Kiss Her Goodbye

by Wendy Corsi Staub

Woodsbridge, New York, is the sort of upscale community where the American Dream is alive and thriving - shiny cars, beautiful homes, and safe, tree-shaded streets.

For Kathleen Carmody, Woodsbridge is an escape from memories of her own rough childhood and a place where her 13-year-old daughter Jen will have everything Kathleen didn't. But suddenly, the sleepy, affluent suburb is gripped by fear: One by one, teenage girls are disappearing from the "safe" streets.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Psychological

412 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than ninety novels, best known for the single title psychological suspense novels she writes under her own name. Those books and the women’s fiction written under the pseudonym Wendy Markham have also appeared on the USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookscan bestseller lists.

Her current standalone suspense novel, THE OTHER FAMILY, is about a picture-perfect family that that moves into a picture-perfect house. But not everything is as it seems, and the page-turner concludes “with a wallop of a twist,” according to #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.

Her critically acclaimed Lily Dale traditional mystery series centers around a widowed single mom—and skeptic—who moves to a town populated by spiritualists who talk to the dead. Titles include NINE LIVES; SOMETHING BURIED, SOMETHING BLUE; DEAD OF WINTER; and PROSE AND CONS, with a fifth book under contract.

Wendy has written five suspense trilogies for HarperCollins/William Morrow. The most recent, The Foundlings (LITTLE GIRL LOST, DEAD SILENCE, and THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER), spans fifty years in the life of a woman left as a newborn in a Harlem church, now an investigative genealogist helping others uncover their biological roots while still searching for her own.

Written as Wendy Markham, Wendy’s novel HELLO, IT’S ME was a recent Hallmark television movie starring Kellie Martin. Her short story “Cat Got Your Tongue” appeared in R.L. Stine’s MWA middle grade anthology SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and her short story “The Elephant in the Room” is included in the Anthony Award-nominated inaugural anthology SHATTERING GLASS.

A three-time finalist for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award, she’s won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the 2007 RWA-NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five WLA Washington Irving Prizes for Fiction.

She previously published a dozen adult suspense novels with Kensington Books and the critically-acclaimed young adult paranormal series “Lily Dale” (Walker/Bloomsbury). Earlier in her career, she published a broad range of genres under her own name and pseudonyms, and was a co-author/ghostwriter for several celebrities.

Raised in Dunkirk, NY, Wendy graduated from SUNY Fredonia and launched a publishing career in New York City. She was Associate Editor at Silhouette Books before selling her first novel in 1992. Married with two sons, she lives in the NYC suburbs. An active supporter of the American Cancer Society, she was a featured speaker at Northern Westchester’s 2015 Relay for Life and 2012 National Spokesperson for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She has fostered for various animal rescue organizations.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never read Staub's work before, but I found this at a Goodwill, liked the blurb and gave it a new forever home. It took me about a year to read it due to my love of digital books, but I finally figured I may as well pull it off the shelf. On the surface Kiss Me Goodbye looks like a decent thriller, but it's not, at least not as a whole. The book moves far too slow, and the characters seem to be less like a part of the overall story and more like a device to move the plot forward. Jen is the main focus of the novel but she's a bit boring, and her mother is way too overprotective. Turns out, she has every reason to be because there's someone lurking in the shadows watching her. There's a lot of questions in this book, and the frustrating part is the answers don't come as quickly as I would have liked. When they do come, it's a bit confusing.

I get what she's doing, but instead of building tension she's just making us hater her. Well maybe not her, but her book which is unfortunate because this had the potential to be a really great book. The set up was nearly perfect, but as it is, it just feels phoned in. There are far too many elements that are added, and they don't go anywhere. Even the end had me swearing because this was supposed to be the big reveal, and it showed off blew my mind, yet it just had me shaking my head wondering what the hell happened.

Kiss Her Goodbye is one of those suspense novels looking to cash in on the success of other writers who do books like these far better, and know how to create a story that hooks you, and then goes for the knock out punch at the end. Instead, we have a book that shows a great deal of promise, but doesn't deliver. Staub does have talent, but the story just fails to build any real momentum. I haven't given up hope, and yes, I will read one of her other novels to see if she improves, or maybe she's a decent writer who just fell a little short with her goals of creating a tight suspenseful novel. Either way this was a bit of a dud which saddens me because I love this genre and hate it when a book is just a tad thrilling and not very suspenseful.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have only read one work previously by this author and that was part of a trilogy.

There must be some way to interpret the sudden switching of characters, many presented with only one name. I am reading about Jen (almost 14 years old) and her family, then suddenly here is Lucy (Lucy who)? And why did she try to commit suicide? The plot jumps back and fourth, only the dates tell you the story is advancing. I keep forgetting that Stella is the mother of the twins for whom Jen babysits, and that Kurt is her swarmy husband.

Everything is written very darkly,

[L8blmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is there to say about this book that hasn't already been said by other reviewers? Not much. It was suspenseful, but it lagged in places. There was a large cast of characters (which caused confusion when the author jumped from one to another frequently) and yet, none of them were very likable. I especially was troubled by the fact that there was not one stable marriage in this story nor a teenager who didn't lie, sneak out of the house, skip school, and worse. I have a hunch this was deliberate so the reader had plenty of potential suspects that could not be trusted. However, there were too many red herrings to count, and when the big reveal took place, I felt cheated because a very minor character who was only mentioned once (twice at the most) turned out to be to be, really, the main character (the antagonist). I also think the story should have been about 50 pages shorter without some repetition that occurred while various characters were alone with their thoughts.

Having said all that, I must, in fairness add that Ms. Staub has a lot going for her; she is not a bad storyteller. I'll give her work another try.

[Dara S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not as engaging as some of her other books.

[Kristeen Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Round Up to 4.5 stars.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

KISS THIS BOOK GOODBYE!

I am an avid reader, reading almost a book a day. I don’t know why I got this book, but what a disappointment! The author doesn’t seem to understand how to structure a novel. One minute she is writing about JEN. The next paragraph she starts with a completely different character but with no transition at all. I would keep scrolling back to see if I missed something somehow. No, no transition. Just suddenly she’s on a completely different person and topic. At first I thought it was just a mistake. But then it kept happening over and over. Absolutely ridiculous! I could never figure out what was going on, and I finally decided that I really didn’t care. I gave up on p. 147. Boring story, bland writing, confusing plot. Will never read this author again. Do I recommend? ABSOLUTELY NOT,

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a confusing, overly complicated story. There are a lot of characters, and when the bad guy is revealed, it seems to come totally out of left field.

Someone wants to kill Jen. Why? We don't know until the very end. Who is it? Same deal, we don't find out until the very end. Along the way, several other people get murdered. And what is the horrible secret Jen's mom is hiding? By the time it is finally revealed, it seemed a little anticlimactic. The last third of the book started moving pretty fast and was interesting, but the first two thirds of the book were a little slow for me.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors - but I'm not into her 'Lily Dale' series. I like the thrillers and a good murder or two.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very involved story with a lot of characters and families, but easy to distinguish them from each other. I was able to put the book down for a week and still picked up where I left off easily. Young girls were targeted and were disappearing. The killer was not easy to figure out. Kathleen and her daughter Jen,along with the rest of her family, were living in the small community where things started happening. Jen was a typical 14 year old , who wanted to do things on her own, without her mother interfering. She babysat a neighbor's children, even when forbidden to go out. It seemed like a safe neighborhood, but then things started to happen. Very suspenseful.

[Lissa Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading this author, so I didn't really know what to expect..I found it to be a good story and a quick read. As I usually do, I figured out who did it early on in the book, and many other things were too predictable. The writer brought in too many characters and tried to intertwine them leaving the reader a little confused. Also I found quite a few typos which annoyed me. However all in all , the story of a neighborhood in an affluent suburb with teenage girls disappearing and shattering secrets that come to light many years later make for a decent read.

[Iphigenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a twisty suspense novel. A 14-year old girl, Jen, and those around her are being watched and targeted. There is some mystery about past events in her mother's life, and some other characters with mysterious intents who seemingly have no connection to Jen or her family. It takes some time to figure out what happened in the past, and finally after many red herrings realize who is targeting Jen and why. This kept my interest throughout, but only 3 stars because the villain and their motives (especially after 14 years) were quite unbelievable.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an exciting and exhausting read! I must have guessed 4 different suspects and wrong on all accounts. Loyalty to the characters, constantly changing. The author keeps you in suspense thru the entire book. The ending took my breath away-never suspected the murderer or the motive. A real page turner.
For Buffalonians, this story takes place in Amherst,NY and other locales nearby. The Moms shop at Wegman's. Ted's Charcoal Hots and Como restaurant are also featured.

Highly recommended.

[Melanie Lopata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was bored for awhile but after the halfway point it got better and I did enjoy the plot twist and suspense towards the end. Couldn’t figure out why two of the characters were even part of the book so much because it didn’t make sense but at least the ending was good. Not a 5-star book in my opinion.

[Tara Tetreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book but the digital version put no spaces between scene changes… it was weird and especially at the beginning I was wondering what happened to the characters or sometimes it would just refer to “she” and since there was no break I thought it was the same person. But great story with lots of red herrings thrown in to make you think it was the wrong person!!

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book very irritating. I dont know who I disliked more the whiny main chartacter or the gullible police office who needs to save the day..but seems to mess it up more than not..The storyline was pretty good and presented well.

[Merry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. So many twists and turns, interwoven characters. Suspenseful. Many secrets that weren't uncovered until the end. So hard to guess who was the murderer and their relationship to the other characters.

[Brandy Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many characters! So many secrets and lies! I didn't know how this one would turn out or if there could possibly be a satisfying end to the madness that was this story but she tied it all together quite brilliantly in the end!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was too slow, but I liked the end. To be honest, the only reason I finished it was because I glanced at the last few pages and wanted to know how the story got there. I read another book by this author that I liked better.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery. Did not guess the outcome.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending was just awful. The sister kills 4 plus people because she was jealous. Come on the story was so unbelievable it was frustrating to even finish.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that quite hard for me to put down. Loved it !!!

[Pam Tatge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. I couldn't put it down.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was hard to put down. Wendy Corsi Staub is an amazing writer. The story is full of twists and will keep you guessing.

[Evelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull - surprise ending

[June Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story keeps you guessing right to the end.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much going on that missing girls is only a fraction of this town,

[Kristin Danko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teenage girl is stalked by someone from her past in upstate New York.

[Laurie Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists and turns. Never knew until the end who the killer was.

[Molly Waidhofer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! I want to read more from this author for sure.

[READERS RETREAT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long chapters and a slow read I started this in the middle of Nov.