Release Day Review: Where She Went by Kelly Simmons

What happens when your worst fear comes true?

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.

Kelly Simmons delivers another gripping novel in Where She Went, an unforgettable story of letting go and the secrets that surface when the person keeping them is gone.

 

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What I thought about Where She Went

 

When I read the blurb to this book, I was immediately intrigued by the story most likely because I have a familiarity with helicopter parents.  I'm also a fan of suspense so I thought it might be interesting.  While I agree with other reviewers that this book is more women's fiction over a thriller or suspense, there are some very suspenseful moments during the story. 

Where She Went is the story of mother Maggie and daughter Emma. Emma is attending a local university in the Philadelphia area and even though her mom lives nearby, she chooses to reside in the dorms at the school.  She also chooses roommates she doesn't know over one of her high school friends. All of this doesn't turn out quite like she expected because the roommates are mean girls and possibly more as Emma starts uncovering what they really do late at night. As a budding journalist, Emma goes to the school paper with what she knows and there she is encouraged to "find the story" which puts her in danger as she attempts to uncover the story about the "sugar babies" recruited at the school. Somewhere during the investigation, she disappears and no one is saying a word about where she might be.

When Maggie hears her daughter is missing,  she immediately goes into cop mode.  Her husband had been on the force before he was shot and Maggie is very familiar in police procedure.  She knows it isn't enough and begins an investigation of her own.  

What I really liked about this story was the way it was told.  The chapters alternate between Maggie and Emma's point of view bringing some nice contrast between these two women and their impressions of what is going on around them. It seems like Maggie really doesn't know what her daughter has been doing at college and there are many people who will tell her that. In spite of these frustrations, it is Maggie that ends up putting the pieces together to figure out what happened to Emma.

I did find the first half of the book a bit on the slow side. I can't put my finger on why, all I know is that I kept looking at my progress on my ereader and thinking I should be farther along in the book.  But the story was engaging enough to want to know what happened to Emma, and although there were some loose ends that never got explained, I did enjoy the last half of the book very much.  

Overall, a suspenseful story of two women that deals with some basic situations like making friends, moving forward and resolving past hurts.

 

An ARC was provided for review.

 

 

About the Author 

 

You can find more information regarding
author Kelly Simmons on her website at 

 

http://www.kellysimmonsbooks.com/