Kiss Her Goodbye: A Novel by Lisa GardnerSeries: Frankie Elkin #4
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Pages: 416
Add on: Goodreads
Buy the Book: Amazon
Rating: ★★★★
Source: From the Publisher
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Book Group
A New York Times bestselling author returns with the latest installment in the addictive Frankie Elkin series, in which Frankie is called to Tucson, Arizona, to find a missing Afghan refugee, whose friend suspects she is in grave danger—before it is too late. “Timely and completely gripping.” (Louise Penny, New York Times bestselling author)
Recent Afghan refugee and young mother Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. The local police have yet to open a case, while her older, domineering husband seems unconcerned. At the insistence of Sabera's closest friend, missing persons expert Frankie Elkin agrees to take up the search just in time for a video of Sabera to surface—showing her walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder.
Frankie quickly notes there's much more to the Ahmadi family than meets the eye. The father Isaad is a brilliant mathematician, Sabera a gifted linguist, and their little girl Zahra has an uncanny ability to remember anything she sees. Which given everything that has happened during the girl's short life, may be a terrible curse.
When Isaad also disappears under mysterious circumstances and an attempt is made on Zahra's life, Frankie realizes she must crack the code of this family's horrific past. Someone is coming for the Ahmadis. And violence is clearly an option.
When everything is on the line, how far would you go to protect the ones you love? Frankie is about to find out.
REVIEW
Lisa Gardner’s new Frankie Elkin novel hits different. Set in Tucson’s blistering heat, it follows our favourite recovering alcoholic turned missing-persons finder as she tackles her most urgent case yet: a young Afghan refugee who vanished three days ago.
This isn’t one of Frankie’s usual cold cases. Sabera Ahmadi disappeared after her shift at work, leaving behind a toddler and more questions than answers. What starts as a simple missing person case explodes into a maze of war trauma, cultural clashes, and buried secrets that’ll make your head spin.
Gardner nails the details here. She writes about the refugee experience with the kind of insight that only comes from serious research, while keeping the pages turning so fast they might catch fire. And speaking of fire – Tucson’s merciless heat isn’t just a backdrop. It’s practically another character, cranking up the pressure as Frankie races against time.
The real magic happens when Gardner digs into how past wounds shape who we become. Through Sabera’s story, we get an unflinching look at refugee life in America, while Frankie’s own demons keep dancing in the background, adding layers to an already rich story.
The plot moves like a bullet train, dropping just enough clues to keep you guessing but never enough to spoil the gut-punch ending. Sure, newcomers might miss some callbacks to Frankie’s earlier adventures, but it hardly matters. This book stands on its own two feet just fine.
Kiss Her Goodbye isn’t out until August 12, 2025, and it’s Gardner at her best. She’s taken the missing person thriller, a genre that should be worn out by now, and somehow made it feel brand new. You are going to love everything from its twisty plot to its honest take on refugee issues.
4/5 stars
If you dig Karin Slaughter or Tana French or just want a thriller that’ll make you think while it keeps you up at night, this one’s for you.
