I borrow this audiobook from my library via the Libby app.
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: January 11, 2022
Summary:
The disappearance of a young woman leaves her closest friend reeling and an NYPD homicide detective digging into her own past in this thrilling mystery full of twists from the New York Times bestselling author of The Better Sister and The Wife.
Some pasts won’t stay forgotten . . .
She calls herself Hope Miller, but she has no idea who she actually is. Fifteen years ago, she was found in a small New Jersey town thrown from an overturned vehicle, with no clue to her identity. Doctors assumed her amnesia was a temporary side effect of her injuries, but she never regained her memory. Hope eventually started a new life with a new name in a new town that welcomed her, yet always wondered what she may have left behind—or been running from. Now, fifteen years later, she’s leaving New Jersey to start over once again.
Manhattan defense lawyer Lindsay Kelly, Hope’s best friend and the one who found her after the accident, understands why Hope wants a new beginning. But she worries how her friend will fare in her new East Hampton home, far away from everything familiar. Lindsay’s worst fears are confirmed when she discovers Hope has vanished without a trace—the only lead a drop of blood found where she was last seen. Even more ominously, the blood matches a DNA sample with a connection to a notorious Kansas murderer.
In pursuit of answers, the women search for the truth beneath long-buried secrets. And when their searches converge, what they find will upend everything they’ve ever known.
My thoughts:
It’s been a while since I picked up a book by Alafair Burke and after reading this one, I’m not sure why I have waited so long to read her again. She really is so good at delivering a complex, layered plot with plenty of twists that keep you flipping those pages.
This book is loosely connected to Burke’s Ellie Hatcher series, though it is being marketed as a stand-alone. Not having read any of the books in this series yet, I will say I agree to a certain extent. Was I able to enjoy this book as is in its entirety – yes. Would it have been just a little better had I had some more background knowledge from reading the previous books in the serious – probably. Will I now add the earlier books to my ever-growing tbr – absolutely!
I never get tired of the amnesia trope and it is done so well here. Hope isn’t really Hope and now she is missing and her friend Lindsay is determined to find her, but in doing so uncovers a whole lot more than she bargained for. This book is so layered and complex. There’s a lot of characters to keep track of and while that’s not a problem, it just takes a while to place everyone at first.
I loved the way the mystery unravels, bit by bit. Every time I thought I knew where things might be headed, a new twist would be thrown in to completely mix it all up. There are a few side plots as well that really keep you on your toes.
I enjoyed this one and as I already mentioned, I definitely plan to start this series from the beginning.
Audio thoughts:
This book was narrated by Kathleen Early and she did a really good job bringing this book to life. She had a lot of characters to voice her and I thought she handled that well. Her pacing was spot on and she infused just the right amount of tension and emotion into her voice as needed.
