Molly Clarke is a grieving mother who’s still affected by the death of her child from years before. She does her best to stay present in her marriage and for her other children, but when she disappears one night it’s not too hard for people to believe that it’s of her own doing, in an attempt to assuage her guilt and give her family a chance to start over. But facts come to light and her daughter refuses to believe that her mother would just leave them like that, so she heads back to the scene of the disappearance to do some digging.

This was good. There were a lot of characters and it was satisfying to see it come together. It was personally hard for me to read because there’s a death of a child in it, and those involved reflect on their grief pretty regularly. Outside of that though it wasn’t particularly gory or violent. Small town secrets, people who aren’t really what they seem, and complicated relationships between mother and daughter. There you have it! I liked it, but it’s probably not one that’s going to stick with me a long time. There were a few points that were too far fetched for me to believe. Good on audio though- I liked the narration and flew through it over the course of two days.

As long as the plot is somewhat believable, I’ve been known to read all night long just to finish a book, if it’s THAT good, but once I finished this book, I wanted the last 3-4 hours of my lost sleep time back. The book itself started out a little slow but picked up a nice steady pace only to have it fall completely flat at the end.

The ending was not even close to being realistic, not by a long shot. It’s almost like the author was looking for the quickest way to end, without a lot of fanfare, just whatever, got it done, wrap it up.

With every book, Wendy Walker gets better and better. Don't Look for Me is her best yet and I love how Walker doesn't follow a formula and each book is something new and different, I'm looking forward to whatever Wendy Walker writes next!

I shelved this book for a few months. I started and got about 40% through and just couldn’t get into it. I picked it back up and decided to give it another try. I am glad I did!

The beginning half was very slow and like I said before, hard to get into. However the second half was unputdownable. There were two points of view in the story, Nic and Molly, but it was very easy to follow. There were definitely twists and turns and when you think you know everything, more information comes to light. I was pleasantly surprised. All of the characters were believable and not too far fetched, which helped relate.

I would recommend this book!

This is my first novel by Wendy Waller but I would like to read more

This focuses on Molly Clarke, a woman whose family hate her after she accidentally killed her younger daughter 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.

This is told from Molly's perspective and that of her daughter. It covers obsession, manipulation and untruths. I found it a compelling read and I didn't want it to end

Wendy Walker does a fantastic job building suspense and developing meaningful characters in this psychological thriller. The narratives alternate between Molly, a woman believed to have walked away from her life after a family tragedy years earlier, and Nic, her daughter who will stop at nothing to bring her mom home.
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I loved the dual narrative, being able to see the world through each characters' eyes as the plot unfolds. Their interactions with various characters, while we try to put the pieces together, added to the mounting mystery of it all.
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I also found the characters relatable and complex. Molly is a mom first, but her thoughts and reactions are genuine and very real. Nicole deals with loss in her own way, but she is a smart, intuitive young adult, and I was rooting for her the whole way.

This was my first Wendy Walker book, and it won’t be my last. The mystery was well-written, with plenty of fun twists. I enjoyed seeing the mother/daughter relationship from both sides, and was rooting for the main character from the first moment. There were some really likable and really unlikeable characters, and they were all necessary to the plot. I really enjoyed this well-written thriller!

A claustrophobic, anxiety-inducing psychological thriller that will keep you up past your bedtime. It explores the complex relationships between mothers and daughters through relatable, flawed characters while keeping up a nail-biting pace right until the shocking ending.

Molly accidentally ran over and killed her nine year old daughter. The family, understandably, has never been the same.... Molly’s guilt, her husband’s loss, her oldest daughter’s guilt for the role she might have played in the tragedy.

One stormy night, returning from her son’s football game four hours away, Molly’s car runs out of gas and she disappears. After finding her car abandoned and later receiving a note from her, it is assumed that she just “walked away”. But daughter Nicole has never given up on finding her mother.

I really didn’t like this book for about the first half, but then Walker had me and I couldn’t put it down. Red herrings keep you guessing in this psychological thriller. Although told from different points of view and timelines, it was never confusing. The ending was a bit contrived, though.

Wendy Walker's Don't Look for Me is a compelling thriller about an abduction that's made to look like a voluntary departure.

Molly Clarke's life has been in tatters for five years. She drove the car that accidentally killed her small daughter Annie, and is unable to forgive herself. Her teen son, adult daughter and husband all seem to be rejecting her.

Molly simply wants to walk away from it all, but when she starts to do so, she gets something she never bargained for, and certainly didn't deserve.

I was surprised I liked this one as much as I did. The description itself didn't really fully catch me. It's a premise that could either be really good or a little too overdone. This book definitely could have done one of two ways but luckily it was definitely the good way.

Excellent writing and well paced plot really set this one above. There were so many pieces to the puzzle to put together. I liked the POV break of mother and daughter and trying to figure out how this would all play out. A lot of interesting twists and surprises. The last few lines, though, ugh. shivers. Well done, I really liked it!

I found this book to be really creepy at the beginning, but as I got going, it lost some of its luster. The author wrote the story with several characters “eligible” to be the bad guy, but it became obvious (even to ME, who never thinks enough to “figure it out”!), who it was, and so where I hoped for twists to prove me wrong, I didn’t get that. It was an enjoyable read, though, and I send my thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

My first Wendy Walker, but certainly won't be my last! Fast-paced, twisty, thought-provoking...perfect fall fall mystery/thriller reading!

Holy wow. Don't Look For Me is a gripping story sure to be an absolute binge read for thriller lovers. My heart was racing the entire time I read the book- the tension in this one is high and constant, with one unexpected twist after another.

Walker did an excellent job crafting this story and I look forward to reading more from her. The story was told from two differing timelines a few weeks apart -from the night of Molly's perspective, starting the night of her disappearance, and then from the point of view of her daughter-Nicole a few weeks later as she looks for answers about what happened to her mother.

Many thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I wasn't sure about this book at first because I was afraid that it would be overly graphic and violent for no reason. I was pleasantly surprised. It was suspenseful but not heavy-handed. My only criticism is that there are a lot of characters that pop up and I would occasionally get confused in-between readings.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The story alternates between when Molly goes missing to when Nicole starts searching for her mother about 2 weeks later.

Molly Clarke’s life is forever changed the day she accidentally hits and kills her youngest daughter five years ago when Annie was 9 years old. Molly was a middle school science teacher married to John with 2 surviving kids Evan away at boarding school and Nicole 20 year old who was expelled from her private school. One night Molly goes missing when her car runs out of gas during a hurricane on her way home from watching Evan’s football game.

The guilt since the tragic accident is a daily burden for Molly who receives the blame for her daughter’s death. When she runs out of gas and finds the gas station closed she is relieved when a man and a young girl stop to offer her a ride. Although hesitant Molly ignores all signs that she is in danger until it’s too late. Molly realizes that there are 3 gas cans in the truck and alarmed when they arrive at the boarded up Hastings Inn.
Molly fears she will never see her family again and that no one is looking for her. She sees her only way to survive is winning the trust and affection of Alice. Over time Alice reveals information to Molly which leads her to believe that her daughter Nicole is in danger.

The missing woman from Hastings soon loses the attention of the media and law enforcement. They attribute her disappearance to her depression and desire to escape the constant reminders of her Annie. As much as Nicole was angry with her mother she realizes that her anger is misplaced. She becomes alarmed when her mother hasn’t returned home as it was totally uncharacteristic of her mother.

Nicole goes in a mission to find out what happened to her mother. In her quest to uncover the truth Nicole finds that many of the people she meets are lying about what they know. She initially finds a believable lead when she speaks to Edith Moore. Since there’s a reward for information regarding her mother Nicole doesn’t know who to trust.

The story is a twisted convolution of unreliable characters who only serve to stir more confusion regarding Molly’s disappearance. This was a great read with many unexpected turn of events making it a challenge to predict the ending.

Molly Clarke is a troubled woman who is consumed with guilt and grief after the death of her daughter. One stormy night, Molly accepts a ride from a stranger after being stranded on the side of the road. When Molly doesn't return home that night, her family starts an investigation into her disappearance. Did her guilt and grief lead her to abandon her life and family? Or is something more sinister going on?

I am debating between 3.5 and 4 stars on this book. I thought it was a pretty good psychological thriller about a missing woman. In some ways, it did remind me of Walker's previous book The Night Before. Some of the same frustrations that I had with the main character in that story resurfaced again in this story. Mostly I just felt like the women in this story were too naive and trusting at times. Perhaps it is too easy for me as a reader who suspects everyone to see what is really going, but there were several points in this story when I just wanted to shout at these women to wake up and notice the danger they were in!

I did find this to be a page-turner, and I flew through the whole book very quickly. It's a little bit twisty, and I predicted most of what was going to happen though there was a surprise or two at the end. I think the best character in this book is 9 year old Alice. She was so interesting as she was just a sweet little girl but also she was kind of creepy! The creepy child vibe added extra intrigue to this story. Alice reminded me of Hannah from Dear Child by Romy Hausman, a book that has a lot in common with this one.

If you are looking for a quick and compelling psychological thriller, this one is a decent choice! Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

OH. MY. GOSH. This was the thriller I did not know I needed! Holy moly. It will give you the ultimate low key creeps where you’ll be rereading that one liner again like WHAT 👀

This is a gripping and mysterious tale of a mother and wife who goes missing. Set in a small town along the Connecticut and Massachusetts border, Molly Clarke, wife and mother of 3 goes missing during a bad storm without a trace. Told through a dual timeline that eventually meets in the middle, we are taken on a journey as seen through the eyes of Molly and her eldest daughter, Nic, between the day of Molly's disappearance and the aftermath as her family searches for her.

Every word, every sentence in this story will leave you hooked. I could not put it down nor could I completely figure out what was going on at any point. Beware: As soon as you think you know how the story is going to turn out, think again! I loved it, and will read anything Wendy Walker writes! It's the perfect cozy thriller that will leave you stunned and fully creeped out.

Potential Content Warnings: traumatic death of a child, abduction, grief, suicidal ideation, insinuations of heavy drinking & drinking dependency, murder, child endangerment

I read The Night Before by the same author and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to get an advanced copy of her new book. It was intense and well written... hard to put down! I will definitely read more by this author in the future.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

<b>The Short of It:</b>

Walker hit it out of the park with this one. It met all my reading wants.

<b>The Rest of It:</b>

Molly Clarke suffered a terrible loss. One that involved her young daughter, killed in an accident right in front of her own home. What’s inconceivable to Molly’s family and even Molly herself, is that she was the one behind the wheel. The one who turned as fast as she could, but not fast enough to avoid her daughter running in front of her car.

The family is left utterly distraught. Molly’s older daughter Nic, remembers the moment like it was yesterday and Molly’s husband can’t even bring himself to look at his wife. An accident, yet one so tragic that the family just cannot move past it.

That’s why when Molly Clarke goes missing one stormy night, only to leave her abandoned car and phone behind, people are quick to call it a “walk away”. She just couldn’t live anymore with all those accusing eyes, reminding her every day of what she did.

Did she really walk away? Or has something happened to her?

Don’t Look for Me is a GREAT read and as I mentioned above, it checked all the boxes for me. A good story. Nice plot twists. Characters you care about. Maybe a tad predictable at one point but a good ride to get there. It kept me guessing in a lot of places and had me stopping to piece things together.

I put household chores aside to read it. I read it during the baseball playoffs. I sat on the couch with it when I wasn’t feeling well and it was just what the doc ordered. These days, you gotta keep your mind busy and off of politics and this wretched pandemic. This book helped me do that.

Highly recommend. I’ve read one other book by Walker, Emma in the Night, which I also enjoyed. If you need to immerse yourself into something other than the news, find yourself a copy.

For more reviews, visit my blog: <a href="http://bookchatter.net">Book Chatter</a>.