If You Were Here audiobook

If you were here by Alafair Burke is a HarperCollins publication. This was a June 2013 release.I received a copy of this book from the publishers and Edelweiss.Nicky has been stealing cell phones from New Yorkers until one day in the subways he stole from the wrong lady. He was chased down and nearly killed on the tracks. The woman saved his life and also retrieved her cell phone.Now McKenna is doing a story for the magazine publication she works for about the incident. When a cell phone video surfaces, McKenna is stunned to see the woman in the subway bears a striking resemblance to her good friend, Susan , that disappeared ten years ago.McKenna begins to obsess about the disappearance again and contacts the detective assigned to Susan's case. This brings back memories of another time in MeKenna's life when she worked for the District Attorney's office. She had had to leave that job due to delving into an officer involved shooting of a young black man, that was supposed to have been self defense, but McKenna believed there was more to it.Soon after McKenna begins to look back into Susan's disappearance, things start to get ugly for her. She has major work related issues, and worst of all she feels like her husband is holding information about Susan and she can no longer trust anyone.Is Susan still alive? What does everyone else seem to know, but McKenna?This is a multi layered mystery suspense novel. Two old cases, one mostly forgotten and the truths long buried, the other one cold as ice.Now, someone is trying to kill people that were involved in both of those cases, and McKenna is at the very heart of the story.Everything unfolds at the perfect pace. The mystery continues to deepen and the suspense continues to build, with one twist after another. We are all pulling for McKenna and we hope she will be able to finally find peace in her personal life and in her professional life.The secondary characters that work with McKenna are also interesting and we hope they will also be able to finally shut the door on past resentments and find peace in their personal lives as well.This was very interesting and original novel. I recommend this novel to those who enjoy mystery, suspense with a bit of a darker tone. Overall an A

This book was mailed to me from the publishing company after I didn’t get a copy from BEA13. I waited in line for a while only to find out I just missed out. I left my information and honestly didn’t think they would send me a copy the following week like they said. I think it actually showed up three weeks after BEA13 and I had completely forgotten about it.If you had a friend who just vanished of the Earth, would you consider her dead after five years or just think she is in hiding? A mysterious woman chances a boy who just stole her cell phone though the crowds of a New York subway platform. The video of the chase goes viral when someone sees her lift the fallen kid off the tracks before the on coming train runs him over. Yes! She saves his life, gets her phone back and no one knows who this super woman is. Once the whole world has seen it one person thinks she knows the name of the mysterious super woman but that would mean she was not dead after all.There are some books that love to create a web of several story lines only to bring you back full circle. Then there are the others that make a small situation into the end of the world complicated. This book is a bit of both. You will go from one story about the kid and cell phone then you will find yourself reading about the FBI, dead cops and terrorist. The story reminds me of an episode of Law and Order. One minute it’s a dead person and the next you are on an undercover sting for the Russian underground sex slave business. This book tries to bring all the Law and Order elements into your journey. You have the report for a magazine who use to be a Lawyer. There is the detective helping her out along the way, the FBI and the bad guys. Everyone is here.I think I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of webs this story created and how we get from point A to point B. There Is just to much going on and I would have liked it to be a bit simpler. I know life is not simple but…the boyfriend too! How many people need to be involved? The overall story is good and I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Law and Order. There is a bit of violence here and there but nothing too gross and bloody.

Well thought out, engaging mystery. Probably could have been easy to figure out, but I just enjoyed the ride and liked how things unfolded. A few of the threads were kind of red herrings, but that's to be expected. I appreciated how the author revealed the back story--she did it in small portions, but I was never left feeling like I was being kept in the dark too long. The timing was well done.

Not my favorite Alafair Burke book, but still quite enjoyable. A few unique twists and “a-ha!” moments.

McKenna Wright is a heroine I can believe in. No super powers or jumping into a situation wiser women would get away from. She's smart, yes, but also blessed with common sense. She's married to a West Point grad and they were both friends with one of his classmates, Susan Hauptmann. They were aware that Susan had problems with her stern military father. Then Susan seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. She left behind everything in her life in New York City, and no clue where she had gone. No body was ever found.It has been ten years now and McKenna, a former assistant D.A. and now a journalist, is fact finding for a story about a young man who fell onto the subway tracks but was saved by a woman who ran off without identifying herself. When McKenna sees a tape of it, she is shocked to recognize the woman who saved him as her long-lost friend.McKenna is no longer a lawyer and that in itself is a strange story. Now she is trying to find Susan and gets into the middle of another strange tale.The characters McKenna meets along the way are believable as well. Through each one she learns a little bit more but doesn't know who to trust, even her husband is acting suspicious. Was he involved with Susan? Does he know she is actually alive? A detective McKenna had offended years ago becomes an ally in the hunt.I didn't figure out the whole story until it was spelled out to me in the final chapters, but then it made perfect sense. I requested the book because I had read Alafair Burke before, and I certainly wasn't disappointed this time either.Highly recommendedSource: Amazon Vine

If You Were Here is story with a gripping plot filled with love, friendship, secrets and betrayal. This novel was clearly well researched, and the impressive main character - McKenna Jordan - shines throughout the novel as a strong, educated and determined woman. Although this book did not fall into my typical reading style, I am very impressed by the level of story-telling expertise needed by an author to have a story in which every character seems to have a secret that flawlessly compliments the overall plot line. I will definitely be exploring more novels by this author!

What a smart, suspenseful read! If You Were Here has all the elements I've come to expect from an Alafair Burke book and I read this one in record time. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a crime/legal thriller with a smart female lead.My full review is here: https://hannahslibrary.com/2020/01/17...

Alafair Burke has this incredible knack for spinning topics within topics. Oh, she weaves a mighty web of deceit that rolls straight up into a giant snowball... thus everyone in the path is touched with a bit of tragedy. Sometimes the paths we choose are not always wise and our decisions on the path lead into much more trouble. Maybe... just maybe, had one person really left and chose a path to prosper... other dominoes wouldn't have fallen and yet karma did strike back on those with greedy, sticky fingers. I loved the blend of lawyer/reporter sleuthing techniques to uncover the stories that needed to be told. Brilliant prose with a dash of personal relationships... how important secrets kept hidden can damage even the best, sturdy friendships and or marriages.

If You Were Here is Alafair Burke’s 9th novel – but only my 1st. In fact, I had never heard of her before getting this ARC from HarperCollins. I have to say that I liked it quite a bit. It’s very humbling to learn that there are a ton of authors that I don’t know who have all written a bunch of books. I would have to read 700 books a year instead of 70 to begin to know who’s out there.But enough about my literary inadequacy. If You Were Here has a very intricate plot. I’ll give you a brief synopsis. 10 years ago, McKenna Wright is a promising ADA (assistant district attorney), until she wrongly accuses a policeman, Officer Macklin, of murdering a street thug. Her actions create enormous racial tension in NYC and ruin Macklin’s career. This blow-up leads McKenna to leave the DA’s office, and she ultimately ends up as a journalist for NYC Magazine. Following so far?10 years later, McKenna comes across video footage of an old friend, Susan Hauptmann, who saves a teenage boy from being crushed in the New York subway. Susan has been missing for most of those 10 years. In her pursuit of Susan, McKenna prints a story about a judge for the magazine that is discredited and, once again, lands her in hot water. She is fired from the magazine and sets out, on her own, to find out who is working so hard to make her look bad.I’m actually doing a pretty lousy job of summing this book up. There is so much that happens that I simply can’t do justice to the synopsis – even though I earlier bragged that I would do just that. Besides McKenna, Susan, and Officer Macklin, there is a cast of tens, and they all have big parts. A few of them are:Patrick Jordan, McKenna’s husbandJoe Scanlin, the detective who handled the shooting 10 years earlierGeneral and Gretchen Hauptmann, Susan’s sister and fatherWill Getty, the district attorney who McKenna worked for at the time of the big fiascoCarl Buckner, a very bright and conscientious hit manAdam Bayne, a classmate of Patrick’s and Susan’s at West Point, who goes into business with General HauptmannJamie Mercado, FBI agentBob Vance, McKenna’s boss at NYC MagazineAnd a bunch moreWith as many important and well-developed characters as are in the book, you might think that the story would be hard to follow. But it’s not. Each character is well-defined and fits in perfectly with the story and each other. I liked it a lot and give it a 3 out of 4. And, by the way, this is my 11th 3 out of 34 books in 2013, plus 5-3.5’s, 1-4.0, and 1-4.5. That is a percentage of 52.9% that are 3 or higher. That’s pretty darn good. I knew you would want to know.

I loved this newest book of Ms. Burke's. There has been a lot said about the lead character, McKenna Wright "not being comfortable in her own skin" or "jumpy and not focused"; I agree with these sentiments! However, instead of finding fault with the writing or book based on these assertions, I actually felt it made the character more relatable. Who can keep their focus and not jump to conclusions when emotionally invested in the subject? Which of us does not have flaws we need to overcome as a person? For me, these made the character more real and her flaws drew me into her. I wanted to see her grow; I wanted to see her gain perspective. In fact, McKenna is described as a character who hates to NOT excel and will give up on something if she cannot be the best. Therefore, as we watch he story progress she and the reader can see how these choices have hurt her and that she needs to work hard to overcome them.Additionally, there were a lot of storylines, and possibilities, I felt Ms. Burke, tied them together and handled them well. They were well described and tied together. I loved that she kept me guessing till the end. In fact, I was so into the characters, at one point when I felt the book was going in a specific direction I was upset and rushed to read to the end putting everything else aside in my life to finish it! In fact, even though she was not "there" I felt that Susan Hauptman was well developed and allowed for emotional insight and attachment in spite of her role in the book as a character that is really not seen. I have to say for me the fact that McKenna screws up, jumps to conclusions, and goes with her gut makes me LOVE her. Ms. Burke portrays her lead characters emotional attachment to the subject. No one is objective when they are emotionally connected to a story or incident. I think McKenna nails it. I like a character that has flaws, who of us does not have flaws? The book allows us to see McKenna’s growth! I could not read it fast enough and cannot recommend it more!

Can we really know another person? That question is at the crux of this excellent Alafair Burke standalone suspense novel.McKenna Wright Jordan thought she knew Susan Hauptmann, her friend who’d vanished a decade ago, and was devastated when the police and everyone else gave up hope Susan was still alive.Then, suddenly, a scratchy video of a woman rescuing a youth from death in a subway accident, revives hope she’d been right all along.But police, friends and even Patrick, her husband, who’d been a classmate of Susan at West Point, are reluctant to accept the shaky evidence to which she clings. And when the evidence also begins disappearing McKenna’s credibility and her new career as a journalist crumble in a frightening reminder of how a mistake ended her former life as a prosecutor in the wake of Susan’s disappearance.McKenna faces a series of devastating blows which lead her to distrust even her beloved husband before her tenacity earns her the support of Scanlin, a cop who has had his own reasons for not liking or believing her in the past.A cracking good suspense tale. Engaging characters, lots of twists and turns and a surprise ending.

Outstanding! This case-within-a-case will keep you guessing until the very end!

This is more a mystery/thriller than one or the other, and the twists did surprise me (although in retrospect one of them was a little telegraphed). McKenna (yes, that's the first name!) is a former prosecutor, one brought down by apparently falsely accusing a police officer of using a drop piece to claim that his shooting was in self-defense. It turns out this was one of those odd consequences, she was wrong, she was vilified and lost her job. Ten years later she's married and has reinvented her life as a reporter. The new assignment? Talk to a high school baseball star, one who was saved from death on the subway tracks by a mysterious woman. McKenna suspects there's something more to this and - surprise - she's right. The "slip" onto the tracks came as the student was being chased by the woman he'd stolen an iPhone from, and his savior? The same woman. Who might, very possibly, be an old friend who disappeared years ago.Suddenly McKenna's life is turned upside down. Another article she's working on is declared to be "worse than Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass", another disgrace and another job loss. The video of the subway saving disappears from all servers and the originating cell phone. Her husband has a mysterious conversation that implies he knows where Susan is and how to find her. Somehow this is tied in to environmental terrorism - maybe. The only person she can turn to is the detective who investigated Susan's disappearance.The twists occasionally stretch credulity, but never so far that it breaks. McKenna's questions about her marriage to Patrick, her friendship with Susan and her ability to do her job don't feel planted but grow organically from her investigations. So why the four star? The explanation of what happened ten years ago (the accusation against the cop) was a little muddied. Some of the characters were a little unbelievable (Dana, the photographer, in particular). Plus, really, today you do not need to explain what RT means in a tweet. Assume the audience knows.ARC provided by publisher.

At first I was afraid I would tire of this book quickly and toss it across the room if the author didn't stop trying to impress us with descriptions and phrases that crossed the line into the 'trying too hard' camp. I'd be reading blissfully along in the flow of words that sounded like what a normal person would think and suddenly BOOM, there would be a phrase screaming "Look, I'm literary!" or "Look, I'm so creative with my descriptions!" It was jarring. Fortunately, this didn't last much beyond the first few chapters and I was able to lose myself in the narrative.And really, the story being told shines on its own without the (to me) clumsy attempts to spark up the writing. I like my mysteries light and fluffy, this was a little deeper and grittier than what I normally read, a bit reminiscent of some of John Grisham's early books. Not necessarily non-stop action, but always something new to discover as we get to the root of what is going on. I think the best part was the unveiling of the numerous plot twists, that little punch in the gut of surprise. For the most part they really were surprising (with the exception of the final one, although the method of reveal was unexpected).I'm looking forward to finding more of Burke's books to read.

Journalist McKenna Wright sees footage of a woman rescuing a teenager who had fallen onto the train tracks.McKenna recognizes the woman as an old friend who had disappeared nearly ten years ago. This woman, Susan Hauptmann, was a classmate of McKenna's husband when he was at West Point.Thinking that this might be a good story for her paper, McKenna begins looking into Susan's disappearance not realizing that in doing so, she's placing her life and her husband's in danger.Also taking up McKenna's time is a story she was doing on a police killing of a young man and the police officer who was accused of killing the man when the man was unarmed.McKenna becomes partnered with Det. Joe Scanlin who feels that he didn't do justice to the case when Hauptmann disappeared. The reason is that Scanlin's wife was fighting Alzheimer's disease at the time.Alafair Burke has spun a complex plot that moves along nicely with appropriate tension. The last hundred pages of the story are very exciting as parts of McKenna's investigation and legal case come together.

Alafair Burke wowed me!!! Several times throughout this book; I thought I knew how all the pieces fell into place, only to find out that I didn’t. This was a book that was filled with rich wonderful characters that tore at your heart strings, caused you to hold your breath and run with the character in a hurry. I loved this book, esp. because it wasn’t all pat and dry. I loved the fact that there was more than one main character. All the characters were fully developed into people you felt you knew. Most writers have two or maybe three characters that the reader gets to know, love and or hate; this one bonds you to the majority of the characters.This book was more than a “who done it” and “why”; but a story of several lives and how they all mingled together to form the relationships. There was laughter, tears, uncertainty and puzzlement and finally the ending which was just as it should have been; even though I didn’t figure it out before hand. I applaud this writer! I bought this book via Amazon.com