Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of Lisa Gardner’s latest novel, “Kiss Her Goodbye”. Frankie Elkin is back, searching for the missing, this time an Afghan refugee named Sabera who has disappeared after being resettled in Tucson, Arizona.

As usual, Frankie is quickly immersed in a dangerous situation where Sabera’s troubled past in Afghanistan and complicated family ties may be coming back to haunt her. Complicating matters further is Sabera’s young daughter Zahra who Frankie is trying to keep safe while she tracks down her mother. Meanwhile, to pay her way in Tucson, Frankie is tasked with caring for the pet snakes and iguana of an eccentric young man, whose other employees at the estate where she is staying provide Frankie with invaluable support during her search.

This is another excellent entry in this unique series. Gardner obviously put a great deal of effort into researching the Afghan refugee experience, as the novel provides fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking detail about Sabera’s journey, from her life in Afghanistan to her migration into the United States. A very exciting and moving read, highly recommended. 5 stars.

I will not lie I did not read books 1-3 but it also didnt keep me back I really liked this book!The most beautiful parts of this book were some of the most painful. I know nothing about refugee camps and only hear about the Taliban from the news. I'm so far removed from it all, it didn't seem real. But the author paints such a vivid, bleak picture of despair that you'll find yourself in the camp with these people. To balance out such a stark story line, I absolutely loved how Frankie found lodging and the people she ended up with, which had a lot of lighter 'found family' moments that made this my favorite installment yet. Told in alternating points of view and with dual timelines is something I have always loved and this one I definitely loved as well and recommend highly.

Oh Frankie Elkin, I love you so much! Another hit by Lisa Gardner. This installment of the Frankie Elkin series was gripping and exciting. I couldn't put it down!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Frankie Elkin best describers herself as a rolling stone. Lisa Gardner fans, and by extension fans of Frankie will agree with her assessment. KISS HER GOODBYE is our fourth literary voyage with Frankie.
Lisa Gardner centers KISS HER GOODBYE around an actual event. When the USA left Afghanistan rather abruptly leaving behind a sizable number of people that had actually helped the American military stationed there. Translators who were familiar with the area and knowledgeable about the politics. These folk and their families were left to face the oncoming takeover by the Taliban. They were seen as the enemy and dealt with, seemingly no holds barred. Violence was rampant. Casualties in mass numbers.
One of the tenets of Islam, as Lisa Gardner reminds us, clearly states that only God has the power to give or take away life. The main characters of KISS HER GOODBYE struggle with the knowledge that so many of their traditions and beliefs were being destroyed. This is the ongoing mantra of the book. The intertwining of terror, kidnapping, murder, hiding, secrets, and religion. When you consider worldwide event you have to wonder about killing in the name of religion.
Lisa Gardner plops us right smack in the middle of a puzzle. Some truly genius characters know their way around this puzzle. Frankie Elkin is at a decidedly difficult disadvantage here. Candidly, so are law officials. The repeatedly voiced phrases by a four-year-old just may hold some important clues. Reminder, if Lisa Gardner includes it, it will most probably be important.
Time is not on their side. And Frankie is once again facing down some of her own demons while addressing the danger to those who are looking for the same missing person as she. Sabera, her husband Isaad and daughter Zahra are central to the mystery here. Sabera has been carefully taught by her mother how crucial keeping secrets is to the future of not only their family, but of their country and culture. Danger is ever present. So they speak in code. Isaad is a mathematic genius. And between Sabera and Isaad their daughter Zahra is a sponge. What Frankie understands right off the bat is that the disappearance of Sabera will likely put the family in peril. Again with the withdrawal of troops the citizens were now targets of the Taliban. The destruction of a thriving civilization. Many were able to escape and wound up in American cities. But it seems that the danger may have followed them here.
KISS HER GOODBYE is a page turner. Difficult to put down once you have become invested in the lives of people who face the loss of everything. Not the first time in history. Sabera’s mother rather concisely lectured her on the probability of folks trying to take their prized possessions when they were evacuating. In truth they mostly arrived with nothing but the clothes on their back.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅. 𝑨 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝑰𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍?

I absolutely love this series, and this installment hit harder than the others. I can't decide if it's because of Frankie's vulnerability that she rarely shows, because the plot that was so reminiscent of our own current political landscape where it's every man for himself, or because the writing was just so achingly beautiful. I'm going to say it was all of these. Don't read this as a standalone, even though you can. Frankie Elkin has a calling to find the missing, and you need to start at book one and be there for her character development every step of the way.

Aghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen three weeks ago when she left work. The local police haven't opened a missing persons case, and her husband doesn't seem concerned about his wife's absence. Sabera's closest friend insists that she would never willingly leave her three‑year old daughter. With Frankie on the case, we know that she'll get answers--even if those closest to Sabera won't like what she finds.

The most beautiful parts of this book were some of the most painful. I know nothing about refugee camps and only hear about the Taliban from the news. I'm so far removed from it all, it didn't seem real. But the author paints such a vivid, bleak picture of despair that you'll find yourself in the camp with these people. To balance out such a stark story line, I absolutely loved how Frankie found lodging and the people she ended up with, which had a lot of lighter 'found family' moments that made this my favorite installment yet.

Told in alternating points of view and with dual timelines, KISS HER GOODBYE is Lisa Gardner at her very best. Frankie's story is far from over, and I audibly gasped at this ending. Even though '𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍, 𝑰 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑' is not from Frankie's POV, it shows how our experiences as women--as humans--are all intertwined. Thank you to the author for this book I so desperately needed and to Grand Central Publishing for the early copy. This title is expected to publish August 12, 2025.

Lisa Gardner has done it again with Kiss Her Goodbye. I read this novel in one sitting. The plot regarding the refugees is all too real. It was engaging and the characters were endearing and kept me reading. I fell in love with Frankie Elkin and can't wait to read Gardner's previous novels that feature her.

Frankie Elkin is a character with so many layers. In Kiss Her Goodbye, I felt like she perhaps, will not be such a nomad with a huge heart in the future. No spoilers, but I have my fingers crossed. Also, Petunia stole the show. I will not go into details, but she has the best home life and is just so smart/intuitive. OK onto the story…
Frankie heads to Arizona, when a recent refugee from Afghanistan goes missing. Her husband doesn’t seem overly concerned, but her friend swears that she would not just abandon her four-year-old daughter. The amount of research that went into describing the horrific circumstances behind losing your country, your family, your friends, and your career, was just amazing. As usual, the author wove these facts into a compelling mystery and the pages just flew by.
Did I guess how this would end? Absolutely not. I cannot wait to see where fate takes Frankie next.

I love the twists in this book. Lisa Gardener is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! Must read!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was great and the characters were well developed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

I love Lisa's Frankie Elkin series so I couldn't wait to read book #4, Kiss Her Goodbye. This time Frankie is called to go to Tuscon AZ to find a missing Afghan refugee. Her friend is worried about the young mother. She's been missing for three weeks and nobody seems overly concerned about it. She left work one day and just disappeared. Her friend knows she would never leave her daughter voluntarily though. When a video of the young mother surfaces that shows her walking away from a brutal double homicide, Frankie fears there is much more to her disappearance. When her husband disappears and her 4 year old daughter is a victim of a failed kidnapping attempt Frankie knows she must act fast. There are so many twists and turns in this book! I couldn't put it down. This fourth book in the series did not disappoint and I highly recommend it! Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Frankie Elgin returns, this time she’s assisting a recent refugee from Afghanistan, whose friend has gone missing. This book takes a deep dive into the lives of the men and women of Afghanistan and how they have survived invasions by the Soviet Union, the Taliban, and the American military. Lisa Gardner never disappoints.

Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi left work one day and never arrived home. Her husband was unconcerned, but her closest friend feared the worst. Sabera would never disappear and leave her three-year-old daughter behind. Frankie Elkin agreed to aid in the search, which found her in the steamy streets of Tucson.
After Frankie learned about the Ahmadi family's complexities, she realized this would be a complex investigation. The head of the family, Isaad, was a brilliant mathematician. Sabera was a gifted linguist; her young daughter had a photographic memory, and her ability to remember everything may have placed a strange curse on her life.
After Isaad disappears under mysterious circumstances and Azhara’s life is threatened, Frankie fears the family is being targeted and moves ahead quickly to uncover the family’s past to protect them from any further violence.

KISS HER GOODBYE was another excellent installment in the Frankie Elkin series, who continues to grow and deepen along with her adventures. This one explores many facets of being an Afghan refugee, which was refreshing and at times heartbreaking to learn about. A lot of research clearly went into this one and it all came together in a story that was creative, richly imagined, and satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review KISS HER GOODBYE.

Frankie is on the hunt in Arizona for a missing Afghan mom who never returned home from an errand, leaving her husband and 3 year old daughter completely in the dark as to get whereabouts.
But as Frankie starts delving into Sabera Ahmadi's past, as an Afghan refugee, it quickly becomes apparent that Sabera led a complicated and dangerous life. Nothing is as it is being portrayed to Frankie.
Frankie is at her sharpest, once again, in spite of her own demons and checkered past.
Fast moving and interesting characters with quite a bit of Afghan history and customs
along the read.
Frankie Elkins is a good character with an interesting and likeable personality.
Keep her story coming.

I can only imagine how much research was required for this book. The stories of the refugees, the camps, and the loss of country are raw and chilling. Frankie is her usual undaunted self and her cast of friends for this search do not disappoint. I recommend this book to virtually any reader, fan of suspense, history buff, entertained by personalities, you will all devour this well crafted story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner due to be published August 12, 2025
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Recent Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. Now her husband is missing, also. Frankie Elkin is called to Tucson to join in the search. Will she find Sabera before she, too, is missing or hurt?
I have read the first three Frankie Elkin books so couldn’t wait to read this one. It didn’t disappoint. Sometimes funny, always thrilling as Frankie searches for people that no one else can seem to find. This one was probably the best of the four!
Can’t wait for the next book in the series!

#NetGalley #LisaGardner #GrandCentralPublishing #KissHerGoodbye

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Frankie goes to Tucson to find a missing refugee who is in danger. Sabera and her daughter can remember everything they see. Can she find them in time? Others are looking for them too with evil in mind.

Garnder is one of my favorite authors and I enjoyed this latest Frankie Elkin novel. Gardner does a great job exploring new issues and story lines in every book. I loved exploring the refugee angel. Can't wait for her next novel!

A young mother haunted by war, determined to make a fresh start. But sometimes, the sins of the past aren't so easy to escape.

Recent Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. The local police have yet to open a case, while her older, domineering husband seems unconcerned. Sabera's closest friend, however, is convinced Sabera would never willingly leave her three‑year old daughter. At her insistence, missing persons expert Frankie Elkin agrees to take up the search through the broiling streets of Tucson. Just in time for a video of the young mother to surface—showing her walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder.

Frankie quickly realizes there's much more to the Ahmadi family than meets the eye. The father Isaad is a brilliant mathematician, Sabera a gifted linguist, and their little girl Zahra—she has an uncanny ability to remember anything she sees. Which given everything that has happened during the girl's short life, may be a terrible curse. When Isaad also disappears under mysterious circumstances and an attempt is made on Zahra's life, Frankie realizes she must quickly crack the code of this family's horrific past.

Someone is coming for the Ahmadis. And violence is clearly an option. When everything is on the line, how far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Frankie Elkin is back and this time she is trying to find an Afghan refugee named Sabera. I had a bit of trouble at first with the back and forth from Frankie to Sabera’’s memories. I did enjoy the “pets “ that Frankie was entrusted to take care of. And the characters that lived in the house with her. A very different but enjoyable book.

Frankie Elkin is back in Lisa Gardner’s 4th in series, Kiss Her Goodbye. Frankie struggles to leave her new relationship but follows that pull again when she’s asked to help find an Afghan refugee who’s been moved to Tucson, AZ. Sabera has gone missing and her new friend and mentor, Aliah knows she would never voluntarily leave her 4 year old daughter behind. As Frankie searches for the missing woman she finds that there is so much going on with this family.

I love everything Lisa Gardner writes and was so excited for the next in her series! This newest book had a different feel, but I definitely enjoyed it. It was captivating getting to hear about another culture I really wasn’t familiar with. It was heartbreaking and both inspiring to get that backstory in this one and I enjoyed the ride.