This one moved too slow for me and was very dragged out. The ending came together nicely, but I was also just glad for it to be over by that point and didn’t really care. Even though this was a miss for me, I will still give this author another shot!

Have You Seen Her by Catherine Mackenzie

Cassie Peters is a woman on the run. She’s running from her life, from her demons, she’s running from some hidden past she doesn’t share with anyone. In an effort to escape one life, she returns to a familiar place and time – working as a Search and Rescue technician deep in Yosemite National Park. But over the course of the summer, frightening things happen. Cassie receives several threatening text messages from a blocked number to her burner phone. People go missing in the park. Old faces from Cassie’s past start popping up around her, while she is supposed to be off the grid. What is happening in Yosemite, and who is coming for Cassie?

Catherine Mackenzie can really write a tense, adventurous thriller! This book was a page turner full of cryptic back story that gave just enough detail to keep the reader engaged and invested in what was happening with the main character. I have never visited Yosemite National Park, but felt like I was there in the story as I read it. The descriptions of the wild, rugged forest and mountains were executed perfectly and really served to make the reader feel just how remote the location was.

My only critique is that the middle of the book started to drag on a little bit as it seemed the plot stalled on the search for some of the missing travellers in the park. Without a little bread crumb to offer a clue, there was a missed opportunity to keep up the tension.

It did pick up, however. One thing that is sure to impress me is when I don’t guess the big twist. Chalk up one more point for Have you Seen Her! I had no idea how all of the threads would come together towards the end to finally bring clarity and solve the mystery of who Cassie was, what the heck she was doing and why. Once the twist was revealed, all the missing pieces were placed and the puzzle was satisfyingly solved.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and Catherine Mackenzie for giving me a free ARC of this book to review in exchange for my honest opinions. All thoughts above are my own.

Have You Seen Her is a slow paced psychological thriller. Suspense and intrigue surround Cassie the moment you are introduced to her. You know she’s escaping and she’s scared. The thrill of the climbing, hiking and being part of SAR was interesting and something I had never encountered in a book before.
The fear and intrigue grows slowly in this book as you learn more and more about the past and present. I like the way the story was told through not only Cassie’s POV, but also Petal’s journal entries and Jada’s Instagram posts.
I like the way the story unfolded. The ending truly managed to surprise me. I loved how open-ended the conclusion was and how it makes you think about the story long after you finish reading.

I have posted this review on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5218864399

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuCck8trvC9/?igshid=YzcxN2Q2NzY0OA==

And Amazon

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Told from multiple viewpoints and timelines I found it very easy to follow. The end of the book took me by surprise and I was not expecting the twists that happened! This was great thriller and I am looking forward to reading more of Catherine McKenzie's work!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one was a DNF for me. I found myself not invested in the story, and not wanting to pick the book back up when I put it down. I know many other people have enjoyed this book, it just did not work for me.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars
I haven't read any books by this author, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to reading more from Catherine McKenzie in the future. I loved the different storytelling throughout each chapter (ex. chapters, Instagram posts, and journal entries). The atmosphere of the writing was fantastic. It created a level of suspense within a couple of different storylines and timelines. The twist at the end was not one I was expecting and I would want to go back and reread parts to see if I could pick up on the hints.

I would highly recommend this book to any thriller reader!

Really enjoyed this one and would especially recommend if you like the setting as the writing is very atmospheric. The characters are all fully realized and interesting to read about. Some of the mystery elements are predictable (as a seasoned mystery reader) but some things caught me off guard. Very entertaining overall and definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. Catherine keeps you on your toes through the entire novel, with twists you dont see coming. Full of excitement and suspence, she tells this wild story about three women with dark secrets, best kept in the past.

It's difficult to imagine a psychological Thriller more convoluted than HAVE YOU SEEN HER?, the newest release by Catherine McKenzie (Release June 27). Add to the event twists and the plot twists an entire set of twisted characters: not the good, the bad, and the ugly, but instead the bad, the worse, and the really evil. The latter section is pretty much an every page revelation, a new occurrence of "Did I Just Read THAT?" accompanied by "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?" This novel is definitely a hair-raising ride [and no, I didn't warm up to any of these characters; but the resonance throughout the entire novel to a certain true-crime Wilderness trek/#vanlife in August 2021 and subsequently is powerful, as if I were reading of those events simultaneously].

A new book from one of my favorite Canadian authors, how could I pass it up?!
It was a decent read too. It wasn't my favorite though. I hate dual timelines. The bounce from past to present, never been a fan of that style of writing. I'm a more straightforward kind of girl. So right away it was taking me longer to read because of that. Once I got into the story it was better for me, and the timelines didn't bother me so much.
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending either, but more because it felt rushed. Like you took all that time to lead to the build up and it kind of fizzled out for me. A great middle part, plot twist and all that kept you reading with intrigue. I felt like the end just didn't do the story justice.
Still, as a whole, I liked the book. The plot was interesting. The twist was ferocious but I ate it up.
As always, I look forward to whatever else the author writes. 3.5/5

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

This was a great read, propulsive & atmospheric! I was hooked from the very beginning, and I enjoyed the build-up to the twisty ending that I didn't see coming. Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

It was the book I never knew I needed so bad in my life until it popped up on my feed …

I am a sucker for anything Catherine McKenzie, I mean let’s be real, I think we all are .

I read I’ll Never Tell, years ago and it still haunts me . That book threw my world off kilter and had me sleeping with the light on for months . I loved it ! That’s the exact books I love to read ! I want my world shaken up, I want to be scared! Make me check under the bed before hopping in!

So, when I saw this pic pop up on my feed I nearly I fell over . I neeeeed this book and there is no way I could wait .

Boy oh Boy!

I had no idea what I was even getting into but I can promise you, here is your advisory, you are in for one heck of a ride!

I am obsessed with this book! Mysterious, juicy, deceitful and gosh dang mind blowing!

This book belongs in everyone’s hands and displayed on every book shelf

Here is a bit of a Teaser :

A thrilling and timely novel about three women with dark secrets whose lives intersect in the picturesque and perilous Yosemite National Park from the USA TODAY bestselling author of the “propulsive” (Laura Dave, author of The Last Thing He Told Me) Please Join Us.

Equipped with a burner phone and a new job, Cassie Peters has left her hectic and secretive life in New York City for the refuge of her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. There, she begins working again with Yosemite Search and Rescue, where a case she worked a decade ago continues to haunt her.

She quickly falls into old patterns, joining a group of fellow seasonal workers and young adventurers who have made Yosemite their home during the summer. There, she meets Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with her much older wife, keeping a detailed diary of the goings on of the park, and Jada, a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, documenting their journey on Instagram.

When these three women cross paths, Cassie’s past catches up with her, and the shocking consequences ripple out far beyond what any could have imagined in this unputdownable thriller from an author who “never fails to impress” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author).

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this read. This is not my first Catherine McKenzie book and not my last as well. This was not my favorite but it was a good read none the less. The writing is good and the characters were well described. The pacing was. spot on and I was interested right to the end.

If this isn’t on your to be read list you need to add it. This is not one you will want to miss. Set in the beautiful Yosemite National park, this book includes lots of secrets, multiple points of view, dual timeline, and lots of plot twist that will keep you guessing till the end.

10 years ago Cassie accepted a role as a Search and Rescue (SAR) Worker at Yosemite for the summer. After a terrifying discovery that summer Cassie ran from her life in Yosemite to a new life in the Big City. Little did she know she would be returning a decade later to the same role with a very different past and even more secrets. And when a couple goes missing in the park, it is all too familiar to Cassie. However, Cassie is not the only one hiding secrets.

I haven’t had lots of incredible reads recently and was thrilled to have a read that sucked me in. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading this book while I was on vacation visiting a national park myself so all the facts about the SAR team were very fascinating to me. This is one I would highly recommend and I have to say the ending was not one I saw coming!

“𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓?”

“𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅.”

I’ve heard lots of great things about Catherine McKenzie’s The Family Game (it’s on my TBR for the fall!), so when the opportunity came to read her newest release, I jumped at it.

McKenzie’s writing is addictive; once I got into the structure of this story, I was hooked. She uses a “then” and “now” narrative from main character Cassie’s point of view, alongside Instagram posts from Jada and journal entries from Petal, two secondary but important characters. I thought both pieces were unique and fun ways to share their points of view, and helped me get sucked into the story. The setting of Yosemite National Park lends itself to the feeling of danger where so much can go wrong, in a place that is so beautiful, especially with Cassie working with the Search and Rescue Team. I know very little about climbing so I found that aspect of the story very interesting, alongside the tension that was built with Cassie on the run from an abusive husband. The female characters were very well developed, and I also really liked Ben, Cassie’s fellow SAR teammate (I loved the way he looked out for Cassie, but also didn’t pressure her and offered a listening ear when needed). The cliffhangers and well-timed reveals made turning the pages very easy. Things definitely were a roller coaster towards the end!

Have You Seen Her is a story of survival, mistakes, disappearances, power and déjà vu. This may be my first Catherine McKenzie book, but it won’t be my last. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this book! I’ve recently become obsessed with the podcasts about strange occurrences and murder in National Parks. Have You Seen Her is set in Yosemite National Park and the story revolves around a park emergency responder who is trying to escape her life and a couple who goes missing. The twists in this story are great and I did not guess who the ultimate villain was! I highly recommend this book, especially if you love those podcasts or vacations that go wrong stories.

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

This was a solid mystery that really took me by surprise. Cassie is a search and rescue worker at Yosemite park. She used to work at this park a decade earlier, but now she’s back to resume her role. She left the park 10 years ago to create a new life, but now she wants to escape her life, again. There are so many questions surrounding why she left initially and why she has returned now.

Much of this book was frustrating because Cassie would not answer any questions (I genuinely wanted to bang my head against the wall a few times), and there are multiple POVs that were confusing at first, but then cleared up pretty soon after. We have the POVs from two different couples staying at the park, diary entries, and we have a past and present perspective from Cassie.

What I loved about this book was that the author kept it very engaging with social media sections and true crime sections. Lastly, the way all of these stories connected and concluded was unpredictable. I didn’t see any of it coming and was truly shocked. I was satisfied by the twist.

I did have some issues with the way she approached some topics such as the fact that one character is a black woman, and the other is Latina. I just found it to be a little bit much and could have been left out. Also, this was way too close to the Gabby Petito story for my comfort. It’s too soon and too similar.

If you take those issues away, I thought this was a decently paced mystery that was uniquely written & very engaging. I also think this will probably be amazing on audio due to all of the social media sections etc…

✨ Read this if you like to hike, enjoy the great outdoors, love mysteries that keep you guessing, and are a true crime aficionado.✨

Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Interesting read. The writing is tight and the characters feel familiar. Not in a bad way. It like sitting down listening to a good friend telling you a story. Was surprised how quickly I was able to read. Looking forward to the next book.

#NETGALLEY
#HAVEYOUSEENHER
#CATHERINEMCKENZIE

This is a surprising mystery. Cassie Peters is running from her something, so she returns home rejoin the SAR group in Yosemite Park. This story had so many red herrings that the real mystery was such a surprise. Told from dual viewpoints of then and now, the characters come alive. The descriptions of the park made me feel like I was sitting in the park beside Cassie and Petal. The buildup of suspense kept me turning the pages. I would definitely recommend it. I received an advance copy of this book via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my review.