Sadie Sheridan and her husband Felix have just settled into Felix’s childhood home in the North Cascades mountains, for their year-long sabbatical. But when Felix leaves for a quick work trip and never comes back, Sadie finds herself completely isolated. She has no car, no phone service, and a storm is rolling in. As she faces unexpected trespassers, she begins to uncover the secrets Felix left behind, Sadie is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the man she married.

This was the perfect cold-weather read for our first real ‘cool’ weather (50s in Texas is chilly)! While the story takes a little while to build, once it gets going, it’s impossible to put down. I love when a book keeps me thinking about it even after I’ve stepped away, and this one totally did that. The setting is atmospheric and claustrophobic, with that locked-room, snowstorm-trapping-you kind of tension that is perfect for winter.

The reveal wasn’t what I was expecting and I always love not knowing where an author is going to take us. Baart did a great job of not just adding twists for shock value but instead carefully built up to the reveal which payoff. I also really liked that the story stayed grounded in Sadie’s perspective (and yes, I’m biased toward any Sadie main character). The flashbacks felt dreamy and literary, fitting her background as a literature professor, though they did slightly slow the pacing. Still, it worked beautifully with the book’s tone. Overall, I’d give this one 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKSHOP | ★★★★★

Where He Left Me comes out November 4, 2025. Huge thank you to Atria Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.