We Were Never Here

I read another book by Andrea Bartz, The Herd, and was intrigued by the premise of this one. Once again, Bartz laser focuses in on relationships between women, both of whom come from unhappy or even tragic family situations and have bonded on this basis since they met in college. They are both now in their 30's. Every year since graduating from college, Emily and Kristen have gone back packing to exotic locales. Kristen has moved from Milwaukee to Australia a couple years ago and Emily misses her a lot, so these trips are now a time to reconnect. On a recent trip to Cambodia, Emily hooks up with a guy who attacks her when they get back to her hotel. She is fighting him off when Kristen arrives, bashes him over the head and kills him. They agree to dump the body into a river in order to avoid dealing with the legal system there, but Emily is traumatized and Kristen stays in touch with her every day to help her cope and eventually get back to some semblance of normal life. That is all background. When the book starts, they are traveling to out-of-the-way places in Chile. This time it is Kristen who attracts attention and goes off with a guy. When Emily returns to their hotel, she finds Kristen standing over the dead body of the man and Emily agrees, once again, to skirt the authorities and help get rid of the body. It's Emily who seems most distressed by this death and keeping silent about it, especially with her budding romantic partner, is eating her alive. Kristen decides to move back to Milwaukee but becomes ever more possessive and controlling of Emily. Their relationship deteriorates when Kristen shows Emily a picture of the dead man from Cambodia taken when he and Emily were drinking together. She had promised to destroy all the evidence and it's clear she is using it to threaten Emily. 

Publishers Weekly calls the "book riveting."Kirkus offers a very positive review: "Bartz's latest thriller is full of twists and turns as Emily discovers new things about the friend she thought she knew so well. The dread creeps up slowly on both Emily and the reader as more and more comes to light and the truth slowly reveals itself. Up to the unexpected climax and beyond, Bartz’s writing will keep readers on their toes, questioning everything and looking for hidden meanings in every communication between Emily and Kristen...the overall plot is exhilarating. A slow-burn thriller that gradually suffocates both the protagonist and the reader—in a good way."