Review: If You Were Here by Alafair Burke

• Format: Kindle Edition
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper (Jun 4 2013)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers CA
• Language: English
• ASIN: B009NFDQ40

Book Description

Magazine journalist McKenna Wright is chasing the latest urban folktale-the story of an unidentified woman who heroically pulled a teenaged boy from the subway tracks, seconds before an oncoming train. When McKenna locates a short video snippet that purportedly captures part of the incident, she thinks she has an edge on the competition scrambling to identify the mystery heroine.

She is shocked to discover that the woman in the video bears a strong resemblance to Susan Hauptmann, a close friend who disappeared without a trace a decade earlier. Investigating her disappearance, the NYPD concluded that the nomadic Susan-forced by her father into an early military life, floundering as an adult for a fixed identity-simply left town to start over again somewhere else.

But McKenna has always believed the truth went deeper than the police investigation ever reached, and sees Susan's resurfacing as a sign that she wants to be found. Yet when she shares the image with her husband, Patrick, who was Susan's classmate at West Point, he isn't convinced.

What would have been a short-lived metro story sends McKenna on a dangerous search for the missing woman, a twisting journey through New York City that will force her to unearth long-buried truths much closer to home-to her own husband, who seems to know much more about Susan than McKenna could have ever imagined..


About the Author


Alafair Burke is the bestselling author of eight previous novels, including the thriller Long Gone and the Ellie Hatcher series: 212, Angel's Tip, Dead Connection, and Never Tell. A former prosecutor, she now teaches criminal law and lives in Manhattan.

My Review

Just finished reading If You Were Here...what a rollercoaster ride from author Alafair Burke.  Burke gets better with each book she writes. Her storytelling skills are number one in my book.  You know how you have authors whose books you look forward to each year.  Well, Alafair Burke is definitely on my list.

Set in New York City, the story is a thriller filled mystery.  I immediately liked the main character McKenna Wright.  Through every twist and turn in the story the reader will root for her. McKenna has been dealt a few losing hands in her life and you want her to succeed in getting to the truth in this adventure.

Another winner from author Alafair Burke!