Bree, Chelsea, and Abby are best friends, navigating the minefields that come with friendship as well as their place in the world. Then, Abby disappears. Her body is never found, and her disappearance is quickly overshadowed by the murders of two sorority women by the man suspected of kidnapping and killing Abby. She becomes a footnote in the story, but her life and suspected death loom large over Chelsea and Bree.

Told in alternating points of view, Bree and Chelsea's narratives are in the third person and in the present, while Abby, speaking in the second person, explains the story from the past. Rebecca McKanna casts a critical eye on society's treatment of women as well as society's fascination with crime and murder and sadly, serial killers.

Bree and Chelsea are tough to like, and McKanna takes her time peeling off the layers built by trauma, blame, and self-loathing. Their pain is palpable. Their grief and guilt cut. They never got the chance to talk about the complicated ways that friends love and hurt each other. Their worst moments are frozen in time and subject to scrutiny thanks to a detective's best-selling book about the hunt for the sorority murders and a newly released movie about the serial killer. Sound familiar? McKanna doesn't let true crime fans off the hook, either.

This book is a tough read, but I am glad I stuck with Bree and Chelsea. I cannot wait to see what the author writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Chelsea, Abby, and Bree became friends as kids and ended up at Iowa State together. A serial killer destroys their idyllic college experience taking Abby from them. Her body wasn't found until 12 years later and the killer still isn't taking responsibility on the eve of his execution. The tragedy tore their lives and their friendships apart. Now a podcaster is dedicating her season to investigating the crimes and Chelsea and Bree are drawn back into the investigation and the memories. They have each managed to patch together a life for themselves- but still have a lot of questions and healing to do.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rebecca McKenna and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

This was a fast paced, intriguing, compelling thriller. I liked how they gave Abby life instead of just painting her as this poor, sad, murder victim that nobody cares about. Abby felt real and it felt like her friends really cared for her. I also liked how it went back and forth between then and current times, and it really helps you understand Abby's story but everyone's backstory, rather than just what's happening now.

I love this tagline : We never remember the dead girls. We never forget the killers.

That is the premise of this fast moving thriller. An infamous serial killer is about to be put to death and old college friends are desperate to find out if their friend was one of his victims. Bree and Chelsea both have their own secrets to keep and the balance is upset when a popular podcaster comes to town to highlight the execution. Dual timelines give us insight on what happened when the three were best friends many years ago as well as what happened to Abby. If you like stories about serial killers, flashbacks and thrills or just want to read a up and coming author, Don't Forget the Girl is for you! #Sourcebooks #DontforgettheGirl. #RebeccaMcKanna

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve years ago, Abby, a university freshman, disappeared, believed to be a victim of a serial killer. Now, that killer is about to be executed, and her friends Chelsea and Bree are desperate to know if he really killed their friend. The two women, long estranged, have to reunite when a podcast begins covering the killers crimes.

I absolutely loved this book! This a thriller with a lot to say. It’s filled with commentary on female friendship, struggling with sexuality, and what it means to be a true crime consumer. I found myself relating so much to both Chelsea and Bree, and the individual struggles each of them were going through, on their journey to understand their friends death. This book has made it onto my top books of the year list, and I highly recommend.

This was a compelling read. It's the third I've read recently where the narrative puts the victim at the center or rather "the person she was" than the person who gained fame from taking away all she could be. True Crime seems to be having a reckoning as a genre, both with those who shape the story and the friends and families left behind to relive their worst traumas for someone else's entertainment. It reveals itself slowly, and you get to the answers bit by bit and every revelation is earned.

I really liked this book overall—it was intriguing, engaging and hard to put down! A few twists caught me by surprise and kept me wondering about what would happen next. I did think the shifting point of views as well as some being from the past and some current to be a little confusing at times and a bit hard to follow; however, overall this was an excellent thriller!

thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this before its official release in exchange for an honest review.

this book was unlike any other book ive ever read, and i dont exactly know how to explain it but im going to try! (spoiler free)
this story is told from 3 different pov's (abby, chelsea, and bree) and bounces back and forth between the past and present day. a reason why this book is different to me than any other book is because you learn SO much about the 3 main characters and theres not a lot of -idk how to explain it but- overall plot?? if that makes sense?? obviously there are events that happen that lead to/ explain the event that the story is about, BUT i feel like most of this book is just learning more and more about the characters, the reasons behind why they do things, finding out secrets about them, their backstories, conversations they all have between themselves and other people, seeing the differences and similarities they have in the present vs the past, etc.
and i LOVED every second of it!!
if a book doesnt have well written/ developed characters i. cant. stand. it.
i loved this book, i loved the writing, i loved the characters, i loved the mild suspense, i loved the ending.
5 stars forever, i cant wait to see how well this book does when its published!!

McKanna’s title refers to the awful truth – we remember the names of murderers, but almost never the names of their victims. Bree and Chelsea lived through the murder of their friend, Abby; twelve years later, her killer, Jon Allan Blue is about to be executed. But instead of remembering his victims, the press and the public are more interested in Blue and his crime spree. Driven apart by the murder, Bree and Chelsea are brought together by a true crime podcast that promises to memorialize Blue’s victims. The 21st century phenomenon of true crime podcasts and the public’s fascination with all things murder is examined in this story of the effects of murder on the victims friends and family and the depiction of tragedy as entertainment for millions of Americans