I don’t know if it was the setting or the premise surrounding search and rescue, but this book just did not resonate with me. There were many characters, so it felt hard to connect with any of their storylines. The first two thirds of the book felt like a slow burn and then the ending felt too rushed. Someone who enjoys climbing and camping might enjoy this book, but it was not for me.

Thanks you to Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever wanted to run away and leave your old life behind? Well, Cassie does just that. She leaves her rich successful husband behind in New York while he is working and goes back to her hometown in Yosemite. She is hired back on a Search and Rescue team finding lost hikers. Kevin will never find her there as she never told him where she grew up, or will he? Cassie is falling back into her job and everyday life when she is called to rescue two mountain climbers, Jada and Jim. Something about their relationship doesn’t seem right after Cassie notices unexplained bruises on Jada’s arm. Then a young pretty woman, Petal, shows up at the local RV campground and begins a strange bond with Jada. How does this all tie in together? It all comes to an exciting end.

Title: Have You Seen Her
Author: Catherine McKenzie
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: 6.27.23
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Synopsis:
✨Cassie needs to put her past behind her and she needs to do it quickly before she’s tracked down. Ditching her cell phone at the airport, she takes a flight to the one place the person she’s running from won’t find her because he doesn’t know about it; home.
✨Cassie, with the help from an old friend, secures a seasonal summer job working SAR (search and rescue) near Yosemite. She did this years ago and is excited for the opportunity to start over in a familiar place. She’s hesitant to make new connections but does so with one eye always looking over her shoulder. And just when Cassie thinks she can relax, her past catches up with her in ways she never expected, even in her worst nightmares.

📚Thoughts/Recommendations:
✨The novel started out with an intense scene then scaled back before slowly rebuilding the suspense and action. Things get super crazy at the end so for me, the slow burn was totally worth it!
✨This is the first book I’ve read from the author and I’m happy to add more of her books to my TBR list! I appreciate the thoroughness of her story telling and never felt sections were rushed or left with lingering questions. Overall, I really enjoy the writing style.
✨If you enjoy the outdoors as a setting mixed with a diverse set of characters and a completely unexpected ending, then this is definitely the book for you!

📚I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this wilderness-set thriller. I thought the setting in Yosemite was great for the atmosphere of suspense. The main character has a history in the area, and you have to wonder if that is playing into current events unfolding. Women have gone missing from the park, and the Search and Rescue teams are trying to find them- but is there more going on here?

Cassie is clearly running from something, but we as readers don't know what yet. I absolutely did not guess at the surprises, and I thought that the ending had some great twists. This book was very unique, and I am so glad I got to read it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC of Have You Seen Her. I was drawn in by the premise, which was reminiscent of the Gabby Petito story. This was much more than a simple missing girl story. I was quickly captivated by the stories of Cassie, Jada, and Petal. The story did begin to slow down in the middle but then BAM! A twist I never saw coming!! Really enjoyed this one and would love a sequel!

As the book opens, Cassie is packing up and leaving. Leaving her life behind. We get little bits and pieces of why as the story goes. She goes back to her old job, SAR at Yellowstone Park. LIttle things happen that cause flashbacks and the mystery keeps you turning the pages. Things happen which cause Cassie to start down the old road again, causing her to be nervous. We meet other characters, which is told in alternating chapters, Petal and Sandy an interesting couple and Jim and Jada. The story is also told in Then and Now, which sometimes I had to go back and check what time I was in lol. I really loved the Instagram posts with the comments and also Petal . This was a page turner and looking forward to reading more from this author.

Rounded up from 3.5

Wellll there was a lot of unexpected stuff in the last quarter of this book. I liked it

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Three women, three dark secrets. Can we keep up?

Cassie has left everything behind in her old life and is starting new in Mammoth Lakes, CA. She has a her old job back as working for the Yosemite search and rescue team. She is trying to keep a low profile and start fresh from her life in NY. Here is where she meets two other women with dark secrets Petal, and Jada. Petal is a young woman who is married to an older woman. Both Petal and her wife are constantly on the move in there trailer. Jada just graduated college and enjoying a cross country trip with her boyfriend. She is documenting everything on their trip through her social media accounts. All three women cross paths in this Yosemite park. But what is the fate of all three and the dark secrets they harbor?

What I enjoyed:
- the pacing was well done. I was flipping through pages trying to connect all the dots
- I really thought Cassie was relatable. I could understand how she felt and how badly she wanted to start fresh
- The tiny bit of romance was surprisingly sweet
- The twists! I honestly did not expect this one

Overall, this was a fun and fast paced thriller! This is perfect for any thriller and mystery fan. The pacing was well done and the ending was satisfying. 4 stars out of 5! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If I had to use one word to describe this book it would be CHILLING! This thriller follows 3 women and in the end you'll see how their lives are really intertwined. The end stunned me!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for this ARC (set for release on June 27, 2023). This was my first read from Catherine McKenzie.

As a nature lover who’s dreamed of going to Yellowstone, this book transported me there in the most thrilling way! It was very cool to see read a thriller from the perspective of the Search and Rescue (SAR) teams that do so much behind the scenes.

This book was a slow burn for me, thought not in a bad way at all. I enjoyed the dual timelines as well as the incorporation of journal entries and instagram posts, and true crime podcast elements, giving a POV from other characters.

What I thought was going to be a predictable twist was anything but! The end left me wanting more- a real cliffhanger. Some of the plot elements seemed a bit of a stretch to believe, but with messy characters like this, anything is possible! I appreciate the author following up on some of those pieces and sealing it with a bow at the end. I’m excited to read more from McKenzie soon!

Cassie leaves her seemingly glamorous life in New York City to seek refuge in her hometown of Mammoth Lakes. She gets a job with the Yosemite Search and Rescue, where she worked 10 years prior on a disturbing case. We meet various other members of the search and rescue team and hikers. However, soon after starting this position, a couple goes missing. Cassie feels like history is repeating itself.

Cassie also meets Jada and Petal, who have secrets of their own. Further, someone from Cassie's past life is looking for her. Cassie is unsure who she can trust.

This book alternated between the past and the present. It took me a little while to get into. I found some of it to be kind of boring. The final plot twist was unexpected. I did find it quite farfetched, which took away from the book overall. I think there could have been more build up and background regarding the final twist. It felt rushed.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This story is about 3 women from different places and different backgrounds.
The majority of the story is told from Cassie Peters point of view. She leaves her life in New York behind and doesn't want anyone to find her. Including her husband. She returns to her roots and joins a search and rescue team in Yosemite, quickly old patterns and old memories resurface. While there she meets Petal, a young girl with much older partner and Jada who is on a cross country road trip with her boyfriend.
Soon everything and everyone from Cassie's past starts to catch up to her.
This book was fast paced, suspenseful, lots of twists and turns and an ending I DID NOT see coming. Loved it!!

This was such a fun read full of a lot of twists. The storytelling was phenomenal and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page. I haven’t read any of her other books but this has turned me into a fan and I can’t wait to read more.

Parts of this story reminded me of the Gabby Petito case from a couple years ago. Which made everything feel a lot more real and scary than just a book.

Sometimes multiple POV’s and time jumps make reading a book confusing. But it was done so well in this book that it didn’t get confusing at all. It helped that the 3 POVs were all a different style. Cassie’s is a standard book pov, Petal’s is told through diary entries and Jada’s is told through her instagram posts. This helped to not get confused at who we were following. It also helped that McKenzie gave each of them such a unique voice. I think even if they were all told in the standard POV style I would have been able to pick them out.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I kept trying to stick with this because reviews said it would get better, but 50% of the way in and I’m still struggling with the book. The Petal chapters are the best, which is unfortunate since they’re a page or two. I love dual timeline books, but this one felt confusing - I’m not really sure why it does, maybe it’s not marked clearly and largely enough on the chapters? I noticed other reviews mentioned struggling with that too so it didn’t seem to just be me there. I can’t really say how this book was because I had a hard time piecing together the plot and following along, unfortunately.

I have just finished reading "Have You Seen Her" by Catherine McKenzie. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Cassie Peters is escaping an abusive husband and leaves New York for the quiet of Mammoth California where she joins a Search and Rescue Team at Yosemite Park. She used to do this job 10 years prior but left when a search and rescue operation that she was involved in went wrong. Throughout the book Cassie is very guarded and private. She is tortured by her past experience and by the possibility that her husband may find her. Through her job, she meets Jada and Petal who have their own storied background with secrets of their own. The story hops between present (where Cassie has possibly killed someone) and past (where we find out how Cassie got to Mammoth and how she is dealing with being on her own). The ending brings all three women together in what seems to be a bit of a far fetched plot and sequence of events. The story also got a little political, commenting on media bias.
All in all, it was a pretty good book. What I liked about it was the way the story weaved between past and present and also having the perspective of both Cassie and Petal, made the plot more interesting.I liked the characters although they were a bit flat at times.
What I didn't like about the book was the far-fetched ending. Without giving too much away, I thought the big reveal at the end came out of nowhere. I felt like I had to suspend disbelief to accept who the three women were connected.
I do like this author. She keeps you turning the pages...that is for sure. She created an interesting plot line and did an excellent job of establishing a beautiful setting.
Happy Reading!

This book was UNPUTDOWNABLE.

This was my first Catherine McKenzie books, but definitely won't be my last. I was enthralled the entire time, and never figured out where it was going until the reveals were there. The characters were all so intriguing and seeing them all interact throughout really brought the story together.

This is a book I recommend for a long plane ride. As once you pick it up, you won't put it down until finished. There were multiple twists and vividly drawn characters. As a bonus I didn't see that ending coming. At. All. 4 enthusiastic stars Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for this ARC

Read this book if you love a book with some great twisty-twists! I received an advanced copy of this great book in exchange for my honest review; thank you #netgalley!

With that said, the book for me took a few chapters to get me to the “can’t put this down” stage, but once it hooked me, I was hooked and finished it in one sitting on my day off!

Just when I thought I had it figured out, I was quickly proven otherwise.

I recommend this book! Add it to your TBR list!

I enjoyed this book. It’s a good page turning thriller that had good character development. There were definitely twists and turns I didn’t see coming.

I’ve read almost all of McKenzies books, the murder game was my top book of hers, i think this is my favorite so far and the cover really drew me in. Loved the sinister ending.