I imagine that psychological thrillers are difficult to get right. The author has to write a compelling story while making sure that any twists are realistic. Authenticity is a must.
Although I have read a few that are so outrageously twisted that they’re enjoyable. I think it has to be either one or the other. There’s no middle ground between the two, at least not if the author wants it to be enjoyable.
In Where I Left Her, the author has created a story that is simple on the surface with an underlying current of darkness that sneaks up on the reader, gradually building until it crashes down in the closing pages, leaving the reader thinking “whoa, what just happened.”
At least, that’s what it did for this reader.
I thought the storytelling in this was masterful. That may seem like a strong word, but it truly was. The author balances a run-of-the-mill “teenage daughter didn’t come home” plot with backstory and details that indicate there is much more going on.
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The author also varies in the storytelling techniques, as we get Whitney’s memories in “real time” flashbacks as she wonders what happened to her daughter. There are also scattered chapters containing true flashbacks to an earlier time…but I wasn’t quite sure who those belonged to up until the very end. At one point, I suspected a completely different character.
I loved the ambiguity of it.
Most interesting to me, however, were the hints dropped in casual conversations and seemingly throwaway references that cast doubt on Whitney’s reliability. The reader knows something happened, as Whitney refers to it often, but it is like her past and her present are on a collision course. She knows it, but at the same time, she doesn’t.
Once the past and present start to converge and answers start to appear, the book kicks into higher gear and keeps that pace right up to the end.
And I do mean the very, very end. When you think the author has answered everything…you’re wrong. Because the biggest revelation is saved for last. And it’s totally worth it. And it will make you question everything that you just read.
I’m not going to say any more about it, because I could spoil it, and I definitely don’t want to do that. Just go get this book; you won’t regret it because it’s a heckuva read. Definitely a top in the genre for this year.
Amber Garza has had a passion for the written word since she was a child making books out of notebook paper and staples. Her hobbies include reading and singing. Coffee and wine are her drinks of choice (not necessarily in that order). She writes while blaring music and talks about her characters like they’re real people. She lives with her husband and two kids in Folsom, California.
