A gripping read that held my attention right from the start until the very end. It was suspenseful, atmospheric and unpredictable so I couldnt see the plot twists coming. I really enjoyed it.

Fifteen years ago a badly injured young woman was rescued by Lindsay Kelly, a student who was passing, from a totalled car. When she regained consciousness she had total amnesia and could remember nothing of her previous life. She carried no ID. Lindsay took responsibility for looking after her and set her up in Hopewell New Jersey under the assumed name of Hope Miller. Her father being the town’s police chief helped with this arrangement, which included her getting accommodation, a car and a job despite legally not existing in the system. Lindsay is now a criminal prosecution lawyer but has remained in her róle of protector and close friend – so close that her boyfriend frequently accuses her of always putting Hope first, even ahead of him.
Having lived this way for 15 years, Hope suddenly decides to move to the Hamptons following a holiday there with Lindsay. She is constantly on the alert for strangers paying close attention to her fearing that her “under the radar” life would come crashing down or that she be recognised as a criminal (the crashed car had been stolen in Indianapolis but the police chief had blocked any follow-up). She suspects that someone is following her and is suddenly confronted by a man who knows who she really is. There is an altercation after which she again disappears, not even contacting Lindsay. A few days later a man’s body is dragged from a local lake. He has been murdered and evidence links him to Hope. Where is she? Who is she? Who is the dead man? And how is all this connected to an unsolved murder in Wichita, 15 years ago. Lindsay’s investigation lead her to a NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher, originally from Wichita. Can the pair resolve all of the issues?
Well of course they can, but they need to follow a complex trail to resolve them. In some respects that trail is not too hard for the reader to follow, but it is a well written, excellently plotted and entertaining trail to follow and the ultimate ending may catch you unawares. Ellie Hatcher features in a series of previous novels but this one is billed as a standalone since the main protagonists are Lindsay and Hope.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

A Case Of The Missing…
NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher is on the case of the missing Hope Miller, called in by a friend of Hope, one Lindsay Kelly. Secrets of the past are bound to emerge. In true style, a compelling, slow burn suspense with a well crafted cast, an intriguing premise and a solid mystery at its’ heart. Hugely enjoyable.

Okay, firstly I didn’t realise this is part of a series following a detective in America. I think because my expectations were different I felt disappointed. Ultimately this was an average read. I gotta admit it didn’t grip me. The beginning was confusing and a bit info-dumpy explaining the minutiae details of who brought what house for how much and blah blah. It really took awhile for things to get going and when it does it didn’t faster than third gear for me, I’m afraid.

I enjoyed this next instalment in the Ellie Hatcher series. You don’t need to have read the previous ones as this one can stand by itself.

Especially enjoyed the twist at the end. You’ll have to read the book to find out what it is!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Detective Ellie Hatcher #6.

She is called Hope Miller but actually she’s no idea who she really is following a car accident in Indiana fourteen years ago. Whilst working in the Hamptons for a realtor, Hope goes missing, her best friend, attorney Lindsey Kelly reports her disappearance but gets little help from the local police. She calls Detective Ellie Hatcher of the NYPD and Ellie‘s past collides with the present in this latest instalment.

First of all, I hadn’t appreciated this is part of a series that this doesn’t prove to be any kind of an issue for reading it. I do enjoy the premise of the novel as Hope’s case is certainly a fascinating one, however, the execution of it, not so much. The first part is rather labourious and it takes a while for the plot to get going. I think it’s fair to say it’s convoluted at times and it sure takes a meandering path to get from A to B as it goes off at tangents. There’s a lot of over explanation which burdens a good plot. There are a lot of characters to get your head around which gets a bit dizzying and I’m not convinced you need all of them either. Once it gets going it’s a decent read, connections start to be made between the past and the present and it begins to click into place. The reveals are okay, perhaps not earthshattering with no great surprise on offer. I don’t feel a huge amount of tension or shocks or thrills and spills which would push the rating higher.

Overall it’s not a bad read by any means but I do think it could’ve been a much more satisfying one with a sharper focus in the plotting.

With thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I love a good amnesia trope, and Alafair Burke hits it out of the park with this police procedural. Every word of this novel leads the unsuspecting reader to the unbelievable truth. An excellent read!

The Girl She Was (Find Me in the USA) is the sixth book in Alafair’s well regarded series about New York detective Ellie Hatcher, but most of the action this time is seen through the eyes of other characters, principally lawyer Lindsay Kelly who is looking for a lost friend, and can be read as a stand-alone novel.

The basic premise of the story is that fourteen years ago the woman now known as Hope Miller was found unconscious, thrown from an overturned vehicle, with no clue to her identity. Partially adopted by the local police chief and his then teenage daughter, Lindsay, Hope eventually started a new life, but never recovered her memory. Now Hope has gone missing after moving to The Hamptons to gain some independence. Lindsay is concerned for her friend, although the local police are reluctant to do much about it. When a drop of blood connects the site of Hope’s disappearance to a notorious Kansas murderer, Lindsay turns to NYPD homicide detective Ellie Hatcher for help. Ellie has her own personal connection to the Kansas case and she joins Lindsay in the search for the truth beneath long-buried secrets and Hope’s real identity.

Alafair is a talented and entertaining author and The Girl She Was certainly provides plenty of enjoyment and mystery. The investigative detail is nicely woven into the story and the plot generally moves along at a decent pace. The opening sections certainly keep you engaged and interested in what is happening, and there are some solid twists and turns as the story unfolds. The characters are nicely handled and developed, especially Lindsay, and there is a real tenderness to some of the relationships.

The Girl She Was probably lacks the high tension and suspense you would want from a thriller and falls more into the crime/police novel camp, with a heavy dollop of the relationship angst you would expect from a domestic suspense novel. The ending probably comes together a bit too easily, but it is certainly entertaining and Burke concludes the book with a nice gentle twist.

In all, certainly one to look out for in the New Year!

Thanks to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Limited for providing this ARC I'm exchange for an honest review.

Hope had a car accident and lost her memory 15 years ago. Now, after recently moving to the Hamptons and working as stager for a realtor she has gone missing. The friend who took her in 15 years ago, who is also a lawyer starts to investigate.

3.5 stars.

This was not a bad book but as other readers noted, there were too many characters and I had to spend too much time thinking about who was who. I liked the mystery and the police procedural elements. I have read some of the Ellie Hatcher novels, but not all, and the ones I have read have been out of order, so I don't think it was an issue to read this as a first exposure to Ellie Hatcher. She wasn't the main focus anyway. I did prefer the stand alone a from this author though.

I have read and enjoyed a couple of the author's books but this was my first in the Ellie Hatcher series. The novel focuses on the disappearance of Hope Miller from the Hamptons. 14 years ago Hope Miller was rescued from a car accident with amnesia and began a new life in New Jersey. Her disappearance has links to a serial murderer from Kansas who is now in prison. Hope's best friend Lindsay joins forces with NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher, who herself has family links to the Kansas case, in the hunt for Hope. I absolutely loved The Girl She Was and found it a compelling, thought provoking and gripping thriller I love thrillers with links to the past and there are so many twists, secrets and connections here that I could not stop reading. It is so cleverly plotted and I loved the characterisation of Ellie, Lindsay and Hope. I don't feel that it's necessary to have read the previous books in the series but I will definitely explore them now. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I made a huge mistake with this book! I did not do my research that this was 6th in the series
I did feel that I didn’t know much about Ellie’s back story, but I do think that the book works so well as a stand-alone novel!

The book was very well written

I was so desperate to know who hope was!

The book reminded me of an episode of law and order. I think it would make an excellent tv programme. There were so many what ifs in this novel.

I read this book quickly. It was an easy read and I will look out for the previous books

An enjoyable read even if it never actually hits the high notes of some of the authors other books.

Hope Miller has no idea of her true identity, she was thrown from an overturned vehicle fourteen years ago and started a new life, but never recovered her memory. Now she’s gone missing and the only evidence is a drop of blood with a connection to an infamous murderer in Kansas. Lindsay Kelly is Hope’s best friend and is desperate to find her so calls detective Ellie Hatcher who was has links to the Kansas case.

A decent read but not the authors best.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Faber and Faber for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a book which will keep readers on the edge of their seats! The story is about Hope Miller, a woman in her thirties who has been living with amnesia since being involved in a car accident in New Jersey 15 years earlier. Intriguingly, you do not hear Hope’s voice throughout most of the book. Instead, the story is told by her close friend Lindsay Kelly who also happened to be her rescuer from the car wreck. Lindsay is a practicing Attorney but provides most of the detecting effort necessary after Hope first moves to The Hamptons then goes missing and then becomes the main suspect in a murder enquiry. Lindsay, desperate to find her friend and clear her of the accusations discovers blood stains providing a link to Wichita, Kansas and opening a whole new line of inquiry involving old police cases, cover ups, political maneuvering and clues as to Hope’s forgotten past.
I found the book a real page turner driven by strong plot lines, convincing characters and many twists and turns. It is easy to sympathize with Lindsay as the story unfolds through her eyes. She has strong beliefs in justice and the law but these are perhaps trumped by her belief in her friend Hope. Certainly commendable but readers maybe left wandering whether her friend is worthy of such support. The conclusion of the book provides some unexpected twists which maybe helps answer that question.
Thanks to Netgalley and Fabre and Fabre for allowing me to review this book.

A complex tale of amnesia, murder, and many, many lies. Hope Miller was found unconscious near an overturned Toyota 4=Runner. Lindsay Kelly happened to be passing shortly after the accident, and called police and an ambulance. Fourteen years pass and Hope has never regained her memory, found with no identification, she gave herself the name Hope Miller. Through the years she has become very close to Lindsay and her entire family. In fact the small town has more or less adopted Hope as one of their own.
Lindsay and Hope have an extremely close relationship, unhealthily close, as Lindsay financially provides Hope with a car, insurance, ATM card, etc. Much to Lindsay’s dismay, Hope decides to set off on her own and heads for the Hamptons. She wants some independence and a bit of freedom. She takes a job with a shady realtor and stages houses and assists at Open Houses. Shortly after staging one of the houses, she disappears. Lindsay becomes frantic and heads for the Hamptons. She insists the police investigate the last place Hope was seen. A small amount of blood is found at the scene, but no body. The blood is sent for analysis and a match is made to a murder in Wichita, KS. Fourteen years prior, Wichita had a serial killer, and this blood matches someone who was at the scene of one of his murders, it can’t be the killer because he is in prison.
Enter Ellie Hatcher, a detective with NYPD who grew up in Wichita. Ellie’s dad was the main detective on the serial killing case and allegedly died from suicide before the killer was caught. It doesn’t look good for Hope, especially when a body washes up on shore and that body matches the blood type found at the Open House.
The author being a lawyer is able to portray a credible account of how crime is investigated and how a defense attorney gathers evidence for clients charged with murder. A fast read, I found it quite hard to put down. A good amount of tension and believable characters. This was my first read of this author, but I will soon remedy that. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy. Highly recommend.

#TheGirlSheWas #NetGalley
Awesome.
She calls herself Hope Miller, but she has no idea who she actually is. Fifteen years ago, she was found in a small New Jersey town thrown from an overturned vehicle, with no clue to her identity. Doctors assumed her amnesia was a temporary side effect of her injuries, but she never regained her memory. Hope eventually started a new life with a new name in a new town that welcomed her, yet always wondered what she may have left behind—or been running from. Now, she’s leaving New Jersey to start over once again. Manhattan defense lawyer Lindsay Kelly, Hope’s best friend and the one who found her after the accident, understands why Hope wants a new beginning. But she worries how her friend will fare in her new East Hampton home, far away from everything familiar. Lindsay’s worst fears are confirmed when she discovers Hope has vanished without a trace—the only lead a drop of blood found where she was last seen. Even more ominously, the blood matches a DNA sample with a connection to a notorious Kansas murderer. With nowhere else to turn, Lindsay calls NYPD homicide detective Ellie Hatcher, the daughter of the cop who dedicated his life to hunting the Kansas killer. Ellie has always believed there was more to the story of her father’s death twenty years earlier—and she now fears that Hope’s recent disappearance could be related. In pursuit of answers, the women search for the truth beneath long-buried secrets. And when their searches converge, what they find will upend everything they’ve ever known.
Loved this book. It's the finest Alafair Burke's book. Awesome writing style.
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for giving me an advance copy.