Book Review: WHEN YOU FIND ME by P. J. Vernon

WHEN YOU FIND ME by P.J. Vernon ( Crooked Lane Books, October 2018) Hardcover, 330 pages. ISBN # 1683317491 / 9781683317494 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Her husband is missing.

Visiting her family’s South Carolina estate, socialite Gray Godfrey wakes from a night out to an empty bed. Her husband Paul is gone and a thrashing hangover has wiped her memory clean. At first, she’s relieved for the break from her tumultuous marriage; perhaps Paul just needed some space. But when his car is found abandoned on the highway, Gray must face the truth: Paul is gone. And Gray may not want him found.

Her life is unraveling.

When a stranger named Annie calls claiming to know Paul’s whereabouts, Gray reluctantly accepts her help. But this ally is not what she seems: soon Annie is sending frightening messages and revealing disturbing secrets only Gray could know. As Annie’s threats escalate and Gray’s grip on reality begins to slip, the life she thought she had and the dark truth she’s been living begin to merge, leaving an unsettling question: What does Annie want? And what will she do to get it?

A chilling look at marriage, madness, and the lives we think we lead, WHEN YOU FIND ME is a daring debut from a talented new voice in psychological suspense. 

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     This is an engaging read that will keep you up late reading unless you have the willpower to put it down. I was able to balance my time until the last 100 pages, which I read at one sitting. I kept wanting to know what happens in the next chapter. 

     A strong debut from P.J. Vernon. I'm already on the hold list at the library waiting for BATH HAUS, his 2021 release. 

     WHEN YOU FIND ME has strong characterization, especially that of Gray. Her troubles are one of the most convincing fictional portrayals of alcoholism that I have read. Vernon employs the same story-telling device that worked so well for GIRL ON THE TRAIN - - using multiple narrators. In this case it's three different women, two being very likable and one not so much. 

     There are many plot turns to this story which I don't want to spoil. Good depictions of small-town elite Southerners, wealthy and politically connected. Family dysfunction. Betrayal. Troubled pasts influencing the present. A gut-punch of an ending. Bravo, Mr. Vernon!