The Girl She Was: 'I absolutely love Alafair Burke – she's one of my favourite authors.' Karin Slaughter

The Girl She Was (also titled Find Me) is a novel by former District Attorney, Professor of Law and American author, Alafair Burke. It features NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher. Fifteen years ago, freshman law student Lindsay Kelly, on her way home to Hopewell, saved the life of a young woman in a car accident. The woman woke from a coma with complete amnesia, never regaining her memory, and was given the name Hope Miller. Hope and Lindsay became best friends. Now, just weeks after she has left Hopewell to strike out on her own in East Hampton, Hope seems to be missing. Lindsay is torn between wanting to give her space and concern for her welfare: the latter wins out. She retraces, as far as possible, her friend’s last known movements, growing more alarmed with everything she learns. When a local cop turns up a bloodstain at the last place Hope was known to be, Lindsay is frustrated by his dismissive attitude. The DNA from the blood produces a puzzling link to a serial killer case in Wichita, Kansas, a case that Detective Ellie Hatcher’s father, Jerry worked on before his death. Lindsay contacts Ellie, and they pose a number of possible scenarios to explain the link. But Hope is still missing and, before Lindsay has found her, a man is dead and Hope is a suspect for his murder. Burke’s latest novel grips the reader from the first page and doesn’t let go until the final shocking reveal. The rollercoaster ride to the climax is littered with red herrings, distractions and diversions that will have the reader second-guessing almost every conclusion they draw, and the continual about-faces regarding Hope’s veracity may leave the reader needing chiropractic attention: can she really not remember, or is she a very good actress? In a story that has many denying, fleeing and hiding from traumatic incidents in unhappy past lives and features a paedophile, and corrupt or lazy police, Burke also gives fans of her Ellie Hatcher novels a satisfying resolution to an important part of Ellie’s journey. Excellent stand-alone crime fiction that is impossible to put down. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Faber & Faber