Name: We Were Never Here
ISBN: 9781984820464

Andrea Bartz

A backpacking trip has deadly consequences in this "eerie psychological thriller . . . with alluring locales, Hitchcockian tension, and possibly the best pair of female leads since Thelma and Louise" (BookPage), from the bestselling author of The Lost Night and The Herd. "Bartz takes the idea of a 'frenemy' to new heights. . . . [An] expert vivisection of female modes of communication and competition."--Los Angeles Times (Best Books for Summer Beach Reading) A Marie Claire Book Club Pick - Named One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year by Oprah Daily, BuzzFeed, Reader's Digest, Men's Journal, and CrimeReads Emily is having the time of her life--she's in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of the trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she brought back to their room attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year's trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can't believe it's happened again--can lightning really strike twice? Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving headfirst into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their cover-ups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can Emily outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom--even her life?

A Novel

We Were Never Here

Cori

Dnf, tried so hard but I couldn’t finish.... not good

I found this book to be quite boring. It is well written and the premise is interesting, but... everything happens in the first few chapters and there's really no mystery to it for the rest of the book. At some point I hoped for a twist, or that I got it wrong in the beginning and the end would be interesting and a complete shock, but no. Everything was exactly as it seemed, so reading the entire thing felt like a waste of time. The ending is also really bad in my opinion. 

Roberta

Mae Erceg

THIS BOOK! I couldn’t put it down. I loved the thrill of every single moment reading this. The main character is so relatable, the best friend is the friend everyone wants them wishes they had “been careful what they wished for”, and the boyfriend is so cute ! We all need one of him. I loved this book so much, 5/5 stars and 100% recommending !

This was such a shitshow. I almost DNF’d but knew it would be a quick read so I pushed through hoping it would get better… it sadly did not. The characters were so annoyingly bad. The plot of this story was entirely unbelievable. This was just a big no for me.

BROOKE A

Rebecca Obrien

** spoiler alert **
           I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a really quick read. But the one thing I will say is I’m disappointed we didn’t get a Kristen point of view. I wished we got everything from her POV as well as Emily’s as I feel that Emily is actually the one lying about what happened.. maybe it’s just me that felt that way but that end Sentence made me convinced Emily was hiding something more. She was cleared of the murder… why would she need to come up with a fake name? Aaron too? The ending really confused me if she was cleared and telling the full truth. But other then that I really enjoyed it

It was a okay read. Just a little bit too predictable.  

Brittany Weitz

It was a okay read. Just a little bit too predictable.  



Kristen Claiborn

I tell you what, those Kristens are some crazy bitches! My first question when I started this book was why two women decided on remote areas of Chile for their annual vacation. There are a lot of places I’d like to see, and random mountain towns in Chile aren’t even close to being on the backup list. While I do understand the desire to see places off the beaten path, it just seemed unlikely to me that two women traveling alone would pick such remote destinations. I also found it so odd that they didn’t contact the authorities in either location. I have a tendency to have faith on police and the legal system, so the choices these two women made really irked me. Of course, that might be me and my naïve optimism, but that still effects how I react to literature. 
	That all aside, this was an edge-of-your-seat book. I couldn’t focus on anything until I got to the end. We all (at least I assume) figured out pretty early on that Kristen was bad news, so then we just tried to figure out how Emily was going to extract herself from that situation. It was indeed gripping, if not somewhat predictable. It’s definitely worth reading if you’re a fan of thrillers.

Molly Morgan

Um, this book was okay. You can surmise the entire plot by the first few chapters. I had to skim over a lot of the Kristin being a "toxic friend" shit, because it was repetitive and very obnoxious. Overall the character development wasn't great.

Really a lot of the long winded quotes about pain, fear, suffering, made my eyes roll. Also "his clothes formed a casserole by his body”? Ridiculous. 

I'm not sure if I'd recommend this, unless you're very new to thrillers? But even then.. I have better suggestions to dip your toes in with.

Megan Snodgrass

3

I love thrillers/whodunnits on audio. That’s typically my go to when I’m driving (when I’m not listening to reality shows podcast). This one was a bit different since you start off knowing who killed who and what goes down.. so you’re thinking, am I just waiting for them to get caught? What’s up? So with that I will say it took a bit to ramp up to get to the meat of what was going on. HOWEVER I did like the spidey senses you get reading it.. like hmm I think something is up. I appreciated it was a different type of thriller, just think it could have been shorter.

Serve, they’re like the older version of Remyelise (tbh they don’t act like 30 yo… but anyway)

Cheri McElroy

A great ride that’s more thriller than mystery. Emily and Kristen have been best friends for over a decade. But when Emily meets Aaron, will their friendship survive? Especially considering the two bodies they’ve buried together.

A fast read, perfectly paced. It was a fun ride.

Alyssa Huffman

this was INSANE. i'm literally scared shitless. usually i hate scary books, i love my happy cheesy romance, but i think i enjoyed this. and the last line of the book made me SO UNEASY but was that done on purpose or am i just traumatized???

Megan

Slow to start, I found it really difficult to get into but I was determined to read it since it was a Reese pick. The ending was alright. I’d recommend if there wasn’t much else to read and you had this laying around.

Kristina B

This book had a strong interesting start for me, but I didn’t care for the ending “twists”

Avery Baumel

I'm counting this in my list of weird true crime/horror novels because it basically is one, so it gets -1 just for that and then -2 for being entirely odd and not even good writing. again, why on earth do i keep reading these. on a side note I made it to may of my libby reads!!!

Alex Flagg

How? Honestly, HOW is this one of Reese Witherspoons book club picks? 



This book was so boring and predictable I almost didn’t finish it (which I have never done). Truthfully, I dont have anything good to say about it and I’ll leave it at that.

Alexandra Rand

I devoured this book, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. So good!

Leigh Osborne

Ipshita Kanungo

3.7⭐ This was...quite enjoyable. Seems a really wrong word for a pyschological thriller but that's what I felt. It was thrilling, i wanted to keep reading. I think that makes it pretty good. The plot though...it was almost what i suspected from the very beginning. Like few chapters in & uk how it's gonna end. Had some minor twists here & there but nothing major that changed the course of the main plot/the big picture. So if you enjoy some action, the writing style, the execution & the way things unfold then u'll like this but if u r all for big last minute plot twists that'll leave u wide eyed then u won't be getting that here. A tiny bit of me also wished for the whole thing to turn around & not end the way it did even when I knew that's the only logical way but am a sucker for female friendships so....i really wanted it to be alright between both of 'em. The whole thing about the confident friend always being in the wrong throws me off (seen that in a lot of thrillers). Also why does the 'shy innocent bla bla bla' lead always gets a happy ending? Ik she went thr stuff but that doesn't excuse her actions, duh. 

 


NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “This book is every suspense lover’s dream and it kept me up way too late turning pages. . . . A novel with crazy twists and turns that will have you ditching your Friday night plans for more chapters.”—Reese Witherspoon A backpacking trip has deadly consequences in this “eerie psychological thriller . . . with alluring locales, Hitchcockian tension, and possibly the best pair of female leads since Thelma and Louise” (BookPage), from the bestselling author of The Lost Night and The Herd. A Marie Claire Book Club Pick • Named One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year by Oprah Daily, BuzzFeed, Reader’s Digest, Men’s Journal, and CrimeReads Emily is having the time of her life—she’s in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of the trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she brought back to their room attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year’s trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again—can lightning really strike twice? Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving headfirst into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their cover-ups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can Emily outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom—even her life?

Kelly Westraat 

This book was very interesting, you didn't see those twists coming 
In my opinion, the author didn't describe  the characters well enough , I didn’t know what Emily or Kristen looked like, so i had to make up what they looked like 
Otherwise it was really interesting and a good book. 

Fellowes Cynthia

I rarely give books five stars, but I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book!!! My first book by this author, but she is now on my faves list. I couldn't stop turning the Kindle pages - it never disappointed. So often lately, books fall apart halfway through. I loved her descriptions - the way she puts words together. As an aspiring writer myself, I really noticed her word play and thought it was magical. The plot - two best friends travelling the world - and the (NO SPOILERS, I PROMISE - I HATE KNOWING MUCH ABOUT PLOTS AHEAD OF TIME) situations that happen on their travels, was mesmerizing. Highly recommended.

Nadine 

Strong "Single white female" predatory and claustrophobic / co-dependant friendship vibes in this book. Add a bit of (self) analysis on how weak parental bonding affects people into their adulthood plus quite shocking twists.
Not a bad quick read.

Lauren Attaway

I am so glad none of the co-dependent friendships of my twenties ended without anything more than hurt feelings. 

Emily and Kristen have been best friends for ten years when we join them on a trip to Chile. When Kirsten is attacked and they end up with a dead body in their room-Emily is forced to Kristen the first dead body they racked up on the trip the year before, and the too-similar situation. Emily begins to wonder if they’re really that unlucky, if or Kristen is really that dangerous.

This book is just full of paranoia/claustrophobia as Emily panics while Kristen appears unbothered. Their friendship and the power balance are so fascinating. This book includes one of the better depictions of a therapist that I’ve read, as she feels true to life without being plot-serving. The tension in this book is just incredible. All of the early buzz for this book felt well-earned. The perfect friendship thriller, which is fast becoming one of my favorite thriller areas. 

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

REESE WITHERSPOON'S NEW BOOK CLUB PICK YOUR BEST FRIEND KILLED A MAN. NOW SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP . . . BUT CAN YOU REALLY TRUST HER MOTIVES? 'A nail-biting immersive whirl of a read . . . We Were Never Here is every woman's worst nightmare, and every thriller lover's dream' Zakiya Dalila Harris, bestselling author of THE OTHER BLACK GIRL ________ On holiday in Chile with her best friend Kristen, Emily is having the time of her life. Until one night, she finds their hotel suite covered in blood. Kristen claims a backpacker attacked her. She shouted, but no-one heard. She struggled, but he was too strong. She had no option but to kill him. With no evidence of the assault, Emily must help her hide the body. . . Back home, Emily tries to forget what happened, but a surprise visit from Kristen forces her to confront the events of that night. As the walls close in, Emily asks herself: can her closest friend be trusted? ________ 'A master of the timely thriller' BuzzFeed 'A sharp, unsettling thriller about power, obsession, and the inescapable grip of the past' Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All The Missing Girls 'A riveting psychological thriller' Publishers Weekly

Reese Witherspoon’s new Book Club Pick, this summer’s most compelling gripping and twisty thriller

Joanna Almodovar 

For starters.. this book is sick and twisted in the best possible ways.. starts out in a confusing note, but then all the pieces of the puzzle drift together. 

Emily and Kristen are best friends who seem to have it all and get to enjoy the beauty of traveling the world.. but certain “accidents” seem to follow. 

This book took me on a thrilling roller coaster. Easily for me a 5 star read. Dark, twisty, and intense.. I definitely would recommend!! Great way to close out my November reading month! 

We Were Never Here A Novel