Have You Seen Me?

I enjoyed this horror novel extremely. Fast paced and incredibly scary I think most readers will love it. I have never heard of the raider before but can’t wait to read more of their stuff.

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Great characters and a fast-paced plot make it an absolute winner.

Thank you to Vesuvian Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Have You Seen Me? by Alexandrea Weis is a gripping, unputdownable thriller that will appeal to fans of They Never Learn and A Good GIrl's Guide to Murder. The story revolves around Aubrey LaRoux, a new black teacher at Waverly Prep, a prestigious private school. She had previously gone to Waverly Prep as a student, but now she's back as a teacher. When she arrives, she learned that a girl named Lindsey has gone missing, presumed dead, and a group of her first-period students entreat her to help them solve the disappearance. Aubrey agrees because Lindsey's sister went missing when Aubrey was a student. Where have these missing girls gone? And will Aubrey and her students find the answers before the murderer finds them?

Here is a chilling excerpt from the Prologue, which is from Lindsey's point of view:

"Tall stalks whipped against Lindsey’s legs as she ran. Her ragged breath broke through the silence of the dark, isolated field. She put everything she had into maneuvering through the deep weeds. Her chest burned, but an icy dread kept her desperate to outrun the beam of light following her.
Exhausted, Lindsey paused and kneeled by a thicket of grass, hoping to remain out of sight. But then a flashlight locked on her position. She startled and stumbled backward, tripping over something.
...
“Where are you going to run, Lindsey?”
The nondescript, guttural voice seemed to surround her.
Lindsey hurried to get up while scouring the trees. She judged the distance it would take her to get lost in their shadows.
She surveyed the endless acres of grass. There was nowhere else to go."

This book was enjoyable to read, and I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading to find out who the murderer was, and there were plenty of murders to keep me interested. One highlight of this book is that the main character, Aubrey, is black. There aren't enough main characters who are PoC in the thriller genre, and I applaud the author for that choice. I did take off 1 star, because I found Aubrey to be too wimpy of a character. Maybe it's because I'm a teacher myself, but Aubrey doesn't know how to set boundaries with her students. Her students suspect her of being the killer? Oh, that's fine. Her students keep making inappropriate comments about her and the hunky sheriff? Oh, that's fine. Her students want to disobey police orders and head into areas that are off-limits? Oh, that's fine. I've never wanted to yell at a main character so much. On the positive side, the book has chapters from the students' perspectives, which is why I think it will have cross-over appeal from adult and YA readers If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in August!