Didn't live it didn't hate it. Was told in different story lines easy to follow. But for me something was just missing in this book. Didn't love any of the characters. Was just an ok.read for me.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and network an early release of this book..

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza is a superb book with an engrossing plot and well drawn characters. Well worth the read!

I loved Amber Garza’s first novel and was so excited to read “Where I Left Her”. It starts with Whitney dropping her daughter off at a friends house, but when she returns to pick her up, the people at the house haven’t seen or heard of her daughter or her daughters friend. She’s now on a quest to find where her daughter is and who her daughters friend really is. I loved this book! I did not see the end coming and I love when that happens!! Highly recommend this book

Where I left Her is a mystery thriller by author Amber Garza. The story of a mother who drops her daughter off at a friend's house for a sleepover to discover the next day that she's not where she left her and is nowhere to be found. While she searches for clues of her where abouts, she discovers the reason for her disappearance has to do with secrets she long kept buried.

From the first chapter, I was sucked into the story. As a mom myself having my kid disappear is my worst nightmare but at the same time I would never let me kid sleepover someone's house if I've never met the parents. Right until about the 75 % mark I wasn't exactly sure what the details of the secret Whitney was keeping, and that's in part to how untrustworthy I found her from early on. The end while not disappointing per se didn't give me complete satisfaction. Yes, we find out the actual truth of what happened while Whitney continues to tell a lie, but the issues with her daughter doesn't actually resolve, readers are just left to assume what happens.

Overall, Where I Left Her was a decent thriller with lies, secrets, and shocking revelations. I've never read an Amber Garza before but I'd be willing to do so again in the future.

A moody teenager who had changed the past few months and an overnight with a friend didn't turn out well.

The nightmare began when Amelia didn't show up the next day and her phone was turned off.

Amelia wasn't where her mother left her off when she went to pick her up in the morning, and the house where she thought she left daughter had an older couple living there and said no girls lived there.

The police were called, but Whitney, Amelia's mother, didn't have much to give them other than that her daughter hadn't been herself lately, her daughter had a boyfriend she didn't know about, and she was talking to an older man.

The days dragged, and Amelia still wasn’t found. Where could she be? What could have happened to her?

WHERE I LEFT HER goes back and forth from the childhood of Amelia to present day as well as back and forth with Whitney’s life.

I wasn’t as impressed with this book as I was with WHEN I WAS YOU.

There was a lot of back story that could have been left out, but there are some very tense moments in the back stories and present-day stories.

It truly was slow and didn’t hold my interest until three quarters of the way through when the secrets and truths were revealed.

WHERE I LEFT HER isn’t a bad read, but could have gotten there more quickly.

The ending was worth the wait and took my rating up a notch.

Excellent ending so don’t give up. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Without even reading the description, I knew I wanted to read this book, because I LOVED Garza’s previous book, When I Was You.

Filled with twists and turns, creepy subtext, and multiple points-of-view, Where I Left Her by Amber Garza does the thriller genre proud. Garza’s writing and storytelling certainly exceeded my expectations.

Admittedly, I was concerned when I discovered the story would be told in a non-linear timeline, because that is always a challenge for me personally, but I trusted the author would guide me through it all. There are a lot of flashbacks told in italics, which can be hard to read in excess, but the story is worth the effort.

I wanted to read the entire book in one sitting, but had to pause halfway through because of life responsibilities, but I eagerly finished the second half without stopping once, because I needed to find out how the story was going to end.

Where I Left Her was a terrific mystery with plenty of clues to help solve the mystery and uncover the true villain along with the characters in the story.

I look forward to reading more from Garza -- a great storyteller.



[I received an early copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.]

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

I wanted to enjoy this book, but I really struggled with it. I love a good mystery, but this book totally missed the mark for me.

The story alternates between past and present, both before and after Whitney drops off her daughter. Parts became too unbelievable, even for fiction, and the twist was distasteful and not what I've come to expect with this genre. I never really connected with any of the characters. In fact, I found them quite dislikeable. Also, there was too much reminiscing, so it never really felt like the plot was moving forward.

Where I Left Her is the sophomore work of Amber Garza, and she has continued to develop her voice as writer in this new novel.

Initially, I was quite empathetic with Whitney, as I identified with her as a mother. The idea of your child missing is absolutely terrifying! However, this part initially seemed a bit drawn out and to overemphasize Whitney as a controlling parent that was struggling with allowing her teenager to grow up and my sympathy began to wane. Later, I realized that this was quite intentional on the author’s part and was a crucial part of the story.

The second half of the book, I couldn’t put it down! The storyline quickly developed and had me guessing at different possibilities. The storyline of Whitney’s missing daughter, Amelia, is interrupted with another story. The reader is led to make assumptions about how these two storylines fit together. When the connection is reveled towards the end, I was surprised, and appreciate all the intricate details that Amber Garza wove together in this dark and engaging tale of a mother’s love and how the past shapes the present.

I enjoy this authors work, and this book really showed me she’s one to watch! It captured me from the get go, with the unique, riveting writing! The author captures characters and the storyline perfectly, which made me even more hooked! Definitely fast paced and unputdownable! Lots of fun twisty twists, thrilling thrills, chilling chills, and gasp worthy shocks! Highly, highly recommend to my fellow thrill seekers!

Will make sure to buzz around and use top Amazon reviewer number!

Wow, what an excellent read!! I loved how the mother/daughter relationship was portrayed! There is much more to this story than at first glance. My eyes were kept glued to the page because I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. The shocking twist at the end made me audibly gasp. Very well done! I can not say enough good things about this book!

"When I Was You", the debut thriller from Amber Garza, was one of my favorites last year. Now with "Where I Left Her", she is firmly establishing herself as an author to watch out for in the world of domestic suspense fiction!

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza is a story that is every parent’s worst nightmare. Whitney is a divorced mom with a teenage daughter named Amelia. Amelia and Whitney used to be close but now Amelia is drawing away and has a typical teenage attitude. She’s been hanging out with her friend Lauren, a new girl at her school. One night she wants to spend the night with Lauren and Whitney agrees to it. Whitney drives Amelia to Lauren’s house and sees Lauren open the door and let Amelia in. The next day she has not heard from Amelia so she drives over to pick her up. An older couple answers the door and they don’t know who she’s talking about. It seems that Amelia has pulled a fast one. Whitney is instantly terrified and has a gut feeling that something bad has happened to Amelia.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written. Some of the chapters told the history of Whitney when she was younger and had a somewhat checkered past. Other chapters are from somebody unnamed talking about her best friend Millie. As Whitney’s search for Amelia grows more desperate the past and present collide. What makes the story telling so great in this book is that the reader is not aware of all the information they need and it is slowly revealed little by little until you get to the shocking end! Garza has a knack for making you think one thing and then pulling the rug out from under you at the end of the book. I can’t wait for more books by her. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Amber's first novel When I was You so I was eager to get my hands on an early copy of Where I left Her!

Unfortunately, this one didn't quite measure up what I had hoped for!

Whitney (overprotective mom) insists on dropping her daughter Amelia off at a friends house for a sleepover. She sees her daughter walk up to the door and the two girls wave as she drives off.

Whitney hasn't heard from her daughter and decides to go back to the house where she dropped her off the next afternoon. She pulls up to the house she thinks is the correct one (roses out front) but an elderly couple answers and informs her she has the wrong house.

Somehow Whitney keeps coming back to the house with roses?

The story unfolds between past and present alternating between before and after the drop off. '

Sadly, the story took a turn that was a little over the top for me. The twist wasn't as shocking as I had hoped for. I was wanting it to be darker than it was.

Overall, 3/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin/Mira for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 8/24/21
Published to GR: 6/21/21

What a crazy ride this book was! The disappearance of a teenaged girl who told her mother multitude of lies is the moving force behind this novel. Just how well do parents know their children is the question I kept asking myself as I was flying through the pages of this story.

Where I Left Her by Amber Garza centers on a mom who drops her daughter off a friend's house for a sleepover. She goes back the next day to pick her daughter up. The only thing is that when she goes to the door, an elderly couple answers. Where has Whitney's daughter gone, and how can she explain how her daughter has just vanished? The story then tells the story of where Whitney's daughter might be with multiple narrators/threads of the story. There are some twists (some really good ones) that are involved within these as Whitney focuses on figuring out what happened and realizing this may have some ties to her own story. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this August 2021 release.

What a strange bizarre read. There are three different story lines and they criss cross, divert, and then blend again, it was difficult to keep track of which voice was whom. I figured out part of the plot, but the end left me repulsed. One of the main characters is despicable. I didn't really connect with any of the characters.

I hate to say it ...but this book was not as good as I expected.

Firstly, it was very slow paced, but that wasn’t my main issue with the book. I just truly could not relate to the main character, Whitney. She is way too obsessed with her daughter and it was driving me nuts! I started to understand why Amelia might have ran away from her mom because talk about helicopter mom, jeez.

Since 60% of the book revolves around Whitney and her search for Amelia, I really started to hate Whitney. I just could not relate with her at all, and her ideologies just don't mesh with mine. If it would have been a small part of the book, I could have gotten over it.

Having said that though, the redeeming quality of this book was the ending! I’m happy I finished this book because the ending was pretty good. It was kind of predictable, but I really liked it since I was finally able to understand why Whitney was acting the way she was.

This book has a really cool premise, but it was just a bit too slow for me, and Whitney was too overbearing for too long for my personal preference. However, give it a try, you might like it!

This author was new to me and I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The premise was chilling and appealing and made request this immediately. Initially, I thought this was going to be a predictable, mediocre mess with unlikeable characters; it was far from that. I love the dual points POV from Whitney, the mother, who is our unreliable narrator. and goes to pick up her daughter from a friend's house the next day and find an older couple with no knowledge of her daughter.....

If this does not get your attention, I do not know what will; and what happens during Whitney's frantic search for her daughter only gets worse. Does Whitney even know who her daughter really is? What secrets does Whitney have? This book gives the reader so many questions and more until the shocking end. BOOM!

Highly recommended read and I getting this on the publishing date to own! I also need to read more by this author NOW!

Thanks to Netgalley, AMber Garza and Harlequin Trade Publishing Mira for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/24/21

Book Review: Where I Left Her
Author: Amber Garza
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Mira Books, for sending me ARC.

This is my second Amber Garza book! I read When I Was You last year and really enjoyed it. So, of course, when the publisher reached out, I knew I had to give tis one a go. While I did enjoy it, I didn’t find it to be as strong of a book as the first one. I felt like something was missing to bring the punch home.

Now, this one contains one of my favourite things in mystery and thrillers. We have a narrator who may not be telling us the whole truth. The idea of not knowing who is telling you everything and who just always packs a punch for me. I like going into my mysteries and thrillers with the idea of having to figure out who is telling the truth. It just adds a whole other level to the book.

We follow Whitney, who is our narrator. The book opens with her going to pick up her daughter, Amelia, from her friend’s, Lauren, house after a sleepover. However, when Whitney arrives at the house, she is surprised to learn that no one named Lauren lives there and that no one has seen Amelia. This sets up the book. At the forefront, this seems to be a mother’s quest to find her daughter, which is what I thought this was going to be about. However, as you dig in a little deeper, you quickly discover that there is more to this than a case of teenage rebellion. Since Whitney is the narrator, we see the characters through her eyes. We see Amelia as this sixteen year old girl who is just going through some rebellion and pushing mom away in the process. Amelia, at least in Whitney’s eyes needs to be protected. Lauren is someone who no one really seems to know and that’s where Whitney looks to as a suspect.

The thing is that Whitney also has a past-one that she would rather keep hidden. However, as the story goes, we learn about the past from both Whitney and someone else-can’t tell you because of spoilers. It is our job as the reader to figure out who is telling the truth and who isn’t. Again, this is one of my favourite things in mystery and thriller, so any book that does this and does it well does score pretty high for me.

Of course, all of this wouldn’t work without the writing. Amber does a great job at creating suspense and making you want to keep reading. She has that hook to pull you in. Plus, all of the different layers just really add. You have to figure out who you can and cannot trust. My only complaint with the writing was the ending. I felt this way in the last book of hers to. We have all of this great built up, but I found the ending to be somewhat of a letdown. Whenever I think back on my five star mystery and thriller books, it was the ending that earned them that five star rating. In order for me to rate books five stars, you really have to bring that ending home.

Anyway, I am really glad that I read this. I did enjoy it and think that it is a solid book. This book comes out on August 24, 2021.

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