Quick Synopsis

A thrilling and timely novel about three women with dark secrets whose lives intersect in the picturesque and perilous Yosemite National Park from the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Please Join Us.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Equipped with a burner phone and a new job, Cassie Peters has left her hectic and secretive life in New York City for the refuge of her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. There, she begins working again with Yosemite Search and Rescue, where a case she worked a decade ago continues to haunt her.

She quickly falls into old patterns, joining a group of fellow seasonal workers and young adventurers who have made Yosemite their home during the summer. There, she meets Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with her much older wife, keeping a detailed diary of the goings on of the park, and Jada, a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, documenting their journey on Instagram.

When these three women cross paths, Cassie’s past catches up with her, and the shocking consequences ripple out far beyond what any could have imagined in this unputdownable thriller from an author who “never fails to impress” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author).

Book Review

I am always looking for thrillers with unique plots, settings, or twists. I was excited to stumble upon Have You Seen Her and see that it is set at Yosemite National Park. In fact, I stopped reading the synopsis there and immediately requested a copy. I was excited to dive in largely blind and hoped for a unique thriller that I have not read a version of before.

Have You Seen Her is a mystery that centers on Cassie, a woman who recently fled New York, and is again working on Yosemite National Park’s search and rescue team when a woman goes missing in similar circumstances to the last time Cassie worked at the park.

You may have noticed that I did not call this book a thriller, because it should definitely not be called one. If anything, it is a very slow-burn mystery. For three-quarters of the novel, we learn about Cassie, her day-to-day experiences, and other women visiting the park.

I wish I could say that the suspense helped me push through the slow plot, but there was not much suspense despite the author’s many efforts. Other than some mysterious text messages, the majority of the book slowly unfurls the past that Cassie is running from and the circumstances around a previous rescue Cassie was involved ten years prior. These are the inherent mysteries of the novel until a woman goes missing. The ending felt like it came out of absolutely nowhere.

This book does have a number of positive early reviews, but I do not share that opinion. Many of those glowing reviews mention the “stunning reveal.” I think readers are stunned because the reveal is so incongruous with the rest of the story. There is little build up to the revelation, and it comes out of nowhere because it is not inline with the character development. Other than this dropping of the veil, there are no twists.

Besides this disjointed reveal, the book did not work for several reasons. The plot is largely uneventful and dull. The buildup to the main story took much too long, and when it occurs, it is not very satisfying, just odd. For a story about a search and rescue worker, I expected (and wanted) more action and excitement. I anticipated a novel that described what the rescues were like. Instead, readers are not told about them until after they occur, and no details are provided beyond that they happened. In addition, the nonlinear timeline is not executed well. While I was able to follow it, I think a lot of readers will find it confusing. All of the characters are pretty one-dimensional and difficult to become invested in. To add to all of that, there are a lot of incorrect technical details that the average person knows.

Overall, I was disappointed by Have You Seen Her. I think the ideas the novel is based on are solid, but the execution largely failed. I would only recommend this book if you like slow-burn mysteries and being hit with a twist that comes from out of nowhere.

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