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I Came Back for You
A mother begins to challenge everything she’s been told about her daughter’s murder in a shocking novel of suspense by a New York Times bestselling author.
Ten years after her daughter, Melanie, was murdered, Bree Winter is finally moving on with a new love, a new home, and a new beginning. Then a deathbed confession from the convicted killer throws Bree’s life into a tailspin all over again. He readily confesses to murdering four girls. But not Melanie.
At first, Bree and her ex-husband don’t buy a word of it. Until inconsistencies about the crime emerge. So does the dreadful feeling that the monster who shattered Bree’s family isn’t lying. The only way she can get to the truth is to power through the trauma and return to the town in upstate New York where Melanie’s life came to a brutal end.
Bree will do anything to find justice for her daughter and finish this nightmare forever. Instead, it’s just beginning. Not only could the real killer still be in their midst, but as Bree begins to dig through Melanie’s past, what she discovers calls into question everything she has believed—about the crime and about Melanie herself.
Ten years after her daughter, Melanie, was murdered, Bree Winter is finally moving on with a new love, a new home, and a new beginning. Then a deathbed confession from the convicted killer throws Bree’s life into a tailspin all over again. He readily confesses to murdering four girls. But not Melanie.
At first, Bree and her ex-husband don’t buy a word of it. Until inconsistencies about the crime emerge. So does the dreadful feeling that the monster who shattered Bree’s family isn’t lying. The only way she can get to the truth is to power through the trauma and return to the town in upstate New York where Melanie’s life came to a brutal end.
Bree will do anything to find justice for her daughter and finish this nightmare forever. Instead, it’s just beginning. Not only could the real killer still be in their midst, but as Bree begins to dig through Melanie’s past, what she discovers calls into question everything she has believed—about the crime and about Melanie herself.
283 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2026
About the author
Kate White
50 books2,938 followersKate White is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen novels of suspense: eight Bailey Weggins mysteries and eleven stand alone psychological thrillers, including the upcoming I CAME BACK FOR YOU (March 1)
Kate’s first Bailey Weggins mystery, IF LOOK COULD KILL, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for numerous awards, including an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved the magazine business, she decided to leave over a decade ago and concentrate full-time on her passion for suspense fiction.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
Kate’s first Bailey Weggins mystery, IF LOOK COULD KILL, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for numerous awards, including an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved the magazine business, she decided to leave over a decade ago and concentrate full-time on her passion for suspense fiction.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 762 reviews
March 2, 2026
A subdued yet also highly charged novel of love, loss, and justice, I Came Back for You easily blew my mind in one very late night of reading. Told from the perspective of a still grieving mother a decade after the loss of her somewhat estranged daughter, this deeply moving tale mixed plenty of chills into the binge-able pages. Tense, immersive, and deliberately paced, the slow-boiling start revealed a plethora of insights about the root-for-able narrator. With a brilliant character arc over the course of the novel, Bree’s persona was one I connected to with ease. Much of that was likely thanks to the unhurried first half, where I not only got to know all of the characters but also felt the darkness creep ever closer. You see, once the dark secrets began to unfurl, the plot took me on an emotional yet adrenaline-fueled ride that I couldn’t put down. After all, the last one hundred pages had me holding on for dear life.
So how exactly did the plot blow me away? Well, this serial killer-centered whodunnit not only offered up plenty of long-buried secrets but even more unguessable twists and suspicious-looking characters. Going up against Bree’s amateur sleuthing, it was only a matter of time until the suspects got whittled down to one. Along the way, though, the drama, scandal, and intrigue had me enjoying the tea with my popcorn-filled bowl at the ready. Did that lessen the impact of this tragic tale? Not in the slightest. You see, the emotion that White packed into these chapters actually had me crying by the last page. Don’t get me wrong, some of Bree’s decisions made me want to shake her but good as the plot picked up steam. That, however, only further convinced me of her roiling grief and anger. All in all, this was yet another explosive one-sitting read of taut writing from White. Rating of 4.5 stars.
SYNOPSIS:
Ten years after her daughter, Melanie, was murdered, Bree Winter is finally moving on with a new love, a new home, and a new beginning. Then a deathbed confession from the convicted killer throws Bree’s life into a tailspin all over again. He readily confesses to murdering four girls. But not Melanie.
At first, Bree and her ex-husband don’t buy a word of it. Until inconsistencies about the crime emerge. So does the dreadful feeling that the monster who shattered Bree’s family isn’t lying. The only way she can get to the truth is to power through the trauma and return to the town in upstate New York where Melanie’s life came to a brutal end.
Bree will do anything to find justice for her daughter and finish this nightmare forever. Instead, it’s just beginning. Not only could the real killer still be in their midst, but as Bree begins to dig through Melanie’s past, what she discovers calls into question everything she has believed—about the crime and about Melanie herself.
Thank you Kate White and Thomas & Mercer for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: March 1, 2026
Content warning: child death, murder, infidelity, inappropriate relationship, suicide, mention of: rape
So how exactly did the plot blow me away? Well, this serial killer-centered whodunnit not only offered up plenty of long-buried secrets but even more unguessable twists and suspicious-looking characters. Going up against Bree’s amateur sleuthing, it was only a matter of time until the suspects got whittled down to one. Along the way, though, the drama, scandal, and intrigue had me enjoying the tea with my popcorn-filled bowl at the ready. Did that lessen the impact of this tragic tale? Not in the slightest. You see, the emotion that White packed into these chapters actually had me crying by the last page. Don’t get me wrong, some of Bree’s decisions made me want to shake her but good as the plot picked up steam. That, however, only further convinced me of her roiling grief and anger. All in all, this was yet another explosive one-sitting read of taut writing from White. Rating of 4.5 stars.
SYNOPSIS:
Ten years after her daughter, Melanie, was murdered, Bree Winter is finally moving on with a new love, a new home, and a new beginning. Then a deathbed confession from the convicted killer throws Bree’s life into a tailspin all over again. He readily confesses to murdering four girls. But not Melanie.
At first, Bree and her ex-husband don’t buy a word of it. Until inconsistencies about the crime emerge. So does the dreadful feeling that the monster who shattered Bree’s family isn’t lying. The only way she can get to the truth is to power through the trauma and return to the town in upstate New York where Melanie’s life came to a brutal end.
Bree will do anything to find justice for her daughter and finish this nightmare forever. Instead, it’s just beginning. Not only could the real killer still be in their midst, but as Bree begins to dig through Melanie’s past, what she discovers calls into question everything she has believed—about the crime and about Melanie herself.
Thank you Kate White and Thomas & Mercer for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: March 1, 2026
Content warning: child death, murder, infidelity, inappropriate relationship, suicide, mention of: rape
September 7, 2025
In I Came Back for You, Kate White delivers a quietly explosive mystery about a daughter’s final days through the eyes of a mother desperate to understand the daughter she lost. Bree returns to the place she hoped never to see again, chasing answers about her daughter’s death—and the version of the young woman she never got to fully know. What follows is a taut, deeply felt whodunnit filled with grief, reckoning, and painful truths that come to light only when it’s too late to ask the questions. A five-star story that lingers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Kate White always has such drama filled, emotional stories. After slowish start, I Came Back For You ramped rough up and I couldn’t put it down. I got caught up in this story, the grief and anger of Bree was so intense, I really did feel for her, despite some of the terrible decisions that she made.
A mother discovers that there is doubt over who really killed her daughter. She needs to know what happened to her and why, so reluctantly returns to where it happened to get answers. She finds that she didn’t really know her daughter all the well after all, uncovering her secrets and bringing new suspects into the case.
It was a sad story, the unimaginable nightmare of losing a daughter in such a brutal way. I read this in a day, easy to get lost in the story.
Thank you Thomas and Mercer for the early copy of this book to read. Publishes on March 1st.
A mother discovers that there is doubt over who really killed her daughter. She needs to know what happened to her and why, so reluctantly returns to where it happened to get answers. She finds that she didn’t really know her daughter all the well after all, uncovering her secrets and bringing new suspects into the case.
It was a sad story, the unimaginable nightmare of losing a daughter in such a brutal way. I read this in a day, easy to get lost in the story.
Thank you Thomas and Mercer for the early copy of this book to read. Publishes on March 1st.
February 11, 2026
I can’t say enough bad things about this book. The main character was so paranoid and self-depreciating that I couldn’t deal with it. Her inner monologues of her every thought would go on for many pages. If you trimmed out all the bullshit, the book would have been much shorter. I got to the point where I was skimming through the inner monologues just to get through the book. I almost DNF’d it, but decided to push through because I was interested in who the murderer was. The twist was interesting but the thing that her mother didn’t know about was that she was a lesbian or bi or some shit like that. Nevertheless, I was so excited when I deleted this book off my kindle.
March 30, 2026
3.5 rounded up
August 29, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I Came Back For You is a mystery that will keep readers guessing until the end. While the premise was intriguing and the ending did deliver a surprise, I personally struggled with the pacing and didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I’d hoped. For me, a bit more emotion, a more relatable protagonist, and some added suspense would have made the story more engaging.
That said, I think readers who enjoy a slower burn mystery with a surprising conclusion may connect with this one more than I did.
I Came Back For You is a mystery that will keep readers guessing until the end. While the premise was intriguing and the ending did deliver a surprise, I personally struggled with the pacing and didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I’d hoped. For me, a bit more emotion, a more relatable protagonist, and some added suspense would have made the story more engaging.
That said, I think readers who enjoy a slower burn mystery with a surprising conclusion may connect with this one more than I did.
August 28, 2025
Couldn’t put this book down!
Kate White doesn’t disappoint.
This book is a rollercoaster with so many twists. I couldn’t stop reading.
Bree is such a formidable character and she stopped at nothing to solve the crime of her daughter’s death.
Kate White doesn’t disappoint.
This book is a rollercoaster with so many twists. I couldn’t stop reading.
Bree is such a formidable character and she stopped at nothing to solve the crime of her daughter’s death.
October 8, 2025
3.25
First I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this in advance!
It was an interesting book, following Bree while she comes back to the place where her daughter was murdered while navigating being close to her ex husband and also finding out new details regarding her daughter’s murder.
I’d say it had a great potential and the second part was interesting with all the reveals. However, the first half felt too slow, there was also this romantic drama where Bree started contemplating between her ex and her current partner that kind of felt not something that brings much to the plot, in my eyes.
Neither of the characters felt deep and I couldn’t connect to either. There were some nice twists happening that were quite entertaining to read about and ones that I appreciated. But then Bree did something that just lost me as a character as well and I simply couldn’t see her as someone likeable or relatable.
Let me say I strongly believe once a cheater is always a cheater. Moving on from grief is not an easy and I’d say impossible because it’s always there. And yet certain actions of the characters…well I couldn’t like them.
This being said, i don’t think it’s a bad book, the reveal at the night was nice. The ending works with everything that happens in the book as well. I believe most people would enjoy it!
First I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this in advance!
It was an interesting book, following Bree while she comes back to the place where her daughter was murdered while navigating being close to her ex husband and also finding out new details regarding her daughter’s murder.
I’d say it had a great potential and the second part was interesting with all the reveals. However, the first half felt too slow, there was also this romantic drama where Bree started contemplating between her ex and her current partner that kind of felt not something that brings much to the plot, in my eyes.
Neither of the characters felt deep and I couldn’t connect to either. There were some nice twists happening that were quite entertaining to read about and ones that I appreciated. But then Bree did something that just lost me as a character as well and I simply couldn’t see her as someone likeable or relatable.
Let me say I strongly believe once a cheater is always a cheater. Moving on from grief is not an easy and I’d say impossible because it’s always there. And yet certain actions of the characters…well I couldn’t like them.
This being said, i don’t think it’s a bad book, the reveal at the night was nice. The ending works with everything that happens in the book as well. I believe most people would enjoy it!
March 1, 2026
#ad much love for my advance copy @mbc_books #partner
& @brilliamceaudio #partner for the ALC
🅸 🅲🅰🅼🅴 🅱🅰🅲🅺 🅵🅾🆁 🆈🅾🆄
< @
ʀᴇʟᴇᴀꜱᴇꜱ: ᴊᴀɴᴜᴀʀʏ 𝟤𝟩, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟨
Okay, I love Kate White’s books. Usually. But what the heck is this book .. boyfriend leaves (bc he just has to) leaving you alone for days when your ex husband shows up (who you haven’t seen in 7 years) and one of the first things you talk about is the food? Horrible start and I was so bored. 🫣 But it came around lol.
They thought they knew who murdered their daughter, but when the killer confesses to all of his crimes, she isn’t one of them. Now he’s died and all they are left with is more questions. If he didn’t kill their daughter then who did.
🎧: Also listened to the audio while following along and really enjoyed this audio. Sarah Naughton has one of those voices that were just made for audiobooks. So talented with her pitch, tone, and changes in her voice.
I liked this one. Solid mystery and typical White vibes.
& @brilliamceaudio #partner for the ALC
🅸 🅲🅰🅼🅴 🅱🅰🅲🅺 🅵🅾🆁 🆈🅾🆄
< @
ʀᴇʟᴇᴀꜱᴇꜱ: ᴊᴀɴᴜᴀʀʏ 𝟤𝟩, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟨
Okay, I love Kate White’s books. Usually. But what the heck is this book .. boyfriend leaves (bc he just has to) leaving you alone for days when your ex husband shows up (who you haven’t seen in 7 years) and one of the first things you talk about is the food? Horrible start and I was so bored. 🫣 But it came around lol.
They thought they knew who murdered their daughter, but when the killer confesses to all of his crimes, she isn’t one of them. Now he’s died and all they are left with is more questions. If he didn’t kill their daughter then who did.
🎧: Also listened to the audio while following along and really enjoyed this audio. Sarah Naughton has one of those voices that were just made for audiobooks. So talented with her pitch, tone, and changes in her voice.
I liked this one. Solid mystery and typical White vibes.
February 24, 2026
It was decent but some of the words felt like the author was trying too hard. Also, the hostility towards Logan was a bit much for me. Not sure why it bothered me so much.
March 29, 2026
A late ARC Review!
Kate White is another new-to-me author. Her writing is different from what I'm accustomed to, but not in a bad way, just different. And it's always good to find a new author who changes the status quo. With that said, this book is a slowwwww burn. But once it ramps up, it's hard to put down because after getting through the first 60%, you owe it to yourself to find out who the killer is!
Short synopsis:
10 years after Bree's daughter Melanie was murdered, she is finally moving on. Divorced from Bree's father Logan, and now dating a man who lives in Uruguay. Bree divides her time between there and the states. She travels back to NE when she finds out that the serial killer who was convicted of killing her daughter, swears on his death bed that he didn't do it. Now Bree is questioning everything she thought she knew about what happened to her daughter, and who her daughter really was.
What I didn't like:
What was very difficult about this story is that the author didn't do a great job making us fall in love with Melanie or Bree. Did I feel bad for Bree? Of course. Did I like her, not so much. As a mother of a daughter, I could relate somewhat to how much her daughter's murder weighed on her, especially finding out it's possible the killer could still be at large. Buuuuuut, it turns out Bree didn't have a good relationship with Melanie and Melanie kept things from her. I really did not enjoy the first half of the book and almost DNF'd, but I kept going. The last half was much more enjoyable and the big twist was worth waiting for because I did not see that coming!
It was hard to get passed the fact that Bree became an immediate detective in her own right attempting to solve her daughter's murder. Think of watching a police procedural tv show where the speed at which things happen on tv are absolutely nothing like what happens in real life. That's how the pacing of this story was. But worse. You have to suspend all beliefs to get through it because nothing happens that fast and if you had the detective on speed dial everytime you found out the littlest thing, he would probably arrest you for harassment. Not kidding. But that was Bree.
What I enjoyed: The last 30ish % of the story. Which I won't give details on, because it is the best part. If you can hang in there, the end is enjoyable.
3.25 Stars rounded down to 3.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own.
Kate White is another new-to-me author. Her writing is different from what I'm accustomed to, but not in a bad way, just different. And it's always good to find a new author who changes the status quo. With that said, this book is a slowwwww burn. But once it ramps up, it's hard to put down because after getting through the first 60%, you owe it to yourself to find out who the killer is!
Short synopsis:
10 years after Bree's daughter Melanie was murdered, she is finally moving on. Divorced from Bree's father Logan, and now dating a man who lives in Uruguay. Bree divides her time between there and the states. She travels back to NE when she finds out that the serial killer who was convicted of killing her daughter, swears on his death bed that he didn't do it. Now Bree is questioning everything she thought she knew about what happened to her daughter, and who her daughter really was.
What I didn't like:
What was very difficult about this story is that the author didn't do a great job making us fall in love with Melanie or Bree. Did I feel bad for Bree? Of course. Did I like her, not so much. As a mother of a daughter, I could relate somewhat to how much her daughter's murder weighed on her, especially finding out it's possible the killer could still be at large. Buuuuuut, it turns out Bree didn't have a good relationship with Melanie and Melanie kept things from her. I really did not enjoy the first half of the book and almost DNF'd, but I kept going. The last half was much more enjoyable and the big twist was worth waiting for because I did not see that coming!
It was hard to get passed the fact that Bree became an immediate detective in her own right attempting to solve her daughter's murder. Think of watching a police procedural tv show where the speed at which things happen on tv are absolutely nothing like what happens in real life. That's how the pacing of this story was. But worse. You have to suspend all beliefs to get through it because nothing happens that fast and if you had the detective on speed dial everytime you found out the littlest thing, he would probably arrest you for harassment. Not kidding. But that was Bree.
What I enjoyed: The last 30ish % of the story. Which I won't give details on, because it is the best part. If you can hang in there, the end is enjoyable.
3.25 Stars rounded down to 3.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own.
September 29, 2025
This was not exciting.
Okay...I literally wanted to end the review right there because that kind of sums it up. But, if you need more...
* I did not like Bree. At one point,. she started to grow on me but then ended it with one bad decision and a ton of excuses for that decision. In real life, I would have been done with her.
* I did not understand why the first 20% of the book...was. It was 20% of pointlessness that could have been reduced to a few pages of backstory.
* Our dead daughter. While I was curious about who killed her and why, I absolutely felt nothing for the girl. The author gave us nothing here - the girl had little personality and I never, ever felt like she was real or interesting.
I did finish the book. I was curious enough to do so, but am also kind of glad it's over.
* ARC via Publisher
Okay...I literally wanted to end the review right there because that kind of sums it up. But, if you need more...
* I did not like Bree. At one point,. she started to grow on me but then ended it with one bad decision and a ton of excuses for that decision. In real life, I would have been done with her.
* I did not understand why the first 20% of the book...was. It was 20% of pointlessness that could have been reduced to a few pages of backstory.
* Our dead daughter. While I was curious about who killed her and why, I absolutely felt nothing for the girl. The author gave us nothing here - the girl had little personality and I never, ever felt like she was real or interesting.
I did finish the book. I was curious enough to do so, but am also kind of glad it's over.
* ARC via Publisher
March 31, 2026
I’m landing at a solid 2.75 stars for I Came Back for You by Kate White, and honestly… that feels generous but fair.
This book really wants to be a thriller. Like, it’s trying. You can feel it trying. But at the end of the day, it’s much more of a mystery, and not even a super gripping one. It’s one of those stories where you keep waiting for the tension to kick in, for something to really happen, and it just… never fully gets there.
It’s not bad. Let me be clear. I wasn’t suffering. But I also wasn’t invested the way I wanted to be. The plot moves, but it doesn’t build. There’s a difference. It felt like the story kept setting the table for something intense and dramatic, and then when it was time to serve the meal… we got a light snack.
And that’s kind of the whole vibe: mid. Not offensively bad, not memorable either. Just sitting there in the middle, minding its business.
I think if you go into this expecting a slower, more subdued mystery, you might enjoy it more. But if you’re looking for a thriller that’s going to have you stressed, gasping, or even mildly shook… this isn’t that book.
It didn’t miss completely, but it definitely didn’t stick the landing either.
This book really wants to be a thriller. Like, it’s trying. You can feel it trying. But at the end of the day, it’s much more of a mystery, and not even a super gripping one. It’s one of those stories where you keep waiting for the tension to kick in, for something to really happen, and it just… never fully gets there.
It’s not bad. Let me be clear. I wasn’t suffering. But I also wasn’t invested the way I wanted to be. The plot moves, but it doesn’t build. There’s a difference. It felt like the story kept setting the table for something intense and dramatic, and then when it was time to serve the meal… we got a light snack.
And that’s kind of the whole vibe: mid. Not offensively bad, not memorable either. Just sitting there in the middle, minding its business.
I think if you go into this expecting a slower, more subdued mystery, you might enjoy it more. But if you’re looking for a thriller that’s going to have you stressed, gasping, or even mildly shook… this isn’t that book.
It didn’t miss completely, but it definitely didn’t stick the landing either.
February 10, 2026
Eh, this book showed promise, but it was sort of slow moving and not much happened. The mystery was not suspenseful at all, a lot of the main character just talking in too much detail. I can’t really say why anyone would read this book, very mediocre. I guess that’s what I get for a free Amazon read.
March 24, 2026
5 Stars
From the Library of Sarah Ashley: #20
Ipicked up I Came Back for You by Kate White thinking I was getting a twisty thriller. What I did NOT expect was to also catch feelings, question all my life choices, and become a full-time armchair detective with a 0% success rate.
This story hits you right away with a mother’s grief that honestly just sits heavy in your chest. It’s raw, it’s messy, and it’s the kind of heartbreak that explains why someone would literally move across the world to start fresh. And let me tell you.. I was rooting for her while also whisper-yelling, “please make better choices” every five minutes.
Because somehow… SOMEHOW… she ends up thrown back together with her ex-husband. Yes. The ex. And his GIRLFRIEND - who PLOT TWIST he cheated on her with…
Add in too much wine 🍷, questionable decisions, and a whole lot of unresolved tension, and I was sitting there like:
“Ma’am… this is not a healing journey, this is chaos.”
And the twists?? THE TWISTS.
Every time I thought I cracked the case, the book said, “aw that’s adorable,” and pulled the rug out from under me. I was so confident at one point I basically nominated myself for detective of the year. Turns out I couldn’t solve my way out of a paper bag.
But underneath all the drama, bad decisions, and plot twists, this book really shows one powerful thing: a mother will go to the ends of the earth for answers. No matter how messy it gets, no matter who she has to face (even that ex), she doesn’t stop.
Final thoughts:
✔️ Twisty enough to destroy your ego
✔️ Emotional enough to punch you in the heart
✔️ Messy enough to make you feel better about your own life choices
10/10 — would absolutely spiral again.
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#BookReview #ThrillerReads #PlotTwists #EmotionalReads #MothersLove #MessyChoices #WineAndMistakes #CantPutItDown #JustOneMoreChapter #WhoDidIt #TotallyWrong #NoShelfControl #NSC #libraryofsarahashley
From the Library of Sarah Ashley: #20
Ipicked up I Came Back for You by Kate White thinking I was getting a twisty thriller. What I did NOT expect was to also catch feelings, question all my life choices, and become a full-time armchair detective with a 0% success rate.
This story hits you right away with a mother’s grief that honestly just sits heavy in your chest. It’s raw, it’s messy, and it’s the kind of heartbreak that explains why someone would literally move across the world to start fresh. And let me tell you.. I was rooting for her while also whisper-yelling, “please make better choices” every five minutes.
Because somehow… SOMEHOW… she ends up thrown back together with her ex-husband. Yes. The ex. And his GIRLFRIEND - who PLOT TWIST he cheated on her with…
Add in too much wine 🍷, questionable decisions, and a whole lot of unresolved tension, and I was sitting there like:
“Ma’am… this is not a healing journey, this is chaos.”
And the twists?? THE TWISTS.
Every time I thought I cracked the case, the book said, “aw that’s adorable,” and pulled the rug out from under me. I was so confident at one point I basically nominated myself for detective of the year. Turns out I couldn’t solve my way out of a paper bag.
But underneath all the drama, bad decisions, and plot twists, this book really shows one powerful thing: a mother will go to the ends of the earth for answers. No matter how messy it gets, no matter who she has to face (even that ex), she doesn’t stop.
Final thoughts:
✔️ Twisty enough to destroy your ego
✔️ Emotional enough to punch you in the heart
✔️ Messy enough to make you feel better about your own life choices
10/10 — would absolutely spiral again.
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#BookReview #ThrillerReads #PlotTwists #EmotionalReads #MothersLove #MessyChoices #WineAndMistakes #CantPutItDown #JustOneMoreChapter #WhoDidIt #TotallyWrong #NoShelfControl #NSC #libraryofsarahashley
March 10, 2026
Not a favorite
This just wasn't a favorite for me. Bree and Logan investigate their daughter's murder after new information comes to light. The pace was slow, the side story was disappointing and it all just seemed very anticlimactic.
This just wasn't a favorite for me. Bree and Logan investigate their daughter's murder after new information comes to light. The pace was slow, the side story was disappointing and it all just seemed very anticlimactic.
September 3, 2025
This was a page turner I couldn't put it down! I liked the character of Bree. (I find it notable that White often assigns names that start with "B" to her main characters.) The mystery of whether her daughter was killed by a convicted serial killer or not drives the story and then there is the relationship with her ex-husband that is compelling as well.
The synopsis says that college junior Melanie Chase was killed 10 years ago, but in the book it's been 8 years. It's a strange coincidence that Mel's former college is having a reception thanking Bree and her husband for their scholarship fund right after the man they thought killed Mel, Calvin Ruck, claims he didn't. Is he pulling their chain or is he just not willing to take "credit" for something he truly didn't do? Bree decides to leave her new home in Uruguay with current partner Sebastian to go to the reception and look into things with the police there. And there is nothing full of more secrets and suspicious characters than a college campus!
The ending was a surprise - I didn't predict whodunnit - BUT my biggest complaint is the pacing. The killer is found and caught rather uneventfully at 90%. The last 10% is Bree going home and dealing with the emotional fallout of everything. I actually thought there'd be a twist and that they had the wrong killer because there was quite a bit of book left! That was my only complaint and knocked it down a star for me.
I'm also confused about the cover of this book - it makes it look like someone drowns but that's not part of the story at all. Maybe it's to do with the creek? But that isn't related to Melanie's case at all.
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and give my honest review!
The synopsis says that college junior Melanie Chase was killed 10 years ago, but in the book it's been 8 years. It's a strange coincidence that Mel's former college is having a reception thanking Bree and her husband for their scholarship fund right after the man they thought killed Mel, Calvin Ruck, claims he didn't. Is he pulling their chain or is he just not willing to take "credit" for something he truly didn't do? Bree decides to leave her new home in Uruguay with current partner Sebastian to go to the reception and look into things with the police there. And there is nothing full of more secrets and suspicious characters than a college campus!
The ending was a surprise - I didn't predict whodunnit - BUT my biggest complaint is the pacing. The killer is found and caught rather uneventfully at 90%. The last 10% is Bree going home and dealing with the emotional fallout of everything. I actually thought there'd be a twist and that they had the wrong killer because there was quite a bit of book left! That was my only complaint and knocked it down a star for me.
I'm also confused about the cover of this book - it makes it look like someone drowns but that's not part of the story at all. Maybe it's to do with the creek? But that isn't related to Melanie's case at all.
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and give my honest review!
March 8, 2026
Nearly DNF. So slow and most of the book is main character acting like a police detective, telling us what she ate, all the calling everyone who will then magically call back 5mins later or constant taxi/ uber updates. It was like reading a boring day in life timeline for 300 pages. It was just so torturous, even the “twists” were blah that in end I didnt care who killed Melanie. Glad this was a freebie from Amazon.
February 11, 2026
Really conflicted with this one. The plot twist was good, but it was hard to stay engaged for at least the first half.
March 29, 2026
Location:
Primarily upstate New York & peripherally in gorgeous Uruguay.
Time frame:
Current, yet the murder occurred 10 years ago.
This book was fast paced.
The setting was important, too (college in Upstate New York).
I will admit that I read the first half of the book before going to sleep. However, I kept waking up because I was spooked from the story. [Most people don’t find this book too scary.]
I definitely enjoyed Kate White’s I Came Back For You & recommend it.
“…If I walk around long enough, I will bump into her ghost here.”
Primarily upstate New York & peripherally in gorgeous Uruguay.
Time frame:
Current, yet the murder occurred 10 years ago.
This book was fast paced.
The setting was important, too (college in Upstate New York).
I will admit that I read the first half of the book before going to sleep. However, I kept waking up because I was spooked from the story. [Most people don’t find this book too scary.]
I definitely enjoyed Kate White’s I Came Back For You & recommend it.
“…If I walk around long enough, I will bump into her ghost here.”
March 5, 2026
Bree’s daughter, Melanie, was murdered ten years ago and appears to be finally moving on with her life, that is until a deathbed confession from the convicted killer causes her to question everything and return to the place she never wanted to go again in order to determine what exactly happened the night her daughter was killed.
This was a slow burn in the beginning, but then it really begins to pick up the pace, and that was when I was glued to the story and could not stop listening until it was done. Sarah Naughton was fantastic as a narrator, and the audio overall was great.
Thank you to MB Communications and Amazon Publishing #partner for the finished copy and to Brilliance Audio for the ALC to review.
This was a slow burn in the beginning, but then it really begins to pick up the pace, and that was when I was glued to the story and could not stop listening until it was done. Sarah Naughton was fantastic as a narrator, and the audio overall was great.
Thank you to MB Communications and Amazon Publishing #partner for the finished copy and to Brilliance Audio for the ALC to review.
February 14, 2026
It was okay. While I really enjoyed the story, I didn’t connect to the writing style. So many unnecessary words.
Good twists though. It’s definitely a who done it novel.
Good twists though. It’s definitely a who done it novel.
January 28, 2026
Review to come.
February 16, 2026
Too slow. Too many characters with no wrap up for multiple of them. They just fall out of the story. Almost DNF it but forced my way to the ending. The relationship with her new husband felt off the whole time honestly. Overall not a fan.
September 3, 2025
⭐️2.5 stars⭐️
A twisty mystery that will keep you guessing. The pacing for the first half of the book is VERY slow, but I thoroughly enjoyed the second half. A true “whodunit” that will have you theorizing until the very end.
While I really enjoyed the story, I found the characters to lack depth. I wasn’t emotionally invested in any of them except Logan, the ex-husband. I found Bree (FMC) to be a bit infuriating at times. Her character seemed very timid and not at all assertive in the beginning of the book, but then she abruptly became this pushy person (rightfully so because she wanted justice for her daughter) that seemed out of character to who she was in the beginning. I did particularly enjoy how the book ended, it was one of the few times I felt emotionally connected to the characters.
Overall, I found the plot to be very intriguing, and I enjoyed reading the book. I just wish the characters had more depth to them so I could feel invested in what they were doing.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an advanced eBook copy!
A twisty mystery that will keep you guessing. The pacing for the first half of the book is VERY slow, but I thoroughly enjoyed the second half. A true “whodunit” that will have you theorizing until the very end.
While I really enjoyed the story, I found the characters to lack depth. I wasn’t emotionally invested in any of them except Logan, the ex-husband. I found Bree (FMC) to be a bit infuriating at times. Her character seemed very timid and not at all assertive in the beginning of the book, but then she abruptly became this pushy person (rightfully so because she wanted justice for her daughter) that seemed out of character to who she was in the beginning. I did particularly enjoy how the book ended, it was one of the few times I felt emotionally connected to the characters.
Overall, I found the plot to be very intriguing, and I enjoyed reading the book. I just wish the characters had more depth to them so I could feel invested in what they were doing.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an advanced eBook copy!
March 31, 2026
4.5 stars 🌟
this story was so good and i flew through it in a day!! it was so easy to read, i got hooked on the plot immediately, and i loved the pacing and writing of the story. i haven’t read a book this quickly in a long time and will def be reading more of kate white’s books 😌
this story was so good and i flew through it in a day!! it was so easy to read, i got hooked on the plot immediately, and i loved the pacing and writing of the story. i haven’t read a book this quickly in a long time and will def be reading more of kate white’s books 😌
read-fiction
February 14, 2026I received an advanced copy of this book, so I am reviewing it before its publication. While it was not a bad book, I found Bree, the central character, to be a troubled and troublesome woman--and she had every right to be troubled as her only child, her daughter Melanie (a college student), had been murdered several years earlier. But I didn't like Bree very much, so that decreased my enjoyment of the book. Those who are fans of intricate mystery stories (more than I am), though, will likely find this narrative to be of considerable interest, which will make many of them want to keep on and keep on reading to see how things turn out.
February 28, 2026
Years after the murder of their only child near her college campus, the still grieving parents - who divorced following the tragedy - return to the quaint NE town to memorialize their daughter through scholarships and building funds, when new leads on the cold case create turmoil throughout the community, while flaring long-suppressed emotions between the parents in Karen White’s thrilling who-dun-it, “I Came Back For You.”
JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Karen White, and Publisher Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this advance copy prior to publication.
JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Karen White, and Publisher Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this advance copy prior to publication.
March 9, 2026
i hated it
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