What Remains was amazing! Wendy Walker is a new author to me, I will certainly be reading her backlist. Lots of twists and turns, but a fun ride!

This was intense! I’m not sure what’s happened to me, but apparently I’m onboard with a little action in my thrillers now. Who knew? Wendy Walker delivers with a psychological/crime thriller that is really a cover-to-cover cat-and-mouse game between Elise and a new “admirer” from the store shooting. How that psychological chess match gets started was gripping reading, even if I had to suspend a bit of disbelief!

Wendy Walker's "What Remains" is a chilling exploration of dark family secrets that captivates from the first page. The narrative seamlessly weaves past and present, unraveling a complex web of relationships with each revelation. The characters are richly developed, and Walker skillfully navigates the complexities of trauma and memory. The suspense builds relentlessly, keeping readers on the edge of their seats until the final, jaw-dropping twist. Walker's writing is evocative and haunting, painting a vivid picture of a family haunted by its past. "What Remains" is a masterclass in psychological thrillers, leaving an indelible mark on the reader's psyche.

My first book by this author!

So, it started off promising but soon left me wanting? As another reviewer pointed out, I too am not a fan when a cop goes off on their own as if it’s the only way they can solve a case. In some circumstances I could see that being true, but there wasn’t enough in this (for me) to prove there was necessary here.

There was also a lot of emotional baggage that I don’t think I expected in a “thriller” type situation. I think I just came in with the wrong expectations?

The writing was good and I wanted to like the MC but just didn’t love/believe the actions she took.

For those who enjoy a more emotional take of revenge you may enjoy this.

Note: Lots of language. Some violence depicted.

My rating: 3*

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted copy.

Detective Sutton has been working cold cases with her partner Rowan. It's safe and she can provide closure. When they stop to buy towels at a local superstore, Det. Sutton is thrown into an active shooter situation. She kills the shooter, saving multiple lives and is hailed a hero. Thus begins her nightmare.

What Remains is a suspenseful, action-packed thriller where nothing is as it seems.

I was so excited to get this ARC for “What Remains” from the fabulous thriller queen Wendy Walker. I highly recommend this book - I was such a fan!

As always, thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing Audiobooks for the ALC copy of this book!

This was a great police procedural type book for me. I loved the cat and mouse chase between the two main characters. I enjoyed the explosive intro of this book as well. It was a crazy ride from start to finish and I never really felt like it slowed down to a crawl. It kept a great pace throughout the whole book, which I am very thankful for!

Great wrap up on this one as well. I'm happy that we got that satisfaction and justice. I didn't see the twists and always appreciate the surprise of a good twist!

This started off strong but was sort of slow and boring as it went on. Felt too drawn out but had potential!

3.5 The choices we make in these days of has shootings comes home in a big way for Detective Elise Sutton, and she encounters an active.shooting at a local mall. When she sees a man, in the direct site of the shooter, she reacts and kills the shooter. Although she is hailed as a hero, killing someone is not without emotional upheaval, and she feels the need to search out the man she hoped she saved. Was he in danger? Did she take a life to save a life? Sometimes we don't like the answers we find.

Interesting book, realistic, unfortunately, premise. Good suspense, liked Elise's character and being privy to her thoughts on the shooting, how she reacts. The ending a little over the top but I do like this author.

What Remains is a fast moving and engrossing story about a police officer who had never previously shot at another person but is forced to kill a man posing a threat to others. The story revolves around her inability to shake the feeling that she could have avoided killing the man inside a busy local department store.
Without giving away the plot, there turns out to be much more to the story, particularly the turn of events as she tries to locate the man the shooter was aiming at when she fired at the shooter. Who was he and why did he leave the scene so quickly after the shooting? Could he provide her the reinforcement that she did the right thing - that her actions saved this unidentified man from being killed by the shooter? The narrator did a great job adding to the suspense. The book has a number of surprising plot turns. Real page turner!

Fast paced psychological triller. The one you can read in a one or two seatings.
Well written, I so enjoyed the story, especially that it’s done from the perspective of Elise where she is at the same time a victim and a Cop. The author did a really good job with her character development here. Sometimes you may question the reasoning of her actiion, but its part of her charachter.
The story is intriguing from the start till the end.
It’s my second book from this author, enjoyed both of them. Definitely looking forward to read more of her books.

I assume you can’t have a thriller without an MC making risky/dumb decisions. Similar to horror movies with their barefoot young thing heading into the shed full of chainsaws rather than hopping into the running car. “Don’t do it! Can’t you hear the foreboding music?”

Ahhhh! Blood and gore ensues.

Not that I watch horror movies. But I do enjoy thrillers in novels. Here’s the unique thing about this one. While the MC, Elise, withholds information from those who could help or protect her and puts herself in risky situations, her rationale makes sense. Not that I would make the same decisions or that I think her choices are smart. Rather, she explains her reasoning well enough that I appreciate the choice feels right for HER.

Synopsis: Detective Elise Sutton enjoys solving cold cases. Piecing the puzzle together, using new technology to uncover new clues, and keeping things calm, rational, and under her control. Her life is upended when she fatally shoots a gunman in a department store. Wracked with guilt and wanting assurance she made the right decision, Elise seeks out the tall man whose life she saved, only to find he is a threat to her, her young family, and her way of life.

Half the story is a cat-and-mouse search for the tall man, and the other is from a seemingly unrelated crime scene named “The Kill Room.” Both were well narrated by Zachman and Ganim, with perfect resonance and emotion. The ending had me washing my car in 110-degree heat to keep listening!

If you like strong and capable female MCs who can still be vulnerable, unnerving stalkers, and strong police procedurals, you will enjoy this as much as I did. (It would be a good book club selection with plenty to unpack.) I strongly recommend the audiobook.

Thanks, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, for an Advanced Listening Copy. WHAT REMAINS is available now.

After reading this book, the cover is ok. I would have had a man in a red jacket on the cover. I don’t want to give any details, read or listen and you will understand. I liked the narration of the book. The man’s voice and female voice were both appropriate for the book. I enjoyed the book and even recommended it to a friend. I did think it would be a bit more suspenseful and it did get that way near the end. At first I wasn’t sure where the book was going…when it was female voice it was one story, then male voice another story, it did all come together in the end.
The thing I did not like was the swearing. The male voice had some harsh language and I feel other words could have been used instead of the swear words. There were situations with the main female character that I thought was interesting, as far as her job and the things you go through when you work a position like that. I had never thought about how cops may feel when they have to shoot someone, I liked how the author gave us those details.
This book was recommended by someone and I am glad I had the chance to listen to it.

This was a slow burn for me as I waited for the climactic moment when the two storylines would meet up. It felt claustrophobic to me and perhaps it's because I didn't quite connect with Elise. We're in her head for the majority of the story and her constant anxiety and fear started to weigh on me. I enjoyed the second half more. Disturbing and tense.

Cold case detective Elise Sutton has never fired a gun in the line of duty. But all that changes when, in the course of buying towels at a department store, she hears gunshots, and she's the only one who can stop the shooter. After taking down the shooter, she takes a leave of absence, distraught by lingering questions. Did she really have to kill him? He was a danger to everyone, right? Or was he only a danger to himself? She finds someone who may be able to resolve her doubts, an unusually tall man who had been in the line of fire at the department store, and who witnessed everything that happened. But something about this man is off, and after confessing her feelings to him, Elise finds herself the subject of his unwanted attention.

What Remains is a gripping cat-and-mouse chase, as Elise tries to outthink her stalker, a man who's studied her own techniques. Told in first person, with an alternating timeline revealing a mysterious death in a place known as "The Kill Room", there is much to keep the reader engaged, even with a somewhat slow start after the opening chapter. I saw several of the reveals coming at an early point in the book, including how the Kill Room tied into the main story, and the connection between two major characters, but there were enough remaining questions to keep me listening. There were a few other nits, including the repeated use of "the tall man"; once we find out his name, it's not as bad, but somehow that phrase just sounded odd in the audiobook. Also, I'm not fully satisfied with Elise's justification for keeping her partner and the rest of the force out of the loop, doing her own private investigation, especially as a detective. It feels like something they would explicitly teach cops NOT to do. But overall, it's a tense read, with enough questions to keep the reader hanging on tight until answers are revealed.

Thank you to the author, Blackstone, and NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

What was a shopping trip to buy towels for her daughter, became a cold case detectives worst nightmare. Not only does she have to live with the fact she shot an armed gunman while off duty, she has a string of nightmares that follows afterwards.
This book was absolutely intense. Elise's story was a roller coaster ride of psychological action I was not prepared for. Definitely an intense chase to discover why all this is happening to her.
Reccomend to anyone who needs a fast paced thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley & Blackstone for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been hearing some buzz about Wendy Walker for awhile so I wanted to try one of her books. This might not have been the one to start with; it sounds like some of her earlier books are better? Anyway, I was drawn in by the premise: off-duty cop finds herself in an intense shooter situation and ends up taking out the shooter, then inadvertently connecting with the man she saved, but then becomes an obsession for him. I don't think I've ever seen a book with this premise, and I was intrigued. Unfortunately, it was hard to connect with Elise, a cop, mom, and wife whose choices are a bit of a conundrum (especially since she's a cop! The cops I know are *extraordinarily* wary of folks they don't know).

Additionally, the very dry chapters describing a hunters' "kill room" in the woods didn't really work for me (there certainly could've been fewer of them); they were too much of a contrast from the VERY emotional, gut wrenching issues plaguing Elise. The book was extremely tense, and the denouement was very involved (and the planets had to align juuuust right in order for the ending to go the way it did. With a banging story, I don't mind that; I can suspend my disbelief, but this one wasn't awesome enough for me to do that [sorry!]).

Three stars, solid enough, but not great, just good.

I picked up What Remains because I had a great time reading Emma in the Night, also by Wendy Walker. These two titles are very different, with a common thread of a female detective that is seeking answers.

In What Remains, Detective Elise Sutton works on cold cases. One day she is in TJ Maxx when something terrible happens and all of her law enforcement training becomes very useful. Unfortunately, she struggles with the mental weight of that day and the man whose life she saved becomes the man who haunts her.

This is a cat and mouse thriller, so it did have steady tension. I was engaged throughout, but I think it lacked the character relatability that I found in Emma in the Night. I think this will be great for readers who like more tension and military/police perspective as well as crime analysis.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I love Wendy Walker and loved this suspenseful thrilled. A gunman walks into a department store and starts shooting... I couldn't stop listening.

Walker brings forth the difficulties of coping with trauma in her latest thriller. Overall the story is suspenseful, with multiple points of view that add great dimension. However, at times, the story lags.