Wow! It took me a while to get into this story but once I did - WOW! I couldn't put it down. I was disappointed with the ending - I felt it abruptly ended. But I would recommend this book.

When She Return is a great book that hooked me from the first chapter. I could not put it down. Well written and interesting characters.

Oh my gosh! What a roller coaster ride!! This book grabbed me from the very beginning and did not let go until the final sentence!! What a wonderfully disturbing psychological thriller!! So many twists and turns, my jaw just kept dropping!! Awesome character development. Rich with domestic/cult type drama that kept me so engaged I could not put it down. Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Scott and Kate Bennett seemed to have a fairytale story- they had met as children and always known they were meant to be. At least that is Scott’s story. Kate on the other hand is chafing under an existence that never changes and is thrilled to be back to work as a reporter though she loves her 5 year old daughter Abbi. One of Kate’s assignments upon her return is to investigate a group that is helping people with addictions without asking anything in return called Love International. The interview with the founder Ray Fischer intrugues her and she keeps visiting long after the assignment is finished.
A few weeks later while on a grocery shopping errand, Kate disappears- her keys, purse and shopping bags still in the car.

Eleven years later Kate is found in a gas station with a newborn daughter asking for help.
Scott spent years of his life devoted to finding Kate but after joining a support group, met Meredith and married her.
They are shocked to get the call about Kate.

This was an easy, quick read but somehow not quite satisfying. The interactions between the characters did not feel natural or real. Abbi at age 15 demanding that she be included in every conversation and refusing to respect boundaries really stuck out. The situation with the two wives in one house with a husband who obviously never got over the first wife was the most hard to swallow.
This is a good summer read for those of us who want a quick story that does not require a notepad to keep track of characters.
Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my opinion.

This is another excellent book by Dr. Berry. I highly enjoyed this thriller and it is very well-written.

I am a big fan of Lucinda Berry. This book did not disappoint. Very good storyline that keeps you glued to the book until t he end.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book!

"We wanted to see if what we had was powerful enough to make someone give up the love they had for something greater."
That quote sums up this book pretty well. A mother gives up her family (willingly or not? read to find out) and then escapes and returns 10 years later after her daughter has grown into a teenager and her husband has buried her and remarried.

The book blurb hinted at a cult being involved in this story and I fucking love cult stories so I requested this. A cult is involved and that's half of the story, but the cult wasn't clearly defined. Maybe I just read too much and so I was underwhelmed by the culty bits because they followed a clear cult script and there wasn't anything new. A reader not as familiar with cults may find this more exciting.

The toher half of the book that's not cult bits was family drama and that was more interesting, but could have been so much better. I wanted more perspective from Meredith (the new wife) on her husband's first wife's return from the dead.

I saw the ending coming and *shrug*. A good fluff book to read if you're on an airplane or commuting and need a little distraction, but don't want to think too much.

2.5 stars.

Kate Bennett is a part-time journalist and mom who disappears from a parking lot, but returns with an infant at a gas station eleven years later. Her husband Scott, his second wife Meredith, and Abbi, Kate and Scott’s now-sixteen-year-old daughter, all reel with her sudden reappearance and try to coax some information out of a traumatized Kate. The book is told in “then” vs. “now” perspectives, with Kate telling the “then” story and Abbi and Meredith telling the “now”. As the story unfolds, you get more and more insight into what happened the night Kate disappeared, and how the family and the FBI are trying to get Kate to talk.

While I found the story to be thrilling, there were parts of the story that felt out of place and actions that seemed out of character for some of the people in the book. Lucinda Berry does a great job in characterizing Abbi and Meredith, but when reading Kate’s section, it seemed forced. I did find myself continuing reading because the pacing is excellent and the suspense is kept until the very end, but the ending was too much of an “out-there” twist for me to like it personally. I did enjoy reading it and would recommend it to those who like a quick thriller read.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and to Lucinda Berry.

This is the first book I've read by this author. Before I even finished, I was already on amazon looking at (and downloading) some of her other books.

I enjoyed the story, even if some parts were predictable. If you are looking for an enteratining, fast read ... this is for you.

Thank you #netgalley and #Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.

I just cannot get into the whole cult thing in books. The suspense started out really good and drew me in. But once the cult concept was introduced I ended up skimming. The ending was great though! I have loved her other books so will continue to read her work

Loved this book!

I loved the premise. A woman goes missing, is declared dead and returns years later.

I loved the alternating view points - the missing woman, the new wife and the daughter take turns telling their side of the story. I am a sucker for a book with alternating viewpoints, and I loved these characters. Their thoughts and actions rang true. Did I agree with everyone? No, but their actions rang true to who they seemed to be.

Not only did we have alternating viewpoint,s but we have different timelines. We slowly see what happened to her as we see how everyone deals with her return.

I loved the twists. I thought I knew where this was going, but I was wrong. Then I thought I had it figured out again and I was in for another surprise.

I loved the writing. I was engrossed in this book and it kept me saying the magic words in the book world "just one more chapter". I lost a bit of sleep since I needed to know what happened next.

I received this as an advance copy from #netgalley and this did not affect my review. I can prove it by now going to see if this author wrote anything else. (Did I mention that I loved this book?)

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this wonder ARC.

The scene started out like a picture in motion. Kate who has been missing for eleven years has finally escaped her captor. This twisted road she has to travel when returning home to find her husband, Scott, remarried and a daughter, Abbi, who barely remembered her. As well as with a new baby in her arms.
As the FBI and professionals started to questions Kate as to what happened eleven years ago and what type of situation she has been in, the story unfold to a more frightening than what is possible.
Was Kate really kidnapped? Who is this baby? What type of danger are they all in now?
Luncida Berry explored a story of survival, deception, and the impossible. This doesn't read like fiction but more of base on a true story.

Things have come undone.........

Lucinda Berry presents a storyline that has the feel of shifting sand under your feet. Can't quite get the balance of it all. Can't quite get a handle on those ships that set sail in these choppy waters.

Kate Bennett is a stay-at-home mother of five year old Abbi in Northern California. The "stay-at-home" portion seems to be driven by her husband, Scott. Kate longs to be back in her journalism lane free from what she perceives are deadend walls all day.

Her former boss calls with an assignment that gets the juices flowing once again. Kate is to interview the head of Love International which is based out of Pierce College. The organization focuses on helping college students who are battling opioid addiction. The interview with Ray Fischer seems to go well along with her boss' approval. It appears that Kate has her foot in the door once again.

But a few weeks later, Kate's car is found in a Target's parking lot. Her keys are in the ignition, handbag on the seat, and shopping bags in the trunk. Absolutely no sign of Kate.

Lucinda Berry fast forwards to eleven years later entitled "Now". Abbi is sixteen and Scott is remarried to a widow named Meredith who has two college aged sons. The quiet suburbia setting is in for a nightmare though. Kate shows up terrified at a gas station in Montana with a baby in tow. The upcoming weeks will find this disjointed family living under one roof trying to piece together Kate's missing years. Traumatized and anxious, Kate refuses to give much information under the scrutiny of the FBI and stress counseling. The chapters will revert to "Then" in which Kate's story slowly takes on a face.

One would think that we have a blockbuster here. Not so fast. What starts out as a high-interest storyline begins to sink under the weight of the "Then" aspect. Without giving away anything more, we have a grown woman acting like a teenage runaway. Everything is built on this premise with the end result falling apart like a Jenga game. So much unnecessary dialogue and elaborate explanations while in "Thenville". A shot of energy at the end was not enough to save this one for me. You may have an entirely different experience from mine. Check it out and see.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to Lucinda Berry for the opportunity.

This book was incredible.. The story was intense an engrossing.. The ending was incredible and unexpected.. Great book.

I have to say that I expected a bit more from this book, as this is one of my favorite authors. She has a way with telling dark stories that aren't always comfortable and do not have happy endings. They are realistic and straightforward, often making you questions deep seated, long-held beliefs. With this story, I felt that it was too much of 'what you see is what you get' and there was no surprises or twists beyond what you expect. The subject matter seemed a little lighter than usual, at least partly, as the cult brainwashing that affects the main character, Kate, is easily foreseeable and well known. You think that where she has been after she disappeared will be a long reveal, but you find out pretty early on. How exactly it happens is not revealed until later, with the expected dramatic fallout ensuing.

The story alternates from how she was groomed to become a member in the past, and how her family deals with the return of her and her new baby in the present. Kate's husband is now remarried to a very (as in, too) understanding new woman named Meredith and Kate's daughter, Abbi, is now 16 and barely remembers her mother from before she disappeared. Everyone is as uncomfortable as you would expect and has no idea what will happen after they move her into their home, which is still the house that she lived in.

I thought her initiation into the cult was a little rapid for a seemingly intelligent woman. Almost as if she was just a bored housewife losing interest in her husband who jumps at the first opportunity at a new life. It doesn't reflect well on her character and naivete, as she too easily believes everything she is told. The new wife is also way too accepting of her husband's attachment to Kate. Yes, he & Kate were first loves, soulmates, etc. but he refuses to discuss how it affects his relationship with Meredith and how he's always pushing her aside. There's only so much understanding and empathy you can show before you would stand up for yourself, which doesn't happen. I didn't expect this author to portray her female characters as such weak creatures.

I would still recommend the book, but with the caveat that it won't be as you expect from her past works. And if this is your first time reading this author, you will be pleasantly surprised by her other stories!

** spoiler alert ** This book was a bit odd.
I thought some parts were good, it was multiple POV and the mystery is centre around the events of the wife's disappearance and return.
It deals with a cult.
The ending isn t a HEA, it doesn't really explain what happens next but the reader would assume certain events.
My issue is the wife is indoctrinated by the cult behaviour and the things she undergoes are pretty horrific but there didn't seem to be understanding of that.
Her actions are all influenced by that time away and she obviously isn t acting reasonably. I just wasn't happy.
The living situation was ridiculous.
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Lucinda Berry's 'When she returned' is a psychological thriller about a family whose lives are thrown into turmoil when the husband's first wife returns, after she vanished without a trace 11 years earlier.

The story is told from 3 first person viewpoints, the 16 year old daughter's Abbi, who is naturally thrilled to have her mum back. The stepmum Meredith who is protective of her family and finally Kate the mum, who's storyline is in the past tense describing what really happened, starting 11 years ago and ending when she got away.

I found the first part of the story to be quite engaging, despite the cookie cutter first person viewpoints (of which I'm not a big fan) and all the cliches. It got me curious enough to keep on reading. Meredith and Abbi's stories were ok, they were believable if a bit stereotypical, but then again I guess most of us aren't all that unique. Kate's story didn't really sit with me though and is what I found to be the weakest part of the thriller and the plot became clear to me quite early on. I'm sure the ending was a shock to the characters in the book (maybe not Meredith though, who at times seemed to be the only levelheaded person in that family), but as a reader I was not all that impressed. I still give it 3 stars as I did finish it and I would recommend it as it's not pretending to be anything other than an entertaining and easy read, perfect for the holidays. And as such it probably delivers.


I got an e-ARC of #When she returned from the good people at #netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review

It’s been 11 years since Kate Bennett vanished from a parking lot, leaving her husband and young daughter to wonder where she had gone. Now, she’s turned up at a gas station with an infant in a state of extreme distress. There is speculation that she had been the victim of a cult, but the answers are not clear. Her husband has remarried, her daughter doesn’t know her and Kate herself is nothing like the woman who disappeared years earlier. A story with a shocking twist

Darkly thrilling and completely unputdownable. This book is an amazing ride that I devoured in just a couple hours. Must read!