Amber Garza

Whitney had some misgivings when she dropped her increasingly moody teenage daughter, Amelia, off at Lauren's house. But when she goes back the next day, an elderly couple answers the door - Amelia and Lauren aren't there and that she's at the wrong house. As Whitney searches for Amelia, she uncovers a trail of lies her daughter has told her. 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? Author of "When I Was You." Print run 100,000.

Where I Left Her

Good twist at the end, but I always prefer a prologue for closure  

Rebecca Blomberg 

Totally Addicted to Reading

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Where I Left Her by Amber Garza was one of those books which kept me on my toes from start to finish. This not being my first time reading the author's work I looked forward to her latest release. I soon found myself slipping into this twisted and engaging story.

Amber Garza’s latest release introduces Whitney, an overprotective mom. At least that’s what the reader was led to believe. Then she went and did the craziest thing. She dropped her daughter, Amelia, at a friend’s house with knowing anything about the friend. To make the situation worse, she paid scant attention to where she let her off.

Seriously, can she be anymore careless? It took her daughter not returning home for her to realize her lack of vigilance. This is where things got dicey. Whitney, recognizing she should have been more aware, conducts her own search. In conducting her investigation, she uncovers lies and discovers troubling things about her daughter. It is said ‘ the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’, so Whitney should not be surprised by the things she discovered.

The interesting thing about the story are the main characters. Unreliable and unlikeable. Amelia’s actions bordered on obnoxious, and Whitney had no backbone in dealing with her daughter’s behavior.

The reader didn’t know what to believe, with so many versions of the truth being played out, all of which came from Whitney’s perspective. It became clear she had secrets from her past. Secrets she wouldn’t want to see the light of day. The question in the reader’s mind was what role did these secrets play in Amelia’s disappearance? The deeper into the story the reader went, the more the dislike for the characters grew, especially in relation to Whitney.

Despite the reader’s dislike of the characters, which one suspect was the author’s intent, the story proved difficult to set aside. The drama, twists and red herrings made Where I Left her a riveting read. The story moved between Whitney’s past, the time before the drop off and the present. This helped the reader to get a better understanding of the characters’ state of mind.
The story ended on a shocking note. However, it would have been nice to have answers to questions which arose as a result.

Conclusion/Recommendation

Where I Left Her is a riveting tale which shows that there are usually several sides to a story.  In addition, figuring out which side is the right one can prove a challenge. Fans of psychological thrillers should add this to their reading list.This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

Where I Left Her

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