No one believed Frankie Elkin when she said Lana Whitehorse was at the bottom of the lake and for a moment, as she swam through the cloudy waters, her oxygen almost gone, and she couldn’t see the truck Lana had been driving on the night she disappeared, she wondered if they’d been right. But no, there were the skeletal remains of Lana, her truck upside down in the muck, her blonde hair floating in the water.
Now that Frankie has found Lana, a deed she did without expectation of pay, she returns to the internet looking for another missing person. She has no training, no detective license, and no connection to the person she is looking for. She doesn’t even have a home or friends.
Her next choice is Angelique Lovelie Badeau, a Haitian teenager who lived with brother and aunt in Mattapan, a crime-ridden neighborhood in Boston.
One day, Angelique a sweet girl and good student didn’t come home. Later her school bag and cell phone were found hidden in the bushes outside of her school. Her family hopes she’ll be home soon but that was almost a year ago.
Frankie hopes if she locates Angelique the ending will turn out differently than it has with the other 16 people she has found—all of whom were dead.
“There are people out there like Frankie who spend their time looking for missing people,” says Lisa Gardner, author of Before She Disappeared (Dutton 2021; $27). “There are dog handlers who volunteer to have their dogs search for missing people for free, pilots who fly their planes over areas where someone has gone missing, and those who use their computer and social media skills to help—all for free.”
Gardner, a New York Times bestselling crime novelist, goes deep on the web when looking for true crime plots to base her mysteries.
“I like to think of it as research, not procrastination,” says Gardner who has written more than 30 novels, four of which have been made into movies.
This time, instead of choosing a criminal case to turn into fiction, Gardner’s inspiration came about after reading about Lissa Yellowbird-Chase, who grew frustrated by the number of women going missing on tribal lands and the lack of resources, or even interest, in finding them. Yellowbird-Chase founded the citizen-led Sahnish Scouts which is dedicated to finding justice for missing people and their families.
“The idea that one person, without any special training or background, can make such a difference amazed me,” she says. “And it’s what brings recovering alcoholic Frankie Elkin to Mattapan where a Haitian girl went missing eleven months ago. I had no idea the surveillance that goes on in a big city, so 11 months later I realized what this is was almost a closed room case, How does anyone disappear in a city?”
Gardner says she is not a plotter, instead she introduces her characters and then as she writes their personalities take over to tell the story. It was trying to determine what made Frankie tick that got her out of bed each morning to start the day’s writing.
Before She Disappeared is Gardner’s first standalone novel in more than 20 years.
“But I’ve failed at writing standalone,” she says, “because I’m already writing the next book about Frankie.”

I am a big fan of Lisa Gardner books and was really excited to see a new one come out. This is a slow burning character driven story. I loved how we get to know a lot about Frankie and it was suspenseful throughout. The ending was great but I wish the beginning of the book was the same. I look forward to reading Lisa Gardner’s next book.

This is a gripping suspense featuring a flawed loner, Frankie Elkin, who felt her life mission and her redemption was finding missing people that police have filed as cold cases. I loved Frankie maybe because of all her self-acknowledged flaws. While I could see character similarities of Jack Reacher (Lee Child) and Kinsey Millhone (Sue Grafton), Frankie is a unique character. I’m hoping this is just the start to a series as I’m eager to read more about Frankie Elkin.

Lisa Gardner’s first standalone novel in twenty years, and it’s a doozy!

Frankie Elgin is a recovering alcoholic who lives her life on the move without emotional ties. There’s a traumatic event in her past that’s left her restless and guilt-ridden, and it’s set her on a road of never-ending atonement, searching for the missing (mostly from minority groups) — who’ve been forgotten by the system. And Frankie is good at what she does. As a middle-aged white woman with only basic self-defense skills, she appears non-threatening. As a civilian, many people are more likely to speak with her than the cops. So far, she’s found sixteen missing persons, although she’s recovered none alive.

Now Frankie’s in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, looking into the case of a missing Haitian teenager, whiz kid Angelique Badeau. Angelique (last seen leaving her high school) has been missing for eleven months, and despite the absence of new leads, Frankie is determined to find her alive. Soon Frankie discovers that (unbeknownst to the authorities) another local girl (and secret friend of Angelique) is missing. Before she knows it, Frankie’s in all kinds of danger, without those superior self-defense skills that would really come in handy or even a gun. Frankie, one might (rightly) assume, has a bit of a death wish.

The pace is a clip throughout, and the danger steadily builds as Frankie begins to unravel the tangled web of secrets surrounding Angelique’s disappearance. Bullets fly and lives are lost as Frankie races against time. The hero of Before She Disappeared is a threefold wonder: Frankie (with her razor-sharp wit and dogged determination, of course), but equally a showstopper is Gardner’s riveting tapestry of mystery (prepare to read *just one more chapter*), as well as a cast of secondary characters so compelling you’ll want to linger on the page and with this story world just a bit longer.

4.5/5 stars

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner is a thriller that will keep you guessing. The main character is interesting, although not very likeable, and the mystery is quite unique. Fans of the author won’t be disappointed with this new standalone.

The main character, Frankie, is a character that has had quite a difficult past. She has made it her life’s work to track down missing women and is presently attempting to uncover the whereabouts of a teenage girl. Her methods are interesting, and she has inserted herself in the middle of a Boston neighbourhood to collect information and connect with the locals. While Frankie is a bristly character that is hard to relate to, her determination and compassion for finding this missing girl is admirable.

❀ PLOT TWISTS KEEP YOU GUESSING

The story starts off quite slow, but as the pieces of the disappearance of the teen come together, things start to pick up. There are a few twists to the plot, and they really keep you guessing. The ending surprised me, and I didn’t see it coming at all.

❀ UNIQUE AND INTERESTING

If you are a fan of thrillers, Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner is one that I recommend. The story is unique, and the characters are interesting. I am secretly hoping that we see more of Frankie in upcoming books.

I have not read many of Lisa Gardner's books and I have plans to continue working through her back list. But the ones I have read, I've enjoyed! This is her latest stand alone novel and I thought it was great!

It had mystery and intrigue and just enough plot twists to keep me engaged throughout. The twists were not mind blowing, but they did keep me from guessing the ending, which I love! With thrillers, I definitely enjoy when I can't predict what's coming next.

I did think this one had moments where it was a bit of a slow burn, but I didn't mind too much. I really liked the main character Frankie. She was just a regular citizen, volunteering her time to find missing people. After years of fighting alcoholism and guilt, she wants to do right and I found her to be incredibly brave. I would read future stories featuring her as main character again!

Overall, this was a great read for fans of mysteries and thrillers and one you should add to your list!

What a fantastic book. You totally hit a grand slam with this one! I could not put it down to try and do something else because I would just stop what I was doing and pick it back up and start reading it again. This is a must read, that’s all I can say! Hurry and get your copy, you won’t be sorry! Thank you Lisa for writing such a great book!

Throwing in the towel.

I’ve never read anything by Lisa Gardner so I was super excited to get this copy from @netgalley / @duttonbooks. Thank you again for the copy for my honest review!

I don’t know what happened though. Nothing grabbed me. At first I loved how raw the main character is but overall the plot felt so tired and predictable. The writing didn’t captivate me. The story didn’t move. Not for me. I definitely want to try others.

I love Lisa Gardner but this one just didn’t grab me like her other stories.

I can’t wait for her next book.

This was my first Lisa Gardner, and it did not disappoint! I was intrigued by Frankie and her unconventional ways of helping find missing people from the start. The mystery was woven beautifully through the story and kept you guessing until the end, along with the story of Frankie's past.

All in all a great mystery that makes me want to read more Frankie stories! In addition, I love when real life is woven into fictional stories, and this book gave homage to the civilians who help others every day, whether by solving cold cases or helping in other ways. Fabulously enjoyable mystery to solve!

For fans of mystery, I would highly recommend! Thank you to Net Galley and Dutton for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

This is the fifth book I have read by Lisa Gardner. I love her work and enjoyed Before She Disappeared.

I could see the author making a series out of this book with Frankie as the main character. It would be nice to have a prequel to learn more about Frankie's life prior to this book. There were some flashbacks mixing in with the present-day to explain Frankies situation that lead to her finding missing persons. However, I think more information on that would help the reader to understand the character better.

This book had an original storyline with lots of twists and turns you don't expect. This would make a great beach read. If you like Lisa Gardner you will enjoy her latest book Before She Disappeared.

This was my first story by Lisa Gardner and now I plan to go way back to her early writing to start her series that features Detective D.D. Warren. All the characters in this book have a story to tell and I loved them and their stories. Frankie (main character) is committed to finding people who others have given up on finding!

The pace of the book was great - it moved along and kept me turning the pages! I love a book that keeps me guessing and then answers the questions. The twists are well done!!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP/Dutton and NetGalley for this ARC.

Being completely surprised by a book is one of my favorite things about being a reader, and why I try my hardest to avoid the synopsis - I just love knowing absolutely nothing going into the book!

This one had such an interesting & different concept, and I especially loved Frankie’s character. Full of flaws that made her role as a missing persons civilian expert such a believable one, a lost soul using her talents and asking the right questions to discover what the cops didn’t know to ask.

Her current missing person, Angelique and the details around her story were just so interesting, and the fast paced story line moved along in a way I really enjoyed. The supporting characters — Emmanuel, Angelique’s younger brother, Charlie, the fellow alcoholic, Stoney, the bar owner & landlord & Detective Lotham (just to name a few that stuck out to me) — all contributed to the build up of Frankie’s search for the missing girl and were just enough to add to the overall story.

The title was absolutely PERFECT, on many levels, and I loved how it tied it all together once I was finished. As my first book by this author, I’m excited to add more of her backlist to my TBR, just fantastic! Thank you to Dutton Books + NetGalley for the eARC and the opportunity to read and review this title.

I've always enjoyed Gardner books and this one was no different. With a heavy focus on police procedure, the reader will be completely immersed in the crime scene. The main character has a troubled past but is just perfect for this story. She's relatable and motivated to discover whodunit. Fans of Gardner won't be disappointed with Before She Disapperared.

This book was my first Lisa Gardner (how???)! Before She Disappeared was an intriguing mystery. I loved how the story took place in Boston and featured a bad-ass female main character! Though the story got a little slow at some points, I am glad I picked this one up!

I'm very impressed with this story! The new, broken, imperfect vigilante Frankie was someone to root for, even if she seemed too bull headed.

Frankie Elkin is a recovering alcoholic that is working to find missing girls. Why? That was the main question weaved through the book (so you'll have to read and find out). But her need, her desperation, but also her cleverness and determination was very evident. As Frankie is battling her own demons, she was determined to find Angelique, a missing teen from an impoverished and troubled neighborhood. Her previous cases were all found, but not in time, and Frankie is determined to make Angelique the exception. Can she do it? Is she already too late?

This was a thrilling ride, with an investigation that unfolded naturally. Nothing seemed forced, and just like Frankie, it kept moving forward. I hope this is not the end of Frankie's story and there will be more of her in the future. I loved the idea that this was based on a real person. That there are people out there like Frankie trying their best to help and find these missing persons and close out the cold cases.

Thank you to Dutton for my review copy.

**REVIEW**
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75 rounded up to 4

Thank you to Penguin Random House & NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Frankie is a recovering alcoholic who is pretty good at solving cold-cases, especially for a civilian. This story follows her as she lands in a Boston neighborhood to try to find Angel, a brilliant immigrant teen in a sketchy neighborhood that’s gone missing. It’s been almost a year, and no new developments. That is, until Frankie shows up asking questions and disrupting a community known for minding its own business.

I really enjoy stories that have a mysterious main character. Frankie’s backstory comes out little by little, pushing things along nicely and keeping things interesting. There are so many shady characters built into the story, that you’re likely to have many guesses as to what happened to Angel throughout. This is a very solid mystery/thriller.

There was a lot going on in this book & it was definitely very intense and fast paced. I felt like the storyline was good, but the whole counterfeiting aspect just wasn’t all that interesting to me, and since that was such a huge part of the story, I found myself struggling more than I would like.

Slow writing, unclear, the settings were odd, the premise sounded so good but honestly was a miss. I'm sure it'll be popular with some people but not for me.

I love Lisa Gardner books and this one didnt disappoint! I thought it was excellent and love a good thriller true crime book. The ending was great and it left me wanting more which I really enjoy when it comes to a book and hoping there will be more! Definitely well written and loved the characters!