No One Will Miss Her: A Novel

“People see what they want to see,” could be the overarching theme of Kat Rosenfield’s No One Will Miss Her. When a mutilated body is found in a small Maine town, all assume that it must be that of Lizzie Ouellette, a pariah in the community. Her husband is the obvious suspect since he is unaccounted for. State Trooper Ian Bird is dispatched to gather evidence and lead the search for the missing culprit. What he discovers runs deeper than a standard “open and shut” case. More bodies are found that are linked to two couples of vastly different social standing. Rosenfield uses this familiar frame to explore identity and the irreversible judgements people make when someone is labelled. The book presents the downfall of being show more constantly observed and scrutinized, versus being invisible and disregarded. It also touches on themes of stereotypes, loneliness and self-protection through embraced callousness. No One Will Miss Her is an unpredictable and twisty mystery that requires a good amount of suspension of disbelief. When the author veers away from plausibility, it can be excused due to the fascinating puzzle it presents.

Thanks to the author, William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

Lizzie Ouellette is trailer trash. Not because of anything she did; just because her father is not a Copper Falls, Maine native and because she lived in a trailer in the junk yard her father owned. Once labeled, you can’t get unlabeled. She got pregnant by small town has-been baseball hero, Dwayne, married him, lost the baby but the couple still hung on. Too what, Lizzie’s not sure.

Along comes the beautiful and sophisticated internet influencer, Adrienne Richmond and her husband Ethan to rent Lizzie’s lakeside cottage for a month in the summer. While Lizzie is known as trailer trash, Adrienne is known as trash of a different sort. Although the authorities couldn’t prove it, it was known Ethan (possibly with Adrienne’s help) show more embezzled millions from his company, causing many a hard-working family to lose their savings. Yet, Adrienne, too, stayed with her husband, leading a luxurious, but lonely life.

The two women, one high class and one low class develop a bond that first summer, which is strengthened the following year when Adrienne returns to the cottage. Adrienne is what Lizzie aspires to.

It all comes crashing down when the Ouellette junkyard catches fire and the wind starts spreading the flames. Copper Falls Police Officer Johnson goes house to house making sure all occupants evacuate. But when he gets to Lizzie’s rental property, he is stopped short by a body with its face blown off lying on the floor. The only way to identify the body is the mole on her breast, which apparently all the men in town know about! It’s Lizzie.

Dwayne and his shotgun are nowhere to be found and thus he becomes the prime suspect.

Maine State Trooper Ian Bird is called in to investigate and while Dwayne still appears to be the perpetrator, Bird must follow all leads, even those leading back to Adrienne. But what motive could she possibly have?

As with Amelia Anne, the setting is a small New England town where everyone knows everyone else’s business and newcomers and strangers are barely tolerated but never welcomed. Again, she explores the dynamics of a small, insular town with a large, wealthy summer population.

The story unfolds through a first-person narrative from Lizzie beyond the grave, as well as third person narratives from Officer Bird, Adrienne and others.

The book has received several starred reviews and one reviewer called it “…grisly, gut-twisting blockbuster of a mystery.” Part police procedural, part psychological study, Now One Will Miss Her does have a lot of twists and turns. show less

4.5/5 for this dark, unique read!

Lizzie is known as trash bag, trailer trash. She lives with her father who runs the local junkyard. When Lizzie is found brutally murdered, the locals have a lot to say….not all kindly. Her father’s junkyard is burning at the same time, oh and her husband is missing! Adrienne is on the other end … rich, lifestyle influencer. They have one thing in common….no friends and lots of secrets.

This book starts with Lizzie speaking from the grave and follows her story, and goes into Adrienne’s story and how these 2 women, from completely different lifestyles, intersect. I found this story compelling, and could not put it down. Lizzie, her life, her story, will totally tug on your heartstrings and I show more found myself rooting for her…whether right or wrong. Adrienne is so totally on the other end of the spectrum and found her cold as ice!

The plot is unique, writing is compelling. Characters are raw, real. Plot twists abound, some I could see coming, others not at all. My imagination was running wild throughout and I sat with my nose in this book whenever I could…even reading during a long car ride, something I usually can’t do. I look forward to reading this author again.

Thanks to Ms. Rosenfield, William Morrow and Custom House and NetGally for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone! show less

No One Will Miss Her is Kat Rosenfields' new suspense novel.
Lizzie Oullette has lived her whole life in the town of Copper Falls, Maine. Or I should say that in another way - she lived in Copper Falls, but now she's dead and her husband Dwayne can't be found. Detective Ian Bird is called in to investigate. He soon finds a connection to Adrienne Richards who had been renting Lizzie’s lake house as a country getaway.

The story unfolds from beyond the grave, with Lizzie recounting her life in Copper Falls from her childhood to the present. Lizzie is the town pariah and Rosenfield really emphasizes that with Lizzie's life basically being hell. (There are some trigger situations gentle readers.) I started to grow weary of the ugliness that show more Rosenfield foists on Lizzie's shoulders. And I really wanted to know why the heck she stayed in town at all, give the treatment she receives from the townsfolk.

Well, then Part Two came along ... and my perceptions did a quick about face! And this is where I mentally started to clap for Rosenfield's plotting. You'll find an excellent twist in Part Two! And there's no way I'm going to spoil that for you so I won't say anymore. (But I did wonder if I went back and re-listened to the first part if I would catch any clues....)

There is a part three as well, that tidies up loose ends. Again, I thought there was going to be one outcome to only be (happily) fooled again. Kudos to Rosenfield for keeping me guessing.

I chose to listen to No One Will Miss Her. Cassandra Campbell, Sophie Amoss and Chris Andrew Ciulla were the readers for this title. I always enjoy a cast of narrators as the conversations seem more 'real' and it's easy to know who is speaking at any given time. Amoss reads the part of Lizzie and her voice suited the role. She's got a gravelly undertone to her voice. She captures the mindset and personality of her character, injecting lots of emotions into her reading. She speaks clearly and is easy to understand. Cassandra Campbell is a perennial favorite reader of mine - I always enjoy her narrations. She reads the role of Adrienne, the rich woman renting the lake house. Oh, Campbell captures the snark and entitlement of this character perfectly! The condescension drips from the words. She paces her speaking well and is also very easy to understand. Ciulla reads the role of Detective Ian Bird. Ciulla has a measured way of speaking that suited a Detective. Calm, efficient. Again, very easy to listen too and well enunciated. show less

I think the author needs to sit down and talk with the publisher about how this book was marketed. I read the blurbs on covers and saw something mentioning a twist. With this sort, one you know there is a twist, you know what it has to be. I won’t say it ruined the story for me, but it changed the entire reading experience. Having decided it was really the rich lady that was dead from the beginning, I read it to see if she was fair with the reader throughout, and, really, she was. There are a lot of extremely implausible things in the story, supergluing a mole on, walking out of a finance guys office with a bag full of money, knowing all the passwords….
In spite of all that, held my interest throughout, though I could have done show more without the kitten killing show less

The opening pages greet us with a junkyard on fire and the discovery of a brutal murder of Lizzie Oullette who is narrating about it from the grave and whose husband is missing.

It’s always the husband isn’t it? He and Lizzie had a history.

The small town detective had been going house to house to make sure no one was in the homes that were in the path of the fire. Finding Lizzie brutally murdered was last thing he expected to find in his small town.

When the investigation finds Adrianne Richards and her husband had been renting Lizzie’s AirBnB and that she and Lizzie may have been friends, the investigation moves to them. We also learn about Lizzie’s life pre- and post-murder.

NO ONE WILL MISS HER is creative but also odd, dark, show more and gruesome with some difficult scenes and language.

There are many back stories, many connections you won’t see coming, and twists that will have your head spinning.

If you are a fan of being surprised, this book should be in your TBR. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook of this psychological thriller. When a woman is found dead with an identifying mark on her chest, Lizzie Ouellette is pronounced dead, and the town isn't at all concerned. In fact, they don't miss her at all. In the minds of the townspeople, Lizzie was known as trouble for years, and her husband Dwyane Cleaves, a good ol' boy, was saddled with her. Ethan and Adrienne Richards, a wealthy couple who rented Lizzie's home on the water, are the likely suspects for the murder..
If you think that is all there is to the story, you will be surprised at the twists and turns! People see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe, but you need to look deeper!
I enjoyed this thriller and will look show more for more from this author. I also liked the narrator.
#Kat Rosenfield #NoOneWillMissHer #NetGalley show less