*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Abby Hartmann, known as a cheerful, vivacious, tour-de-force, disappeared from the streets of the University of Iowa. Two weeks later, Jon Allen Blue brutally murdered two sorority girls as they slept and disfigured another before launching into a killing spree spreading from Iowa to Kentucky. With no body ever found, and, to the horror of her two closest friends, Abby fades into the background of Blue's other atrocities.

Bree and Chelsea, the girls left behind, are still struggling to find their footing twelve years after tragedy struck. Bree, a photography professor at a small college, still finds herself seeking out bad relationships in an ill-guided attempt for validation. Chelsea, a vicor at an Episcopal church, feels tethered despite her loving husband and devoted congregation. Neither can move past losing Abby, and with the execution of Blue looming closer-- so does the end of any chance of closure.

DON'T FORGET THE GIRL is marketed as a thriller, but I would argue it's a dark literary fiction that focuses on intense character development. Bree and Chelsea, are painfully flawed and scarred-- the entire book focused on exploring their raw grief and trauma. This book is not an intricate mystery, but it is a gripping examination of two humans at their brokest, and what lengths they will go to recover.