I was a huge fan of the Mary Higgins Clark and Alastair Burke books, so I was stoked when I received this copy. However, the twists were a stretch and I didn’t like, nor could I connect with any of the characters. This one wasn’t for me

I really liked the premise of Find Me and did like the main characters LIndsay and Hope. It started out great, but then got complicated with too many characters. It features Ellie Hatcher, from Burke's series, but Find Me is said to be a standalone. However, I think reading about Ellie's background from the other books helps since Find Me involves characters from those books.
Too many connect the dots in a convoluted story.

Fifteen years ago, Lindsay Kelly came upon an overturn vehicle and a young woman along the side of the road. When the mystery woman wakes up, she has no clue who she is or what happened to her. She starts over calling herself Hope Miller. When Hope disappears with the only evidence that something isn’t quite right is a missing rug and a blood stain, Lindsay goes on the hunt to find out where her best friend is or what could have happened to her.

FIND ME starts as a slow burn with the meat of the story starting about a quarter of the way in. Alafair constructs two storylines that blend pretty seamlessly together in quite a beautiful way. And equally constructed a perfectly blended story with police procedural, investigative, and court room elements. This is a pretty complex mystery and there is quite a lot going on throughout this story. It felt like there was a lot to piece together, but man, Alafair defiantly delivers on the twists.

I will never enjoy is an influx of new characters being introduced. While there were quite a few along the way, and at times I found myself try to recall who is who, each did feel like a new pivotal layer. Some readers may remember Ellie Hatcher from a series penned by Alafair, but rest assured this story reads as a standalone and familiarity with Ellie isn’t necessary. Ellie and Lindsey’s world intersect when Lindsey, a defense attorney, makes a desperate attempt to investigate a theory following the lack of police involvement in Hope’s missing persons case. Guys and gals, I will ALWAYS look forward to the legal inclusion in Alafair’s novels, always! I am here for it every time! Lindsay really gets into the thick of the investigation that takes place.

This story truly beings to take off around the 50% mark (at least for me it took that long) as Lindsay and Ellie begin to peel apart the onion and find the truth about the Hatcher siblings and Hope’s past. I became fully invested and spinning my own theories, unable to put this book down until its end. Although the story was tied up nicely by its end, I wasn’t fully satisfied overall. Don’t get me wrong, we have some intricate story telling here and Alafair is a master in her craft as a crime fiction writer. This just wasn’t my favorite novel by Alafair, but it was an enjoyable read and I would never pass on reading Alafair’s work.

This was a tough book for me to read since I buddy read it not knowing it is part of a series. The middle was a bit slow but I enjoyed how it all came together. Thank you in advance for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Hope Miller has lived with her amnesia for fifteen years, after she was discovered in an overturned car near a small New Jersey town. Lindsay Kelly, now a defense attorney, was the one who found her and has been her best friend every since. Hope has lived a sheltered life but now she wants to live a bit more independently. When she announces her plans to move to East Hampton, Lindsay and others are concerned how she will manage. Then, when Hope disappears, Lindsay launches a search for her friend.

Find Me is a mystery as well as a story of friendship and secrets. The premise sounded so interesting but I found the execution to be lacking. There are a lot of moving parts, many characters, and a plot that seems to amble all over the place. It’s unclear to me if this book is part of the author’s Ellie Hatcher series or if it’s a stand-alone. Either way, the addition of Ellie, her brother, and their backstory felt awkward and there were too many “timely” issues incorporated into the story, leaving it disjointed and slow-paced.

I have enjoyed Alafair Burke’s previous novels but this one isn’t one of my favorites.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

If you are a fan of detective books or true crime, Alafair Burke’s newest novel is perfect for you.

In this thrilling mystery Hope Miller is found after a car accident and can’t remember anything about her life. Temporary amnesia is not uncommon after an accident, but Hope’s amnesia has lasted 15 years! She has managed to build a life in a nurturing small town where everyone looks out for her. But now, Hope wants to branch out on her own and decides to move to a Long Island beach town.

Lindsay, Hope’s best friend and the person who found her at the car accident, is worried about her friend moving away. The tension builds when Lindsay can’t reach Hope and the only clue is a drop of blood. With the help of NYPD homicide detective, Ellie Hatcher, the women search for clues and uncover a tangled web of mysteries and old secrets.

Temporary amnesia is a common plot twist yet Find Me poses the question of long term amnesia and if it’s possible to create a brand new life for yourself. Alafair Burke has created another intriguing mystery in her Ellie Hatcher detective series. This novel also works well as a standalone.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper for the opportunity to review this novel before its release.

I always enjoy Alafair Burke's books, and this one was no exception. Hope Miller finds herself implicated in a murder, and the police become even more interested when they discover hat Hope Miller isn’t even her real name. Fifteen years prior, Hope had barely survived a terrible car accident, and even after she healed physically, her memory never returned. So is her amnesia just an elaborate con? Or is she truly ignorant of the events that occurred when she was a teenager—memories that someone wants to ensure never surface?

Burke is at the top of her game. The unexpected twist at the end had me reeling and changed my entire perception of the novel. This is a must read for suspense fans. Plus, Ellie Hatcher is back. One of my favorite characters.
4.5 Stars

Find Me was a definite page turner for me, and the short chapters helped make this one a quick read overall. I did not see the ending coming, and I really enjoyed all the twists along the way. This will be a good read for fans of police procedurals and investigations.

Thanks to Harper Books and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

I went in slightly blind to this one and didn’t know that it was technically part of a series. Luckily it can and was intended to be able to read as a standalone!

This one has a complex plot with an abundance of characters which can be confusing at first but if you stick with it, it all comes together!

Coming in just under 300 pages, this makes for quite a quick and addictive read! I always find an amnesia story intriguing and this one certainly had plenty of twists and turns!

While some parts felt a bit far fetched, I did still enjoy this suspenseful police procedural!

3.5 stars rounded to 4 for goodreads

Years ago, a young woman was found severely injured in a car crash outside a small town. She had no ID, and no memory. She took the name Hope, and was taken in by the police chief’s family, becoming fast friends with his daughter, Lindsay. Fifteen years later, after moving to a new town, Hope suddenly goes missing (under circumstances that make her look less than innocent), with the only clue being a drop of blood, which turns out to be connected to an old serial killer case several states away. But the police have little interest in the case of a woman with no legal identity who appears to be nothing but a grifter. Lindsay enlists the help of Ellie, an NYPD detective and the daughter of the detective who hunted the serial killer, to find out what happened to Hope. But as more clues turn up, it becomes apparent that Hope had secrets that she kept even from Lindsay.

This story is a female-led mystery with some twists and turns that I did not see coming, and a number of red herrings. It wasn’t as enthralling enough for me to call it a “thriller,” but it was a pretty good mystery.

Representation: LGBTQ characters/characters questioning their sexual orientation

CW: codependent relationship, gaslighting, child sexual abuse and grooming, past drug use

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I know this book has been getting a lot of mixed reviews, but I loved it.

I do understand why it’s not for some people. It is part of a series, but is written as a standalone.
There are A LOT of characters and a lot going on- the storyline is complex. The first third(ish) is pretty slow, but then it picks up and moves at a nice pace.

I thought it was going in one direction and was getting mad 😂 … but, then Alafair swerved and came through for me 😂

She is a superlative writer, masterful at plotting. I have been reading her books since way back when I first started reading and have read almost all of them, so I think I am maybe more used to her writing style than some might be.

I love her perspective as an attorney. Her intelligence and legal savviness is evident in her writing. She always writes quick-witted, sharp, lashing courtroom sparring scenes.
_________________________________

The story is about a young attorney’s best friend going missing and her relentless pursuit to find her.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦!

What a wild ride, I was engaged since page one and it was imposible to stop, good thing I had the audio and when I couldn’t read I listened to some chapters. It was dark, twisty, emotional and fantastic.

Thank you Harper Books, HarperAudio, Netgalley and Libro.fm for this gifted copy and ALC.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘈𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

It took me a day or so to get into this book because there are a bunch of characters to get to know but once I did, there was a HUGE WTF moment and then I was totally hooked and could NOT put it down! I wanted to read all day and night! I absolutely loved the ending and all of the twists and turns that just kept coming right until the very last page! Alafair Burke is a phenomenal writer! I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys legal or police thrillers!

I'm always excited to see that Alafair Burke has a new book coming out. But, I try not to read the synopsis beforehand. I know I'm going to enjoy whatever she's written - and I like a surprise. Well, that latest - Find Me - releases today. And it was as good as I knew it would be!

I've read all of Burke's novels and was thrilled to see that Ellie Hatcher was in Find Me. I've always hoped Burke would continue her story. But you don't have to have read the Hatcher books, as this latest can absolutely be read as a standalone.

Fifteen years ago, Lindsay Kelly rescued a woman from a car crash. She survived, but has no memories of her life before she was found. She goes by the name of Hope. Lindsay is her best friend and is now a lawyer. Hope decides it's time to move out of the small town she's called home for the last fifteen years. Lindsay supports her, but is more than a little worried when she doesn't hear from Hope. And rightly so.....

Where does Ellie fit in you ask? Ahh.....those who will have read the Hatcher books will know about the case that led to her father's death. (And it won't detract from this book if you haven't!) How in the world could these two incidents be connected? Hampered by a cop who can't be bothered to do his job right, Lindsay and Ellie start to work the case themselves.

Burke weaves seemingly unrelated incidents, occurrences and overlooked clues on the way to resolution. I couldn't predict what that resolution might be and happily joined the search for answers. The reader only knows what the two women do, so we can only hypothesize as the links to then and now start to start to coalesce. And I loved that kick at the end!

Burke has given us some strong lead characters in Ellie (my fave) and Lindsay. Hope is a wild card and I had my reservations about her past....and her memory. There are a number of supporting players and at times I had to stop and think who was who.

Burke is a former Deputy District Attorney and is now a Professor of Law teaching criminal law and procedure. The plots of Burke's books are enhanced by the author's background and legal knowledge.

Another great read for me.

Alafair Burke delivers an intense pyschological thriller with “Find Me.”

When amnesia sufferer Hope Miller goes missing, her best friend Lindsay Kelly dives in to track her down. But when the circumstances around Hope’s disappearance become stranger and stranger, and a man is found dead who may have a connection to Hope’s mysterious past from 15 years ago, Lindsay rushes to find out what happened to her friend and save her from a nefarious fate.

“Find Me” is a suspenseful and intriguing thriller that reveals the troubles that dark, hidden secrets can bring. It also looks into human nature, as well as the process of memory and the lack thereof.

Filled with twists and turns and a shocking ending, Burke’s novel will appeal to fans of books like “The Girl on the Train” and “Gone Girl,” as well as authors like the late Mary Higgins Clark, with whom she co-wrote a number of books.

One warning, this book does contain a lot of course language, so please be aware of that if that’s an issue for you.

Four stars out of five.

Harper provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Book 6 of Alafair Burke’s Ellie Hatcher series provides answers to questions that longtime (like me) readers of this series have been waiting for. You can read Find Me as a stand-alone and still enjoy every page, but I know that I had a deeper understanding and enjoyment after reading the entire series.

Not only did I like catching up with Ellie, but Hope Miller is a compelling character that made me want to believe she was everything she claims to be, but with a healthy dose of suspicion. I only hope that, now that we have some answers, that we aren’t going to be saying good-bye to this fantastic series!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

Link to 2/10/2022 instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYj7ElEr0Cx/

Alafair Burke is great at writing suspense filled books. Find Me is no exception. This books twists and turns with the unknown and the end will leave you wondering if you read it right.

The Story: Manhattan defense lawyer Lindsay Kelly is searching for her best friend, Hope Miller when she vanished without a trace. She soon discovers that Hope's disappearance may be connected to the elusive notorious Kansas murderer.

My thoughts: This was my first book by Alafair Burke and I really am feeling conflicted about this book! There are parts I like and parts I didn't like.

This book started with a bang! It was really intense and I had to read on to find out how it was connected to the rest of the story!

As far as characters go, I think they have great depth and I like Hope the most. But I personally felt that there were too many characters in the story and I had a hard time keeping up with who's who.

The author weaves a complicated plot. I am a fan of complicated plot but I just couldn't get into this one. My interest waned as the story progresses and most probably it was due to the overwhelming details - like everything Lindsay does is spelled out in details with new characters constantly being introduced regardless their roles in the overall plot - it was overwhelming for me.

Please do not let my review hinders you from picking up this book. This is just my personal thoughts on this book and I am pretty sure I am the outlier here. There are a lot of great reviews out there on this book!


Pub. Date: Jan 11th, 2022

***Thank you Harper Collins Canada for this gifted review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

There is nothing better than reading a thriller in one day. I really enjoyed this binge worthy read! This is my first by Burke and I thought her past law experience made the story even better and more realistic. It was full of twists and turns and the last chapter made me gasp. Being from Kansas, it was fun to listen to them reference Wichita regularly as Kansas isn't often the setting in books.

My only gripe is the characters started to run together a bit when I was listening to the audio. They were a little too similar.

Regardless, I will definitely be picking up more of Burke's backlist.