Title: Kiss Her Goodbye
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publication: August 12, 2025
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 416
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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
A young mother haunted by war, determined to make a fresh start. But sometimes, the sins of the past aren’t so easy to escape.
Recent Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. The local police have yet to open a case, while her older, domineering husband seems unconcerned. Sabera’s closest friend, however, is convinced Sabera would never willingly leave her three‑year old daughter. At her insistence, missing persons expert Frankie Elkin agrees to take up the search through the broiling streets of Tucson. Just in time for a video of the young mother to surface—showing her walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder.
Frankie quickly realizes there’s much more to the Ahmadi family than meets the eye. The father Isaad is a brilliant mathematician, Sabera a gifted linguist, and their little girl Zahra—she has an uncanny ability to remember anything she sees. Which given everything that has happened during the girl’s short life, may be a terrible curse. When Isaad also disappears under mysterious circumstances and an attempt is made on Zahra’s life, Frankie realizes she must quickly crack the code of this family’s horrific past.
Someone is coming for the Ahmadis. And violence is clearly an option. When everything is on the line, how far would you go to protect the ones you love?
Frankie is about to find out.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
There is no hiding that Lisa Gardner is my favorite author. If you look back at other reviews of her books I have mentioned it a bunch. With that, though, I feel like I am harder on her books than most because I have extremely high expectations. Kiss Her Goodbye took a totally different vibe than her previous books and I think may be one of her most intricate pieces of work yet!
Kiss Her Goodbye follows the Ahmadis and Frankie Elkins as she looks for a missing mother in a refugee population where not everyone trusts the police or those who seem like them. First off, Frankie Elkins is my favorite Gardner character ever. She’s so raw and unfiltered that reading her is definitely a good time. Also, the setting of this book was very different than what Gardner has done in the past, and it felt gritty and real and all the things you don’t typically associate with her books. The characters were so interesting, and I loved the cultural aspect of the story. I felt I learned a lot about a culture I was not very familiar with.
Gardner is so good at writing the layers to people, where you start small and by the end you have this really in-depth view of this person and who they are. I felt like the mystery in this story definitely kept me guessing. I could not track who was bad, who was good, and who had questionable motives. It took me longer to read because of its heavy nature, but the intricacies Gardner weaved into the story were incredible to try and decipher.
On top of all that, the side characters were some of my favorites from any book I’ve ever read. I loved the housekeeper/chef and the bodyguard/driver. I loved the reptiles she had to take care of and the families Frankie met along the way. They really added layers and some light moments when you needed them most.
I cannot say it enough, but Lisa Gardner is the Thriller Queen! She should legitimately have a crown because no one comes close. Kiss Her Goodbye will grip you from the beginning and twist your insides as you fight your way to the end to see how it will all come to fruition. I cannot wait for her next book, as usual!
