This was a fast paced story about a woman who gets kidnapped and her daughter who will not accept that she just ran away. The root of the book is the mother daughter relationship and how tragedy tears them apart. The whole family is trying to deal with the death of the youngest sibling, when their mother just disappears. After searching she can't be found a letter shows up in a hotel room saying that she left. For some reason her oldest daughter can not accept this and keeps searching even though the authorities have given up. Good fast moving, mystery told from the mother and daughter's perspectives.

Survivor's guilt is a terrible thing. Especially when it's a parent who is grieving the loss of a child. We all know that parents shouldn't out live their children. So when the unspeakable happens it's no wonder that Molly Clarke isn't the woman that she used to be.

Was that enough for her to just walk away from everything? To turn her back and head for a new life that didn't contain this amount of pain didn't seem like much of a stretch. Anyone in her shoes would jump at the chance to do the same. To start over and pretend that they haven't endured the most painful event a parent ever could.

A heart wrenching and tearful journey through the loss of a child and therefore the loss of a life once lived.

One night Molly Clarke just doesn’t show up at home. Her family finds a note in a hotel telling them she’s gone and not to look for her.
Pretty open and shut...right?

This book was the perfect bing read.
This book was so fast paced, I was hooked from the very beginning.
In alternate time lines this book follows Molly and her daughter leading up to and after Molly’s disappearance. I loved both characters. They were both dealing with some very heavy emotions in their own way and I was so invested.

This novel deals with some really heavy topics like grief and guilt and I love when a thriller can tug on my heart strings while still being an exciting read.

I’m a little embarrassed to say this was my first Wendy Walker but I definitely plan to go and read her backlist now.

The Clarke family had their world turned upside down and now Molly Clarke runs out of gas on a stormy night near the town of Hastings. The next day her car is found, yet she is not. It is believed that she has walked away from her family which seems like a possibility after the tragedy and grief she has gone through. Her daughter, Nicole, is not convinced that this is the case and goes back down to the small town to find her mother. While there, she encounters the people of this small town all have secrets of their own.

Told back and forth from both of their perspectives this thriller kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning all the way until the very end. I felt very anxious at times and had to put it down and take some breaks to calm my nerves, but also needed to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I love thrillers that make you think everyone is a suspect and you find yourself trying to decide which one it could be. 5 wonderful stars from me and I can't wait to read more from Wendy Walker!

~ Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I liked this book right up until the first twist. I think it came too early and by the time the big twist came, I just didn't care. I wanted more suspense which means the book kinda fell flat for me. I want my thrillers to leave me breathless and stunned and this was just predictable and not in a good way.

Don't Look for Me is a creepy, twisted, compulsively readable story that I wanted to stop reading but just couldn't until I finished it. The characters were very real and well done, and the plot so twisted... The ending was perfect.

*4.5 stars rounded up!

It is a dark and stormy night when Molly Clarke runs out of gas as she nears a small rural town. Even the gas station has been closed by the storm. In desperation, she flags down an approaching truck and accepts a ride from the driver. But afterwards Molly disappears...

The story is told from two points of view: Molly's and her daughter Nicole. Everyone believes that Molly has run off and deserted her family but Nicole won't give up the search for her mother.

This is a family torn apart by a tragedy but these two women seem to rise above this as they deal with the current circumstances. I appreciated how they grew in strength and understanding.

Lots of dramatic tension kept me turning pages. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, Walker threw a great twist into the mix. Exciting reading! Highly recommend for thriller fans.

I was lucky enough to receive an arc from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks!

Have you ever thought of just running away and starting a new life? It's one of those fleeting, laughable thoughts we have when we are driving and our mind wanders. But you'd never act on it.. right? Did Molly Clarke act on this fleeting urge, or did something bad happen to her? That's what her daughter Nicole is trying to find out.

This is a mystery filled with an interesting cast of characters, as Nicole navigates the town of Hastings in search of her mother. Told in the perspectives of Nicole and Molly, this book had me flying through, trying to figure out the mystery of both Molly and an unsolved disappearance of another young woman, Daisy. Everything is intertwined until the very end where a SHOCKING twist changes everything! This is a must read for thriller lovers, as I really enjoyed this book and Wendy Walkers writing style!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker is a chilling domestic thriller about a mother, Molly Clarke, who disappears one stormy night, leaving almost everyone believing she had left her family to start a new life. Almost everyone except Molly's daughter, Nicole, who is determined to find the truth about her mother's disappearance. The story is told through 2 different perspectives-Molly and Nicole's. It is a creepy story, that kept me awake at night wanting to find out more. I would definitely recommend this one to domestic thriller fans!

Wendy Walker does it again, with a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. Her writing is taut and fine-tuned, and the pacing ever so gradually picks up, until you are suddenly flipping pages, trying to figure out the final outcome. Definitely a suspense-filled ride, that just goes faster as the story continues.

Such an excellent, creepy thriller! I don't really want to say what this book is about beyond a mother's disappearance--this is one where it's better to find that out as you go along. But it's well-done, and Wendy Walker was successfully able to keep me flipping pages with an ever, growing sense of dread and unease. Perfect if you're looking for a thriller you can really get immersed in.

This is a well written amazing suspense novel. The suspense starts right away and doesn’t ease up. Molly is a wife and mother and is struggling with her relationships with her husband and children. Her youngest daughter is dead and Molly is the reason why. She unfortunately hit her with her car and although Molly wasn’t really at fault she blames herself as does her family. Molly is now heading home late at night and trying to beat a massive storm on the way. She runs out of gas in a desolate area and accepts a ride from a man and his daughter. This is where the trouble really begins for her. She is kidnapped and there is a search for her. Since she was having family problems the authorities and her family question ‘did something sinister happen or did she just walk away?’ The story is fast paced and it kept me spellbound the whole time. There are so many twists and turns and so many suspects. I have loved the author’s previous books and this is another wonderful book by her. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough on this one.

This was my first Wendy Walker book, but it won't be my last! What a tight mystery!

The story centers around a family who has suffered an unimaginable tragedy and the guilt that follows. Molly Clarke and her daughter Nicole are both dealing with this guilt in their own ways but not necessarily in good ways. Nicole is on a self destructive path and Molly is powerless to do anything about it with the burden of guilt crushing her own psyche. And then Molly disappears. What happened to her?

Walker delivers believable characters, that you care a lot about whether you are rooting for them or pulling against them. You are emotionally invested in the outcome. Everything you want in a mystery is here: an intriguing plot, a creepy, almost Gothic setting, good guys, bad guys, vice, corruption, human weakness, and a satisfying outcome.

Don't miss this one! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker is a very highly recommended psychological thriller

During a raging storm Molly Clarke's car is found abandoned with her phone inside. A note is found at a nearby hotel. The authorities are calling it a walk away - just a woman who left her family and life to start over somewhere else. And, as it is has been five years since Annie, her youngest daughter, died, she had reasons to leave her life behind. But the night Molly disappeared her car needed gas, the gas station was closed due to the storm, so she started walking toward the nearest town. When a man and his daughter offered Molly a ride to town, she was grateful to accept his offer. Once inside the car, when the doors locked, Molly realizes that she made a terrible mistake.

Molly's twenty-one-year-old daughter, Nicole, is still looking for her mom and returns to the small town where she disappeared two weeks earlier when a woman calls with new information. It seems that everyone is helpful, until Nicole starts to uncover secrets, like another woman who disappeared, and connections in the town.

The chapters alternate between the point-of-view of Molly and Nicole. Molly's perspective informs us where she is and what is happening to her. She has to be resourceful and clever to survive her predicament as she tries to understand why she was chosen and what is expected of her. We understand that she is full of guilt and she and her family is still mourning Annie's death. Molly's chapters tell the backstory. Nicole's chapters follow her search for the truth. She knows her relationship with her mom has been contentious and full of tension, but she has never shared all the reasons why she feels that way.

This is an absolutely compelling, twisty psychological thriller. Yes, it is a nail-biter that will keep you up all night, with a plot that will adroitly play with all your emotions, but it is also a nuanced psychological portrait of a family in mourning that is suddenly faced with another crisis and an examination of a complex mother/daughter relationship. The characters are well-developed and portrayed as flawed individuals struggling with their own dilemmas and the side of the situation they are experiencing. There are suspects but you likely won't guess exactly what is going on until the end. The clues were there, but so cleverly woven into the plot that the final denouement will absolutely shock you.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Publishing Group.
The review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

WOW! Wendy, you literary genius! How do you do this....AGAIN?!

You've done it again. This time with a book that I struggled reading because it creeped me out so much but at the same time, I COULDN"T PUT IT DOWN!

Two strong women, both suffering in their own ways from a mistake from the past. Psychologically, this book really creeped me out. It was a well thought out thriller, with excellent twists and turns. I enjoyed the different characters and was really trying to figure out the "bad guy" before it was announced. Definitely a few red herrings. Interesting ending. Was both satisfying and unsatisfying.

This book held my attention the entire way through. I’m talking heart pounding, need to keep reading suspense. I enjoyed the perspective switch from Molly, the mother who is kidnapped between the daughter searching for her.

Just when I thought I had the ending figured out, Walker threw in yet another twist!

Nic is the only member of her family that still believes her mother did not just walk away from them. She doesn’t believe the note left behind in her mother’s hotel room that says “Don’t Look for Me”.

Molly, Nic’s mother, has many reasons to run. Five years ago, she struck and killed her youngest child in the street with her car. Earlier on the day she went missing, her middle child, Evan, shunned her after his football game. Her daughter, Nic, yelled horrible things at her the last time she saw her. Even her husband, John, doesn’t love Molly anymore and is probably having an affair. Now she’s run out of gas. The gas station she walks to is closed due to the impending hurricane. It will too cold at night to stay in the car so she starts walking. Soon, a pickup stops and offers her a ride. There is a young girl riding shotgun. What could go wrong? She jumps in the backseat...

The story alternates between Molly and Nic’s point of views. And it is a twisty story they tell. Don’t Look for Me is a heart-throbbing adrenaline ride until the satisfying conclusion. If you like cinematic thrillers, this is your book. I can’t wait for it to be turned into a film. 4 stars!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker has sealed Walker as one of my all-time favorite authors. Told from multiple perspectives, Don’t Look For Me was a perfectly, paced, psychological thrill ride from the very first page. After losing her daughter, Molly Clarke and her family had a hard time adapting to the loss. Now Molly is missing, her car is abandoned and there is a huge reward for any information leading to her whereabouts. Did she walk away from her family or was she kidnapped?

Walker’s book, Emma in the Night, was one of my favorite reads of 2018. In 2019 The Night Before by Wendy Walker was one of my favorite books of that year. Looks like she’s done it again. Don’t Look For Me is one of my favorite books of 2020…I see a trend here! It gave me all the feels from sad and nervous to scared and whattttt!!! Wendy Walker is a genius at character building and as with all of her books, this book has well-developed characters, great characterizations, with an amazing plot, and perfectly placed shifting points of view and timelines. It was cinematic! I read it in 24 hours and plan to purchase a final copy.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Molly Clarke is mom of three, and is deeply depressed following her role in the death of her youngest daughter. Molly feels as though her surving children hate her, and her husband can never love her again. Molly briefly considers running away after her car runs out of gas, but is instead picked up by a man and his daughter, and is offered shelter for the night. This man has other plans. While everyone believes Molly has indeed run away, her daughter Nicole knows her mother wouldn't do this, and also feels guilty about her role in her sister's death and her mother's disappearance. Nicole vows to find her mother. The search leads Nicole down a very dangerous path, as Molly's days in captivity are coming to an end. This novel was very entertaining, and kept me on the edge of my seat.

This is one of the best books I’ve recently read and I recommend it highly. Brilliantly written, this is a powerful tale of family dynamics and pure evil. The plot is wonderfully twisty and filled with riveting characters. I did not want to put it down! I received this book free and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.