Where I Left Her

By: Amber Garza

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

"In this high-tension domestic drama, nothing is as it seems. Don’t look away, you won’t want to miss a thing!” —J.T. Ellison, USA TODAY bestselling author of Her Dark Lies

"Garza establishes herself once again as a master of domestic suspense . . . a pitch-perfect thriller.” —Mindy Mejia, bestselling author of Everything You Want Me To Be

From the author of When I Was You comes a spine-tingling new thriller about a mother’s worst nightmare come true, when her teenage daughter goes to a sleepover and doesn’t come back.

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?

The Twists and Turns!

Loved this book - so many unexpected twists. The two stories being told really came together at the end. Couldn't put it down

I enjoyed the story…

Not so much the performance. This narrator seems to view question marks as more of a suggestion than a necessity. Every time a character asked a question, the narrator’s flat monotone was incredibly distracting.

Stunned!!!

This book left me puzzled for so long!! The ending was so worth it. The author really knows how to keep the reader in the dark this was amazing!

Uncommonly good

I really didn’t expect the ending. Chilling! I took off one star for the structure of the story with time jumping. I think most authors keep it firmly within specific chapter that tell you from the start what time period you’re in. This book did that but it also had these excerpts within chapters that time-jumped, and it made it difficult for me to keep track of where we were and what was happening.

Parenting: The Good, The Bad and the Scary

This is a journey of parental exploration. First I thought, “wow, this mom is a gullible pushover”. Then I thought, wow, I’m a gullible pushover. Next, “ok, this mom is a stage 3 clinger”. Then I remembered I have also been a clinger. Finally, I thought… “whoa… wow… holy 💨 ….” well, never-mind, I’m not gonna spoil it for you.

This one is thinker. I have a 16 year old daughter, and teenage girls are basically temporary sociopaths, so the first half was extremely relatable for me. I also can’t imagine being single and trying to date with my 16 year old daughter in the house. There are a lot of perverts out there, so you just never know. Obviously, this wouldn’t be in the thriller section if it didn’t go off the rails at some point, but it took a long time getting there.

For the narration…. I just love Vivienne Leheny, but she is feeling really type-cast right now. She’s playing the same boring role over and over, and I don’t know if it’s 💯 doing her justice. She has the most beautiful voice, perfectly suited for dry sarcasm and just a little something extra that these characters don’t bring. I would love to hear her in something a little less “basic mom” and something a little more ball buster before the past few chapters of a book.