02/24/2020
Ally Linden, the narrator of this well-honed thriller from bestseller White (the Bailey Weggins series), arrives one morning at her Manhattan office, wet and bedraggled, with a throbbing headache. Her boss approaches her and asks, “What are you doing here?... You haven’t worked here in years.” A stunned Ally realizes she has no idea where she’s been or where she lives, and that there’s “a thick, dark curtain between this moment and everything that came before it.” She’s diagnosed as being in a dissociative state, caused by a traumatic incident. The questions just keep on coming: what triggered the memory loss, is it connected to a troubling experience in her childhood, who can she really trust to tell her the truth, and why were a handful of blood-soaked tissues stuffed into the pocket of her raincoat? White skillfully maintains the pace until the rushed ending. Even the most jaded reader will be satisfied. Agent: Sandra Dijkstra, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Apr.)
"This gripping psychological suspense tale is hard to put down."
Arms linked, breath held, we drop alongside Ally Linden into Kate White’s dagger-sharp, whip-smart new thriller Have You Seen Me?, the same questions burning like neon signs in our minds. . . . As nimbly plotted as Before I Go to Sleep, as winning as the best of Mary Higgins Clark, Have You Seen Me? showcases Kate White at her formidable best.
03/27/2020
This new stand-alone from the talented White ("Bailey Weggins" series) starts snappily enough: Ally Linden heads to work but realizes she doesn't have her key card. When she does get in, her boss tells her she hasn't worked there for five years. Then she faints. When she comes to in an ambulance, she's understandably confused. She begins to remember details of her life, but even after seeing her husband and accounting for the last five years, she still can't remember where she was or what she was doing for the past two days. The rest of this uneven suspense novel has Ally plumbing her memory and tracking down clues—including bloody tissues in her coat pocket—to find out what happened. Her best friend is out of town and her husband is strangely distant, though concerned. Worried that something terrible occurred while she was "out," Ally turns to her loving brother and her therapist, even a private investigator, for help. She also has the feeling she's being watched, but by whom? VERDICT White spends much time describing fancy apartments and houses, what characters are wearing, what they eat and drink, some of which her readers expect and enjoy, but in this outing it tends to slow down the narrative Still, White's ability to write realistic characters and twisty plots make this worthwhile. [See Prepub Alert, 9/30/19.]—Liz French, Library Journal
2020-01-27
A woman suffers memory loss due to trauma; her search for truth may end up being the most dangerous decision of all.
When Ally Linden arrives at work one morning, she’s shocked to find out that she hasn’t actually worked at this office for years. Somehow, she’s suffered a dissociative episode, and while the memories of the past eventually come flooding back, she still cannot remember anything that happened over the previous two days. Alarmed, she seeks out her therapist, her friends, her husband, trying to put the pieces together. There’s been tension in her marriage because her husband is pressuring her to have children, so when Ally finds out they had a fight the night before she “disappeared,” the root of her memory loss seems clear. However, there are still too many loose ends: Why were there bloody tissues in the pocket of her coat? What happened to her cellphone? And could any of this be related to a murder investigation from her childhood? Not sure whom she can trust, Ally hires a private detective who then ends up murdered. One thing’s for certain: Someone will go to any lengths to prevent Ally from recovering her memory. White (Such a Perfect Wife, 2019, etc.) provides the twists and shocks that any reader of domestic thrillers expects and savors, but she also manages to use some of our expectations to create clever dead ends. Ally’s need for self-discovery has an immediacy, of course, but also a larger resonance, as she begins to realize that she hasn’t always made choices that are completely authentic or independent. Perhaps recovering her memory will be the first step in a larger quest to find herself.
An engaging novel that turns some clichés of recent thrillers on their heads.
Arms linked, breath held, we drop alongside Ally Linden into Kate White’s dagger-sharp, whip-smart new thriller Have You Seen Me?, the same questions burning like neon signs in our minds. . . . As nimbly plotted as Before I Go to Sleep, as winning as the best of Mary Higgins Clark, Have You Seen Me? showcases Kate White at her formidable best.” — AJ Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
“A well-honed thriller. . . . White skillfully maintains the pace. . . . Even the most jaded reader will be satisfied.” — Publishers Weekly
“Intense, nonstop suspense. . . . You won’t want to miss the stunning conclusion.” — Book Reporter
“Provides the twists and shocks that any reader of domestic thrillers expects and savors, but she also manages to use some of our expectations to create clever dead ends...An engaging novel that turns some clichés of recent thrillers on their heads.” — Kirkus Reviews
"This gripping psychological suspense tale is hard to put down." — Booklist
"White is a master at creating sympathetic characters, and from the first pages of the novel through to its impressive twist ending, Ally is likeable, relatable, and compelling." — The Big Thrill
"Kate White has done it again. Her latest novel, Have You Seen Me? stars Ally, who shows up at her old job with no memory of why she shouldn’t be there. White starts with a bang and keeps the suspense high throughout, weaving together a labyrinth of buried memories and disturbing revelations that blur the lines between what's true and what’s not. An addictive, up-all-night stunner." — Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of Dear Wife
“Well-executed...The smaller the town, the bigger (and dirtier) its secrets.” — Kirkus Reviews
"White is a master at creating sympathetic characters, and from the first pages of the novel through to its impressive twist ending, Ally is likeable, relatable, and compelling."
Intense, nonstop suspense. . . . You won’t want to miss the stunning conclusion.
"Kate White has done it again. Her latest novel, Have You Seen Me? stars Ally, who shows up at her old job with no memory of why she shouldn’t be there. White starts with a bang and keeps the suspense high throughout, weaving together a labyrinth of buried memories and disturbing revelations that blur the lines between what's true and what’s not. An addictive, up-all-night stunner."
