I really enjoy Lisa's books and especially enjoy the character's that she creates. This one did take me a little while to get into, but I'm really glad I kept going because it turned into a thoroughly enjoyable story.

Frankie Elkin is a woman who gives up her time to look for missing people. In this story she is looking for Sabera an Afghan refugee who has been relocated to Tucson, Arizona with her husband and their four year old daughter. She has been missing for a few weeks and nobody has any idea what happened to her.
This thriller has lots of twist and turns, some good characters and gives a better understanding of the lives refugees have to endure.
Although it’s the fourth book in the series it can be read as a stand alone novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book four in Lisa Gardner’s gripping Frankie Elkin series, Kiss Her Goodbye, delivers yet another emotional, high-stakes journey that proves why Frankie remains one of the most compelling protagonists in crime fiction today. A seeker of lost souls, Frankie throws herself into the mystery of Sabera, a missing refugee, and in doing so, pulls the reader into a tense, multilayered narrative that spans from the shadowed streets of Kabul to the sun-scorched edges of Tucson.

Frankie is as complex and compelling as ever—haunted, resourceful, and driven by an unshakeable moral compass. Her unlikely partnership with Daryl, the older, ballroom-dancing foodie who brings both skepticism and wisdom to the table, adds depth and occasional levity to the story. And then there’s Petunia—a character who may not win you over at first, but definitely earns her place as the story unfolds.

Gardner’s talent for character development shines here. Each figure is drawn with care, adding emotional heft to a plot that already brims with urgency and suspense. The narrative tension is immediate and relentless, building toward a twist that caught me completely off guard.

Kiss Her Goodbye is more than just a mystery—it’s a story of resilience, unlikely friendships, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Another standout installment in the series, and I, for one, will absolutely be back for more.

Another gripping story from Lisa Gardner. Different to her usual style, I'd say, but a compelling and thrilling read.

Another fantastic story from Lisa Gardner. The protagonist Frankie is a brilliant character, flawed, brave and one of a kind. I have enjoyed previous stories with Frankie before and this one was particularly good as the story opened my eyes to the refugee experience. Fast paced, empathetic, really enjoyed this.

As a longstanding Lisa Gardner fan I wasn't so sure about the Frankie Elkin series at first which was a bit of a departure from her usual, but I now love it as much as the rest of her work - and this latest book in the series is the best yet.

Missing person Sabera remains a mystery to us for most of the book, which gradually shares her backstory as Frankie searches for her. The book is a tense, tight thriller, but also touches on the pain of refugees, the horror of refugee camps, and the grief and trauma of leaving behind your country, your home, your career, and having to start over in a new and strange place.

The Frankie Elkin books are tinged with loss and sadness and grief, both for the current case and Frankie’s past. Complex probably sums it up best - Frankie is complex, the missing people she finds are complex, and the deprivation often involved mean the cases aren’t given the attention those from more affluent backgrounds are. I appreciate that the events of past books stay with her and haunt her nightmares - she feels real. And she definitely deserves a break, but I'm also looking forward to what comes next for her.

Frankie Elkin returns to find more missing people. This time, she is on the hunt to find Sabera, a refugee missing, then seen on CCTV where 2 bodies were found.
Another gripping thriller, with a reptilian support act as Frankie tries to uncover the truth.
Another great book from Lisa Gardner.

Frankie Elkin specialises in missing persons cold cases. In this book she is in Tucson Arizona searching for Sabera, an Afghan refugee. Frankie has to delve into Sabera's past to find answers. This is a very well-researched novel which sheds light on the experiences of refugees. The issues highlighted are described in a sensitive way. It is very well-written with a range of diverse and believable characters. The dark plot is lightened by the antics of some unusual pets.
A thought-provoking, fast-paced and thrilling read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardener, which releases in August. Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC. Even though this is the 4th instalment featuring Frankie Elkin, you can quite easily read it as a standalone.

Frankie is a recovering alcoholic who investigates cold cases of missing people – or in her case mostly finding missing bodies to give closure to grieving families.

She receives a phone call which lands her in Tucson, Arizona to find a missing Afghan refugee. The woman, Sabera, has been missing for three weeks. Everyone in the complex where she lives thinks she has simply left her older husband, but she has left her 4 year old daughter behind.
The story is interspersed with snatches of Sabera as a little girl and then later while they are living in a refugee camp. We learn there is more to this family than them just being refugees. Isaad (the husband) is a brilliant mathematician and Sabera is a gifted linguist. Zahra, the little girl has a special gift of total recall, and she keeps repeating a certain phrase to Frankie, over and over again.

Just as Frankie agrees to start investigating, CCTV footage appears on the news of a woman wearing a patterned headscarf walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder. The headscarf is the exact same one that Sabera has.

To lighten the mood, Frankie has had to find a place to stay and she lands a temporary live in job which involves feeding a large iguana called Petunia, an enormous python called Marge and a dozen baby ball pythons. Reading this book, I found out that a herper is someone whose hobby is finding and observing reptiles and amphibians. Frankie is most definitely not a herper.

A compelling read. At the end of the book, the author writes about a chance encounter with someone and how they got to talk about Afghan refugees. The difficulties of resettling refugees; from setting them up with social security cards, showing them how to use the transport systems, applying for jobs, enrolling children in schools, all while trying to adapt to a new country while mourning the lives they used to live. This book was the result.

I love anything Lisa Gardner writes, and Kiss Her Goodbye is once again a phenomenal novel.

Frankie is drawn to the city of Tucson, where she is investigating the disappearance of an Afghan refugee. The story itself is a masterclass in writing thrillers. I truly felt like I was right there!

Highly recommend

I've really enjoyed this series about a character called Frankie Elkin who tracks down missing people. In this case it's an Afghani refugee who has gone missing, leaving her husband and child behind.

It was a gripping tale with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I couldn't stop reading it. This is the best of the series so far. Looking forward to the next one,

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Frankie Elkin is a bit of a drifter. Place to place looking for missing persons in an unofficial capacity. Her latest case has her looking for a young mother , and Afghan refugee with secrets worth dying for.

This was one heck of a page turner. Exciting, scary at times and heartbreaking at others. Frankie, for having nobody is very likeable. The other characters in this story were also likeable and engaging. The descriptions, especially about what happened during Taliban attack were full and I could envision being there. I enjoyed the chapters where hints of what had happened were slowly revealed in writings from Sabera to her young daughter.

This was fabulous and I highly recommend it. There was also humour in the form of Petunia the iguana and Marge the snake.

Part of a series featuring Frankie Elkin,who finds missing people. An interesting and intriguing story with some diverse characters.

A fantastic thriller from Lisa Gardner. I do love her books so I was excited to read this one and it lived up to my expectations. Very well written.
Highly recommended.

I really enjoy books by Lisa Gardner and have enjoyed this series. There were some quirky bits in there - the 'pets', which gave a bit of lightness to part of the story and some gritty issues in there, which I thought were woven into the plot well. The balance of highlighting some key issues and keeping the mystery and thriller going worked well and gave me an insight that I didn't previously had. Great read!

Lisa Gardner does it again, another excellent piece of writing.

Who would want to babysit a whole load of snakes for free board and lodgings, whilst trying to find a missing person with more baggage than you could shake a stick at?

I fell in love with Petunia even though I do not like reptiles. Devoured this book in one sitting.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

What a relishing delish crime, mystery and I loved the obscene animals and they are definitely not my favourite type of animal but by the end of the book they had me swooning with their antics. I particularly came to like Petunia. The mystery was a complicated exciting one that had me guessing at every opportunity. Lisa Gardner has done it again and written another page turner!

Oh my goodness I devoured this in one night just couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters and did not see the end coming. I huge 5 stars from me and only my second of the year so don’t give them out easily. I would highly recommend preordering this book and devouring it straight away

I am surprised at this one ending up 5 stars for me. As soon as they brought in Afghan refugee situations and wars I questioned what I was reading. I like murder mystery/thrillers . However I pushed through that and tried to focus on the current happening story. And while both sides intertwined there were some characters that trumped my dislike for that type of plot.
Frankie is obviously amazing but my gosh the reptiles, Marge and Petunia and the babies 💕💕💕💕. Such an added element.
Daryl and Bart! Awesome
And the real star goes to Genni. What a friggen amazing character to add in. Her quirky persona was just the icing on the cake.