I really enjoyed this book. Don't Look for Me was one of those books that really grabbed me from page one and did not let go until I was done. It was full of suspense and drama right up to the end. It has everything I want in a good story—strong characterization and a fast-paced, twisty plot. I highly recommend reading this book.

Molly Clarke has disappeared after a heartbreaking loss. Did she leave of her own accord or did something more sinister happen? Her daughter, Nicole, needs to find out what happened on a dark, stormy night when Molly disappeared.

The story chapters alternate between Nicole's search for what happened to her mother and Molly's experience. I could not stop reading this book and loved its buildup. I didn't think that it stuck the landing, though. I understand that twists are very popular, but I find that it is sometimes overdone and veers into the totally implausible and this was an example of that. (It seems that I am in the minority with that opinion, though.) Readers who love that twisty-turny approach will love this one. I'm giving it four stars, as I thought that the buildup was an easy 5 stars but then ending just wasn't as great.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, the author, and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an e-galley.

I was really excited to read Wendy Walker's newest release since I thoroughly enjoyed Emma in the Night. Don't Look for Me is completely different but still kept me on the edge of my seat.

In this thriller we have Molly Clarke who goes missing during a hurricane. Did she walk away from her life intentionally as the note found in a hotel room suggests, or is something more sinister going on? Don't Look For Me touches on the way loss and grief affects each family member differently. That made the book quite relatable. Definitely worth the read.

What happened to Molly Clarke? Did she decide it was best to walk away from her family or did something more sinister take place?

I raced through this book to find out what really happened. Incredibly fast paced with twists I didn't seem coming. Towards the end I had suspected everyone!

Another basic thriller that's boring and repetitive. There was only one twist that was semi enjoyable and the rest I couldn't wait to get through. I think I've just read too many good thrillers to have these mediocre thrillers.

I enjoyed this book but at the same time, it gave me anxiety. The further I got into it, the more invested I was. I enjoyed the ending.

Don't Look for Me, a dark, thriller full of twists, was a combo read for me (eGalley and audio download). The audio was read by Therese Plummer who did a great job.

In this story Molly Clark is a wife and a mother and her life is a mess. Her youngest child was struck and killed by a car at the age of 6 and, Molly was driving the car that killed her daughter. Her older children. a daughter and a teenage son barely speak to her now and her husband has been avoiding her as well.

When Molly fails to return home one rain and stormy night, her car abandoned on the side of the road with her cell phone still inside, foul play is suspected. However, when a note left in a casino hotel room miles away that appears to have been written by Molly, just maybe Molly decided to walk away from her miserable life?

This was a fast-paced thriller that could have easily been read in one sitting. I found myself trying to piece it all together and, although it wasn't quite perfect, it did hook me and had more than a few surprises. I always love when a story is just too riveting to put down.

Rating - 4.5/5 stars
https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2020/11/dont-look-for-me-wendy-walker.html

Wow! This book was a doozy! First and foremost, Wendy Walker is a phenomenal writer! She has an incredible ability to just draw me in from the very first page and keep me hooked while also keeping me guessing. I kept guessing at what would would happen next, but did not guess correctly! I enjoyed the story as well; it's a great read for this time of year as the weather is getting cooler. If you like thrillers and good writing, I would definitely recommend this one!

The eerie suspense of this one had me page-turning and intrigued the whole way through. I thought the pacing was perfect for what the author was trying to convey to the reader. In the end, it led to a wonderful conclusion.

I enjoyed the book overall but can't say I found as much tension in the story as I thought there'd be.
I also didn't find it fast paced. I'm the outlier on this one I guess.

Great book by Wendy Walker. I look forward to reading more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Fast paced book that keep me turning pages just to see what happens next. Great read. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

This was a great thriller! I was sucked right in from the beginning and trying to figure out what was going to happen. This was not at all what I expected!

3.5 stars. Don't Look For Me starts with a mom that goes missing and a daughter who comes to look for her. The suspense builds with the mother learning how to outsmart her captor and the daughter learning who she can trust. Psychology is at play, even if to only try to stay one step ahead. Don't Look For Me touches on guilt, manipulation, grief, and desire. Another enjoyable and consuming read from Wendy Walker. I wish the ending was stronger. It seemed rushed, but the book was still entertaining.

From internationally bestselling author Wendy Walker comes DON’T LOOK FOR ME, a gripping and emotionally taut thriller about a missing mother and a ticking clock.

Today is the five-year anniversary of the death of Molly Clarke’s youngest daughter, Annie. During that time, Molly has watched her family fall apart and reunite as she has tried to keep them --- and herself --- together. With the pain only a mother knows, she has seen her oldest child, Nicole, drown her pain in vodka and flings; driven four hours back and forth to her son’s football games; and slept side-by-side with her increasingly distant husband. But Molly knows she deserves all of this and more; after all, she was the one driving the car that hit her daughter.

With the anniversary bringing back painful memories for her loved ones, Molly knows she should be with them, not driving home from her son’s boarding school in the middle of a hurricane. But maybe she's catastrophizing the situation and it's really not that bad; as her husband always reminds her, she has to stop being “so Molly” about everything. When her car runs out of gas and strands her on the side of the road, she is relieved when a truck stops to ask if she needs help. As a grown woman, she knows better than to go off with a strange man, but his daughter is also in the vehicle. Desperate to get home, she hops in. So begins day one of her entrapment.

Told in alternate storylines, Walker brings us weeks into the future, writing in Nicole's voice. In the days following her mother’s disappearance, a note is found in a hotel room telling Molly’s family not to look for her, that she has gone off to punish herself and make room for their happiness without her. The police deem the case a “walk-away” and stop searching for Molly. But something about the situation doesn’t sit right with Nic. She knows they argued that morning, and she said terrible things that she can never take back. But she also is aware that she too played a role in Annie's death and cannot believe that her mother would leave her to shoulder the burden alone. When a woman calls claiming to have seen Molly the night she disappeared, Nic sets off for Hastings, the town where her mother’s car was found.

In a chilling chronicle, Walker walks us through each day of Molly’s abduction. Trapped in a decrepit and dusty home with an eerie child who bears a striking resemblance to her late daughter, Molly struggles to understand why the man who picked her up chose her and fights to escape. Meanwhile, we look on as Nic learns more about Hastings, an incestuous and bizarre town where everyone knows everyone, strangers are not trusted, and, it seems to Nic, everyone is lying about something. With both women hunting down the truth, Walker throws twist after chilling twist at her readers until it seems that everyone has the potential to be a villain.

I am a longtime fan of Wendy Walker, and though I am constantly surprised by her attention to detail and perfect pacing, I always feel like I have some idea of what to expect. That ended this week. DON’T LOOK FOR ME is one of the most legitimately thrilling and terrifying suspense novels I have ever read. Although this is not the sort of mystery where the conclusion comes totally out of left field, I feel confident in saying that very few readers will guess it. Walker never shies away from exposing the more violent and dark corners of society, but without a doubt this is her scariest book yet. Everything from the small-town vibe to the dangerous man and the creepy kid sent chills down my spine, and I am not ashamed to admit that I jumped a few times while reading.

As always, Walker infuses her writing with a real-world observation, this time about the dual role played by women, especially mothers. Molly’s guilt about Annie's death is painful enough, but even worse is Nic’s complex emotions about her mother. Molly is the source of Nic’s warmest, most love-filled memories, but she also has caused her unending grief, and Walker thrusts this dichotomy into the spotlight to open up a larger conversation about how we as a society view women, particularly those who care for us. When we meet Molly’s family, they are united only in their hatred of her, and yet she has provided them all with great comfort by shouldering this guilt quietly and without any sense of revenge or retribution.

I think any woman who reads about Molly and Nic will find something to relate to, and the pressure each feels is painfully familiar. Walker’s ability to weave trauma into her books has always been one of her strengths, but her dissection of motherhood feels like a new height for her, one that she reaches with her dependably sharp insight and emotional acuity.

Don't Look for Me was a compelling, suspenseful novel, of a broken family, coping with death, and facing an abduction. Told with much depth of sorrow and guilt, ultimately overcome with family bonds and bravery. Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the e-book for review. All opinions are my own.

This book focuses on Molly Clarke, a woman whose family hate her after she accidentally killed her younger daughter in a freak accident and who feels the best thing she can do is disappear. She then gets caught in a storm and events take a turn she could never have anticipated.

It looks as though she has finally disappeared like she has wanted to do for the last five years since her daughters death. Her older daughter receives some information that makes her doubt her previous notion of her mother just walking away from her old life.

This book was a page turner.

""I am planning something devious. Wrong. Hurtful."

This is a dissappearance/whodunit story. Did this mother of three walk away? Or did something more sinister happen? Who are the people in this small, rural town and what do they know?

Jumping between the mother who is missing and her eldest daughter who's looking for her, it was fascinating being with the main characters in their thoughts. They were both so layered and complex and I had fun reading the back-and-forth perspectives. It kept me compulsively reading! It was a joy peeling back the layers in the small town to figure out what was really going on.

I don't want to give anything away, but I'm absolutely seeking out the other books by this author. :)

Thank you so much for this ARC!

I typically love Wendy Walker's books, however, this was definitely not at the top of my list. It was really difficult to get my attention. I did not enjoy the characters and had a hard time getting through it. Will continue to be a fan and await her next book!

Bravo to Wendy Walker, a new author to me. Thrillers are not my go-to genre, but this one pulled me in from the start, slowly building from horrible to horror. Wow!

Five years ago a terrible confluence of events destroyed the Clarke family. Molly was slowly turning the blind corner into their driveway, when 9 year old Annie, ran out into the street, and was killed almost instantly. Five years later, Molly feels like neither her husband or other two children love her or even want her around. After driving 2 hours to watch her son play football, he doesn't even acknowledge her, before she turns around to drive back another 2 hours. A hurricane is approaching Connecticut and she runs out of gas. She thinks about just disappearing in a field; would her family even notice? But then she does disappear. Did she walk away or was she taken? Her daughter Nicole has her own guilt, especially about her last parting words. While the police decide she just left, Nicole is not convinced. Is she trusting and believing in the right people? The suspense builds as they both are in danger. Who has Molly? So many suspects.

I red an ARC from NetGalley.com This is my unbiased and voluntary review.