whitneydaniell

by: Kellye Garrett
published: April 30, 2024
genre: Thriller, Mystery
336 pages, E-Book
GoodReads | Amazon

Synopsis

Bree was excited for a romantic getaway to New York City with her new boyfriend, Ty—a chance to escape Baltimore and explore something new. Ty had planned everything, from the train tickets to a luxury rowhouse rental with a stunning Manhattan view. But when Bree wakes up on their last morning, Ty is gone—and a dead woman lies in the foyer.

Now, with both the police and online sleuths demanding answers she doesn’t have, Bree is desperate to find Ty and keep her own secrets buried. With nowhere else to turn and her ex-best friend showing up out of nowhere, Bree is facing her new normal with a lot of unwanted eyes on her.

My Final Thoughts

I try to give all characters the benefit of the doubt early on because, in some cases, the reader needs to be a little naive for the “big reveal” to land. You’re supposed to like the protagonist and immediately distrust the perceived antagonist. Missing White Woman sets up Bree as someone you should root for—someone who’s had a tough time since dropping out of college, stuck in a rut and trying to find her way.

Then there’s Ty. From the start, the book pushes you to dislike him. On paper, he’s everything—handsome, successful, college-educated. But then you see the cracks: he forgets to pick Bree up from the train station, gives her the wrong door code, works constantly, and barely makes time for her.

Maybe I’m a contrarian, but I saw through the setup early on, and something about Bree never sat right with me. She bent too easily to Ty’s whims—too accommodating, too eager to be loved. It was unsettling. And as the story unfolded, I realized I was right.

When Bree wakes up to find Ty missing and a dead white woman at the bottom of the stairs in their Airbnb, her first instinct isn’t self-preservation—it’s Ty. For someone who once wanted to be a lawyer, she clearly never watched a single episode of Law & Order because she does everything a witness, victim, or suspect should not do.

Then there’s Adore—Bree’s childhood best friend turned estranged enemy. I clocked the real reason behind their fallout immediately and wasn’t surprised by how it all played out. As a lawyer, Adore does a terrible job advising Bree, often going along with reckless ideas. A live interview with a TikToker? Really? And speaking of frustrating choices, I hate incompetent police work in books and movies. The detectives here aren’t necessarily incompetent, but they fail to ask the right questions. And to be fair, Bree never volunteers the right information, either.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I read it in one sitting—unexpectedly—but the ending felt incomplete, like a sequel might be coming. I finished with more unanswered questions than resolved ones. Bree lays out a long-winded theory, but the book never confirms if she’s right.

One more small gripe: the COVID references felt inconsistent. The story is set post-pandemic, but masks are only mentioned when someone wants to hide their face, not for safety. There’s a large candlelight vigil where Bree is the only person wearing a mask, yet no mention of social distancing. And during her hotel stay, there’s housekeeping—something that wasn’t standard practice right after the world reopened. It was a small detail, but it bugged me.

Read it, don’t read it—up to you. It wasn’t a favorite, and I wouldn’t revisit it.