Thank you NetGalley.

4.5 - What a ride! This book was definitely a good thriller/mystery. So smart with twist and turns. Had me eyeing everyone. You’re reading a movie because it played out in my head. I couldn’t imagine waking up at home but especially vacation to body. I would probably try to get out there asap like Bre. She could have went back home so many times but she wasn’t giving up.

-Bre’s faith in a man she hasn’t known that long was strong. I’m not putting nothing pass anyone.
-I thought a few of the neighbors were in on it. I just had the wrong ones.
-Billy never sat right me. And Bre had me wanting to pluck her towards the ends. “Like ma’am how can you not see what she’s doing here?!”
-I wish Ty would have been open with Bre but he was smart about that snack bag.
-On the train when that lady’s smile dropped. Hahahaha. That’s what you get.
-Bre was working better than the police. When the twist/plot hit my jaw dropped.
-Adore was so messed up for what she did. Selfish.
-Nothing worst than adult that shouldn’t be parents. Mind as well be another random on the street.

First read by this author and i already added her other books to my tbr.

This is a fascinating look at a murder investigation and all the things that go into it, complicate it, and often derail it. Boyfriend Ty has swept girlfriend Bree away for some time at an airbnb in New York City. But when Bree awakens the next morning to discover Ty gone and a dead woman on the stairs, all hell breaks loose. Throw in an old jail stay for Bree, a popular TikTok podcast, an old friend, and investigators who are determined to find the truth...and away we go! This one had my head spinning as it shatters expectations and exposes how crimes involving white and black women are treated so differently.. I will surely check out more of Garrett's novels now!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Me: "A girlfriend is staying with her boyfriend at an AirBnB, and she wakes up one morning and finds a dead lady at the bottom of the stairs. And the boyfriend is missing!"
7 yo: "The boyfriend did it."
Me: "Seems that way but authors like to trick you in mystery books."
7 yo: "They're allowed to do that!?"

Yes, yes they are allowed.

This started off slightly rough for me-- some of the phrasing felt a little clunky and it took a hot minute to really get everything going. But things ramped up and I got sucked into the plot. I loved the shades of complicated female friendships, internet mob mentality, and toxic influencer culture tackled in this story. I'm definitely going to pick up her previous novel sometime soon. 4 stars.

Early copy recieved via NetGalley.

This was an easy 5⭐️ book for me! It started off as a simple romantic weekend away for Bree and Ty, but then Bree wakes up and discovers her boyfriend is missing and a woman is dead in their AirBnB. Strong plot and characters and an even better ending.

Thank you, NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the copy of Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett.
If you love a surprise reveal, this one is the book for you. The last few books I read were light on story and character development and relied on a shocking ending to ‘carry’ the book, but this book was well-plotted and paced so it was a joy to read, which paired a substantial story and well-drawn characters with some mild commentary about social media. And then there was that reveal! Wow, it seems I missed some clues, but was glad to find it all made perfect sense. Don’t miss this book!

a romantic getaway weekend turns into a murder investigation.

bree and ty are staying in an airbnb, excited to spend some much needed time together. however, after ty goes to work, bree wakes up to find a dead, white, blonde woman. bree finds herself, and her boyfriend, as primary suspects as the media builds a narrative surrounding a "scary" black man stalking and killing a white woman. a beauty influencer's tiktok blows up, and bree feels trapped and pinned into a corner. where is ty? could he possibly have killed someone?

this book has great social commentary about how the media prioritizes missing white women over missing black women. a white woman's story generates more buzz and in a systemically racist society, it is easy for the media to pin the crime on a black person.

however, the beginning is rather slow. the pacing is completely thrown off near the end. bree seems a bit flat at times, like her character wasn't very fleshed out. still, it's a very enjoyable read.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Breanna thinks she will have a great weekend staying in a beautiful Airbnb with her boyfriend Ty. Her life changed dramatically in college, and she has never regained her footing or sense of self. She is starting to have feelings for Ty and looks forward to a terrific weekend. But Ty, unlike Bree is a workaholic and something or someone keeps interrupting their plans.Bree seems to understand, but when Ty vanishes and she finds a dead body in the rental, her life quickly spins out of control.
The story tackled a lot of real-world problems. The power and negativity of social media, a black man seen as the number one suspect in a murder, and Bree’s past, making her somehow look guilty too. While she desperately tries to find Ty, she also learned that her past had hidden layers that changed her life.
I loved Bree, went back-and-forth between believing Ty could not have murdered someone, and then thinking, well, I hardly knew him (just like Bree). There was one character (only one!) who I wished Bree had never met. No spoilers but I bet you will know who I mean after you read Missing White Woman. I just couldn’t flip the pages fast enough.

I've read and loved all of Kellye Garrett's books. I get excited for any new title from her, but when I saw this cover, with a Black woman pictured and the title Missing White Woman, I started reading it immediately. Garrett, as usual, delivers both a page-turning thriller and biting social commentary. She nails true crime Internet sleuths across social media platforms. I loved how she set this book during the pandemic and integrated it into the plot. Missing White Woman kept me guessing throughout and kept me thinking after I finished.

It was supposed to be a romantic getaway weekend in New York City....

Kellye Garrett has taken the missing person story and turned it upside down! Breanna, a black woman, is excited to meet her new boyfriend in NYC for her first get away, first Airbnb stay, first of many things. Ty ends up wrapped up with work most days and on the last night, Breanna discovers a current missing person, a white woman who is featured in multiple media circuits dead, at the foot of the stairs. The story takes off like a rocket and Breanna is constantly believed to a suspect, Ty is missing and a horde of TikTok followers and neighborhood vigilantes want to bring justice for the newly found person.

But what really happened? Is Ty guilty? Who can Breanna trust?
I loved this book - surprises all around. I especially appreciated Garrett's point of view as a woman of color regarding how much interest the MIA white woman received as compared to others in the story. Fantastic ! Gobble it up!
#mullhollandbooks #missingwhitewomen #Kellyegarrett

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I could not put this book down and read it in a day! Garrett's writing is quick and page-turning. Her dialogue is precise and easy to read. I appreciated a murder mystery thriller from the perspective of a Black woman bearing witness to the inefficiencies of law enforcement (do they ever get it right?!). The ending resolution came a bit abruptly for me and I wasn't sure that the mystery was solved, even when it was. However, the ride was high-speed and sharp-witted. I look forward to reading Garrett's next work.

Another gripping novel you won't be able to put down from the inimitable Kellye Garrett, one of the most gifted suspense authors writing today. We need more books by her and more books from all crime writers of color, who offer a perspective that's been underserved for decades.

Satisfying and twisty, Garrett has done it again.
I love a thriller with the right balance of modern complications (social media, VRBO/Air BNBs), twisted with the classic concerns of life, death, and public perception. This novel follows a woman who unexpectedly has to solve a murder, or else be framed for it. Highly recommended! Can't wait for this one to hit the shelves.

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.

Fast=paced and insightful, this thriller had me entranced! Loved the mystery, the propulsive story-telling, and the high-stakes plot points. Character development was rich and detailed.

Kellye Garrett is a fresh and exciting voice in the mystery realm. In this novel, she gives us a naive protagonist who shuns ambition and has lived a stunted life ever since she was arrested after leaving a party and falsely accused of having weed in her car. With a criminal sentence in her background, she has given up on her dreams, until she meets a handsome, charming man who sweeps her off to a vacation in a luxurious Jersey City Airbnb, The neighbors are suspicious of the Black couple and are militantly searching for a missing white woman, with a TikTok influencer taking up the cause. Nevertheless, they begin to have a wonderful time traveling to Manhattan - though her boyfriend keeps breaking his promise to leave work behind. She's getting impatient with his furtive phone conversations until one morning she wakes up to find him missing and a dead white woman on the floor.

On the whole, I enjoyed reading this story, though I found the protagonist a bit hard to get to know, and her rapid-changing attitudes about her missing boyfriend was a little irritating (though not unrealistic). Toward the end, either I wasn't paying enough attention or there were some major plot holes. But the author's understanding of social media and her use of it in the story (as in Garrett's earlier Like a Sister) was intriguing.

Slow, but pretty good too. The writing was amazing and sharp I have no doubt that this author is incredibly talented. I'll be recommending it to certain readers for sure.

The premise of Missing White Woman immediately caught my attention and I was so excited to read it. I assumed from the summary and the first sentence of the book that the reader would be immediately thrown into the action. Unfortunately, this has a really, really slow build. The first 20% feels like background and scene-setting without much to amp up the tension. Even though I found Bree to be an interesting narrator, I didn't feel compelled to keep reading. I think if the author had brought in the mystery element much sooner, this would have held my attention longer.

Love the pitch, was very excited about this, and the author can certainly write, but felt the narrative tension was lacking here.