Book review: Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. The link to preorder this book is an affiliate link on Amazon. I am so very sorry to sell my soul to Amazon, but cigarettes are so very expensive in New York.

Frankie Elkin has a new case, one that takes the amateur sleuth and recovering alcoholic to the ghettos of Tucson, Arizona, where Afghan refugees are resettled to rebuild their lives after the trauma of losing their country, their family, their careers and achievements, to unspeakable violence and suffering after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021. 

She’s there to find Sabera Amhadi – a brilliant mind with a dark secret or two – but a beloved mother and wife who has gone missing. Since the police aren’t helping, a desperate family friend turns to everyone’s favorite misfit, misanthrope, and missing persons specialist, Frankie Elkin, for help. 

Lisa Gardner’s latest novel finds our plucky heroine once again out of her depth, over her head, and hanging on by a prayer to crack the case and rescue the girl. I first encountered the Frankie Elkin books with One Step Too Far — the second in the series, which I finished in about 48 hours. In that novel, I resonated with Frankie, and I really liked the dog*. Despite not knowing the whole backstory (I will read the first book, I just haven’t yet), I felt like she was an interesting and unique detective, and I was rooting for her to get out of the woods. 

I eagerly picked up the third installment, Still See You Everywhere, and struggled to finish it despite myself. I briefly reviewed that one on Goodreads here. Going into Kiss Her Goodbye, I admit I had lowered expectations. 

Gardner has written half of this novel from the perspective of Sabera, as letters to her daughter that document their family history, her childhood in Afghanistan, the violence she witnessed when her homeland fell, and the trauma she endured in the refugee camps. A good writer can transport you to new places and help you understand things you did not before; that’s exactly what Gardner has done with this book. For me, this part of the story was the highlight – the rich and heartbreaking world she created that illuminated a sliver of humanity that hasn’t had a voice or foothold in the zeitgeist, despite the events of 9/11 and the ensuing military operations in the Middle East. Americans love the noble idea of helping refugees – just NIMBY – which is what this story sadly brings to light. 

The puzzle, the supporting cast, and the settings were fun, beautifully written, and thoroughly enjoyable. The red herrings and layers to this case, were fascinating, despite the fact that most of the action happens “offscreen” until about the third act. The end is satisfying, sad, and all of the things you want to feel when a mystery resolves… itself.

But that brings me to the detective. Or, in Frankie’s case – non-detective, unemployed but weirdly self-sustaining and able to afford a phone with a data plan – amateur missing person finder. I’ll allow that I’m a weirdo who reads crime fiction because the detectives fascinate me more than the crimes. Mysteries come and go – but a good detective you can follow for years. 

I think I understand Frankie’s motivation for getting herself involved in these messes. But in this book and even the last one (Still See You Everywhere), Frankie’s story is completely overwhelmed in the plot. Gardner keeps her just comfortable enough to never have to actually face her problems – and her problems, dear reader, are so juicy! The trauma of her youth that was so tender and torturous in One Step Too Far is now a footnote (despite the past two novels dealing explicitly with mommy issues). Instead, Gardner has sprinkled in tidbits of anxiety so randomly, it seems that Frankie herself can barely be bothered to notice. Instead, her nightmares, which she mostly mentions instead of living, center on previous cases. Is that the point? Is Frankie losing herself in new terrible experience to avoid processing her old terrible experiences? When she finally loses herself in the misery of others, who will show up to find her? Unfortunately, she’s either not self-aware enough to examine these really critical character questions, or I’m reading way too deep. There was so much potential for that deep dive though, and glimmers of it through the last act. I want to root for Frankie! I want to see her get her shit together… or, and maybe the schadenfreude would be more fun – I want to see her lose her shit completely.  

Overall, I’m torn on this book. Frankie Elkin could have never shown up, and in the end, the plot points would have played out much the same. Rather than driving the story, Frankie Elkin is mostly being driven at this point. 

But, still a worthwhile journey the same. 

*This is NOT a spoiler I think: The dog does not die. I had to check on that before I could finish it so I’m not afraid to finish it. In the three Frankie Elkin books I’ve read, no animals are harmed (thank you!).