FIND ME by Alafair Burke

Book Title: Find Me
Author: Alafair Burke
Series: None
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Published: January 11th 2022 by Harper

REVIEW:

Fifteen years ago, Lindsay Kelly came upon an overturn vehicle and a young woman along the side of the road. When the mystery woman wakes up, she has no clue who she is or what happened to her. She starts over calling herself Hope Miller. When Hope disappears with the only evidence that something isn’t quite right is a missing rug and a blood stain, Lindsay goes on the hunt to find out where her best friend is or what could have happened to her.

FIND ME starts as a slow burn with the meat of the story starting about a quarter of the way in. Alafair constructs two storylines that blend pretty seamlessly together in quite a beautiful way. And equally constructed a perfectly blended story with police procedural, investigative, and court room elements. This is a pretty complex mystery and there is quite a lot going on throughout this story. It felt like there was a lot to piece together, but man, Alafair always delivers on the twists.

I will never enjoy is an influx of new characters being introduced. While there were quite a few along the way, and at times I found myself try to recall who is who, each did feel like a new pivotal layer. Some readers may remember Ellie Hatcher from a series penned by Alafair, but rest assured this story reads as a standalone and familiarity with Ellie isn’t necessary. Ellie and Lindsey’s world intersect when Lindsey, a defense attorney, makes a desperate attempt to investigate a theory following the lack of police involvement in Hope’s missing persons case. Guys and gals, I will ALWAYS look forward to the legal inclusion in Alafair’s novels, always! I am here for it every time! Lindsay really gets into the thick of the investigation that takes place.

This story truly beings to take off around the 50% mark (at least for me it took that long) as Lindsay and Ellie begin to peel apart the onion and find the truth about the Hatcher siblings and Hope’s past. I became fully invested and spinning my own theories, unable to put this book down until its end. Although the story was tied up nicely by its end, I wasn’t fully satisfied overall. Don’t get me wrong, we have some intricate story telling here and Alafair is a master in her craft as a crime fiction writer. This just wasn’t my favorite novel by Alafair, but it was an enjoyable read and I would never pass on reading Alafair’s work.

Many thanks to Harper for gifting me finished copy of this novel.

SYNOPSIS:

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.

With nowhere else to turn, Lindsay calls NYPD homicide detective Ellie Hatcher, the daughter of the cop who dedicated his life to hunting the Kansas killer.  Ellie has always believed there was more to the story of her father’s death twenty years earlier—and she now fears that Hope’s recent disappearance could be related.

In pursuit of answers, three women search for the truth beneath long-buried secrets. And when their searches converge, what they find will upend everything they’ve ever known.