💜 My thoughts: 💜

In 'Have you seen her?', we follow Blair and her race to find out what happened to her sister and,well, Poirier has definitely given us a hearty racing thriller.

When the book started, my initial thoughts were oh this is just another 'whodunit' style novel and it's just the case of working out what's happened from the bread crumbs of information I thought Poirier would give...

While Poirier does do this, she also throws other layer of bread crumbs over the top so what you end up with is an intricate lace of possibilities that ultimately you need to sort through.

There are twists, turns and I really feel for Blair ❤️. She is a fantastic and resilient character and you can't help but love her.

This is a novel that will have you on the edge of your seat and I highly recommend a read as Poirier will leave you guessing right to the bitter end ❤️.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
5 stars 📚

I thought this book really relatable and enjoyed reading it - the pace was quick and the plot entertaining! I enjoyed Blair's character and could connect with her on a lot of the social media places. While well-written, I went back and forth between my thoughts on Evianna and Simon, but I think that was the point! The ending felt a little predictable to me, but I read a lot of suspense/thriller so that could be part of it. Regardless, the pace kept me turning pages and I still wanted to know what happened. The timeline certainly added to the pacing and excitement! Overall, even though I kind of saw the ending coming, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to other thriller/suspense lovers!

Complicated story with plenty of twists. Two different sisters and a horrible mother. Loads of suspects. Dragged a bit.

Quite repetitive throughout, and I didn’t really connect with the story or anyone in it, which has not been the case with other books by this author, so maybe me

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. This one was a roller coaster! I can't tell you how many times I thought I had it figured out, and then realized I was wrong. I thought Blair was a likeable character and really connected with her. I am on social media, but am definitely not an expert. I really went back and forth on my thoughts of Evianna and Simon throughout the book. Sometimes I thought he was the horrible one, sometimes I thought she was horrible one. Now, he was a really well written character and I never liked him throughout the book, I was just trying to figure out whether it was him or Evianna that were behind their issues.
Evianna's character was also well written. I just kept thinking about how much of this kind of thing actually happens on social media these days. There was definitely a lot of research put into the social media part of the book, which I thought made the book relevant. In the end, as in real life, you never really know who you can trust!
The flashbacks to Blair and Evianna's childhood were great. It gave a good background to their relationship, as well as their relationship with their mother, who was a horrible person.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There a few parts that kind of repeated or dragged on a little bit, but nothing too bad. I really liked how it kept me guessing until the end!

Some things about the characters, minor things, were a bit unbelievable, or at least impractical. Otherwise, this story was excellent. Twisty, sinister, and riveting.

Blair, now a social worker, and her sister Evianna, an influencer, have never got on. Evianna was the “perfect” daughter and Blair the one pushed to the side, especially by their mother. So why Blair decided to hop on a plane to see her sister is beyond her. But Evianna sounded desperate.

And now Blair is heading back to Evianna’s in a bizarre series of events. After Evianna telling Blair she has cancer, Blair heads back home, but as she touches down, Evianna’s husband Simon calls to tell her Evianna is missing and she needs to come quickly. Blair immediately gets on the next plane and the craziness begins.

When Blair arrives, she realises all is not well. Simon has not even reported Evianna as missing and is actually keeping up her social account himself. She decides that it’s up to her to look into the disappearance, but the more she digs, the more Simon’s behaviour turns evil and the more questions come to light.

Now Blair fears for her own life and everywhere she turns, the puzzle pivots. Those who try to help land up in danger and those who threaten her might just destroy everything she has. What do you do when you are in over your head?

Why Blair went to the lengths she went, I’ll never know. First, the relationship with her sister was so strained and she had been treated so badly, it was an odd choice to see her in the first place. Then putting up with the way Simon treated her was not on. I get that deep down she loved her sister and would do this for her, but the idea of doing this on her own and not going to the police was crazy. She knew something was off and still went ahead with her amateur sleuthing. Even when it became clear her life was in danger. The physical damage she sustained I question. She seemed to recover from that very very quickly even though it occurred more than once.

Simon was a deplorable character. That means that the author has written him really well to make me hate him that much! His attitude, mannerisms, and actions just spoke of duplicity and selfishness.

The girls’ mother was another character that was just downright awful. The way she treated Blair was appalling and I’ll never understand why people like that have children.

The book is written well in that the proofing was good with few mistakes to distract you. But at one stage, one of the characters that works in IT goes from Melvin to Calvin, which was a little odd. I will say that you can figure out the ending before it happens and when it does, you are actually sad because it’s such a waste!

I really enjoyed this book because even though you feel such strong negative emotions towards people and actions, it goes to show how much the author has made you believe. The toxic relationship, the secrets, the “real life” behind an influencer – all thrilling elements that brought the book together well. I would have liked to have seen some more of the plot lines finished off as there were a few points left open. But the ones that needed to be explained were. Not all that glitters is gold, indeed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC. This was a fun easy read. Kept me guessing and into the plot.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot was really interesting, and you can tell how well researched it was within the influencer world. It is still a mystery to me, though.

I liked the different timelines, which gave more details. The ending was just brilliant.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and bookouture but the review is entirely my own

I really love this thriller. It had a sinister tone that made the novel creepy but exciting to read. I love how the setting also played into the story.

As an influencer myself, this book was WILD. But I find myself drawn to books about influencers, just because I feel I might be able to relate to the characters on some level.

Evianna, the influencer, goes missing after years of being estranged from her sister. Her sister, desperate to get to the bottom of it, goes to stay with Evianna’s toxic husband, Simon .

Whole searching for Evianna, her sister does some digging, meets all of her friends, neighbors and tries to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

The influencing parts of this book could not be further from reality. I definitely feel like some more research should have been done on this aspect. I did like the suspense parts and there were a lot of twists. But I still can’t understand why she put herself in danger trying to help a sister who was always terrible to her.

Now this is how you do a psychological thriller! I was hooked from the start and it kept me invested the whole way through. I loved how modern and relevant it was with the social media and influencer angle, it just made it all so much more real and relatable. The family trauma aspect of it was also really well conveyed and accurately written. The whole book just felt so real that I couldn't help but care about what hapoened to these people. The characters themselves were well written and complex, there is a lot going on in the plot but again, so do most people have in their real lives, and the twists were just masterful. Must read

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture for the copy of Have You Seen Her? by Dea Poirier. This was a different type of influencer story because the influencer is missing from the beginning and the story is her sister’s search for her. What a twisted story! There was a lot going on and so many characters, it was hard to keep track of everything happening. I liked it when the past timeline finally started to relate to the rest of the story. In addition to shedding light on influencers and the lengths they go to to stay relevant, it also addressed how family trauma can affect you. The reveal was a big surprise and I was shocked that I missed the hints about what was going on. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The internet and social media are a blessing on the one hand. You can do a lot of research on it, get in touch with people in the blink of an eye even if they live on the other side of the planet and share news with countless people by only tapping a few keys on your keyboard.

On the other hand they are a poisoned gift. It's easy to hide behind your screen and stalk or insult people and you can paint the picture of a life that"s as fake as fake can be, pretending you won the lottery with the kind of life you live, pretending to be a happy camper. 

If you could take a look behind those frisky scenes, you might be in for some surprises. 

Manipulation, deceit, lies and of course murder are the core ingredients of this truely amazing book.

Thank you

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
******************************************************

From the moment I was born, I knew that I would always come second to my sister. Bright, popular, beautiful – she has always been everything that I’m not. But when she vanishes without a trace I know deep down I’m the only person who can find her.

I haven’t spoken to my sister Evianna in years, not since a shocking accident tore our lives apart and sent us to opposite sides of the country. For years I have worked as a social worker and Evianna is a successful online celebrity. Our lives couldn’t be more different. But then I get the call. Evianna is missing and her husband Simon needs my help. Arriving at their palatial home, I expect to find Simon wracked with worry for her safety but if anything, he seems more worried about what her devoted fans will think.

Scratching beneath the surface of their picture-perfect life, I discover that they were not the golden couple everyone thought. They had secrets they were desperate to hide. But then again as young sisters, so did we. As Simon’s behaviour becomes more threatening towards me, a feeling of deep dread starts to swell. I think he knows our secret. But how far will he go to make me pay for what happened and can I find my sister before it’s too late?

I have always come in third in my family (and 7th once grandkids from my brother arrived) so I know what it is like --- it hurts. As does the bullying that comes to this day. Would I look for my sister? NOT A CHANCE but that is another book to be written and read.

Simon is a duplicitous putz who cares more about Evianna’s fan following (oh, those influencers and their toxicity!) and there are times that I wish he would have been the one to disappear. You cannot trust him for a minute – oh, there were times I wish that I could slap his fool face through the Kindle. Lovingly recommended to those who love thriller books as you won’t be disappointed!
#shortbutsweetreviews

There is little doubt that the carefully curated perfection on display wrt the lives of so-called influencers on social media can often cover a multitude of sins. And it turns out that Blair's sister Eviana is no exception.

Blair has long been used to taking a backseat to her glamorous, popular sister. That is the way it's been all their lives. And it probably wasn't a surprise to anyone that Blair ended up with the far-from-glamorous career of a social worker, while Eviana became a celebrity.

But despite this, there is one thing that has tied the sisters together, a bond that has endured in spite of the years-long estrangement between them.

And now it seems that the tables have been turned somewhat. Because Eviana contacts Blair out of the blue, informing her of a terminal diagnosis and asking her to come right away. Nervous at the idea of an unexpected reunion, Blair travels to Florida - because as she says, when Eviana calls, she always goes running.

Except that when Blair finally arrives home again, she has to return to Florida again! Because her husband Simon calls to say that Eviana has disappeared. And yet once the exhausted Blair travels there again, Simon - whom Blair has never met before - seems less concerned about Eviana than he is about her social media presence (or rather, absence)...

This is an interesting story and one which anyone who has come off worse in an unwelcome comparison with a sibling or close relative will probably find relatable. At least, to some extent. It certainly brought back a few fraught memories for me!

The suspense of what happened to Eviana, Blair's growing tensions with Simon, and the lasting effects of family relationships that are both complex and toxic are quite effectively conveyed here. An enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! The publication date is the 19th Sept 2023. I really enjoyed this book it was a real page turner and kept me on the edge of my seat. Wow the ending… I didn’t see that coming!

My favourite character was Evianna I felt the characters were well written and the reason why I liked Evianna was I was intrigued about life as a celebrity. The plot included interesting information about AI and software usage which I found mind- blowing! I enjoyed the descriptions of the locations within the book as I could imagine them whilst reading the book.

Overall, a must read book with lots of twists and turns!

Have you seen her? Was a very suspenseful thriller which I stayed up late into the night reading. The characters were very well developed and the plot was very interesting. Highly recommend this fantastic thriller which will have you racing through the pages to find out how it ends. Thanks to netgallery and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Well this really was a messed up read about two sisters who are not close but when one of them goes missing it is up to her sister to work out what has gone on and if something more sinister is behind it all. As her own life starts to seem in danger it’s a race against time to find out the truth. It was really hard to like a lot of the characters in this book but it’s an exciting read.

Have You Seen Her? by Dea Poirier is a psychological thriller with some good suspenseful moments. For me, getting involved in the story sometimes takes too long. I could, however, completely identify with the main character as I'm not that person who asks for help, the one who admits that I'm drowning.

I like the descriptions of the locations; they are quite inviting and serene. For example, the main character slips out the front door and walks down the cobblestone path of her small cottage, a cool breeze rustles her hair.

The story included interesting information about AI and software usage. The story also shows how even if you have money and fame, it's not enough, and it doesn't bring happiness.

I would rate this a 3.75 out of 5 stars (rounded to 4) only because it took me some time to get involved in the story, I didn't particularly care about the characters, and the storyline was just okay. I did like the location descriptions and the atmospheric locale of the story.

#HaveYouSeenHer #NetGalley @bookouture