Review By Kayleigh
Three women, one summer in Yosemite and everyone’s life will change.
Favourite Quote:
The media’s going to go crazy. One couple missing is already a big story – bigger than usual. Jada’s photogenic and already had an online following because of Smokey. And Jim’s dad has connections and he used them to get as much attention as possible. We were just about to wrap this up. The search had been called off , that information about to trickle through the online ecosphere.
But then another person goes missing – a friend of the couple’s? – and now it’s not just a tragedy, it’s a pattern.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Equipped with a burner phone and a new job, Cassie Peters has left her hectic and secretive life in New York City for the refuge of her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. There, she begins working again with Yosemite Search and Rescue, where a case she worked a decade ago continues to haunt her.
She quickly falls into old patterns, joining a group of fellow seasonal workers and young adventurers who have made Yosemite their home during the summer. There, she meets Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with her much older wife, keeping a detailed diary of the goings on of the park, and Jada, a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, documenting their journey on Instagram.
When these three women cross paths, Cassie’s past catches up with her, and the shocking consequences ripple out far beyond what any could have imagined in this unputdownable thriller.
I loved Have You Seen Her – it may be my new favourite Catherine McKenzie (do I say that after every new one of hers? yes!). Have You Seen Her focuses on Cassie, who’s running back to California to escape and hide from her old life. There she crosses paths with Jada and Petal. The story is told through three points of views: first person narrative from Cassie, diary entries from Petal and social media posts from Jada. When Jada goes missing on a hike, Cassie realizes she needs to find out what happened to her for her own safety too.
I loved that you had no idea what was happening, or who was reliable throughout the story. Each of the characters seem both trustworthy and unreliable at different parts of the story. Have You Seen Her was influenced by the Gabby Petito disappearance and murder in 2021 and some of the narrative feels ripped from headlines in a good way.
I really liked Cassie as a character – she’s got secrets that she’s hiding from everyone both from the past and the present. She’s got a complicated history – there’s a reason she left California originally and a reason she’s returned. But she’s trying to make amends and build a new life for herself. She’s tough and layered and willing to work for her own happiness.
Finally, I loved the setting. Yosemite is definitely on my travel list and I really liked spending time in the forests and mountains. Cassie works for the Yosemite Search and Rescue so you get to see the vast area through her eyes and see both the beauty and the danger of the park.
Have You Seen Her is the perfect mix of secrets, revenge and all of the twisty ways we lie in plain sight.
Thank you Simon and Schuster or the ARC in return for an honest review.
