Mike Omer's Abby Mullen series is one of my favorite thriller series' I've read in a while which is probably why I was a bit disappointed in »Please Tell Me«, I think my expectations were just too high.
However, this was still a solid thriller, even if it was not what I wanted from this book.
The premise sounded really interesting, I love that we got to read from the POV of a psychiatrist instead of someone working inside the criminal justice system, it was something different. But that also meant this was less about finding out who abducted Kathy/the killer than Robin working with Kathy to better manage her trauma. That made parts of the book... I don't want to say boring but definitely less exciting to read about because it was just a lot of guesswork on Robins (and everyone else's) part because Kathy wasn't talking.
I also wasn't the biggest fan of the multiple POVs we got from the day Kathy was abducted - obviously the author tried to mislead the reader but especially after the ending I just think it didn't add a lot to the story and was more confusing than anything else.
Honestly, I'm mostly just a bit bitter because I know the author is able to write great plot twists and keep me on my toes while reading and this book just didn't work for me personally.

Nine year old Kathy, missing for over a year, is found walking barefooted and unable or unwilling to speak. Child psychologist Robin Hart is tasked with using play therapy to reach into Kathy's mind and uncover the details of her trauma. What she soon discovers is that Kathy has knowledge of both past and future murders committed by a serial killer.

Although a promising premise, this book fell flat for me. I didn't like the seemingly unrelated passages regarding Kathy's passive aggressive mother. While a connection to the mystery is made at the end, it didn't make up for the amount of time it took to get there. And, while described as a thriller, this was more of a bland mystery with an overly dramatic ending more suited to a B movie than a thriller.

Thank you Net Galley and Thomas and Mercer publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

I loved this! Fast paced, loads of twists and good characters. I couldn't stop reading and read it in one day. 5 stars

I wasn’t a fan of this book. Ultimately the plot felt weakly developed and the characters were stale. I read a lot of thrillers and this just doesn’t make the cut for me.

This book pulled me in immediately! I couldn't *wait* to see what had happened to little Kathy, why she was taken, where she had been, who had taken her, etc. I do a lot of reading in the parking lot, waiting for my youngest to be done with school or other activities. For the last two afternoons, it took everything I had to put my Kindle down and actually drive home! :)

The parts of the book that were actually *about* Kathy, were stellar. I loved reading about her therapy sessions with Robin. I found them absolutely fascinating. The interaction between Kathy's mother, Claire and all those around her? Also very well written.

I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed with the reveal of who had taken Kathy. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention, but it seemed like it came out of nowhere. I also was not a fan of Robin being a victim and needing to be "saved". I'm pretty sure that was all part of furthering the secondary romance storyline which, as far as I'm concerned could have been lessened greatly. The drama surrounding Robin's relationship with her mother? Not needed at all in my opinion.

This is the first book I have read from this author. I have absolutely no qualms about picking up another!

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer, Mike Omer, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to read and review.

Excellent book. The characters are engaging and well defined. The author gives us several theories to figure out what will happen next and who the villain of the story will be. From beginning to end, we are immersed in the story.

Robin is a pediatric psychologist in a small town where she has an extremely difficult relationship with her mother and indirectly with her sister. The whole community is shocked when a little girl, Kathy, who has gone missing, returns after a year by herself. Mute, she begins a therapy with Robin where she presents in her own way her experiences and connections with other disappearances.

The novel deals very well with the emotional side of parents who survive these traumatic events. It also shows adults who have to deal with the mental burden of narcissistic parents.

I read this book in two days, it was an easy and enjoyable read. Highly recommend for a thriller with a romantic twist that ends well.

This was only my second book by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. The first half definitely grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading, but the romance in the second half kind of diluted the story a bit to me. I also wasn’t a fan of the main story’s therapist voice, or rather how she constantly verbalized everything her patients did during play therapy. I totally understand WHY she was doing this, but the amount of repetitive dialogue made me want to skip those pages at one point.

Overall, this was a fast read with a really interesting plot line. I wasn’t thrilled with how the second half of the book was laid out or with how heavy of a focus there was on the town’s opinion of therapy in trauma cases, but I truly did enjoy the book and I think it’s going to stick with me for awhile.

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer Publishing and to Netgally for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kathy Stone is playing in the yard at her home when she disappears. Her shoes are found in a decrepit building a few weeks later, but that is the only trace of her ever found. Until one day, 15 months later, she is found walking along the road across the state from where she lives.

Robin Hart is a child therapist with quiet a few issues of her own that pop up throughout the story. Robin agrees to help Kathy, the child of an old schoolmate, and thought Kathy won't speak she still shows very chilling stories.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Omer did a great job describing Kathy's state so much that it broke my heart and I just wanted to hug her (despite her fictional status). The chapters were well written and developed and the story moved quickly. There were awesome red herrings and subplots that added to the development of the characters and how we felt about them. Would absolutely read another book from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mike Omer for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

Child therapist is drawn into a world of kidnapping, violence, and murder by a non-verbal and traumatized child client. Wow, this is quite the departure from Mike Omer's normal police procedurals but he does not disappoint! Lots of twists & turns that keep you on the edge of your seat or, as with me, up way too late! This book has multiple heroes and villains, every day chit chat and serious coffee-snob discussions. Each character and interaction breathes more life into the book. And...let's not forget the importance of a good dog!

I was thoroughly entertained by this book and Robin's internal discussions regarding COVID, Facebook, and gossip in general. Her every day struggles outside of the mystery drew me in and made me shout at her, cry with her, and also wanting to find that awful FaceBook Troll!

Love a good mystery? This is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for this advanced release copy. Review already posted on Good Reads.

The book itself was fine. Although I found it dragged on a lot longer than it needed to. Continued references to the pandemic became tiresome, we all know and lived it. The book was set in that era, but let it go. The story line was good, extensive detours into the relationship with Robin’s mother was a bit much, and for the most part could have been removed.

Thank you NetGalley for this copy! I absolutely loved this. Robin and her dog Menny are just great. I really felt all of
Robin’s emotions as she felt them. Whenever she was upset or scared i felt it all! I was hooked from the first page. I was so intrigued with Kathy’s sessions and I enjoyed getting to know Kathy and Robin. I really liked the style of writing as well. It kept me interested the whole time. This is probably one of my favorite mysteries I’ve read. Also glad nothing bad happened to Menny lol.

A really interesting premise but unfortunately just a little too slow for me. If you're a fan of slow burn then I definitely recommend giving this one a go.

I was graciously given an advanced reader copy of this book from Mike Omer. I enjoyed this book and that when I thought I had it figured out, there was another twist. This is the first book I’ve read that an author capitalized on the covid pandemic and I think Mike incorporated the way the world changed during that time. He made the characters relatable.

The book revolves around 8-year old Kathy, who returns after being abducted a year. She won’t speak when she returns. Robin is a therapist that gets Kathy to communicate with her through play acting since she won’t talk. Kathy begins acting out brutal murders with toys in a dollhouse. The crazy thing is that she is acting out unsolved murders. Robin begins to think that maybe Kathy witnessed these murders, but then she has the toys act out crimes that haven’t happened. As Robin races to understand what Kathy is trying to “tell” her, she then becomes a target herself.

read this in one day because I absolutely could not put it down! the ending was so unexpected. Great writing and characters

Wow! I really enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the perspective of Robin being a psychiatrist that helps figure out what is happening with Kathy. I don’t want to say spoilers, but I kept trying to guess who abducted the Kathy and was very wrong.

This book took awhile to get into a with the different POV and the flashbacks. I thought I had figured out who the bad guy was about sixty percent in and I was wrong!!! Which rarely happens so that made me like the book even more!!

A young girl is taken from her yard & turns up a year and a half later… but she won’t talk to anyone. She starts therapy, and as she communicates through her play, her therapist puts 2+2 together to find a much bigger problem.

As a mom, this was somewhat difficult to get into this because I could not imagine what I would do or who I would become if that were to happen to me. In that regard, I really felt for Claire and the situation that she was in. I related to her in the mom aspect.

I felt that the twist in this book was not something that I put together or saw coming, and that is always a plus for me.

I do wish I knew more about some of the background characters that ended up becoming a huge part of the story.

COVID did play a part in this story, but I didn’t feel like it was overbearing. I see where it helped the story in some ways, but didn’t necessarily enjoy it being in a book either.

I also wish that this had captured me from page one. It took me a long time to get halfway through this. After 60%, I finished it in one sitting.

*many thanks to NetGalley & Tomas and Mercer publishing for providing me with this book!*

Overall an engaging read. The characters were relatable at the beginning of the story. It did feel a bit rushed and the interaction between characters felt forced and not natural. But the link to a time that everyone today can understand, gave the story a realistic feel.

Oh boy did this set my anxiety on edge! As a mother one of my biggest fears has always been someone snatching my kids! This will make a good lifetime movie one day. I love true crime and the trauma of what Kathy had gone the rough was heartbreaking. I definitely could have used more of a connection between Kathy and the crimes being committed. The ending wasn’t a jaw dropped but it cleaned up all of my questions throughout the book. I haven’t read from this author before but I would again.

This was the first book I read by Mike Omer and it was pretty good. It was easy to read, but I will say I did get a little bored towards the middle of the story. I was waiting for more development between the crimes taking place and what Kathy knew about them. All in all, an enjoyable read.