Before She Finds Me

January 1, 2023

Delivering daughter Cora to college, Julia Bennett barely saves her from a violent attack on campus and suspects (given her own hidden past) that the attack was not as random as claimed. Meanwhile, when trained assassin Ren Petrovic learns about the attack, she thinks it looks exactly as if it were executed by husband and colleague in arms Nolan, but he never told her about it. From the rising star who wrote No Bad Deed and Blood Will Tell; with a 50,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2023
When the pop pop pop of shots sound off at college move-in day, Julia Bennett is the first to recognize the menace, intuitively dropping and rolling to protect her daughter, Cora. The aftermath brings: a grazed Cora; her murdered stepmother, Brie; long-suppressed memories of Julia's own troubled past; and her increasing suspicion that what seems like just another random mass shooting in America is actually anything but. Julia is a botany professor at Anderson Hughes, the San Diego college where Cora will be a freshman. Julia is also a connoisseur of carnivorous plants and is long divorced from Cora's dad, Eric, who has a shiny new life with Brie. While Julia reluctantly confirms her doubts about the shooting ("If the sniper attack was random, why did it end so quickly? And why weren't more people dead?" she asks herself), she's also forced to reckon with the violence that ended her own youth: the shooting deaths of her parents when she was 14. As Julia unpacks the shooting, up in Los Angeles, contract killer Ren Petrovic is realizing she's got some mysteries of her own to solve. She's learned about the Anderson Hughes killings on the news and recognizes the work of her husband and partner, Nolan. Ren is a second-generation assassin, raised to take on only "ethical kills," meaning the target--not the victim, if you please--deserves their fate. But Nolan no longer seems as committed to the mission and has started bending their rules. When it comes out that Brie is the daughter of Oliver Baird, a Malibu billionaire who happens to be Nolan's best client, the dovetailing of the two women's stories becomes inevitable. This is author Chavez's third suspense novel, and she writes well: Before the attack, the packed crowd of students and parents "undulated like a snake digesting"; afterward, Eric "wore the past two days as thick stubble along his jaw and bruise-like smudges beneath his eyes." The two protagonists nicely mirror each other, sharing a chaotic upbringing, a cerebral reserve paired with extreme capability, a love of mordant plants (Ren's specialty is poison, and she grows her own). Though the book doesn't quite stick the landing--for all its tragedy, Julia's backstory is uninteresting, and Ren's na�vet� is hard to fathom--it's well paced, often gripping, and builds with expert tension. Straightforward suspense served without guile or gimmick.

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July 17, 2023
An empty-nester and a pregnant assassin share more similarities than they realize in this serviceable thriller from Chavez (Blood Will Tell). Julia Benet, 38, is waiting in line with her daughter, Cora, for move-in day at Anderson Hughes College in Point Loma, Calif., and is less than thrilled when her ex-husband, Eric, shows up with his new wife, Brie. When shots ring out on campus, Julia takes a bullet to the arm, and two people die—including Brie. At first, the incident is categorized as a motiveless mass shooting, but Julia comes to suspect it may have been a targeted hit on her. Meanwhile, Ren Petrovic, who is four months pregnant with her first child, is finding it increasingly inconvenient to be a professional assassin. When she catches news of the nearby Anderson Hughes shootings on TV, she comes to suspect—based on the timeline of the attack and the weapon used—it was a job by her assassin husband, Nolan. If it was his handiwork, why hadn’t he told her about it? In chapters that alternate perspectives between Julia and Ren, the two women approach their investigations from different directions, and their lives eventually intersect. Erratic pacing and predictable plotting weigh down the proceedings, but Chavez excels at establishing her characters’ voices (especially Ren’s, who casually asks, “What did today’s victims do to deserve to die?”). It’s nothing especially memorable, but fans of character-driven thrillers may enjoy themselves. Agent: Peter Steinberg, UTA.

Starred review from February 1, 2023

Two families collide unexpectedly in Chavez's latest thriller (after Blood Will Tell) when there's an attack on a college campus. Julia Bennett's quick thinking saves her daughter's life during the attack but leaves her wondering if it was random. Ren Petrovic is pregnant, but she and her husband are professional assassins, and his latest job could jeopardize everything they hold dear. His assignment puts Julia and her family directly in the path of destruction. The aftermath unravels secrets and forces Julia and Ren to confront their pasts and question how far they will go to save their respective families. Chavez plays with thriller conventions, and readers will find themselves rooting for characters with questionable moral codes. The main incident brings a timely quality and authenticity to the traumatic repercussions the characters face. The story is an intense, high-stakes thriller that also explores what it means to be a family and the lengths to which one will go in order to keep that dynamic intact and safe. VERDICT Fans of suburban thrillers or of Lisa Unger and Alex Finlay will want to read this one.--Jeff Ayers

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2023
It is move in day at Anderson Hughes College. When the gunshots begin in the courtyard, the first person to react is Julia Bennett, tackling her daughter, Cora, and saving her life. Others near them are not so lucky. Dealing with the aftermath through the lens of her own childhood trauma, Julia starts questioning the events of that day. Was the attack random? Did the shooter miss their intended target? Ren Petrovic is a trained assassin who believes in only eliminating the guilty. She is not responsible for the shooting at Anderson Hughes, but she knows who is: her husband, Nolan. Ren suspects Nolan isn't being truthful about who hired him, and the more she digs, the more she understands the danger they're in. Before She Finds Me is intricately plotted and wildly exciting. Despite the inherent rivalry between Julia and Ren, both women are similarly beguiling and flawed characters. The changes in points of view allow for backstory to be revealed while still moving the pace along. Recommended for readers of the gritty, complex thrillers by Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, and Gillian Flynn.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 1, 2023

Chavez (Blood Will Tell) offers a smart, fast-paced thriller about two women searching for answers after a school shooting. Botany professor Julia Bennett, divorced mother of Cora, is waiting in line for move-in day at Anderson Hughes College when shots ring out. Julia shields Cora, but others close to them aren't so lucky. In the aftermath of the shooting, Julia begins to wonder if the violence wasn't random after all. Ren Petrovic is a second-generation assassin who lives by a highly developed moral code. Four months pregnant with her first child, Ren is also unsettled by the shooting, but for different reasons. Ren suspects that her husband, also an assassin, may have been secretly involved. Award-winning narrator Megan Tusing delivers a stellar performance with well-developed portraits of Julia and Ren, intriguing women who will do what it takes to defend their families while seeking the truth. Tusing employs spot-on pacing to drive the story to its clever and unexpected ending. VERDICT Full of twists and turns, this edgy, character-driven thriller is recommended for fans of Ruth Ware, Tana French, and Gillian Flynn.--Scott DiMarco

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.