I didn't think there was anything great about this book. I Just don't get it, but her books don't seem to be as good as they were in the past. Emmie moves with her boyfriend, Charlie, to a family house. As she tries to settle in, she finds out people in time don't like this family. She also finds some suspicious things downstairs, that then disappear. Once she discovers Charlie has an ex gf who disappeared, Emmie is determined to find out what happened to Sophie. I don't know. I just felt it was very average, while her previous books were amazing.

I loved this dark thriller about a young woman who moves with her boyfriend into his childhood home but a scary discovery in the basement sets her off on an investigation into a missing girl with links to her boyfriend as she gets closer to the truth she is putting her relationship and life on the line and there us a shock that turns everything on its head. Trust no one! Some secrets need to stay buried. Love it!!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review Sophie Was Here by Kathryn Croft. Release date July 3, 2025.
Wow! This book is a tidal wave of a page turning mystery. From the very beginning I was hooked! The web of lies and twists are so perfectly done. That Kathryn does an amazing job in confusing the reader, so much that I'm usually one to figure out who done it but not with this one. She writes in a way that everyone even a tree can become a suspect. Emmie at the very beginning I found her to be insufferable and a bit over the top. Obsess with unraveling the secrets of the Hollinger family and the small town of Peaslake, can she find out what truly happen to Sophie? Not everyone or everything is as simple as it seems. Total must read!!

A missing girl....a new home...a boyfriend carrying a dark secret....this book has it all! The suspense and the grip this read had on me is hard to explain. I could not put it down. I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened next. The storyline was great, the characters were relatable, and the transitions smooth. The author does a great job of tying up any loose ends by the end of the novel and answering any unanswered questions. Emmie was my favorite character. Her perseverance in finding out what happened to Sophie made me like her that much more. Filled with twist, turns, and intensity, this is a MUST read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc!

This story was such an emotional rollercoaster. It takes you on a journey of young love, heartbreak, tragedy and violence. So well written and highly recommend.

Reminiscent of a Gothic thriller, it's a right conundrum knowing who or what to believe. It's all centred around Emmie, the Hollinger family and the mysterious disappearance of Sophie which happened sixteen years ago. I liked how it is cleverly presented in before and present day chapters and all expertly comes together in a shocking dynamic way which is completely unpredictable.
A powerful read which kept me up all night. Highly recommended.

A stunning thriller that makes you keep reading until the very end. Fast paced, with twists that you don't expect.

Highly recommend this book, or any others by her. This author never disappoints!

What a fast paced psychological thriller this is, full of lies and deceit extremely well written. I have read most books from this author but I think this is her best yet.

The characters were all described well and things kept getting more and more unbelievable as the storyline developed.

It was certainly a twisty page turner and this has to be another of my top reads for 2025.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this great ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is not your typical missing girl thriller! You have to read it, it’s so good! A great read that pulled me along from the start, if totally exceeded my expectations and I read it in 6 hours, it’s that good!

Wow. What a roller coaster of a ride. Emmie is in a relationship with Charlie. There are plenty of secrets in this relationship. There are twists and turns and you just don't know who to trust.

A gripping, tense and suspenseful thriller. Twists and secrecy and lies. The pages couldn't turn fast enough for me, so I could see how it all unfolded!
Emmie is determined to uncover what happened to Sophie. Her partner Charlie gaslighted her constantly, and lied... he must have been aware of what his family did?

A solid 4 stars from me.

Wow. What a great story.

Sophie Was Here is not your typical murder mystery.
There are things in this story you won’t expect and never see coming.
You have a few options of who may have done this or that but until you get towards the end you just aren’t sure.

Kathryn did a great job keeping the suspense alive as well as keeping her readers guessing.

Love Kathryn Croft!

When you've been in a serious relationship for a while and you now get the chance to plan your future in a big house that you were just gifted by your in-laws, then you can truly call yourself the happiest girl in the world. This is what happens to Emmie.

However, it's all somewhat overshadowed by the fact that Charlie, her boyfriend, is absolutely not on board with the move. Why not? That’s a question we gradually find an answer to as this amazing book unfolds...

The two main characters are Emmie on the one hand and Sophie on the other. Their story is gradually revealed through alternating chapters.

Emmie becomes more and more engrossed in her search for answers, and that doesn't exactly make her popular. Still, she is determined to dig to the very bottom and uncover all the answers.

This is a suspenseful and at times even creepy story. I often didn’t know who I could trust and eventually started suspecting everyone.

The author knows exactly how to deceive the reader and lead you completely astray. And if you can then pull off a top-notch ending out of your hat, you've delivered a perfect story.

I found this book very well constructed, with the necessary surprising twists and a bundle of emotions. It truly captivated me. 5 stars.

Thank you

A gripping and emotional story that keeps you turning the pages until the shocking ending. Lots of jaw dropping twists and turns. Brilliant!

Cuando Emmie y Charlie deciden dejar atrás Londres para mudarse a una antigua casa de campo que pertenece a la familia de él, buscan un nuevo comienzo tras una etapa difícil. La casa, ubicada en el remoto y pintoresco pueblo de Peaslake, parece la oportunidad perfecta para reconstruir su relación y empezar de cero. Pero lo que comienza como un proyecto de renovación pronto se convierte en una espiral de secretos, desconfianza y oscuros descubrimientos.

El hallazgo de un inquietante mensaje grabado en el sótano ,“Por favor, ayúdame” y "Sophie estuvo aqui", y una mancha que podría ser sangre desatan una cadena de eventos cada vez más perturbadores. ¿Qué pasó realmente en esa casa hace tantos años? Y lo más inquietante: ¿por qué Charlie actúa como si todo fuera producto de su imaginación?

Croft teje con maestría una red de sospechas en la que ningún personaje parece estar completamente limpio. La tensión se incrementa capítulo tras capítulo, mezclando el drama familiar con un misterio enraizado en el pasado.


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Al principio, la actitud de Emmie me pareció muy sospechosa, e incluso algo errática. Sin embargo, con el tiempo, todo comenzó a tener sentido.
Disfruté mucho de la lectura, pero siento que se desaprovechó su potencial. Da la impresión de que Croft intentó confundir al lector añadiendo demasiados elementos para evitar que se adivinara lo que realmente ocurría, lo que resultó en algunos vacíos argumentales y cosas que quedaron sin resolver.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

Review of ‘Sophie Was Here’ by Kathryn Croft, due to be published on 3 July 2025 by Bookouture.

Emmie leaves her life in London to move into a farmhouse in the Countryside that her partner Charlie‘s parents have gifted to them. Emmie relives past traumas when she discovers the house has a basement, and grow when she finds mysterious markings carved into the wooden door.

Her suspicions are heightened when someone in the village tells her about Sophie who disappeared 16 years ago, and Charlie spins her a web of lies about events leading up to her disappearance.

Told over alternating chapters of Sophie before she disappeared, and Emmie in the present, secrets, lies, twists and turns that you don’t see coming make for a great domestic thriller.

Recommended read.

This book, wow, the twists and turns keep on coming with this one. What I thought I knew and had figured out I had no idea! Fans of Frieda McFadden will love this. The plot takes you on so many different paths that your head is spinning. I couldn’t put this down I needed to know what had happened and to who. Amazing writing keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time. The characters make you want to know more about their lives even after you finish reading

This is a wow of a read and it’s a story brilliantly told and what I imagined to be true to life in some aspects. It was pacy, emotional and dramatic. There are twists, twists and more twists and I loved it! There were several awesome twists in this story, one that left me completely stunned!

It was an intense, suspense-filled thriller that grips you from the very first page and doesn't let go! The pacing is spot on, kept me on the edge of my seat and broke my heart many times especially for characters of Sophie and Emmie.

A brilliantly executed thriller that is difficult to put down and definitely a must read when it comes out! Another amazing book by Kathryn Croft I just love love her books and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars!