Where She Went by Kelly Simmons

☆☆1/2
ebook, 304 pages
Published October 1st 2019 by Sourcebooks Landmark
About the Book:
Her only daughter has just gone away to college, and Maggie O'Farrell knows she's turning into one of those helicopter parents she used to mock. Worrying constantly, texting more than she should, even occasionally dropping by the campus "just to say hi." But Maggie can't shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen to Emma. And then, just as Maggie starts to relax, her daughter disappears. The clues are disturbing. An empty dorm room where Emma was supposedly living. A mysterious boy described as Future Husband in her phone. Dormmates who seem more sinister than friendly. As Maggie combs over the campus looking for signs of her daughter, she learns more about Emma's life than she ever thought possible.

The blurb had me thinking this book was everything I could ask for in a guilty pleasure read. Unfortunately, the writing is less than stellar, the characters are lacking in just about every way possible, there is zero chemistry between any of the characters and if I'm being entirely honest, which I always am in my book reviews, the ending felt like it was just thrown out there, and not much back story of it was given, leading to the underwhelming climax.

Kelly Simmons had a great concept here, and she could have developed a fun, fast-paced novel. Like so many other books I've read recently, this book switches between characters...Emma and her mother. The mother's chapters have us searching for Emma and the daughter's chapters take us along on Emma's research for a school newspaper story. If you're expecting thrills, however, you've got the wrong book. I hate this story and I did read it in one sitting, mostly just because I wanted to know what happened.

Thank you NetGalley, Kelly Simmons and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#NetGalley