Forget You Saw Her (Ask for Andrea, #0)

This was her best book yet! I absolutely loved everything about this book! The way the author wrote the book- the timeline, the way the storyline unraveled, the characters. A fabulous 5 star read!

Notes are being taped to bathroom stalls across the country. 'On a date that isn't going well? Ask for Andrea at the bar, and we'll make sure you get home safely.' The girl who inspired these notes hadn't made it home safely. Disappearing without a trace at seventeen meant she was labelled by the police as a runaway. The case eventually went cold, but her determined mother, Sabina, wasn't prepared to give up that easily. Inspired by true events, 'Forget You Saw Her' is pulse-pounding, heartbreaking, and fear-inducing; the words in this story will linger long after the final page. What a stunning prequel to 'Ask for Andrea.' I highly recommend both!

I’m a huge fan of Noelle W. Ihli, and Forget You Saw Her reminded me why. I love that her books are inspired by true crimes. It’s like reading a thriller and a real-life mystery at the same time. This one, loosely based on Aundria Bowman (Into the Fire), really pulled me in.

Sabina gave her daughter up for adoption seventeen years ago, and now a police letter tells her Andrea is missing. What follows is a gripping, emotional journey as Sabina searches for answers, uncovering secrets she never expected. Ihli does a great job of keeping the tension just right, you feel Sabina’s fear and hope. And those eerie whispers in her dreams keep you wondering what’s coming next.

I finished this book wanting to learn more about the real cases behind the story, which is something I always love about Ihli’s work. Forget You Saw Her is suspenseful, haunting, and a deeply moving must-read for anyone who loves thrillers with heart.

Forget You Saw Her was the book I didn't know I needed. Seriously, I can't stress that enough. If you've read Ask For Andrea (and honestly, if you haven't, what are you even doing?), you've probably wondered the same thing I did: was Andrea real? Like, was she an actual person? And what's her backstory?

Ihli answers all of that in this prequel, and wow. Just... wow.

The premise alone gets you hooked. Sabina gave her daughter up for adoption seventeen years ago, and then she gets a letter from the police saying Andrea is missing. What follows is this intense, emotional journey that had me turning pages way past my bedtime.

The way Ihli weaves this story together is brilliant. It's got that same haunting atmosphere as Ask For Andrea, and if you loved that book, this prequel adds so much depth to Andrea's story. I found myself completely absorbed in Sabina's search, feeling every bit of her desperation and hope.

The emotional punch this book delivers is no joke. It's suspenseful and heart-wrenching in a way that snuck up on me. Ihli has this gift for making you care deeply about her characters, and Sabina's journey absolutely gutted me in the best way possible.

Five stars. Easy. Ihli's done something special here, and if you loved Andrea's story the first time around, this prequel is absolutely essential reading. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Dynamite Books, but this is 100% my honest review.

Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Forget You Saw Her by Noelle W. Ihli

First book of 2026 and wow—starting the year by having my emotional windpipe crushed. Bold choice. No regrets.

This book didn’t just take my breath away. It snatched it. Shoved it in a corner. Stepped on it a few times for good measure. And then politely handed it back like, “You good?”
(I was not good.)

This wrecked me in a way that instantly reminded me of The Wife I Was by Maria Frankland. Same deep, aching crack in the chest—but different pain. This isn’t about a mother or wife walking away. This is about a long-lost daughter. Found. And then possibly lost all over again. Because apparently one round of heartbreak is never enough.

The search. The waiting. The hope that refuses to die even when logic is screaming at you to let it go. This story is an emotional roller coaster—except the safety bar is broken and someone poured gasoline on the tracks. I felt every single thing. That awful reaching out into the dark, knowing the chances of being heard are slim, but doing it anyway because what choice do you have?

I was there with Sabina. Every step. Every breath. Every gut punch.

And the people who adopted her?
Yeah. No. Straight to jail. Burn in hell. My stomach still hasn’t forgiven them.

This book nails something brutal and painfully real: as parents, we make choices for all the “right” reasons… and still manage to devastate everyone involved. There’s no clean win. No perfect answer. Just damage control and survival. And yet—somehow—there’s still a flicker of hope buried inside this psychologically twisted mess. A quiet, stubborn kind. The kind that refuses to die.

That final quote deserves its own moment of silence:

“And maybe mourning was just waiting, while holding onto the ones we love in the only ways we could. For now.”

Excuse me while I stare at a wall and rethink my entire emotional stability.

I’m giving this 5 heartbreaking, mother-instinct-is-always-right, mothers-don’t-back-down stars.
Every child deserves a mother like this. And every mother deserves a child worth fighting for—no matter the cost.

Also: if a book can rip my heart clean in half in under two hours?
It’s earned every single gut-wrenching, emotionally soaked star.

Read it.
But maybe don’t make plans afterward.

Inspired by true events, “Forget You Saw Her” by Noelle Ihili is the haunting prequel to “Ask for Andrea”. The story follows two girls who are murdered, while Andrea’s biological mother desperately searches for answers. It’s both heartwarming and heartbreaking—filled with raw emotion, real fear, and unrelenting suspense. I couldn’t put it down.