Deeply nuanced character study of female friendships paired with a thrilling and captivating mystery. Throw in a podcast element and you've got yourself an up all night reading party 4.5 stars. Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for my Arc of this excellent book

A fascinating flashback thriller about three lifelong friends who make complicated life choices. The two remaining women team up with a Podcaster to find out what happened to their third friend ten years ago.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the wonderful digital review copy.

I really enjoyed this unique thriller! I love that this book was fast paced and gripping but it still had a lot of depth and emotion, which is often lacking in thrillers. The dynamics of the female friendships were so interesting. I’m a sucker for true crime podcasts and books with true crime podcasts, so of course I loved that aspect. I think this will be big hit for thriller lovers

Thank you to the publishers and NerGalley for an eARC in exchange of an honest review!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Don't forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna, published by Sourcebooks Landmark
Fabulous first novel by this author, I'll be waiting for the next novel. This was fiction, suspense, mystery, awesome! It's written from three of the characters perspectives, 2 present tense and one past tense. Straight forward and easy to follow the story line. Three main characters are Bree, college professor, Chelsea, a priest, and Abby. All three friends who started their college lives together.
It's 12 yrs later and Bree and Chelsea haven't talked since, they now reconnect as Abby's killer, or suspected killer, faces the death penalty
Characters well developed, I felt really connected to them, like I was right there watching along. I like how the story was presented and told by the three main characters, how parts of the past are revealed through Abby's voice.
This was a book I couldn't put down, devoured in 2 days. I'll be watching for more books by Rebecca McKanna

Honestly, it took awhile to get into the flow of this book, which goes back and forth between when three teenaged friends were in college together and present day, where a killer is being executed for one of their murders a decade earlier. Two of them are in love, and keep it a secret. One fateful Halloween night, the 3 of them are in the cemetery together, get into an argument and never see Abby again. As adults. the remaining two have not talked for all these years, and realize they do need each other. I liked the drama, it tugged at your heartstrings, and the suspense as several other girls become the victim of this serial killer. The ending was just okay, but not surprising as I usually like these types to be. Overall, a good book though. I received a free sample from Netgalley for an honest review.

Don’t Forget the Girl is a mix of female and friendship dynamics, how the trauma of losing a close friend to violence impacts a person’s life, and a did he do it (instead of a whodunnit). Others may feel differently as they’re reading the book, but I always felt like Jon Allan Blue killed Abby, and left her friends Chelsea and Bree adrift. The story is told in a more present time by Chelsea and Bree as they seek some closure as Blue’s execution date approaches and a podcast about his murders is imminent. It’s also told from Abby’s point of view leading up to her murder. All three women are facing issues, and Abby’s conflicts, more likely than not a result of family dynamics, have an impact on her relationships with Chelsea and Bree before she’s killed. But her death has repercussions for both of them too, reverberating into their lives twelve years later, where they’re both making choices they regret. The most interesting question to me in this book isn’t really whether or not Blue killed Abby, it’s the hypothetical question of where the three women would be and what their relationship would be with each other if Abby had never been killed. McKanna does a great job of exploring this throughout the book, and really leaving the door open as Abby’s part of the story comes to an end. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Don’t Forget The Girl is one of favorite reads for the year already.

It’s got something for everyone.
♥️ Serial Killer on death row
♥️ Friendship
♥️ Missing girl (and her best friends)
♥️ Multiple POVs / time periods
♥️ Did he or didn’t he
♥️ LGBTQ rep
♥️ True crime Podcast

I absolutely adored this book and was obsessed and binge read it. It’s such a different take on the usual serial killer thriller. It was a wild ride but also emotional. I was invested in these girls and felt for them also.

This was a great read and I need more! Loved it and loved every page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC of this book, and the opportunity to be part of the Sourcebooks Influencer Program!

I've discovered in the last couple of years that I really enjoy mysteries that give you multiple points of view while time hopping. This book is about a young woman who was murdered 12 years ago, and her two best friends still trying to cope with it. The best friends, Chelsea and Bree are brought back together by the upcoming execution of Abby's presumed murderer, Blue. The execution also is happening at the same time as the Hollywood serial killer show about Blue and the other people he murdered. Blue was never convicted of Abby's murder and being left without answers has weighed heavily on Chelsea and Bree in different ways over the years. Now they want to make sure Abby isn't forgotten and hopefully get closure in their friend's death. Throughout the book, we time hop back and forth and get to know all three girls when they were friends (and more) and what happened in the months leading up to Abby's disappearance and murder.

I think this was a great book not only from a mystery perspective, but it also has great characters and deals with female friendships and relationships in a compelling way. It also makes you think about how many true crime series focus more on the murder than their victims. The victims' families and friends perspective makes you think about how often murderers become famous and their loved ones names are lost to history.

Outstanding debut book.

Right from the start this book will have the reader thinking, Why is it that we focus on the murderers and completely forget the victims. Why is the serial killer more important as we see regularly in the headlines and on news coverage.
This story is about three friends in their young college years, Bree, Chelsea and Abby. As is so often in friendships, poor choices are made and feelings are hurt and Abby disappears. The story is also about a serial killer who is about to be executed. Since Abby has never been found it is wondered if she was also a victim. Her friends come together to try and find out before the execution.

This book is told in the past and present as well as with multiple points of view. The characters are strong and the book does deal with more than just the serial killer aspect.

A good read and i hope to see more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced e-book edition in exchange for my review consideration. All views are my own

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

This focuses on a infamous serial killer who is about to be executed and two girls are trying to find out if one of their friends (Abby) was one of his victims. A podcaster is there covering the killer’s execution and Chelsea and Bree become uneasy because they have secrets that they are hiding.

This book was so good. I’m a crime/thriller book junkie and I really enjoyed this. It’s a fast pace read and that’s one thing I really love about it. When it comes to thrillers; I don’t like them to drag on. I think the three different POVs was great in this book. I don’t typically like multiple point of views but I think it just made this book better.

If you like thrillers and suspense then I recommend this book to you.

4 stars!

This thriller broke me!! I couldn't ready anything for 2 days, all I could think about was this book! It was so good!! I was totally consumed by this.
I just reviewed Don't Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Don't Forget The Girl approaches the serial killer theme in a different way, being more about friendship and loss, focusing on three friends with all the emotional entanglements that come in that dynamic.

It has all the elements of an atmospheric mystery but the mystery is all in the detail of how we deal with love and loss. It is a clever way to focus on the victim whilst still offering up a page turning quality to discover how it all pans out.

Beautifully written I loved it - I was completely absorbed into the story of Chelsea, Abby and Bree and ultimately this was a very satisfying read with some relevant social themes and genuinely inspired characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Don’t Forget the Girl is a crime story about the phenomenon of true crime stories. It manages to be twisty murder mystery while also being a story of friendships between young women. At the same time, it’s a clear eyed look at how crime coverage hurts as much as it helps.

The book is a page-turner with lots of layers. It’s hard to say more without spoilers! Overall a highly enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC. What an incredible debut novel! I really enjoyed this story and how it was told through the POV of the 3 friends. Don’t Forget The Girl is a mixed media book, podcast and serial killer in one! A triple threat!!

I loved this book and I will definitely read from this author in the future.

Abby, Chelsea and Bree are three good friends enjoying their first year of college. They are growing up together and struggling to define who they are and what they want to do with their lives, as we all do at 18. But Chelsea and Abby share a secret that leaves Bree out of the loop - they are lovers and have been for some time. Neither has publicly come out or told family or friends about the relationship. Tensions increase in the trio until there is an argument on Halloween night, and Abby disappears. It has always been assumed she was a victim of Jon Allan Blue, a serial killer who murdered young college women, but her body has never been found.

Twelve years later, Bree and Chelsea are reunited by the impending execution of Blue, and by a hugely popular murder podcast that wants to tell Abby's story. The two women finally have to deal with the emotional damage that Abby's disappearance, and their own actions, created.

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel from Rebecca McKanna. Many of us don't realize the impact of our decision and choices at 18 years of age, and this is something that Bree and Chelsea grapple with for years in the novel. Twelve years later they wonder whether they could have changed the outcome if they had done things differently and maybe Abby would still be alive. The characters, with their inner turmoil and buried emotions, are realistic and likeable with all their deeply human flaws. The depiction of Jon Allan Blue, the unremarkable and ordinary guy who happens to be a serial killer, is chilling.

I also appreciate all the themes explored in the book: the glorification and monetization of murderers; the struggle of maintaining faith in a dark world; and the lasting impact that crime can have on family and friends of the victim. A fantastic job for a debut novel and I am not surprised that this has been optioned for production. It would make a great series! Sincere thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. Highly recommended.

Don’t forget the girl
4 ⭐️

If you love true crime this is the book for you! It’s told my multiple pov.
The author did an amazing job at writing everyone’s pov and feelings and expressing it in such a way that you feel the trauma they faced.
The novel shows how a murder of a friend can hurt and change their life.

“We never remember the dead girls. We never forget the killers.”

Thank you NetGalley for this arc that will be published 6/20/23

This book had a really great premise and I enjoyed the story as well as the three female characters, I wasn't immediately hooked by the story but once I was I was very intrigued and didn't want to put it down. The writing style was very unique in that you are learning the story of what happened when Abby went missing, while also watching Bree and Chelsea deal with the emotions that still remain after all those years with no answers. This book definitely had me feeling many emotions.

Wow! This one instantly had me hooked. I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading it in one sitting.

This book is told in a few different perspectives and formats which I always enjoy. It goes between modern day Chelsea and Bree, past Abby, and a few media formats including podcasts and news articles.

It felt very raw and vulnerable. Chelsea and Bree dealing with the loss of their friend over a decade later and how it shaped them as adults.

This book really did have many depths and so many moving parts. It wasn’t really a twisty thriller, but kind of a tragic slow burn?

I really enjoyed it!

<i>I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own, and I am writing a voluntary review.</i>

I applaud this book for being straightforward. So often in this genre, we see the last minute twist, the bait and switch, the red herring. But McKanna has crafted a story that is deeply emotional, but doesn't try to outwit its reader. For the most part, what you see is what you get, and I think that makes this book stronger.

McKanna tackles a few subjects in this book, but the one that resonates for me is the glamorization of true crime, of serial killers. Bree and Chelsea want the world to remember Abby, their friend. She is overshadowed by more sensational crimes, even if her own death was likely by the very same killer. She becomes overshadowed by the. narrative that the media spins about young women who "wander off" alone or who drink "too much" or just plain aren't the right kind of girl to fit a narrative. And then she becomes overshadowed by her own killer.

I'm reminded of the controversy surrounding recent shows centered on serial killers, like Dahmer and Ted Bundy. These kinds of shows sensationalize the killer and reduce their victims to storylines. That is very prevelant in this book and it shows how dangerous this line of thinking can be. Its a short jump from presenting facts to sensationalism to border-line martydom. And that's the heart of McKanna's story. The girls get forgotten. Their names fade. Who they were disappears. Who they might have been is stolen. And its heartbreaking because those they've left behind have to live not only with the what if, but with the loss and the dramatization of their very real pain and grief. McKanna does not preach this, but instead weaves this thought throughout the story, making it all the more powerful.

While the book is about grief and loss, its also about identity and how the events of our youth shapes who we become as adults. Bree and Chelsea go through a very traumatic loss, and the aftermath of that shapes the trajectory of their lives. The secrets they kept hidden inform the choices that they make. Bree remains a young woman who doesn't quite believe she deserves anything good out of life. Chelsea guards her heart with a fierceness that inevitably spells certain doom for her relationships. Its sad to see that these best friends have grown apart over the years, split by secrets and the grief they share and the guilty they each hold, but the journey that McKanna puts them on is one of strength and discovery.

2.5/5 stars! This was an extremely in-depth thriller. There were layers upon layers of plot points and trauma. I liked the premise of the story, but the content was too heavy for me. I felt like instead of observing and experiencing a strong storyline, I just ended up down and moody. Sometimes the darkness needs to be shadowed with humor, resilience, or an uplifting pivot in the storyline, and because this story lacked that, I struggled.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily