By: Jessica Strawser
Narrator: Erin Mallon
ISBN: 978-1662510236
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: 10/22/2024
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
One impulsive decision changes the lives of two best friends forever in a powerful novel of suspense by USA Today's bestselling author of The Last Caretaker.
If Lark and Mikki didn’t have each other, they’d have nothing in this miserable town.
So the best friends stick together, working the night shift at the highway travel stop, going nowhere fast. Until a stranger drops in, heading for Florida, and Mikki impulsively leaves with him, never to be seen again.
Eight years later, Lark is finally getting her life back together for the sake of her young daughter and Mikki’s lovably prickly grandma, who can no longer care for herself. People have almost stopped blaming Lark for Mikki’s disappearance, and she’s engaged to the nicest guy on highway patrol. But nobody knows what to believe when the stranger who drove Mikki away reappears and asks for her.
As the search reignites, Lark fights to determine whether Mikki is missing or doesn’t want to be found. But piecing together the chain of events set into motion that fateful night could threaten everything—and everyone—Lark has left.
My Review
Master storyteller Jessica Strawser returns following The Last Caretaker with CATCH YOU LATER —a riveting story of mystery and two best friends with big dreams in a small town.
One takes the chance and leaves town, never to return, leaving the other behind with an ongoing mystery of her whereabouts in this captivating and riveting suspense that will keep you glued to the pages into the wee hours of the morning!
About...
In Ohio, two best friends, Lark Nichols (pregnant) and Mikki Jensen, work the night shift at the highway travel stop. They both dream of escaping this miserable town and sticking together.
However, one impulsive decision changes the trajectory of their lives.
A stranger, Chris Redmond, pulls into the travel stop in a convertible BMW and is headed to Amelia Island, FL, for a wedding. Mikki leaves with him, thinking of a weekend trip and a chance to see the ocean. Saying, 'Catch you later.' (a fitting title)
However, things do not go as planned in Florida, and Mikki does not return with an ongoing mystery of her whereabouts.
The night Mikki left, Lark was worried and annoyed for her friend, but she had not dreamed she would never see her again. Then, nine months later, she was drowning in grief and exhaustion with a new infant.
In the meantime, Lark is left to care for a prickly grandmother, Nini, who is a complex and intriguing character who cannot care for herself. She also has a daughter, Dove, whom she is raising as a single parent and later engages in a relationship with a highway patrolman.
Then, eight years later, the stranger shows up and asks Lark about Mikki, opening up a search for her missing friend.
What happened to Mikki? Is she really missing, dead, or perhaps she does not want to be found? Dead or alive? Where is she, and why hasn't she been in touch with her best friend? The palpable suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat, eager to uncover the truth.
My thoughts...
As a massive fan of the author, having read all of her books, I found CATCH YOU LATER to be one of my favorites! From the gorgeous front cover to the perfect setup, the author cleverly draws you into the world of these two best friends.
Can you imagine working in a dead-end town, meeting so many night travelers at a travel stop, and impulsively leaving with a virtual stranger? Two lonely girls want to see the ocean and dream of a better life. The stage is set, and the mystery and intrigue follow Mikki and Lark back home.
Alternating between Lark-NOW (2024) and Mikki-THEN (2016), we see all the drama unfolding from the Florida road trip to the wedding and afterward. Readers will be dying to discover what happened to Mikki in this exciting adventure of love and loss.
Mikki is torn between leaving her best friend and having the time of her life in a once-in-a-lifetime shot with a stranger named Chris Redmond as his plus-one at his sister's wedding in Amelia Island.
How far will she go to protect the ones she loves?
Powerful, twisty, gripping!
Atmospheric and emotional, CATCH YOU LATER is cleverly told, and Strawser keeps you on the edge of your seat in this heartbreaking domestic suspense of friendship, regrets, desires, mystery, adventure, a road trip, and intrigue with thriller vibes. The atmospheric storytelling will immerse you in the characters' worlds, making their experiences feel real and intense.
Recs...
CATCH YOU LATER is for fans of the author and those who enjoy a well-written mystery—and those who enjoy books by: Mary Kubica, Heather Gudenkauf, Christina McDonald, Susan Redfearn, and Susan Walter.
Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 22, 2024
On a personal note...
I love Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach: As a former Regional Sales and Design Manager for a developer in Florida (which brought me to Florida 24 years ago), I had the opportunity to oversee new luxury developments, waterfront, and golf communities in Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach. I love the area and have spent much time there riding bikes and later consulting for inns as my aunt and uncle lived there on the water (he was like the Mayor). I adore the quaint stores, restaurants, the resort, and charming B&Bs. You must attend the Christmas tours! A favorite area and I loved the book setting (even though the Topaz Resort was fictional based on the Omni - which I also enjoy). I have also stayed at the Topaz Flagler Beach, which is an older quaint hotel on the beach.
Praise
“Strawser increases tension by telling both stories propulsively, leading readers hanging from one chapter to the next…Readers will flock to this fresh take on the missing-girl trope.” ―Booklist (starred review)
“Where did Mikki go? That’s the central question of this tightly plotted psychological suspense. Jessica Strawser deftly explores female friendships, the ties that bind you to the place you’re from, and the things that can pull you away from everything―and everyone―you know. Along with trying to solve the mystery at the heart of this fantastic read, I found myself wondering whether I’d make the same choices, which is what all the best novels do. Pick this one up. You won’t regret it.”
―Catherine Mack, USA Today bestselling author of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
“A powerful story about the bonds of friendships and the lengths we’d go to protect the people we love, Catch You Later is full of emotion and nail-biting suspense, propelling you to keep turning pages until the very last word.”
―Lyn Liao Butler, Amazon bestselling author of Someone Else’s Life
“Jessica Strawser has written some great books, but Catch You Later is her best one yet. A powerful and suspenseful story of the way a young person’s snap decision reverberates through the years―and a haunting meditation on lost youth, roads taken and not taken, and the enduring bonds that tie us all together. Tell your friends, your family, and your book club to put this one on the top of the TBR pile!”
―David Bell, New York Times bestselling author of She’s Gone and Storm Warning
“Wish fulfillment has never been more intriguing when a small-town girl is swept away by a beguiling stranger, never to return. Strawser will make you ravenous to know what happened in this absorbing tale of friendship, adventure, love, and loss. Sinister, heartbreaking, and masterfully told, Catch You Later will stay with you long after you put it down.”
―Susan Walter, bestselling author of Good as Dead and Running Cold
“Jessica Strawser’s Catch You Later is exactly the kind of smart, twisty, heartbreaking, and ultimately satisfying novel that I love; a book with totally relatable characters which raises so many questions I knew within the first pages that I was going to devour every word until I reached the end. Don't think you can guess where the story is going; just put yourself in Strawser's capable hands and enjoy the ride!”
―Karen Dionne, author of the #1 international bestseller The Marsh King’s Daughter and The Wicked Sister
“My favorite Jessica Strawser novel yet, Catch You Later kept me off-balance and loving it for the entire read. Every time I thought I knew where we were going, the story took a thrilling new turn…This book was one of the best road trips I've ever been on!”
―Suzy Krause, bestselling author of Sorry I Missed You
“Hypnotic, elegant, and beguiling, Catch You Later is a beautifully written story about the power of female friendships. There’s a compelling mystery, emotional depth, and tightly plotted twists, but where this book really shines is its characters…Smart, textured, and with a dark, atmospheric heart.”
―Christina McDonald, USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author
About the Author
Jessica Strawser is the USA Today bestselling author of The Last Caretaker, The Next Thing You Know, A Million Reasons Why, Forget You Know Me, Not That I Could Tell, and Almost Missed You. She was editorial director at Writer’s Digest for nearly a decade before becoming a novelist. Jessica is also a Career Authors contributing editor, a popular speaker at writing conferences across the US, and freelance editor and writer with bylines in the New York Times Modern Love column, Publishers Weekly, and other venues. A Pittsburgh native and Outstanding Senior alum of the top-ranked E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, she lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she served as 2019 Writer-in-Residence for the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library. For more information, visit www.jessicastrawser.com.
Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Jessica
