It was a dark and stormy night…but wait, some background. A family has experienced an extremely traumatic incident that has deeply affected Molly Clarke, her (just barely) adult daughter Nicole, son Evan, and forgot-his-name-husband. It’s gotten so bad Nicole has told Molly she hates her, Evan refused to acknowledge Molly’s presence at his school’s football game (after she drove several hours to be there, as she always does), and the forgettable husband has become distant and seems to no longer love her…so, on that dark and stormy night, driving home from the football game, Molly’s car runs out of gas and she vanishes.

That’s the premise of Wendy Walker’s Don’t Look For Me, provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. Molly’s car is found by the side of the road, with her cell phone inside. Several days later, her credit card is used at a hotel where a note is found, allegedly written by her, telling everyone not to look for her, and implying that she went off on her own…a “walkaway.” TBH, it reminded me of the story of Maura Murray, a young woman whose car was found and who just disappeared (with no trace, now immortalized in a gazillion podcasts). There are lots of questions about the trauma the family has suffered, and whether their relationships can overcome that as well as Molly’s disappearance…and how will she get back to safety? and what will be the family’s reaction to her disappearance?

The story is told from the alternating points of view of Molly and Nicole, and there are several twists and turns throughout, with creepy vibes about the town, multiple suspects, and probably several clues to the identity of the villain (although, as is typical, I did not figure it out before the ending, even being fairly certain that a different person was the villain). Clever plotting, good development of suspense, and well written overall. Five stars for the woman-in-danger-psychological-thriller genre.