Tess and Jake are struggling in their marriage, partly as a result of their inability to have children, or adopt a child, something that Tess desperately wants. When they visit friends in Vermont, Tess goes out late to the store, and sees a young child wandering in the night. The child runs away and Tess reports the sighting to the police.
However, after a search, the police struggle to believe Tess, citing her issues with another incident in her past.
This is an emotional novel, with the strains of a marriage on its last legs, and the stress of wanting a child so badly that it consumes everything. I enjoyed this and I will add this author’s other books to my list ( )

With a possibly unreliable narrator, Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood is an intriguing mystery that keeps readers on the edge of their seats as Tess Waters tries to locate a missing young girl.

Tess and her husband Jake are visiting friends in rural Vermont when, returning from a late night run to the store, she sees a young girl in the middle of the road. Although the police are little slow to respond to her emergency call, they put together an extensive search that slowly tapers off within a few days. Convinced Tess is either mistaken or outright lying, the local police remain unreceptive to her pleas to continue looking for the missing girl. When the cops threaten to charge her for filing a false report, she hires attorney Ryan Hughes, who pleads with her to stay out of the case. Unable to stop worrying about the little girl, she continues her search and although she does not locate her, Tess stumbles onto evidence that supports her claim but will the police reopen their investigation?

Tess's marriage never quite recovered from the couple's infertility treatments and a botched adoption attempt eight years earlier. Their relationship is quite strained during their visit with their friends and Tess's excessive drinking exacerbates the tension between them. At first supportive of Tess, Jake's doubts continue to grow especially considering what happened after their adoption attempt went horribly wrong. The fact that she had been drinking the evening she spotted the young girl is another strike against her and Jake eventually returns to New York without her.

Tess's main priority is continuing her efforts to find the missing girl but she is also quite reflective as she tries to decide what to do about her troubled marriage. Her longtime friend Effie not only believes Tess saw the little girl, but after Tess confides recently discovered information about Jake, she is outraged on Tess's behalf. Despite Effie's fears for her safety, Tess continues taking unnecessary risks as she makes impulsive decisions that are dangerous and oftentimes, foolhardy.

The events from eight years earlier are slowly revealed through a series of flashbacks. What begins as a happy occasion becomes emotionally charged after Jake joins Tess in Guatemala where she has been spending time with the little girl they are planning to adopt. These flashbacks slowly reveal the cracks in their marriage as Tess begins to realize that she was much more invested in having children than Jake and she starts wondering what other important information she might have overlooked about her husband. She remains ambivalent about their marriage for a good portion of the novel, but a family emergency puts things in perspective for her and Tess finally arrives at a decision about her future.

With a unique twist on the unreliable narrator plot device, Where I Lost Her is a well-written and engaging novel that is initially a little slow paced. The characters are three-dimensional with true to life flaws and imperfections. The storyline is wonderfully developed and the suspense builds as Tess continues trying to piece together the puzzling clues she uncovers. Overall, it is a very clever mystery/psychological thriller that old and new fans of T. Greenwood are sure to enjoy. ( )

I absolutely loved this gripping new novel! Not only was it about a woman's difficult but ultimately uplifting journey of healing after an adoption gone horribly wrong, it was a captivating mystery about a missing little girl seen wandering in the woods. As Jess is on her way back from getting more wine to drown her emotions at her best friend's cabin in the woods, she stops suddenly as a little girl, dripping in blood, appears in the road. When Jess unsuccessfully tries to run after the girl, she frantically notifies the police. But from the very beginning people doubt her, and with no evidence of a missing girl, the town soon turns on Jess. Only Jess believes what she saw, and never gives up as clues slowly stumble into the light. This novel sucked me in and didn't let go. I'll be adding this author as one to follow!

Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
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The story of a little girl lost and the woman who will not rest until she finds her. Such a well written book, half mystery, half love story. I loved everything about this book ( )

This is the first book by this author I've read, and I owe it all to the cover and my local library. The book weaves a back story of one couple's tries to adopt a child and the present day story of the sighting of a little girl, alone and hurt in the backwoods of New England. I happen to be quite fond of this style of story-telling, and both aspects drew me in, so that I was both sorry to switch POV and eager to get to the other POV at the same time. ( )