We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz [book review]

We Were Never Here book summary

We Were Never Here is an adult thriller by Andrea Bartz. The story follows Emily who is having the best time traveling with her best friend, Kristen, in Chile. The is their annual trip and get-together since they live on opposite sides of the world and ultimately have to deal with different time zones. On the last night of their trip, Emily returns back to their room to find blood and glass on the floor. Kristen tells Emily that the cute guy attacked her and she had no choice but to kill him out of self-defense. But this whole situation is very similar to the situation with another backpacker from their trip the previous year.

When Emily gets back home she’s struggling to bury the trauma. In response, she distances herself from Kristen even though she knows she should be there for her. But Kristen is acting awfully strange. Or is Emily just paranoid about getting caught?

What I thought of We Were Never Here

I’m so happy that the publishers contacted me about reading We Were Never Here. I read Andrea Bartz’s first book The Herd and loved it too. I do have to say that I like We Were Never Here a little bit more than I did The Herd. Not that there was anything wrong with that book but this one is definitely a step up!

We Were Never Here is the perfect summer read if you’re looking for a book to take with you on vacation!

The Characters

Andrea Bartz does a great job with character development. I went from kind of liking Kristen to being fully creeped out by her by the time we get mid-way through the book. That’s such an awesome way to handle things! It’s been a while since I’ve gone from liking a character to really not liking them at all. I also like how Emily handles things throughout the story. This is a situation I have no idea how I would handle. It would be so hard to go from loving someone like a sister to being absolutely terrified of them and the things that they could potentially do.

I would crack almost immediately if I were in a situation like this so it kind of makes me wonder how Emily never did. She really and truly seems like the type of person that would almost in a heartbeat despite throwing her friend under the bus.

The Plot

The pacing of this story is so much better than The Herd despite me enjoying that one too. I always enjoy murder mystery type of stories. Granted the murder isn’t exactly a mystery because you already know who killed. I guess I should say this is more of a psychological thriller because it messes with your head and has you second-guessing what’s going on.

The plot of the story actually makes me second guess whether or not I want to visit countries outside of the US. Granted I will still go to visit other countries but these sorts of things do happen.

How do you feel about thrillers with last resort murders?