This was okay.
I feel like we needed more meaningful time with the characters, but that overall the book could be shorter and more concise. I felt like there were some scenes and moments where they weren't contributing to the meat of the story or character development/character relationship development. Sam, for instance, needed more time to grow as the love interest. I also felt, weirdly enough, like there were some plot aspects which were repeating. I could have done with a lot more action and showing me the plot unfold instead of how much...talking? seemed to be occurring instead of action. This just wasn't original enough to stand on its own two feet. With the lackluster plot, characters that needed more room to grow, and the amount of talking instead of action that we got, I just didn't like this all that much. I did enjoy the ending a lot, but unfortunately that just didn't quite bump the book up much. I would absolutely read more from this author, because the bones are there, and I think that with more practice the next thing they write could be really stellar.

When Sam sees the video of an acquaintance from high school stumbling out of the desert covered in blood and saying that her boyfriend is still out there, it reawakens her true crime obsession--this time, Sam knows Kiri. As Sam gets herself sucked into Kiri's story, things start unraveling, and Sam will have to put the pieces together herself to decide who to trust.

To avoid spoilers, I think the best thing I can do here is talk about the characters. Overall, I think that this missed the mark it was trying to hit (or maybe it wasn't supposed to, I'm not sure) wherein Sam is a critique of the fascination and commodification of the true crime genre. The case in point here is very reminiscent (to me, at least) of the Gabby Petito case, especially at the beginning. It clearly diverges, but with such a fresh case I find it a bit questionable to use elements of it in a book. Perhaps it's a coincidence though.

Sam-She's unlikeable. At the very least, she has a lot of negative traits, and we rarely see a positive one. She's true crime obsessed, but she's more interested in the killers (a common critique of the genre). She's supportive of a (fictional) female serial killer due to her trauma of being a woman in America. I saw this aspect as a note of how people (semi-jokingly) support Aileen Wuornos, but she isn't challenged on this at all. She's manipulative, not unlike other characters, as she literally stalks by Kiri's house in order to run into her to get her story so that she can (potentially) make a successful podcast after her first one flopped. This does turn into genuine care for Kiri, but she's constantly trying to figure out if Kiri's being honest or not. She's the epitome of true crime content creation sans ethics, and the only person who challenges her on her views rarely makes an appearance despite being her "best friend".
Kiri-Very traumatized. Her diary gives a lot of insight to her state of mind and why she did the things she did. She was clearly being groomed and it's hard to read without wanting to scream at the pages. It's definitely an important subject to talk about though. I do think part of the message is missed when Kiri ends up being more manipulative than she lets on though.
Lore-They're great. I would've rather read their story tbh. They called Sam out and were painted as being dismissive and anti-true crime when all they were doing was pointing out the flaws in it to Sam.
My main issue is the lack of explicit criticism of Sam and how she acts. She faces no repercussions for her actions and is able to go on with her life. This book has twists and turns galore, but only heats up in the last 15%.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

This is kind of a difficult book to rate. It really felt like it should have been both longer and shorter. Sam has a romance and also character growth that felt like it needed more time to develop, while the actual plot felt like it was a lot of talking with very few things actually happening. Twice, Sam is given diaries to read through and it takes her multiple days to get through very little content. It was odd when she desperately wants to know what happened.

I did like that ending parts. You were never really sure who to trust until the very end.

However, I do feel the need to bring up one more thing. Parts, especially the early parts, feel like they borrow a little too much from the Gabby Petito case that happened a few years ago. While the story does take turns away from that, there were some moments that I felt uncomfortable with.

I really liked this book. I love when books mix in podcasts, diary entries, newspaper articles - it makes it such a breeze to read and I feel very invested in what's going on. I didn't feel the romance was necessary but other than that, it was a really enjoyable twisty YA thriller!

Read if you:
📰 Enjoy books with mixed media - newspaper articles, social media posts and diary entries
🎧 Love true crime podcasts
📕 You like Good Girls Guide to Murder and want a book with similar vibes
🌱 Are interested in wilderness and living off the land

Thank you Little, Brown and NetGalley for my copy!

This is one of those books that is hard to put down. You want the whole story asap, but you know that you're only getting partial truths at time. The author does a great job with keeping it suspenseful.

Sam and Kiri went to school together. Except Kiri's real name is Kate. Kiri started dating a youtuber, Callum, and she went on a trip out west with him. She became part of his channel. Everyone watched them in New Mexico. Kiri had gotten so much thinner while dating Callum and she looked rough. But I guess it didn't bother anyone that much. But Kiri was picked up by a family. Alone. She was wearing Callum's shirt covered in blood. She went home and the police were asking a lot of questions. No one knew where Callum was, but he was presumed dead. Reporters were outside Kiri's house and she couldn't go anywhere. Sam used to do a true crime podcast, but it didn't do well. She recognized Kiri as Katie and decided to try to talk to her. Sam got close to Kiri quickly. Kiri told her things from the desert, but still not everything. But she gave Sam her diary to learn more. It's obvious that Kiri and Callum's relationship wasn't healthy, but Sam just couldn't see Kiri as a murderer. She starts to help Kiri even when things get dangerous for her.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an earc through Netgalley and a finished copy.

Thank you to the Publisher for my arc!


This was so good. If you're a fan of a Good Girls Guide to Murder and want something that has similar vibes. do yourself a favor and add this to your TBR. this story had me guessing constantly and just when i thought i was right. i ended up being totally. I loved Sam and Kiri and just the discussions about consent and relationships. I couldn't put this down.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very quick read with short chapters (which I love!) there were multiple times where I thought I knew what was happening and then it all went out the window at the end of the book. I really liked the character of Sam and seeing her growth throughout, Kiri as well. This was a quick and easy read especially if you love a good ya thriller!

Samara is trying to find out who she is and where she belongs when we start our story. She has just been ghosted by her girlfriend, failed at her attempt to start a true crime podcast, and works a dead end job at a local movie theatre.

It seems like her luck has changed. There's a new case making the rounds of the news outlets. A girl Sam knows has just exited the desert alone, only she wasn't supposed to have come back alone. No one knows where her boyfriend is.

I enjoyed the story despite its striking similarities to the Gabby Petito case. The characters were somewhat likeable. You get invested in the story between Sam and Kiri, unclear of who and what to believe. I could have used a little more character development, particularly for Sam, but what you do get to see does help clarify what you read and how Sam reacts. You also get to see Sam's motivations change during this relationship development, including a reminder that being a purveyor of true crime can have some very negative impacts to the people whose families it affects. I would say overall that this is a 3.5 star book rounded up to 4.

Many thanks to NetGalley and author Margot Harrison for allowing me the pleasure of reading this ARC.

Publication Date: November 14, 2023

2.5

To start, thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. Getting right into it, I really wanted to like this book. I actually did like parts of it. The writing was done well. You can tell that Harrison knows their voice and how to use it. I also enjoyed the commentary on the ethics of consuming true crime. The consumption of true crime walks an extremely thin line between innocent interest and voyeur. However, I think that’s part of where this book went wrong. Perhaps it’s just me, but I felt that the fiction case portrayed here shared a stark resemblance to the Gabby Petito case. And maybe that was the whole point, to remind people that interest in relevant cases is a tricky thing to navigate. However, for lack of better terms, it felt wrong getting a rehash of a case so recent and terrible. It just made me uncomfortable seeing such a similar story so soon. And perhaps I’m just not reading the overall vibe right here, but that’s how it came off to me. Margot Harrison is a talented writer, but this book missed the mark for me.

I could hardly put this book down!

At first it reminded me of that case that happened fairly recently - Gabby Petito and her boyfriend. But it’s really not quite that similar; it just made me think of that case.

Samara (cool name instead of the usual samantha) is trying to find her place in her small town after being ghosted by her somewhat girlfriend Reggie and the failure of her podcast. She works at the local movie theater and the boss’s son is a douche who likes to inflame Sam. You can tell she is just waiting for something to happen, which it does.

Turns out Sam knows Kiri, the girl accused of murdering her boyfriend in the desert. Their friendship grows and it’s the kind of relationship built off the need to be understood and heard. Sam and Kiri shone the most brightly as characters, and it was hard to know if Kiri was innocent or not because her story was so unreliable. I really thought the idea of “being pushed to the brink so hard makes one beautiful” was very interesting and showed how poisonous certain social media concepts can be.

I thought all the other characters fell flat though. I couldn’t tell if Sam lived alone or not (i dont think so) because she had zero relationship with her mom. She spoke about being from a broken home but that’s about all we get about her relationship with her parents. At one point it sounded like Sam thought people can’t change or give up their negative way of life which is just not true, BUT, she did have a horrible experience with her dad and i think she was saying he comes off more self righteous and like he believes he never made mistakes, instead of owning up and changing, which obviously would explain Sam’s feelings toward her dad. It was a bit confusing though. Especially since we never see or interact with her parents. Owen is only good for flashbacks and having a car, Maren for some random chitchat and conflict, and that’s it. They really were background characters - just devices to be used and then discarded after their use.

The end threw me for a loop! I didn’t see it coming and didn’t know who to trust. It felt a but rushed but it didnt take away from the story as a whole. I would definitely read more from this author, because she has the gift of suspense, so i do recommend!!

One of the most twisted and unpredictable thrillers I've read in a long time. By lacing together a mystery with commentary on the nature of true crime itself, Harrison crafts a compelling narrative about truth, lies, and the gray space between.

Truly powerful and gripping. I wanted to keep reading at all times! I think the writing style itself could use a little polish, but other than that, it was a pretty good book. Recommended to young adults especially.

"Only She Came Back" by Margot Harrison is a gripping Teens & YA Thriller that had me hooked from the start. The book's suspenseful plot and well-crafted characters made for an intense and satisfying read.

Basking in a conclusion that you really don’t see coming, Margot Harrison’s “Only She Came Back” is a thrilling mystery that ensnares readers from the first page.

Sure, the protagonist isn’t the most endearing, and her intentions are often both hard to relate to and deeply misguided, but in a way it’s almost refreshing to follow the internal POV of someone you’re not totally sure you’re rooting for. Harrison deftly demonstrates her superpower here; or a unique propensity to delve into the farthest reaches and darkest depths of what fuels some, and what it means when they’re the people we think we can trust.

All in all, the ‘whodunit’ of this will keep you breathless and eager to know more until the very end.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

This story had great potential, but I could not get past the writing and the pacing. Too many tangents and not enough concise information which would have really helped this story moving along.