This is a more slow moving book and most of my students don't have the patience for this. They prefer something with more action and less details. The issues of family obligations, friendship, class differences and being stuck and wanted a change would be relatable for most of them. 3.5 rounded up

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. Mikki, who disappears after a stranger comes to town, and Lark, left behind to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Smart, textured and with a dark, atmospheric heart.

Catch You Later is about two best friends who are more like sisters, Mikki and Lark, living in a small town that they dream of getting out of. They do everything together. They live together and even work the night shift at the travel stop together. One night, a stranger passing through town, headed to Florida, convinces Mikki to spontaneously take this adventure with him. Despite Lark’s objections, Mikki leaves with this man, never comes home and is never heard from again. Then, eight years later, the same stranger reappears in town asking for Lark…..

This book was full of mystery and suspense that kept you dying to know what the heck happened?! It is written in dual POV and dual timelines. This book looks at female friendship, the ties that you have to the place where you’re from, and the lengths we will go to and what we are willing to sacrifice for those we love. This one will keep you guessing until the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC copy of Catch You Later in exchange for my honest review.

4* Not at all my normal cup of tea, not what I expected, but it grabbed me and pulled me in.

I got this book based on the blurb and the publisher's trusted name, and discovered a tale that drew me in immediately. I didn't have a clue about the ending, not right until the very, very end when a certain person seemed to go awol, but I believed it. Just one tiny niggle - how come Google didn't clear things up? A VPN could have hidden the person-in-question's location, keeping them from harm, and the situation could have been resolved earlier. Much, much, much earlier. How come no one asked the question?

I'm not sure I can ignore that, as there's no reasonable explanation for it in 2024, or in any of the 8 years before, over which the tale spanned. But, I'm not going to dwell on it, and will put it down to fear of drawing attention to themselves and fear of the threat from a certain character who gets their comeuppance at the end. But, the reveals? Brilliant and done subtly enough that I didn't see anything coming, unlike Trooper Heath - not Fiancé Heath - who came prepared because of his love for Lark.

Not everything was rosy at the end, but the tale had an honesty and uniqueness that made me want to believe that distance, silence, and lies for good reasons, could all be overcome in time. It ended at the right place, without faux mushiness or an unbelievable HEA. Definitely going to check out more from thus author, who has a back catalogue of 6.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for my reading pleasure.

This one is difficult to put down! This is a mystery/thriller about one half of a best friend duo that goes missing. Lark is just starting to get her life together when a the person who drove her best friend,Mikki, away returns. Is Mikki missing or does she just not want to be found? This book has some twist and turns and I really was hooked by the suspense. Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc copy.

If you had a free trip, not string attached, to a resort and the only catch is you need to fake being a wedding date, would you do it? Would you escape? Would it be worth leaving your best friend behind? ( low key I would do it) This makes for a fast pace novel of is a person ever really missing or did they escape?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. I have read all but one of Jessica Strawser's books and I've liked them all but this one was the best. It's suspenseful without being over the top with a frenetic ending like so many books these days. I wouldn't categorize it as suspense/thriller. Catch You Later is the story of friendship, loss and making the best of the life given to you. Lark and Mikki are lifelong friends in their 30's, working together at a Travel Stop. Both women had dreams for another kind of life. A handsome wealthy man comes by the Travel Stop and Mikki spontaneously leaves with him to Florida for his sister's wedding. Lark discourages her but ultimately can do nothing to stop her. The stranger, Chris, has a family in turmoil since his parents died and a tragedy struck their family business. Circumstances lead to Mikki not contacting Lark about her whereabouts, making this book hard to put down. The story is told from Mikk's and Lark's perspectives and I was very anxious to find out what happened to Mikki. When I see a new book by Jessica Strawser, I always look forward to reading it.

I like everything Jessica Strawser writes so it’s always a pleasure to be able to review one of her novels. “Catch You Later” is a captivating story with plenty of twists and turns but also a good study of how choices can shape who we are (even if it’s not who we want to be).

Mikki and Lark are best friends, even if they’re trapped in a life that isn’t what they wanted. Working together at the Travel Stop, Lark is expecting her first child, which Mikki internally views as a threat to their friendship. One night, a customer offers Mikki a weekend in Florida to attend a wedding; Mikki impulsively accepts, never to be heard from again.

Eight years later, Lark is raising her daughter while caring for Mikki’s grandmother. While she has found love, she still cannot help but wonder what happened to her friend.

Told in two timelines from Lark’s perspective in the present and Mikki’s in the past, I thought Strawser did an excellent job in divulging into what makes these two women tick. While I appreciated the mystery aspect of the story, I enjoyed more spending time with Mikki and Lark.

Four stars.

Thanks to the author, Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read this captivating novel.

4.5 stars (rounded down because I play by the price is right rules)

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Satisfying ending: 4/5
Intensity: 2/5
Unputdownable-ness: 4.5/5
Romance level: 1/5
Smut level: 0/5
SNE: no

TW: a few brief mentions of drug abuse and child neglect

Thank you NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mikki and Lark are inseparable friends and also each others lifelines in a dead end town. While working an overnight at the Travel Stop, a rich and charming man invites Mikki to come with him to a Florida destination wedding. Lark tries to stop her but she goes anyway and isn’t seen again. 7 years later, the same man comes back to the Travel Stop and asks if she’s around. What happened on that trip and where is Mikki?

I really loved this book! It is told over 2 POVs each during a different time period, alternating chapters.
The mystery was intriguing and I read this in just over a day because I just couldn’t put it down.

I found the writing to be quite good and the characters I found likable and mostly believable. I feel like any time I thought I found some sort of plot hole or unbelievable human behavior it was later explained which made me dislike almost nothing about this book.

I loved the easy chemistry between Mikki and Chris and the emphasis on friendships and class relations. I also enjoyed the relationship between Lark and Nini.

Thank you also for not giving us a scooby doo ending. I appreciate the showing of what happened instead of the telling.

I will definitely be adding more of this author’s books to my TBR pile.

I enjoyed this novel and could not put it down. Well-written and realistic portrayal of two best friends who go through the usual ups and downs until one of them disappears when a stranger comes to town. It may be a slow burn of a story, but the way it comes together in the end is highly satisfying and worth the wait. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Pub Date: Oct 22, 2024

#CatchYouLater
#NetGalley

I was lucky to be assigned this book for Booklist. I am usually the one who reviews Strawser's books, and I look forward to them every time. I loved the bond between Lark and Mikki, the claustrophobic sense of the Ohio town they live in (I can relate), and the juxtaposition of the sun-soaked Florida resort with that suffocating existence. Bravo to Strawser for another winner.

I love a thriller! This one was so good! Sucks you in early on and keeps you guessing! The plot was exciting and different, the friendship aspect was what really set this book apart from other thrillers.

This was a good book. I enjoyed following the story of best friends Mikki and Lark. I couldn’t imagine losing my best friend like that and not knowing what happened to her. I did like that the author used dual timelines to explain what happened to Mikki before she disappeared.

Although there were a few places where I felt the story dragged it did pick up the pace again. I found myself unable to stop reading by the end of the book. There were some good twists. Overall it was an engaging storyline and I enjoyed it.

Big thank you to NetGalley, author Jessica Strawser and Lake union publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I consider it a fast paced page turner. There were so many twists that I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out what really happened. To say I was shocked would be an understatement!

The storyline was well done. At first I was a little hesitant because it seemed just too far fetched for Mikki to just get into a car with a stranger but the authors developed it perfectly.

The character development was also well done. The book reminded me of a show on Netflix called 2 Broke Girls with the friendship and jobs between the 2 female main characters.

I would absolutely recommend and will be looking into more books from this author.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So this book kept me on the edge of my seat but it did have some issues. First the grandmothers mental issues, obviously thats not a the problem but her having this huge secret while being mentally under derese is a bit hard to believe, but also not impossible. I really enjoyed this book and I would recomend it to others in my friend group who love to read. Solid 4/5

WOW! This book was amazing. I finished it in 1 day because I had to know where it was going - and when I was done I never expected any of those twists!

I originally thought this was a book about friendship, best friends....but it was so much more. I gasped out loud a few times and my family jumped, lol.

I really never saw any of the twists coming and I loved that part of it. To not read a book and have it be a predictable, happy wrap up is always so great. I really thought Mikki was dead. I thought Chris was going to turn out to be a secret murderer. Never did I expect that Nini was going to be a part of the whole thing and that was amazing.

I also really appreciated that Heath ended up being worthy of Lark, because she'd been through so much and he was starting to be weak and disappointing. I was so happy at his rescue at the end!

5 out of 5 stars. Can't wait for her next book!

“ She seemed to be remembered by her disappointments, which seemed unfair. The disappointment may have been more numerous than the successes.”

Mikki and Lark are two friends in a very small town who are working the night shift in a truckstop.
They have one rule to always say yes
So when a handsome stranger comes to the truckstop in the middle of the night and asks Mikki to accompany him to a wedding in Florida. She jumps in the car. This is the last time anyone sees her.

Eight years later, that same stranger shows back up at the truckstop, asking for Mikki claiming he never saw her after the weekend. We the reader get the full story in alternating chapters, between current day and from when she left the truck stop.

This author has become one of my favorite authors, I love how she writes her female friendships, the understanding and the depth of it!
She is now and forever will be on my TBR list!

This was the story of Lark and a fateful night at work with her best friend Mikki. Mikki gets an offer she can't refuse and takes off with a stranger to drive to Florida. The story unfolds in alternating timelines and then hooks up to finish telling what happened. Lark really struggles with Mikki being gone, and I didn't really anticipate where the story went. All in all, a good read.

Thank you very much to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and author Jessica Strawser for providing me with a copy of Catch You Later in exchange for my fair review. The lovely cover and plot premise caught my attention right away, and I was intrigued from the first pages. Set in dual, alternating voices and timelines, the book flashes back and forth from the weekend Mikki disappears to eight years later, when Lark resumes the search.
Since kindergarten, Lark and Mikki have been inseparable best friends. Now in their thirties, they live as roommates in a desolate, nondescript town by the interstate, notable only for its Travel Stop. Since high school, they've worked countless night shifts together there, living by two simple rules: "Say yes to everything" and "keep their eyes open for a way out of Becksville." Lark, on the brink of single motherhood, finds strength in Mikki's steadfast support, believing together they can confront this life change. During one night shift at the Travel Stop, a mysterious man driving an expensive convertible BMW stops in for a coffee and begins talking to Mikki while she mixes his drink. Spontaneously, he then asks her to take a leap of faith and travel with him to a wedding in Florida so she can see the ocean. Before they exchange names, Mikki accepts, and is never seen or heard from again. Devastated, Lark embarks on a “Find Mikki” campaign and hires a PI, but the police never take her seriously. Grief stricken Lark gives birth alone, prompting her to fall deeper into depression as she realizes if Mikki missed the birth, she is really gone. Nini, Mikki’s aging grandmother, knocks on Lark’s door a month into motherhood and sees her condition, telling her she “guesses you’d better move in, then” so she and her baby do. The three of them learn to navigate the years together, never ceasing to wonder what happened the night Mikki rode off in 2016. Almost eight years go by with no answers. Lark is still living with Nini, engaged to a highway patrolman, and still working at the Travel Stop when the BMW mystery man walks in one night and asks if Mikki is around. Stunned, Lark wonders if she will ever learn the truth about her childhood best friend, and enlists Chris Redmond to assist her in finally obtaining the answers she has been seeking all these years. The characters are relatable and enjoyable. I found myself reading each chapter anticipating what ultimately happened to Mikki, but the pacing of the plot was a bit slow at times. The main relationship between the two female friends felt contrived and immature at the anti-climactic ending. This mystery left me wanting more for these enduring friends, and there needed to be more emotion in the finale. The plot was good but would have benefited from heightened suspense, emotional depth, and more intricate twists & turns throughout. 3/5

wonderful ,a missing girl presumed dead until the man she drove off with comes looking for her ,a very wonderful tale of two best friends .