Don't Try To Find Me: A Novel

Written by Holly Brown

Narrated by Hillary Huber, Angela Goethals and James Fouhey

When a fourteen-year-old runs away, her parents turn to social media to find her—launching a public campaign that will expose their darkest secrets and change their family forever, in this suspenseful and gripping debut for fans of Reconstructing Amelia and Gone Girl.

Don’t try to find me. Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley’s hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.

As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police have “limited resources.” If they want their fourteen-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves. Desperation becomes determination when Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter, and launches FindMarley.com.

But Marley isn’t the only one with secrets.

With public exposure comes scrutiny, and when Rachel blows a television interview, the dirty speculation begins. Now, the blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. It’s not what they think; Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. But when it’s discovered that she’s lied, even to the police, the devoted mother becomes a suspect in Marley’s disappearance.

Is Marley out there somewhere, watching it all happen, or is the truth something far worse? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jul 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062332264

Holly Brown

Holly Brown lives with her husband and toddler daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she's a practicing marriage and family therapist. She is the author of the novel Don't Try to Find Me, and her blog, "Bonding Time," is featured on the mental health website PsychCentral.com.

Reviews for Don't Try To Find Me

[amandanan · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Was not surprised on how this story wrapped up, at all. The naïveté of the protagonist was EXCRUCIATING.

[jeanie0510 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I kept plodding along with this book hoping that it would get better. My fellow reviewers have expressed my feelings about it better than I could. Definitely not a thriller, but rather a book about a dysfunctional family and how they are all affected when the 14 year old daughter runs away.

[bookappeal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A 14-year-old runs away from home, leaving a note on the refrigerator for her parents, Rachel and Paul: "Don't try to find me." In alternating chapters, Marley reveals why she left and Rachel expresses her confusion and fear. Rachel had no idea Marley was unhappy but, forced to examine their lives, she realizes that she missed signs and squandered opportunities to discover how her teenager was handling their recent move to a new town. Paul launches a social media blitz to find Marley, a clever strategy that makes sense but exposes the family to the scrutiny of strangers. Holly Brown's writing style is excellent for expressing the range of emotions Rachel experiences and the illogical thoughts of Marley as she rationalizes her actions when the reality of her situation becomes quite different from what she anticipated. Though billed as a thriller, this is more of an exploration of family dynamics and the psychology of teenaged girls. The story doesn't have much propulsion but credit to Holly Brown for her creative depiction of searching for a runaway in a connected world. Suitable for older teen readers with some non-graphic sexual and abusive content and occasional strong language.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had a love hate relationship with this book. The story follows alternating viewpoints between a mother and her fourteen year old daughter after she has gone "missing." Marley fed up with her life and the sham of her parent's marriage decides to up and leave much to the surprise and shock of her family. Her parents, her mother especially, never saw it coming. They may not have been a perfect family unit, but Rachel can't see her only child running away. What's the motive, how could she have vanished without a trace? As the story progresses more of the family dynamic is brought to light and it's easy to see why Marley chose to run and why Rachel was able to turn a blind eye towards her daughters behavior. Marley's story is especially frustrating because the place that she fled too is not at all what she envisioned. Kids, NEVER blindly meet someone you met off the internet!! It will not end well!! An interesting read that explores family dynamics, fourteen year old angst, social media, and psychiatry.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I have had this book on my To Be Read shelf for a while. When the paperback copy came out I was reminded about this book sitting on my shelf. So I picked up my copy to read this book. At first I was intrigued by what was happening in the story. I wanted to know what happened to Marley. Did she run off on her own accord or did something more terrible happen to her? The way that Marley's mother, Rachel acted I did find odd. At first I found the way she reacted cold and like she was moving in a fog of daze. As if she was stuck in her own head and not part of reality. I kept yelling at her to show emotion...hate,fear,love,etc. Even though Marley's father, Paul was not one of the main characters he did show emotion and therefore I felt a connection with him. This book alternates between Rachel and Marley's voices sharing insight into the past and present. No strong voices in either women and a monotone pace makes this book a bit of a snoozer.

[judithdcollins · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

DON'T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown, a story of a fourteen year old freshman girl Marley who has taken off from her home in California, leaving her mom, Rachel and dad Paul with only a note stating not to find her.

Estranged from her old friends from her San Francisco Bay area middle school, and unfortunately not making any real strong connections in the new rural high school, where their family has recently relocated-- Marty takes off on a bus to meet her online boyfriend in Durham, NC.

While the campaign broadens to find their daughter, more of the focus turns to Rachel, the self-absorbed mom. Yes, her mom and dad have some issues, but where is the suspense? Told in alternating voices, unfortunately, this debut novel did not live up. It was off to a good start, and fell flat.

The positives The concept and the relation to social media. Would be good for a teenage girl (young adult classification), demonstrating the risks and caution to use with online social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and how not to trust others so easily by running off to meet them.

The negatives In my opinion, this book is not a thriller. It is more about family dynamics, secrets, and relationships of father, mother, and daughter. At most a dysfunctional family, with some minor problems. Nothing really deep or dark here, worthy of being classified as a thriller. I kept waiting for a big suspense build up, a shocker, or something really bad to happen. It fell flat, with no likable characters, no personality, no humor or wit, and nothing to really hold it together. 2.5 Stars

I listened to the audiobook (not a pleasant experience), as the narrator for character Rachel, the mom–Hillary Huber, had the most annoying voice. This strongly affected the overall novel, making it very difficult to listen. The other two performers, Angela Goethals (Marty) and James Fouhey, (Paul) were ok; however, the character development, left a lot to be desired. (Yes, this audiobook has been returned for a credit).

[joyanne-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Marley has run away to meet her online boyfriend who lives across the country, leaving a note for her parents that says "Don't try to find me". Having recently relocated she has no friends in her new school and has not stayed in contact with friends from the former school her parents have little to go on. As her parents put all they have into finding her things about her mother are exposed. I found this to be a well written drama with a hint of mystery, a story about family secrets and relationships though I wasn't able to connect with the characters like I wanted. Overall a pretty good debut novel. I received a free copy of this book from Harper Collins Publishers in exchange for an honest review.