Should I Read It? We Were Never Here, the thriller that will pull you out of your reading slump.

Occasionally I hit a reading slump. 

I'm not sure whether it's the books or me, but I will pick up a bunch of books, read a few pages, and quickly lose interest. 

I've found that when I hit one of these reading slumps, a fast-paced, addictive thriller is the only way to get me out of it. 

Watch Keryn run through her favourite thrillers of 2021 so far. Post continues after video.

I need plot twist after plot twist; I need cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, and I need a really compelling storyline. 

We Were Never Here gave me all those things, and it definitely pulled me out of my reading slump. 

Below I unpack what We Were Never Here is about and give my verdict on whether you should read it:

What is We Were Never Here about?

We Were Never Here is a quick paced thriller that could best be described as Thelma and Louise meets Single White Female.

If Thelma and Louise were millennials and more... murdery.

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The Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick follows the story of twenty-something Emily, who lives and works in Milwaukee. A few years ago, her best friend Kristen moved to Australia and they meet up every year at some exotic location to go backpacking. 

During a trip to Chile, Emily comes back to their hotel room to find Kristen covered in blood and a dead backpacker on the floor. 

Kristen tells Emily the backpacker attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him. Emily helps her bury the body and they swear to take the secret to their grave. 

But soon Emily begins doubting Kristen's version of events. 

Who's the author?

Brooklyn-based journalist Andrea Bartz wrote We Were Never Here. She's also penned two other books - The Lost Night and The Herd (I'll definitely be looking these up after reading We Were Never Here). 

Is it a sprint, a marathon, or a hike?

It's a sprint. It's such an addictive storyline, you'll want to read it in one sitting. 

Come for the...

The mystery of the dead body and what led to that moment. 

Stay for the...

The plot twists. And the writing. The book is packed full of beautiful observations between all the.. murders.  

What books will it remind you of?

Gone Girl for the duplicitous characters. The Last Thing He Told Me for the mysterious past. The Dry for the setting. 

How long is it?

We Were Never Here sits around the 300-page mark, which means you could knock it over in a day or over a weekend. 

LISTEN: How Jane Harper wrote The Dry. Post continues after podcast. 

How will it make you feel?

It's a great little thriller that will help you escape from your own life for a few days. 

The setting is amazing (even though it's littered with dead bodies) so reading it is almost like going on your own little backpacking trip. 

How many stars would I give it?

I would give We Were Never Here four out of five single white females. 

So, should you read it?

Absolutely. 

If you like your thrillers fast-paced and packed full of twists, then this is the book for you. 

It's the kind of book you can escape into and read in one day. 

And that's exactly what we need right now. 

Keryn Donnelly is Mamamia's Pop Culture Editor. For more of her TV, film and book recommendations and to see photos of her dog, follow her on Instagram. 

More like this:  

• 'I read books for a living. Here are the most addictive thrillers of 2021 so far.'
• The 7 books everyone will be reading in September.

Feature Image: Mamamia.