We Were Never Here – Andrea Bartz

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PRAISE

“This book is every suspense lover’s dream and it kept me up way too late turning pages. . . . A novel with crazy twists and turns that will have you ditching your Friday night plans for more chapters.” – Reese Witherspoon

“Skillfully examines toxic friendship at its most extreme.” – New York Times Book Review

“Intelligent, methodical…Emily and Kristen [would] be right at home in a Hitchcock psychological thriller. A terrific novel, blending the Hitchcockian elements with a touch of Patricia Highsmith.” – Booklist (starred)

“[A] riveting psychological thriller … Suspense fans will look forward to seeing more from this talented author.” – Publishers Weekly

“Exhilarating … A slow-burn thriller that gradually suffocates both the protagonist and the reader—in a good way.” – Kirkus Reviews

“This gripping and thoughtful novel with a self-aware protagonist considers feminism and the psychology of memory while never losing its pace. This book will appeal to readers of psychological thrillers such as Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train.” – Library Journal

“This smartly written psychological thriller will leave you all tingly.” – Reader’s Digest

“I devoured this book and didn’t want it to end. Beneath the thrilling cliffhangers and impeccably paced plot lies a very sharp portrait of female friendship and how magical and intense it can be.” – NPR

“An eerie psychological thriller…with alluring locales, Hitchcockian tension, and possibly the best pair of female leads since Thelma and Louise.” – BookPage

“The way Bartz combines a toxic friendship with an alliance-building secret is positively chilling and makes for an utterly pulse-pounding read that will have you second-guessing every interaction while reveling in the power of a woman who goes after what she wants—at any cost. Atmospheric, unsettling and totally gripping, WE WERE NEVER HERE is yet another intelligent and observant novel from this gifted and talented author.” – Book Reporter

“A wildly entertaining, complex story of friendship, loyalty & the corrosive reach of trauma…Each chapter brings a new surprise & a new insight into what has to be one of the most insidious fictional friendships in recent memory.” – CrimeReads

“A thrilling tale about a friend group in flux.” – Oprah Daily

“This thriller has a premise that will pique any mystery-loving traveler’s interest: two best friends embark on their annual reunion trip, only to have it go murderously awry. Bartz’s evocative descriptions of destinations as varied as Chile and Cambodia pulled me in immediately, but it was the way she ratcheted up the tension by dropping clues about the duo’s murky past that kept me rapt until the end.” – Travel + Leisure

“Bartz takes the idea of a ‘frenemy’ to new heights in her third thriller, yet another expert vivisection of female modes of communication and competition.” – Los Angeles Times

“[Bartz] has proven herself a master of the timely literary thriller. We Were Never Here — her third release in as many years — is, as expected, absolutely gripping … Readers will be on the edge of their seats.” – Buzzfeed News

“Bartz writes great thrillers, and her latest is no exception … Bartz is so good at writing about toxic female friendship, and this one crackles with the lived-in, slow-burning tension of a woman realizing all is not well with her dangerous best friend.” – Mashable

“[We Were Never Here] sustains its thriller atmosphere with a well-drawn dynamic between co-dependent friends who alternate from deep trust to vicious suspicion.” – Milwaukee Magazine

“There’s nothing quite like the vicarious thrill of a good mystery-suspense story. And Andrea Bartz’s nail-biting novel brings it in spades. Her tale of two longtime friends who reunite for a backpacking trip only to find that menace and death have come along for the hike, will have you on the edge of your seat.” – Yahoo

“In August 2021, Witherspoon chose what might be the perfect novel to finish out the summer.” – SheKnows

“An escalation of building paranoia, painted with beautiful descriptions of Chile and Cambodia, and a reminder to all of us not to ignore our intuition.” – Santa Barbara Independent

“Fans of Andrea Bartz will be glued to her latest thriller.” – Charleston Gazette-Mail

“Incredibly tense and atmospheric, We Were Never Here explores the nuances of memory, the secrets that bind a friendship—and those that threaten to tear them apart. Andrea Bartz delivers a sharp, unsettling thriller about power, obsession, and the inescapable grip of the past.” – Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Last House Guest

“Andrea Bartz takes a friendship with boundary issues and adds an extra-special ingredient—the permanent, secret alliance of two people who have gotten away with murder. We Were Never Here is an observant, suspenseful, and deeply scary novel, a psychological thriller that looks at the tight bonds of friendship and asks where they strangle, where they break.” – Steph Cha, award-winning author of the Juniper Song series and Your House Will Pay

“A nail-biting, immersive whirl of a read. Brimming with mysterious twists, turns, and a frenemyship of the most chilling proportions, We Were Never Here is every woman’s worst nightmare…and every thriller-lover’s dream.” –Zakiya Dalila Harris, author of The Other Black Girl

“I haven’t seen this sort of exploration of the frenemy relationship before and [Bartz] does it so well!” – Chandler Baker, author of Whisper Network and The Husbands

“We Were Never Here takes the promise that women make to their friends to be there through anything, then asks what if ‘anything’ includes homicide. I loved this book.” – Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife

“A wild, pulse-pounding, creepy ride. There were so many moments that gave me full-body chills, and I was completely captivated by all the surprising turns the story took. In that respect, We Were Never Here is 100% pure fun, but in others, it’s a deeply sobering look at gaslighting and toxic relationships … A crazy, unforgettable story and the perfect summer read.” – Megan Collins, author of The Winter Sister and Behind the Red Door

“Propulsive and unrelentingly tense with scalpel-sharp, gorgeous writing, Andrea Bartz’s WE WERE NEVER HEAR is destined to become one of the most buzzed about thrillers of the summer. A deliciously devious portrait of twisty, toxic female friendship, WE WERE NEVER HEAR is SINGLE WHITE FEMALE on speed, a tour de force that’s about to become your newest addiction.” – May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives

“This is the perfect summer read: a smart, twisty thriller about dreamy vacations that turn into nightmares.” – Anna Pitoniak, author of Necessary People

“I will read anything Andrea Bartz writes, but I will never, ever go on vacation with her. We Were Never Here is somehow both cinematic in scope and also claustrophobic and unnerving. It’s a novel that explores the dangers that lurk in beautiful places, the manipulation of memories, and the friendship ties that don’t just bind us, but can strangle us.” – Tara Laskowski, award-winning author of One Night Gone and The Mother Next Door

“My God, [Bartz] is SO GOOD at building that tense oh-no-what-have-I-done queasy energy! Zippy, nervy and so thoughtful and current on women’s safety.” – Harriet Walker, author of The New Girl and The Wedding Night

“I absolutely loved We Were Never Here … chockfull of twists and turns that surprise and titillate. I was so enthralled, I carried the book around the house, reading as I walked to the kitchen to make some tea and even while folding the laundry. It’s been years since I last read-walked!” – Daniela Petrova, author of Her Daughter’s Mother

**in development at netflix**

PRAISE

PRESS

in development at netflix