In the Peanuts comic strips, Snoopy always wanted to write the "Great American novel." His novel would always start "It was a dark and stormy night." The line became a cliche and joke.
Without using the cliche line, Wendy Walker gives us a dark and stormy entry into her new novel, Don't Look For Me. This stormy night is real, scary and tense. Definitely not a joke.
Driving from her sons soccer game at boarding school, Molly Clark runs out of gas. Her misfortune is doubled by the dense rain storm that has engulfed the area. She decides to leave the car and walk to a gas station she had seen.
She does not return to her home. A search is conducted . A note is found in a hotel room signed by Molly Clark telling all Don't Look For Me. Police believe she abandoned her family.
We readers do know where Molly is. The narrative now switches to Nicole, Molly's daughter. From Nicole we learn of the tragedy that has deeply damaged the family. Molly's son cannot tolerate her presence. Her husband is totally indifferent to her. Father and son accept the note from Molly. Nicole, the most hateful of the family does not accept the note. She NEEDS to find her mother. She NEEDS her mother to be alive.
As the narrative switches between Molly and Nicole, we, the readers, are kept informed of what is happening. But that doesn't mean we are always interpreting events correctly. The people in Hastings Point, the town where Molly went missing, are not easy to read. Honestly they are difficult, obtuse, dark, devious and strange.
It is a tribute to Ms. Walkers talent that you don't know who to trust or what to believe.
The plot line of the novel is interesting as the reader meets many individuals who have many motives, views and causes that impact the story. Don't Look For Me will keep you interest beginning to end.
I received an advance copy of this book from MacMillian publishing. #NetGalley #Dontlookforme

Molly Clarke has disappeared. The police say she walked away from her family and life, but her daughter, Nicole (Nic), doesn't believe that. Nic travels to the town where her mother was last seen, and searches for answers.

Told with the alternating points of view of Molly and Nic. Molly is struggling with things from her past and present. She is feeling unloved by her family, but they don't believe she would walk away from them. Nic has her own struggles, and believes something has happened to her mother. A new lead sounds promising, and Nic goes in search of her mother. The characters are intriguing and the story is suspenseful.

A tense thriller that captured my attention right away. Captivating, creepy, and twisted.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Molly's car is found on the side of the road one day after her son's football game with her phone on the charger and a note implying she walked away. This book is told in alternating chapters between Molly (who has gone missing) and her daughter Nicole (who is looking for her). We as readers know what happened but watching the plot lines converge is an amazing, psychological feat. This book was creepy and suspenseful all the way through.

Molly runs out of gas in the middle of a storm. Suspenseful, right? Well add on top of that the fact her daughter died in a car accident, and life of course isn’t the same...so she gets out of the car and walks away.

Yes, you read that right. SHE WALKS AWAY.

Lord help me, sometimes these novels are so suspenseful! The novel moves in a dual perspective: Molly’s and her other daughter (Nicole) as the search is on to find Molly. This novel’s suspense level is high- it puts you on the edge of your seat, has a crap load of suspects that I couldn’t figure out, and then the GASP worthy “shutupthatdidnotjusthappen” moments.

I powered through this in a day- I mean I NEEDED to know the ending.

Don't Look For Me is a story I didn't expect to be psychological in nature. It's one hell of a read. I didn't know what to think of make of some of the characters. I'd think something was off or I couldn't put my finger on what I was missing as far as clues go. I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to anyone.

I received this ARC by Wendy Walker through MacMillan Publishers for an honest review.