Quick take
Hike at your own risk signs never mention the potential for murder. These two frenemies could've used the warning.
Good to know
Action-packed
Female friendships
Unreliable narrator
Quest
Synopsis
Emily is having the time of her life—she's in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of their trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she'd been flirting with attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year's trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can't believe it's happened again—can lightning really strike twice?
Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving head-first into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her friend's motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their coverups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can she outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom—even her life?
Free sample
Get an early look from the first pages of We Were Never Here.
We Were Never Here
Chapter 1
Kristen trotted to the patio’s edge and crouched, long arm outstretched. Her fingers groped along a vine, lifting leaves, exposing the tender stalks beneath. I pictured her tipping over and tumbling off, there and then not there, the afterimage of her silhouette still hanging in my vision. I don’t know why. For a wild moment, I pictured pushing her.
Instead I half stood from the table. “Kristen, don’t,” I called. The wooden patio perched on stilts above the vines below and we were alone, as we had been almost everywhere we’d stopped this week. Empty restaurants, empty markets, empty tourist information centers. An occasional cluster of other visitors standing or sitting nearby despite everyone having all the space in the world.
A snapping sound and Kristen stood, holding up a blob of green grapes. She popped one into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Not bad. Catch.”
I missed the toss and the grapes bounced onto the glass tabletop. I glanced around, then tried one—it burst bright and tart on my tongue.
“He said their yield sucks this year. You didn’t need to take an entire bunch.”
She sank into her chair and lifted her pisco sour, lime green and frothy. “I’ll leave ’em a few extra pesos on the way out. I was hungry.” She nudged her glass against mine. “You’d rather see me steal some grapes than get low blood sugar, right?”
“Fair point.” Hangry Kristen could cut to the core.
A man with a bandanna looped around his head was watching us from far out in the fields, just before the grapevines bumped up against a row of bushy trees. Beyond that, braided hills cut a jagged horizon. Kristen waved at the worker and he nodded.
Why I love it
Anna Pitoniak
Author, Necessary People
We Were Never Here is a gripping, thought-provoking thriller about two ride-or-die best friends who meet up once a year for an epic travel adventure. It's a special kind of friendship: Even though Emily lives in Wisconsin, and Kristen lives in Australia, they are committed to each other. Committed enough that, when tragedy strikes, they're willing to help the other person cover up a dead body—not once, but twice. They share these secrets because they know they can trust each other. If they both keep their mouths shut, they’ll both be safe.
But what if one of them starts behaving oddly? What if, suddenly, they start doubting the other person? What happens if they lose that trust?
I devoured this novel in a handful of sittings. I was desperate to know what was going to happen to Emily and Kristen, and whether they would crack under pressure, especially as the police started digging deeper. But I was also transported by the evocative settings: the high desert of Chile, the humid cliffs of Cambodia. In these far-flung places, nobody knows them. Emily and Kristen can be whoever they want to be; they can do whatever they want to do. Andrea Bartz beautifully captures the freedom, and also the danger, that comes from this kind of anonymity.
This is the perfect summer read: a smart, twisty thriller about dreamy vacations that turn into nightmares.
Member ratings (10,547)
Holly S.
Paducah, KY
This book is excellent and really shows the effects of gaslighting! I felt just as anxious as the main character while reading the book & didn’t anticipate the twists at the end. Couldn’t put it down!
Devan M.
Bellefonte, PA
A psychological thriller that’s both pulse-pounding & thought-provoking; a chilling look at toxic friendship and power with sharp insight on how the world tries to keep women’s lives small & fearful.
Sasha R.
Alexandria, VA
Bartz is the Ruth Randell of American elder millennials. Her observations are keen enough to give vertigo; the books’ worlds can feel sharper and realer than my memories of those same eras and places.
Noelani M.
Fallon , NV
I absolutely enjoyed reading this book! It had the right surprising turns and mystery of the relationships between the characters! It had me on my toes and on the edge of my couch throughout the book!
Melissa M.
Elgin, IL
liked the story and the end really surprised me. There were a couple plot holes that I wished they would’ve elaborated on more and the end did feel a little rushed. Very quick read. Overall enjoyed.