ARC Review: Don't Look For Me

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The absolute first thing I want to say about this book is that the big twist is amazing. I never saw it coming. I quite literally gasped out loud and put my hand over my mouth, the twist was just that good. 

I wanted to make sure I said that first because the rest of the book can move a little slowly. This is a suspenseful read for sure, one that also has a lot of important things to say about families, mothers and daughters, the perception of women, and the heavy weight of guilt. But even though this book takes place over a short span of time, it can feel longer sometimes.

I was engaged throughout the whole story: Molly, the vanished mother, carrying the worst guilt a mother can bear; Nic, her daughter, struggling with her own guilt and attempts to fill her emptiness, while also attempting to find her mother; and the myriad other characters I won't mention for fear of giving anything away. 

But this book took me longer to finish than I thought it would, and I think that's because it just moved at a slower pace. Again, this is not a bad thing in this instance, but I could see how it could be a deterent. I think the big twist packs even more of a punch because of this slower set up, because once that happens, everything starts happening, and my heart was in my throat and I could not put this book down.