Isabella’s NOT dead.
That’s what Gwen tells anyone who asks about the best friend who ghosted them all fifteen years ago. But if Isabella’s not dead, then where is she? And why did she leave, just when Gwen needed her most?
Freshly fifty-three, out of a job and with children who no longer need her, Gwen decides to find out. Setting out to solve the mystery, Gwen embarks on an adventure across the country then across Europe that will test her friendships and her marriage, putting her on a collision course with reluctant acquaintances, a mother-in-law best described as eccentric, and a rabbit hole full of clues.
But Isabella’s not the only one who’s lost.
A tale of deep, frayed friendship, fractured memories, and skewed perspective, Isabella’s Not Dead is the story of one woman’s quest to reclaim her best friend, and herself. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
Isabella’s Not Dead took a strange twisty turn about midway through the book that I didn’t see coming. And it was a fantastic way to incorporate a little mystery and suspense into the story. When Gwen’s friends from school gather together for a girls’ reunion trip, notably absent is Isabella, someone Gwen used to consider as her ride or die. There are a lot of guilty feelings on Gwen’s part, because she admittedly dropped the ball in trying to reconnect with her best friend over the years, citing just how quickly life got in the way for her. On the one hand, it appears as though Isabella doesn’t want to be found. But from another perspective, Gwen has dropped the ball in a lot of areas of her life, prompting her to find her missing friend.
I thought it was interesting how the journey Gwen takes in finding Isabella ends up being the way that Gwen ultimately finds herself again. Usually, Gwen puts herself in the backseat, preferring to make everyone else a priority. But despite the questions and lack of support she gets from mostly everyone when she tells them she’s trying to find her missing friend, she stays the course, bringing back the old Gwen, the one she remembers flourished when in her friendship with Isabella.
Of course, my ultimate need stemmed from knowing whether Isabella really was to be found. That’s when things got really exciting. In order to know the answer to that, Gwen has to reconnect with some people that she remembers from the past, but hasn’t seen in years. I thought the way everything played out was very witty and smartly done. I also appreciated when certain answers became revealed–there were psychological thriller vibes involved and I was there for it!
Overall, the friendship aspect was the best, particularly in moments when Gwen needs all the help she can get, not knowing just how much her friends will be there for her, from start to finish. It was a great five-star experience!
Thanks to Putnam for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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