Before She Disappeared is a psychological thriller focusing on Frankie, who spends her time finding missing people who the police have stopped looking for. She arrives in a tough Boston neighbourhood to help find Angelique Badeau, a High School student is still missing after several months.
This is the first Lisa Gardner book I’ve read, and it is a stand alone novel unlike some of her others. Fans of this genre will enjoy the twisty plot line that keeps you guessing.

I think this book is gripping and, yet again, Lisa Gardner, has written an engrossing novel.

Her characterisation of the main character, Frankie, was brilliant and I was rooting for her to succeed in her mission. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Frankie Elkin solves cold cases for missing people. The police had stopped looking into these cases. One such missing person case takes her to Mattapan, a rough Boston neighborhood. Angelique Badeau disappeared outside of her school eleven months back. Angelique Badeau’s disappearance felt weird to Frankie. And to top that, she faced reluctance from Angelique’s family and the local Boston PD.
But someone in Mattapan doesn’t want the truth to come out. They will go to any lengths to stop her from investigating.

Before she disappeared follows the story of Frankie Elkin, who is fighting her demons. Her strength comes from solving these cold cases. She is a recovering alcoholic and goes to AA meetings diligently and found one in Mattapan too. Her knack for solving unsolved cases takes her to different parts of the country. She does this for her fulfillment and doesn’t make money out of it. She has a flair for asking the right questions and makes mindful observations to solve the case. The book starts with a fantastic opening, and it is a window that gives the reader a glimpse of Frankie and her involvement in this investigative business.

Angelique Badeau is a Haitian immigrant with dreams of becoming a doctor. She is a dedicated student, and her family loves her. But the day she goes missing, her younger brother Emmanuel is in despair. He wants nothing but her sister to come back home. He plays an important in her search.

The story moves smoothly and keeps thrilled, moving from one page to other. The case is not complicated but, the close-knit community of Mattapan is tough to penetrate. There are few characters, and they are easy to navigate through. Det Lotham, who was reluctant to help Frankie, initially comes around to help her eventually.

Lisa Gardner’s writing is impeccable and pulls you to keep flipping the pages. The author also described the neighborhood with so many intricate details that the readers can imagine the scenes with ease.
The book deals with sensitive issues of the current times, and the author handled them well.

Before she disappeared is a crime thriller with an amateur detective with a rock-like determination to solve missing cases.

My rating for the book is 3.5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review

I read this book in a day and loved every page. Following the story of a recovering alcoholic who travels across America to find missing people I loved our main character Frankie from the start.

With a tragic past and over 9 years sober Frankie has yet to find any of the people she has searched for alive. Moving to a town in Boston to search for a 15 year old missing for just under a year we are introduced to a fantastic cast of characters.

The story is gripping with the end extremely satisfying and I loved that Frankie's past was teased right until the last chapter.

My only wish is that this does not remain a stand alone and we get a Frankie series.

A stand-alone novel from a very good writer

I have read a few books by Lisa Gardner and have never been disappointed. She always writes about interesting characters and the plot makes you want to read on and on. This book is no different and Frankie Elkin immediately grabs your attention and you are on her side right from the beginning.

Frankie is a middle-aged white woman with multiple problems in her past including a damaging relationship and her constant fight against her alcoholism. She has decided to make her life meaningful by devoting her last 10 years to trying to find missing people whom the police have stopped searching for. We discover that she has been 100% successful but has never found one alive.

She arrives in Boston drawn by the story of a 15-year-old black girl, Angelique Badeau, who had disappeared 11 months ago The trail has gone cold but this does not deter Frankie, neither does the fact that she is working in Mattapan, a black area of Boston where no one wants to help her. She also takes a job in a bar despite being a recovering alcoholic and starts asking questions that do not appear to have been asked.

Although the actual story kept me interested right until the end I feel the real strength of the book is in the main character, Frankie and the various other people that she comes into contact with during her investigation. These are real people struggling with real problems far away from the affluent part of Boston. Frankie can reach out to people completely different from herself and get them to confide in her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but was slightly disappointed at the ending concerning Frankie. However this is a compliment to the author that I was rooting for her character and I would hope that maybe, in the future, we could see another book featuring the same person.

Dexter

Elite Book Group received a copy of the book to review

“Maybe the question shouldn’t be why am I doing this, but why isn’t everyone looking?”

Frankie Elkin is a middle aged alcoholic bartender, though 9 years sober, and she is the one who is looking for those who are missing when it seems everyone else has forgotten about them. Frankie is brought to Mattapan, a Boston neighbourhood with a rough reputation, her mission: to find Angelique Badeau; a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school 11 months earlier. Experiencing some resistance from Boston PD and the family to start with, she soon learns she's asking questions someone doesn't want answered. But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing could be her.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The first Lisa Gardner book I have read and her first standalone in 20 years, she has well and truly sucked me into the life that Frankie leads. Based on the real civilians across the world that spend their time looking for the missing, it was a really interesting premise for a story and she pulled it off so well.
Complete with diverse characters, with a wide range of personalities they all worked so well together. Viv and Piper the homicidal cat were probably some of my favourites. I loved the relationship between her and Detective Lotham, a slow burning but charged relationship. I’m really pleased that their growing affections did not distract them from the job.
One intriguing side plot running alongside and a chance to see more into Frankie’s past and realise why she is the way she is. With the alcoholic part of her personality, it was nice to see her discuss openly about it and get the support from going to AA meetings as well.
TW: Alcoholism, AA Meetings, grief. Missing children, violence and gangs.
Overall I loved the whole story, the relationships, the way she works and the honest and raw feelings she has to deal with about her past and her career. It may have been my first Lisa Gardner book, but it won't be my last.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
4.5/5

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Lisa Gardner for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Before She Disappeared is a fabulous, gritty read.

A gripping storyline with well-rounded, believable characters.

I would highly recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lisa Gardner has done it again! Before She Disappeared is a standalone thriller about Frankie, an ordinary person who looks for missing people after the police and rest of the world have given up. The characters are well-developed and feel real. I thoroughly enjoyed the character Frankie. The story has a nice amount of suspense and twists throughout. Highly recommended to those who enjoy mysteries.

I'd never read any Lisa Gardner crime novels before, but I'm glad I started with this one. It's a stand alone, but I'm hoping it's the first of a few if she decides to write a series.

The narrative introduces Frankie ,a loner who moves from place to place, searching out people who have gone missing and who have never been found. She's tough, determined and likeable. She has a talent for talking to people, for finding information and convincing people to help her.

This story focusses on her search for a young girl called Angel. She finds a job working in a bar, and although the environment is hostile, she wins people over - and even manages to befriend the nasty cat that lives in her rooms above the bar. In my opinion what carries a good crime novel is the personality of the main character and forming a connection with them. Frankie has personality in spades. I found myself rooting for her and wanting to read more about her. When she moves on, inevitably, I felt slightly bereft.
It's a great read, a strong narrative and I enjoyed it immensely.

May we have more, please?

WIth thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the copy in return for an honest review.

Frankie Elgin has for the last 10 years been finding missing people . She has successfully found sixteen missing people.
She is also a recovering alcoholic .
She carries all her belongings in her bag to go wherever the missing people are from.
The new missing girl is Angelique who has been missing for eleven months . She lived with her auntie and brother and was last seen leaving school.
Frankie delves into finding out what happened to the girl and finds out another 15 year old has gone missing too.
Are the two cases connected
Great Read
Thanks NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book. Detective Frankie is a recovering alcoholic who travels around the country solving missing person cases, whilst dealing with her own personal demons. This story is about 15 year old Angelique who goes missing on her way from high school in Boston. This is a well plotted story with non stop action and leaves you rooting for her, a real rollercoaster read, very well written..

This made me want to read more Lisa Gardner! So more-ish and really felt Frankie's feelings throughout. Will definitely be recommending this one!

I liked different things in this really good book a recovering alcoholic that wants to find and care about people that are still missing I was hooked from the start

A fast paced police procedure with a difference. A civilian comes into town who excels in finding missing people. She does it for no reward. Its a fast paced story with lots of twists and turns. Some slightly far fetched events but hey it makes for a great story! It all kicks off in days with Frankie finding her first clue to the missing girl. Great descriptives of a very undesirable suburb of Boston, however, despite the fear some great characters come out it. A good read with a unique story.

Angelique Badeau is known as Lili to her friends lives with her brother Emmanuel and her Aunt Guerline their mother lived on Haiti and sent the kids over after the last big storm as they called it
Lili is an A grade student wants to be a doctor attends all her classes and does after school classes too so why has she suddenly walked out of school and not been seen for the last eleven months
Along comes Frankie Elkin she is no cop, no reporter just an ex alcoholic who looks for missing people so far she has found them but been too late they were all ready dead
This time she is determined to find Lili alive. So she finds a job in a bar and it comes with a flat she can live in and she starts at the beginning talking with the family and looking at where Lili lived where she went to school who were her friends.
She talks to the cop working the case Detective Latham who shows her eventually what they have having checked her out. He agrees to her help and they start to unpick a complicated web of fake ids and other missing girl
This book has so many twists and turns I had no idea how it would end it was not how I thought but it will certainly keep you reading to the very end

'Before She disappeared' a standalone novel by Lisa Gardner will take you on a journey to uncover the reason and story behind the disappearance of Angellique. Built into the story is the intrigue and journey for the reader to understand the proagonist Frankie Elkin. The combination of these two aspects brings about a journey with lot of suspense and thrill.

Frankie Elkin in a recovering alcoholic whose misson in life is too look for missing people. She comes into the Matappan community of Boston. As she is the only white woman in the neighborhood, she not only has to become a part of the community to solve the mysterious disappearance of Angelique and also to deal with the law enforcement agency.

This story is thrilling with a lot of suspense. Apart from the case, Frankie Elkin's way of getting to solve the mystery is what kept me hooked to the story. Her way at interpreting and trying to understand the various people in the story and also her efforts to become a part of the community is what was very interesting. Her relationship with the Boston PD and her point of view of things is very engaging.

If you love to read mysteries then this one is for you. If you love to read stories with many characters and understand the complexity of realtionships then this is definitely for you.
I thank the publisher and Netgalley for approving my request to review the book. The opinions expressed are all mine.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

Frankie, an alcoholic, has given up everything and devoted her life to finding missing people. Unfortunately, so far none have come back alive. Her new case brings her to Boston in search of a missing girl. Police have no leads and don’t welcome Frankie’s interest in the case. Some of the locals are exactly keen on her involvement either.
She soon discovers that there is more than one girl missing but each new lead uncovers more and more confusion regarding their disappearance and what they both got caught up in.
Throughout the book Frankie has flashbacks about a traumatic event in her life and with each one the reader learns more about what happened and why she embarked on her crusade to save missing people.
I love reading Lisa Gardner’s books and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. Looking forward to the next one.

Lisa Gardener at her best with the first stand alone book for a very long time.
Frankie is a drifter and looks into cases of missing people but only when the police dept seem to have no clues and have more or less given up hope. Having just successfuly ending a case she goes on to look at a missing girl and finds herself a room to live in while she investigates. I loved Frankie's character even though she is a little abrasive and the collaberation with Logan even though he is a police detective. I did feel quite sad that this might be all we learn about Frankie as it is a stand alone book so I will have to wait and see if the author uses her again.

I don't usually read thrillers/crime books but this one caught my attention. I'm aware of Lisa Gardner from the library as she's a very popular author.
I'm so pleased I read this book - it gripped me from the start. I loved the characterisation of the main protagonist Frankie. Lisa Gardner describes the environment where Frankie finds herself so well, I could see the streets and taste the Haitian food she writes about. It's a culture I knew nothing about before reading this and I found it so interesting. Frankie's flashbacks to what happened to her and her struggles with alcohol abuse are sympathetically written and I really felt for her. Her hunt for a missing girl is fast-paced and I so wanted to find out what happened next. Very much a case of "one more chapter" each time I picked the book up.
It's a modern-day thriller with a techno-twist and I definitely recommend it.