Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie review: A thrilling ride that leaves you guessing

If you’re looking for a thriller with a social media element to it, Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie is the book for you.

Disclaimer: I got an advance copy of this book thanks to Netgalley in return for an honest review.

For those ready for another thriller, there’s a release coming on Tuesday, June 27. It’s all about a woman who just wants to escape her life. Isn’t that the same with a lot of these books? However, this time, instead of escaping to somewhere new, she heads to her past.

This is certainly one of those intriguing books where you don’t know what happened at the beginning. In fact, you don’t even know who died at first. Then there’s an Instagram influencer and a bear thrown in for good measure!

What is Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie about?

The book starts with us following Cassie, who is leaving her life in New York behind to head back to Mammoth. She is leaving her husband, and we come to find out that there’s potentially some sort of domestic violence or at least mental abuse that she’s trying to escape from. She goes as far as getting rid of her phone and getting a burner.

She’s heading back to a job she had decades ago as a Search and Rescue (SAR) as Yosemite Park. While there, she comes across a just-out-of-college influencer Jada and a woman called Petal living in a trailer with her much-older wife.

The three women’s lives interconnect, but there’s one big question looming over the whole story. What happened while in the park?

You see, the story is told in two timelines: Now and just months earlier. We find out that Cassie was involved in some incident in the woods and she and a dead body had to be rescued out of the park. On top of that, there’s a bear that’s on “trial.”

Why read Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie

The novel will certainly keep you on your toes. With it being told in two timelines, it takes time to find out what actually happened in the park. All we know is there’s a body and Cassie was involved somehow. It takes about a third of the way into the book to find out who the body belongs to. It takes much longer to figure out what actually happened.

Have You Seen Her shows how one decision can lead to a million unexpected events. There’s a look at how sometimes you should just stay out of everyone’s business, and we get a range of personalities all coming together, which always mean trouble, right?

This is certainly a quick read. I was finished within a couple of days as it comes in at less than 300 pages. That’s not a bad thing. Sometimes, you want something that’s uncomplicated but still thrilling. This is a story that doesn’t drag things out. The story is fast-paced with a mixture of Cassie’s story, Jada’s Instagram posts, and Petal’s diary entries.

I guess my only complaint is that Cassie leaving her husband was a little cliche. But hey, you can’t always be original with everything!

Stars: 4.5 out of 5.

Get Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie on Amazon.