"Missing White Woman" is a riveting mystery that navigates the complexities of race, privilege, and societal expectations. Garrett deftly tackles these issues through the lens of a gripping plot, keeping readers engaged from start to finish.
This story presented a chilling portrayal of how social media can be manipulated, leading to a rapid escalation where potentially innocent individuals are unfairly stigmatized, becoming targets of focused outrage. This, in turn, prompts unqualified actors to inflict harm or become victims in their misguided pursuit of justice. Kellye adeptly integrates a myriad of themes, ranging from racial dynamics in everyday encounters to significant interactions with law enforcement, issues of trust, family dynamics, and the enduring impact of our past on the present.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Missing White Woman is one of those books that you won’t want to put down with the irrational fear of not finding out just whodunnit. As a Black woman, I felt that the nuances of Black womanhood were spot on and believable. Breanna was a character who I didn’t always agree with, but could certainly understand. There are choices she made I wouldn’t have made myself, but given the cards she was dealt with, I couldn’t fault her. The writing was straight to the point and engaging, and surprisingly, the mention of social media didn’t bring about eye rolls and a flood of annoyance. I’m Gen Z, and honestly, the use of social media in books is often something I avoid, but this author managed to make even TikTok bearable. **Thank you so so much NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!!!**

Suspenseful and surprising, will keep you reading past your bedtime! Highly enjoyable and also insightful. Recommended for readers of The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl.

A romantic escape to explore NYC, turned into a nightmare. Ty decides to swoon his new girlfriend Bree with a promised luxurious weekend away. He books an Air BnB in Jersey City (my hometown 🫶🏾), and Bree is expected to just be present and enjoy, as her newfound lover boy takes care of the rest. They enjoy the city views and each other, but not for long. Ty is somewhat of a workaholic and ends up being consumed with a client, which leaves Bree to explore the area - alone. The neighborhood is filled with pink flyers of a missing dog-walker and Bree goes down a rabbit hole. On their last morning Ty was supposed to go to work for a few hours and come back before she woke up. Instead, Bree wakes up in this four-story row house alone, Ty missing, and a mysterious white woman dead in the foyer.

Hysterical and shocked, she runs to a neighbor and they call 911. Her immediate thoughts are Ty and his whereabouts, along with a past that’ll soon come to the light during the twists and turns of this law enforcement and social media-led investigation. Her ex-best friend Adore shows up as her wealthy attorney, all the while they haven’t spoken in over 10 years. Their past unravels just as this case unravels. Where is Ty? Who is this mysterious white woman? How will social media play a part in this case? Who can Bree trust?

Kellye Garrett does a great job with highlighting the disadvantages that Black women face compared to their counterparts. White woman syndrome isn’t something she’s shying away from with this novel. I loved the use of the current social media culture - it was evident how it can be used for good and the disadvantages of people and their influence that can cause harm. I felt the beginning had a slow start, with a lot of detail. A great plot, but an underwhelming ending - I definitely wanted more and it felt a little rushed. Overall, I think it was a good read and I would recommend. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for an advanced readers copy.

Excellent page turner. Bree goes for a weekend with her new boyfriend. Luxury apartment to die for and someone did. Bree tells the twisted story as she finds a murdered woman in apartment, her boyfriend goes missing and a long lost friend reappears as a lawyer to help her with the police.
Read in two sitting, recommend for award.

this book very much emulates the missing white woman syndrome, and we follow the story of exactly that in the perspective of a black woman. i could’ve finished this book in a day if i allowed myself to do so. the plot is original, the entire storyline is gripping. i haven’t read anything like it. every little detail connected in the end and that’s a major key for me. the mystery was well-written and the suspense was something serious man, i was on the edge of my seat the entire time. there are so many twists and turns, you won’t even know what’s what until you get there. a big highlight for me was the way the author implemented very realistic depictions of racial injustice. her writing made me feel everything the FMC felt, and i believe there is a lot of power in bringing that reality to all readers. i would’ve liked to see more in the end, especially more for the FMC. she was such a relatable character and you can’t help but to root for her from start to finish. overall, this was an incredible read! i would highly recommend it to those who enjoy a good suspense / mystery book or even to those who are looking to get into the genre.

Romantic vacation turned murder suspect! Excuse me, what!? This is a book that kept me guessing and second guessing any future stay in an AirBnB.

MISSING WHITE WOMAN is a thoroughly enjoyable weekend read. Realistic scary premise: You wake up in an AirBnb to discover your boyfriend is missing and there's a dead body in the entryway. The main character is awkward, flawed, and someone you can't help but root for! Original and page-turning all the way through.to the satisfying conclusion. Plus the writing made me feel like i actually spent the weekend in Jersey City.

Imagine you think you’re on a quick little vacation with your new babe. Everything seems amazing and he’s so affectionate .One day you wake up to find that your boyfriend is not there and there is a dead woman lying on the floor. WHHHAT!! You are a black woman and this is a white woman dead on your floor at that. This story follows Bree as she tries to figure out where her boyfriend is ,but also how did this white woman end up in her Airbnb. Kellye you did a great job of making the story engaging to the point where I stayed up to finish the book. I had to know what happened myself. I wish the twist at the end was more but over all I really didn’t know who did what until it was revealed . I can appreciate that . If you enjoy a book that will have you fussing at some of the characters , while also trying to figure out who did what , this is a great read. I would definitely recommend .

Fantastic read. It kept me on my toes the entire time and kept me wanting to read to figure out what was going to happen. Wonderful,

Thank you netgalley for this arc.

This is an important thriller. One that will leave you in awe and suspense and admiration of its social commentary. Also, this read like a great film.

I enjoyed this book from the first page. I could relate to the social nuances of the story. It was a truthful telling of society’s reaction when a white woman turns up missing. It was especially telling of who is the initial suspect. The author did an excellent job on that. Ms. Garrett also did an awesome job contrasting Adore and Bre. I loved their backstory. I enjoyed how she slowly revealed their history and it was a kick to the gut. However, I was appreciative to how strong their sisterhood remained! I wish more narratives were this way.

Ty and Bre head to New York for what was supposed to be a first time romantic getaway in an amazing rental, however Ty is busy working his life away and Bre is often left to her own devices and thoughts. Fast forward A local by the name of Janelle is missing, Ty is missing and Bre is believed to a be a suspect? Did she do it? Where is Ty, did he do it? What happened to Janelle?

I really wanted to love this story and to be honest there were a few moments that peeked my interest and kept me turning the page but then I would end up slightly disappointed.

I do think the story line is good but I think I found this one, personally at the wrong time as when I read I am looking to get away from our everyday occurrences/everyday reality. I am by no means a literary critic so take this with a grain if these type of stories interest you, and let me say again it did capture my attention at times just struggled to maintain it. I do plan to listen to this one once it’s available on audio as I feel it might change my opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this experience and granting me the ability to dive in early!

A missing boyfriend and a dead body at their AirBnB in NYC...loved the protagonist as she attempts to solve both. Some important messages regarding racial profiling - both for victims as well as our crime fighter! Will look for more by this author.

Breanna Wright has numerous problems in her life. There's an overbearing mother, secrets in her past that she wants to keep in the dark and everything that comes with being a black woman in America. One thing she knows she can rely on, however, is the love of her life, her new boyfriend, Tyler Franklin (Ty to Breanna and his friends). Well, at least she can rely on him when he's not neck-deep in his work (which is most of the time). Despite it all, she tries her best to have a good vacation in New Jersey with him to decompress and let loose. Despite a few bumps here and there they have a nice time until on the last day of her vacation she wakes up alone and when she goes downstairs, she's horrified to see a dead woman at the base of the stairs. A dead white woman. What's worse is that Ty is nowhere to be found. What follows is a whirlwind of interviews, rampant social media usage, a reconnection with an old friend, and a singular burning question for Breanna, did Ty do it?

This book was an adventure from beginning to end. The pacing at the start feels a little bit slow but ramps up after the discovery of the body. The characters are well-written and the author does a wonderful job of painting a scene with just her words. The usage of TikTok "videos" to move the narrative along is an interesting and fairly unique touch. Seeing how the posting and reactions of the characters to the social media postings versus the news postings draws a parallel to how society in the real world actually reacts to big events, which is not always for the best.

Overall I give the book a 5/5 and wholeheartedly recommend it for a read.

Missing White Woman was the first novel I've read by Kellye Garrett and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The title was what gripped me, in addition to seeing some of my other favorite authors sing the book's praises online. I loved the flip of the story of a Missing White Woman being told from the perspective of a Black Woman caught in the center of the mystery as it unfolds. I loved the friendship, warmth and redemption angle of the central friendship as well. The plot was twisty enough and engaging that it kept me guessing until close to the end of the book. Five stars, absolutely recommmend.

“Missing White Woman” is a fun and compulsive mystery, that keeps the reader second guessing all the way to the end. I specifically enjoyed the social media aspect of it, with the commentary that the “herd mentality” can be just as antagonistic as any other crime novel villain.

What a story...missing boyfriend and a dead woman's body in their AirBnb in NYC! Loved the protagonist as she tries to figure this one out!

Kellye Garrett does it again. Another captivating mystery that follows Breanna, whose dream getaway weekend with her boyfriend turns into a nightmare. On their last day, Breanna comes into the kitchen of the rowhouse AirBNB they're staying at to find the body of the woman all of Instagram and TikTok are looking for. And Bree's boyfriend is MIA. Soon she's pulled into the investigation, and can only turn to the last person she'd ever imagined helping her. Examining the phenomenon of missing white women syndrome, where the search for answers takes over social media and the news, often with misleading threads, Garrett is masterful at weaving social critique into her mysteries while still making them page turners.

In the midst of what was meant to be a romantic escape to New York City, Bree finds herself in an unexpected nightmare. Her new boyfriend Ty has arranged their first getaway, with promises of luxury and romance. However, her world unravels when Ty goes missing, leaving behind a mysterious deceased woman in their rented Jersey City rowhouse—an individual the entire online community is fixated on, Janelle Beckett.

As the police and a wave of internet detectives delve into the perplexing situation, Bree grapples with unanswerable questions. Faced with the urgency to locate Ty and safeguard her own concealed truths, she realizes her only confidant is her ex-best friend—a lawyer with whom she shares a complex and tangled history. The quest for truth unfolds in a gripping tale of suspense and buried secrets.

Garrett does a great job of using this story as an instrument in social commentary on how the media becomes obsessed with cases of missing white women, yet ignores stories of black women and other marginalized groups. I also appreciated how it highlighted ways in which the internet can be a useful tool in solving a crime, but also how it can hinder investigations.

Thank you to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for access to this advanced copy.