I enjoyed this book! I didn't know what was going to happen. I found it a little slow in places but a good read.

This book failed to meet my expectations and left me questioning its classification as a thriller. With three distinct points of view, the narrative leaned heavily towards character exploration rather than a gripping plot. In the realm of thrillers, a compelling and fast-paced storyline is vital, and unfortunately, this book fell short in that regard. Instead of eagerly anticipating each reading session, I found myself dreading the need to pick it up. Despite my personal inclination to persist through thrillers and mysteries, this particular story unfolded at an unbearably sluggish pace, offering little in the way of surprise due to its predictability.

Although the book did touch upon commendable themes, I failed to establish any genuine connection or resonance with its characters. Regrettably, their lack of likability only further diminished my overall experience. I must apologize, but this book simply did not resonate with me and fell far short of my expectations.

This ended up being more of a mystery than a thriller, but I still enjoyed it. The relationship between Abby and Chelsea is the main focus of the plot, while the serial killer and podcast parts fill in the rest. It was surprisingly moving for a mystery. I found myself quite emotional by the book’s end, which I wasn’t expecting. The only thing stopping me from giving this 5 stars is the author’s choice to use second person for Abby’s POV. I found this to be very odd. I’m not sure what her reasons for doing this were, but I found those chapters confusing and difficult to read. Otherwise, this is a great read. I think fans of Notes on an Execution would enjoy this. I can’t wait to see what this author puts out next!

AHHHH! I am so thankful to Sourcebooks Landmark, Rebecca McKanna, Netgalley, and RB Media for granting me both audiobook access and a digital copy of this twisty, missing person's mystery gone awry. Don't Forget the Girl is set to hit shelves on June 20, 2023, and I promise it's worth the pre-order, and try not to bite off all of our fingernails with this plot-twisting fear-mongering tale.

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐥𝐞. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞.

A harrowing deep dive both into the aftermath of violent crime on the ones left behind and the complexities of navigating female friendships. Twelve years ago, 18-year-old University of Iowa freshman Abby Hartmann disappeared. Now, Jon Allan Blue, the serial killer suspected of her murder, is about to be executed. Abby's best friends, Bree and Chelsea, watch as Abby's memory is unearthed, seemingly only to bring more attention to Blue. The girls have been estranged since Abby's disappearance, finding different ways to cope; one through religion, another through gratuitous sex both with authority figures and subordinates in her college class. When a high profile podcast dedicates its next season to Blue, the girls know they have to be Abby's voice...𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐞.

This was a stunning, character-driven look into grief, regret, being our authentic selves, and what it means to be a woman in a society that remembers the killer but forgets the victim. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this stunning early read. DON'T FORGET THE GIRL publishes June 20, 2023.

This debut thriller novel by @rebeccamckanna was excellent. It has dual timelines and multiple POVs. The story follows three friends: Abby, Chelsea, and Bree. While in college, after a Halloween party, Abby goes missing. It is later believed that she was a victim of a serial killer. This story is creepy while also exploring the complications of female friendships, lesbian relationships (especially in the early 2000s), and how female victims are portrayed by the media.

Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

In 2003, college freshmen Abby, Bree, and Chelsea are a close-knit trio. When Abby goes missing after a Halloween party, their lives are shattered forever. Abby’s body had never been found, but it’s widely speculated that she was a victim of notorious serial killer Jon Allan Blue. Twelve years later as Blue’s execution date nears, interest is rekindled in his crimes. A well-known true crime podcaster wants to feature Abby’s case during her current season, bringing Bree and Chelsea back together after so many years. Trauma and hurt remain between the two women, but both hope that Abby’s disappearance will finally be solved.

This dual-timeline, multiple POV story is deeper than the average thriller. The author deftly examines the relationships between the three girls in college and how the fallout and guilt from Abby’s disappearance form the women they become. She peels back the emotional layers on these complex women and how their lives continue to be affected by their self-loathing and grief over Abby’s fate. I really enjoyed the 2003 timeline, with the pop culture references bringing back memories of my own college days. My one quibble is the stylistic choice to tell Abby’s sections in second person when the other POVs are in third person; it threw me off every time the POV switched to Abby. Interspersed with the POVs are podcast excerpts, newspaper articles, etc, which lends a really cool almost true crime feeling at times.

Although not quite as fast-paced or thrilling as I expected, the writing and character development are excellent and very impressive for a debut author! I can’t wait to read whatever Rebecca McKanna writes in the future! Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me an advance copy of this book.

It happens all the time! Shows and podcasts are done focusing on the serial killer and ignoring their victims. No one remembers the victims names and the families have to go on living hearing the name of the killer being repeated over and over again. In this version, the victim, Abby's murder preceded the murder of two sorority girls and is never connected to the man convicted of their killings. This leaves her story even further in the dark as his execution looms. I loved how the narration bounced back and forth between the three girls and layers of their friendship were uncovered through the course of the book. For most of the time, I could easily have been persuaded that this was the non-fiction telling of an actual event. The writing really worked!

An intelligent addition to the survivors-vs-true crime podcasters genre, bring in themes of female friendship, queer issues, the Midwest as a site of memory, and Theater Kids. More of a meditation on these themes than a high tension thriller. Not my usual cup of tea, but I enjoyed the writing. 4.5 rounded up

Jon Allen Blue has everyone watching and listening as he heads toward execution. But did he kill Abby who disappeared from University 12 years ago? Told from multiple perspectives and dual time lines, this is Abby's story, as well as the story of her friends Bree and Chelsea, who have never really recovered from the events of that time. Everyone has a secret, secrets which will be probed by a podcast and reporters. Secrets which Bree and Chelsea must face even as they face one another. The underlying plot line of this is a trope to be sure but McKenna has layered in so much more. No spoilers from me on this one. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An impressive debut.

liked the mystery part. I also liked the venue of Iowa. I was able to figure out some of the plot early on.
What I couldn’t move past was my distaste for Bree. She violates an important boundary and although she tries to revamp herself in the end, it wasn’t enough for me.

"We never forget the dead girls. We never forgot the killers."

Such a powerful and eye striking premise for Don't Forget the Girl.

In a world that devours true crime... I knew this book was for me! Abby, at 18 has been murdered by a killer who's days are numbered being on death row.

Abby's friends Chelsea and Bree are left to investigate and pick up the pieces after this horrible murder. Twelve years later her body shows up and the girls are brought back together living up this trauma to star in the podcast telling the actually story of what happened.

I loved how the story had dual timelines alternating between 2003 to 2015.

Rebecca McKanna does a nice job casting a critical eye on society's obsession with true crime, murder, and serial killers.

Bree and Chelsea are tough to like as characters. Rebecca does a beautiful job peeling the layers of deceit, guilt, trauma, and blame. Brutal to see the way that friends can cut so deep with love and with deceit and hurt.

Overall, not a bad debut from Rebecca.

I look forward to see what her next book is!!

4/5 stars

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Pub date: 6/20/23
Published to GR: 6/11/23

Follow two friends on their journey to find out what happened to their friend 12 years after she was murdered on the weeks leading up to her killer’s execution. Secrets are shared and the past is exposed in this story.

This book is a very slow paced story. Going into the book I thought it was going to be a thriller but I never felt any tension or suspense. I liked the multiple povs and dual timeline. I didn't like that one of the povs is told in second person. Those chapters kinda threw me out of the story. Overall, I don't feel like this is a book for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-arc.

Don't Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna is a so-so novel dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic incident.

Jon Allan Blue is about to be executed. Blue is the serial killer suspected in the murder of 18-year-old University of Iowa freshman Abby Hartman. Her body was never found. Abby's friends, Bree and Chelsea are still mourning her and upset that the memory of Abby is being overshadowed by the story of Blue's other victims. Now, twelve years after Abby disappeared, Blue's upcoming execution is news and a podcast is planning to focus on the story.

Rather than being a thriller, the narrative is really a deep-dive focus on the personal lives and feelings of Bree, Chelsea, and Abby, with Abby's chapters set in the past. At the beginning with the revelation that Bree was having an affair with a student, I was ready to set the novel aside. I stuck it out but perhaps should have DNF it. Adding to my discordant feelings is the fact that Bree and Chelsea's chapters are written in third person, while Abby's are written in first person. I found this incongruous and it made the flow of the story rough. However, since I was never fully invested in any of these characters and their feeling, it really didn't matter after awhile because I didn't care. This may be more of a new adult novel and I'm simply not the target audience.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Sourcebooks via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

Abby, Bree, and Chelsea were best friends before Abby was murdered by a serial killer their freshman year of college. Now, twelve years later, Chelsea and Bree no longer talk. When a famous podcaster decides to do the next season on the killer around the time the killer is set to be executed, Bree and Chelsea must finally face their past.

Based on the synopsis and the cover, I thought this was going to be much more of a thriller. I wouldn’t even really use thriller to describe this. It was more dealing with trauma and how it affects peoples lives even many years later. I think maybe if it had been more through the perspective of the podcaster, it would’ve had more of that thriller vibe. I also found it a bit slow. Maybe that is partly because I was expecting more of a thriller.

I also think more could’ve been done to dive into society‘s tendency to remember the killer and not the victims. Like in between Bree and Chelsea’s chapters, there could’ve been flashbacks on snippets of the podcast about the other victims.

Overall, I think people should go into this one expecting more of a dealing with trauma as an adult rather than a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It almost seemed like we were going to get some twists on the whodunnit but ultimately, those were also just red herrings.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

We follow a group of 3 friends, Abby, Bree, and Chelsea as we unravel Abby's untimely demise and the effects on Bree and Chelsea in the present. There are so many references to true crime and police efforts, causing it to read closer to a procedural thriller. It ultimately feels like you're watching a documentary of their life, which is fitting given the themes. What's better is that all of the main characters are flawed, be it in the secrets they keep or the wrongs they commit against each other. I enjoyed the dialogue on how the media treats women and the exploitative nature of crime reporting. Overall a solid thriller debut thriller, just with possibly one too many fakeouts,

*Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Don’t Forget the Girl is told from the POVs of 3 friends: Bree & Chelsea in 2015 & Abby in 2003. Abby’s portion of the story is leading up to her death while Bree & Chelsea’s deal with their life and grief leading up to the execution of the man suspected of killing her.

This book is not what I was expecting, but that’s not a bad thing. I loved that I went into it thinking it’s a thriller, but what it turned out to be was an exploration of grief & our obsession with true crime. I also loved that this takes place in Iowa City, I have family there & reading about it felt like I was back there again.

This is a must read & I will be recommending it to everyone I can think of.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy in exchange for my review
I enjoyed this book, it did read a bit YA at times, but given that it was going back in time that is to be expected. This story is about friendship and loss. The chapters are told from three different POVs of the friends. It did seem a bit slow at times, but it was more than just a thriller as it trying to weave the 3 POVs together.

This did not read like a debut; & I will be sure to check out more from this author. The one thing lacking, is that I would have liked to know more about the killer.

4 stars

This does not read like a debut novel! This thriller was so much more than a thriller. There was more than figuring out what happened to Abby and why. It was about the friendships of Abby, Chelsea, and Bree. Told from all 3 of their POVs and from the past and present day. Each of the girls had deep issues they dealt with and had to come to terms with.

I really enjoyed how the author delivered the story of the three giving each individual story as well as the story of three together. I also loved how she included the representation and shows how it can affect someone and those around them. You can say this one has multiple layers within the story, but it all came together perfectly!

One thing I would have liked to have known a bit more about was the killer and maybe the girls' family. We get pieces of them, but I think I could have used more even though it did not take away from the story. I can't wait to read more from this author!!