We Were Never Here

4/5 stars

Having a best friend can be the greatest thing in the world. Until it’s not. What happens when that friendship turns a bit too co-dependent? Emily and Kristen are on an annual backpacking trip, but their adventure goes awry when Emily returns to their room to see Kristen huddled in a corner after killing a man in self-defense. When Kristen randomly appears on Emily’s doorstep upon returning home, Emily begins to dig deeper into her friend’s past. Was Kristen telling the truth? Will Emily be stuck in this friendship forever? Or will Kristen show her violent tendency to keep her best friend for life? 

I binged We Were Never Here in two sittings. I was hooked by the premise as a lover of travel and adventure. The book jacket summary gave away much of the plot, but my interest remained peaked. Bartz did a great job at creating an eerie atmosphere and developing characters that had me questioning motives a few times. 

The pacing was good. Kristen had erratic behavior and the plot followed this. I would grow a bit frustrated with Emily. As the reader, I thought it was obvious what was happening and wished Emily had been more assertive earlier on. She did get there eventually. 

The resolution was a bit lacking to me. The climax was shocking and unpredictable, but I was hoping for more explanations and less of an ambiguous ending. Did Emily ever get the full story from Kristen’s grandparents? Did her own parents ever question anything? 

Overall this was a solid thriller. It was a bit predictable, but the climax was a page-turner with twists I didn’t see. It was a quick read for me and I didn’t want to put it down. If you are in need of a summer thriller, check this out.