My Thoughts on When They Find Her…

Naomi is a vulnerable young woman who – because of her past and her mental health problems – is struggling. She has no family. Her husband has left her (taking their daughter). And her friends have abandoned her. As a result, her ability to think rationally is severely impaired. Which is why she makes what can only be described as not only a stupid but truly shocking decision – all in the first chapter.

It’s a perfect set-up for a book with so many twists and turns I thought I would get whiplash. Every time I think that Naomi can’t get herself into any deeper of a mess, that she will have to tell the truth, she does something else that just makes you want to reach through the pages and shake some sense into her.

Not that that would probably work because – as her past is told through flashback chapters – you realise just how far ‘gone’ she is. How afraid of life. And afraid of how any mistake she makes will be judged. Because of this, I really felt for her and found myself hoping that – eventually – she would find a way out of the mess she’d got herself in.

Of course, because this is a mystery/suspense novel, there is more to the story than meets the eye. You kind of know this at the beginning – that not all is as it seems – but it is a slow reveal until you realise just what is going on and how much worse it is than you first thought. The fact that I was kept guessing until the last third of the book is a big plus.

Another big plus was the writing itself. This is a debut novel but it is so confidentially written, I had no idea (this was a library find, picked out based on the blurb alone). I really can’t wait to see what Lia Middleton writes next.

Was there anything I didn’t like? For me, the last bit was probably a bit rushed. But this is a minor thing that wouldn’t stop me recommending this. 4/5 stars.

Enjoy!

Emma x

Find on Amazon UK

Find on Amazon US

Find on Goodreads