for sugar daddies, she is full steam ahead to investigate the story. I thought it was an interesting concept for a book, but did feel the plot was somewhat lacking in direction. Just as it seemed Emma was getting to the root of the story she ends up in a psychiatric hospital. Maggie is following Emma's footsteps in the investigation and is reunited with Emma at the hospital. The sugar daddy story isn't a figment of Emma's imagination but the story isn't concluded with as much satisfaction as I would have liked. However, this title would make a good reading group choice and there are reading group questions included.

When I read the blurb to this book, I was immediately intrigued by the story most likely because I have a familiarity with helicopter parents. I'm also a fan of suspense so I thought it might be interesting. While I agree with other reviewers that this book is more women's fiction over a thriller or suspense, there are some very suspenseful moments during the story.

Where She Went is the story of mother Maggie and daughter Emma. Emma is attending a local university in the Philadelphia area and even though her mom lives nearby, she chooses to reside in the dorms at the school. She also chooses roommates she doesn't know over one of her high school friends. All of this doesn't turn out quite like she expected because the roommates are mean girls and possibly more as Emma starts uncovering what they really do late at night. As a budding journalist, Emma goes to the school paper with what she knows and there she is encouraged to "find the story" which puts her in danger as she attempts to uncover the story about the "sugar babies" recruited at the school. Somewhere during the investigation, she disappears and no one is saying a word about where she might be.

When Maggie hears her daughter is missing, she immediately goes into cop mode. Her husband had been on the force before he was shot and Maggie is very familiar in police procedure. She knows it isn't enough and begins an investigation of her own.

What I really liked about this story was the way it was told. The chapters alternate between Maggie and Emma's point of view bringing some nice contrast between these two women and their impressions of what is going on around them. It seems like Maggie really doesn't know what her daughter has been doing at college and there are many people who will tell her that. In spite of these frustrations, it is Maggie that ends up putting the pieces together to figure out what happened to Emma.

I did find the first half of the book a bit on the slow side. I can't put my finger on why, all I know is that I kept looking at my progress on my ereader and thinking I should be farther along in the book. But the story was engaging enough to want to know what happened to Emma, and although there were some loose ends that never got explained, I did enjoy the last half of the book very much.

Overall, a suspenseful story of two women that deals with some basic situations like making friends, moving forward and resolving past hurts.

An ARC was provided for review.

Where She Went is the sixth novel by Kelly Simmons. The story of a missing co-ed and a desperate mother’s search for answers, it’s a chilling reminder of just how dangerous the world can be for the young and naive.

When her only daughter Emma moved across town to go to college, Maggie O’Farrell found herself turning into the kind of parent that texted three times a day and dropped off cookies on a regular basis. Emma had to gently let her know this was unacceptable and began limiting their texts to just once an evening, usually their favorite shorthand message sent right before bed, NILY (Night, I love you). But when a police officer shows up at Maggie’s Bubbles & Blowouts beauty salon, all the fears that had kept Maggie endlessly texting and just dropping by are realized: Soon after she had stopped hovering over her daughter, the girl vanished.

The former wife of an officer killed in the line of duty Maggie knows the first hours are crucial in locating a missing person. And Emma disappeared a full twenty-four hours before Maggie was aware of the problem. She races to the university, determined to find her precious girl and what she discovers is alarming. The dorm room where Emma was supposed to be living is empty. The dorm mates initially avoid the police and are sullen and uncooperative, almost hostile, when they are finally located. Emma has no boyfriend, but a mysterious boy is identified as Future Husband in the contact list of her phone. And her phone – something no teen is ever without – was left sitting on a dresser in the alarmingly empty room.

Maggie doesn’t want to dig through Emma’s life, disrespecting her daughter’s privacy and possibly destroying the fragile trust between them. But she will do anything to find her, even if it means being awakened to truths about Emma that the girl would never want Maggie to know.

AAR reviewers Maggie and Shannon read Where She Went and are here to share their thoughts on the novel.

Maggie: I have never read a novel by Kelly Simmons before, but I found the back blurb for this one intriguing and decided to give it a chance. What drew you to the book?

Shannon: I was also intrigued by the blurb. I’m always on the lookout for more twisty thrillers, and this looked like something I’d really love.

Maggie: This story is told in alternating narratives between Maggie and Emma. I felt that format was utilized brilliantly here, allowing an issue to come up in Maggie’s perspective and be resolved in Emma’s or vice versa. I really liked the author showing how we could look at something and see it one way but that it would resolve into something different when seen from another’s experience of it. What did you think of the multiple viewpoints?

Shannon: I normally love books that employ this style, but I found it less than effective here. The things we learned from Emma’s chapters kind of took away from the suspense of Maggie’s portions. It wasn’t all that difficult for me to figure out the twists pretty far ahead of Maggie because of the hints dropped by Emma.

Maggie I think that may have been what I actually enjoyed. The switch from suspense to pragmatic answer and back again felt more realistic to me than the endless, creepy evil of many thrillers on the market today. Another aspect I enjoyed about the story was its examination of the murky line between criminal and unethical. Much of what was happening at the university was, to me, immoral but it wasn’t illegal. It made me think a bit about what society finds prosecutable and what it finds simply distasteful. Would you agree the story examines that ambiguous boundary or did you see things differently?

Shannon: I wholeheartedly agree with you. So much of what was going on at the university fell into that gray area between things that are against the law and those that are just in opposition to most people’s moral compasses. I wasn’t a big fan of most of what the characters were up to, but that’s a far cry from something being illegal. The examination of that thin line set this book apart from a lot of the other thrillers I’ve read this year.

Maggie: I liked Maggie, who seemed bright, strong and determined, but found myself struggling with just how unsophisticated Emma was. Kids today tend to be savvy and wary, a byproduct of being part of a highly connected, highly technological culture. I was disturbed that Emma never utilized that connection to reach out for help, especially given that her father’s old friends on the police force would have been in a position to be very helpful. What did you think of our two main characters?

Shannon: Maggie’s naïveté got on my nerves from time to time. I mean, Emma was obviously keeping secrets, but Maggie didn’t want to acknowledge what was going on. Emma, on the other hand, managed to get herself into a sticky situation, and it didn’t always seem like she exercised the best judgement as she went about her business. Of course, both Emma’s half-baked style of thinking and Maggie’s reluctance to see the truth made the characters feel human, even if I didn’t always like them.

Maggie: I agree. There was a realism to the characters that made them understandable even when they weren’t likable. I don’t want to delve too deeply into the mystery but I have to admit I found several aspects of it a bit unbelievable. What was your take on that facet of the tale?

Shannon: There were definitely some far-fetched angles to the mystery. I didn’t find anything flat-out implausible, but a few things came close. I also struggled with the ambiguous nature of the ending. I don’t expect everything to be wrapped up in a tidy bow, but I would have liked a bit more of a glimpse into life after the dust settled.

Maggie: So what’s your final grade? The book has some taut plotting, and some interesting things to say about wealth and social mores, but I felt the plot could have been easily resolved if one character had just reached out to those who cared about her. It’s a B for me.

Shannon: It’s a B for me as well. The story had a lot of potential, but some aspects of the plot didn’t gel for me the way I was hoping they would. Add to that the rushed ending and slightly over-the-top nature of some of the twists, and you have something enjoyable, but not spectacular.

Maggie O’Farrell lost her husband in the line of duty, then her daughter went off to college. She and her daughter had always been close, but now she is trying to reconcile being both a widow and an empty-nester, finding it hard to let go, but trying not to worry when she doesn’t hear from her daughter daily. College is supposed to be fun, exciting, and wonderful. That all changes when a police officer comes to tell her that her daughter might be missing and Maggie vows to do whatever it takes to find her daughter.
Emma is trying to find her place and thinks the campus paper may just be it. While searching for a story to show what she can do, she stumbles into something much bigger and more dangerous than she expected.
Told in alternating view points, WHERE SHE WENT will keep you on the edge of your seat as we find out how far each woman will go to chase what is important to them. The characters are interesting and I found myself rooting for each to succeed on their quest. This is a perfect read to curl up with a cozy blanket and a warm drink.
#WhereSheWent #KellySimmons #TallPoppyWriter #BloomReads #TallPoppyReviewer

When a police officer arrives at Maggie O’Farrell’s beauty shop, she knows right away something is wrong. Her own late husband was a cop and she knows the drill. She realizes something is wrong with her daughter Emma. She is a college student and their relationship has changed recently. Emma is missing and Maggie will not rest until she finds out the truth.

The story is told in alternating chapters of Maggie’s search and Emma’s past story that will lead us into the world of sugar daddies and more.

This is definitely a page-turner. I loved Maggie’s gumption. She displays that tough mother bear that we all would be if something happened to our child. Emma has the same gumption. This is really every mother’s nightmare and Kelly Simmons draws you into it. I read it fairly quickly, about a day and a half. A few of twists and turns will keep you wondering and some shady characters for you to hate.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this book.

When Maggie's daughter Emma goes to college. Maggie can't shake the feeling that something is going to happen to Emma. She constantly checks on her and texts her. Intuition proves right when Emma disappears. A story of mother and daughter relationships. How well do you know your child and a scary look at things that are actually happening on campus today. This is a suspenseful mothers worst nightmare. It kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed it.

Where She Went: A Novel by Kelly Simmons

October 1, 2019

I received this digital arc from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Maggie O’Farrell owns a hair salon called Bubbles and Blowouts which helps pay the bills after her husband Frank died. He was a police lieutenant who was gunned down on the job. It never seemed clear what happened that day. Maggie’s main concern is her empty nest after her daughter, Emma leaves to attend Semper University. Although she tries to trust her daughter’s new found independence, she can’t help but worry about her. The daily calls begin to annoy and embarrass Emma whose roommates find ridiculous. The one comforting factor about Emma going to college was that her best friend Sarah would be there.

Just when Maggie starts to relax and focus on herself, there’s an increased in college campus crimes. Then, Maggie gets the call no mother wants to get...that her daughter is missing. Maggie will not let anyone stop her from finding her daughter including the police. She uses her intuition of years living with a police detective to track down the missing pieces of the story.

Unfortunately, Emma’s roommates are not very cooperative with their own secrets to hide. This is a page turner as the story flows back and forth between mother’s search for her daughter and her daughter’s search for justice. Amazing story which keeps your interest to the last page.

I was quickly looking for answers here, and trying to put myself in the shoes of a mother with her daughter missing, really unimaginable!
This story did keep my attention, and I kept thinking the worse! It could have come for the pages of the daily news, it is similar to what has happened on a national level.
The answers do come, and we walk in both the daughter’s and mother’s shoes, and hope for the best.
Emma is one brave girl, spunky for a freshman, and trying to fit into life here, but she is going alone into a dark world.
This quickly became a page turner as I looked for answers, and I so want the good to overcome evil!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Sourcebooks Landmark, and was not required to give a positive review.

I was ready to dive back into a juicy thriller or crime fiction to jump start October. The cover for this new book by Kelly Simmons looks so attractive, doesn't it? It comes out October 1st! I read this in about a day - super fast read.

Thank you to #netgalley and #sourcebooks for the advanced e-copy for my honest review! 🙏

Tiny Synopsis: Maggie's only daughter, Emma, has gone missing from her college dorm. A parent's worst nightmare. The police seem to not be doing enough, Emma's roommates are very suspicious... and Emma's cell phone is left in her room with the number of "Future Husband" to a mysterious man. Maggie is not even aware her daughter had a bf or crush. She has to take the investigation of her daughters disappearance into her own hands.

My Review: ⭐️⭐️.5 / 5 stars

I'm going to start off by saying that this story is more of a women's fiction than a psychological thriller or crime fiction. I skimmed through some parts of it because it felt a bit drawn out and didn't need to be. I started cringing with some of the actions and antics of the mother (Maggie) and even her own daughter, Emma, at times. I'm supposed to feel bad and empathetic towards the mother, but all I felt was annoyed by her instead. Obviously I could not even fathom the pain and terror of possibly having a missing child etc - but this character was just off the charts. Since it was not a thriller, the ending was not really a twist... and predictable. I think this one should have been classified in the correct genre, so I would not be expecting a completely different book. 🤷🏻‍♀️