WHERE I LEFT HER

 

SYNOPSIS

Whitney had some misgivings when she dropped her increasingly moody teenage daughter, Amelia, off at Lauren’s house. She’d never met the parents, and usually she’d go in, but Amelia clearly wasn’t going to let something so humiliating happen, so instead Whitney waved to her daughter before pulling away from the little house with the roses in front.

But when she goes back the next day, an elderly couple answers the door—Amelia and Lauren aren’t there, and this couple swears they never were, that she’s at the wrong house. As Whitney searches for Amelia, she uncovers a trail of lies her daughter has told her—from the Finsta account to rumors of a secret relationship. Does she really even know this girl she’s raised? And Amelia’s not the only one with secrets. Could Whitney’s own demons have something to do with her daughter’s disappearance, and can Whitney find her before it’s too late?

Title: Where I left her

Author: Amber Garza

Publisher: MIRA

Publication date: August 24, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Where I left her was my second book last month involving a moody teenager going missing…and I hate moody teenagers!When I read these stories and we get to know the teen characters I always think “why would anyone want to find them?”, then I think “well, I guess their parents might…”

Overprotective mother Whitney drops off her daughter Amelia at a friend’s house for a sleepover but when the next day she goes back to pick her up, the old couple who live there say she got the wrong house cause Amelia was never there. But the roses on the front don’t lie and Whitney is sure that was the correct house. That’s when her nightmare begins. Did Amelia leave voluntarily or did something more sinister happen to her?

The story flows between pre and post drop off present and snippets from the past. With the amount of psychological suspense/thriller I read I don’t know why I haven’t learnt yet to not make assumptions. I did it again here so when the twist came I was so surprised that I had to take a minute to think back about everything I had read to that point.

As the story progressed we learn that Amelia was not the only one hiding some secrets but Whitney had some of her own too and those may have played a role in her daughter’s disappearance.

I never lost interest at any moment and, although the middle part slowed down a bit, once the twist came it was a rollercoaster of revelations until the end. It was not an open ending per se but I would have liked to see it a bit more developed.

Overall, an enjoyable read that kept me on the edge of my seat until the last pages.

Thanks to Edelweiss and MIRA for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.