“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists and the end brings a surprising revelation. I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller.”–Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Almost Gone) ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a new … #1 in a new psychological thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews.
When 23 year old Cassandra Vale accepts her first job as an au pair, she finds herself placed with a wealthy family in a rural estate outside of Paris, and all seems too good to be true. But she soon discovers that behind the gilded gates lies a dysfunctional family, a twisted marriage, troubled children, and secrets too dark to air.
Cassandra is convinced she’s finally found a fresh start when she takes a job as an au pair in the idyllic French countryside. Just beyond the Paris city limits, the Dubois manor is a grand relic of the past, the family its picture-perfect occupants. It’s the escape Cassandra needs—until she uncovers dark secrets that prove things aren’t as glamorous as they seem.
Beneath the opulence lies a dark web of malice, one Cassandra finds all too familiar, triggering dreams from her own violent and tortured past, one from which she desperately runs. And when a grisly murder tears the house apart, it threatens to take down her own fragile psyche with it.
A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night.
Book #2 and #3–ALMOST LOST and ALMOST DEAD—are also available!
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I was lucky enough to have gotten a free audio book code from the author. I am volunteering to leave this review. Awesome audio book plenty of twist and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.Blake Pierce
Not my cup of tea.
I love any book by Blake Pierce! This author keeps you on the edge of your seat and you don’t want to put it down! I want to read all the Blake Pierce books!
Overly simplistic writing and shallow character development
Love his books!! Educational and scary all at once. It’s a shame that a young woman goes in to a job thinking her life is moving in the right direction. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is a disappointment. Definitely a page turner. I lost a lot of sleep on this one. Lol.
This is an action filled thriller of a read!
Almost Dead by Blake Pierce is the 3rd book in the Au Pair Series. When I started reading this, I was not aware that this was the 3rd in a series, or I would have caught up before starting this one. That being said, this can be read as a stand alone with no problem. It moved at a nice pace and while I felt most of the characters lacked serious depth, I am hooked and want to know what happens next. Time to catch up on what Cassie went through in the first 2 books, before the 4th is released.
Thank you to BookSirens for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own.
The main character deals with very serious anxiety issues and has to deal with a very problematic family and sometimes she doesn´t know what is real and what is part of a dream. The level of abuse (verbal, physical and sexual) contained in the book are sort of disturbing – how can exist so much evil at one place? In spite of all of these points, the book is entertaining (although with a dark side to it) and has an unexpected ending.
very different from his usual FBI characters – very good read
This book had me on the edge of my seat! There are so many questions I have even at the end of the book! Cassie comes from a troubled past and in order to get out of her current bad situation has decided to get a job as an au pair to get away from it all. Landing a job, she heads to France to work for a family, but has some weird vibes on her way there that only intensify as she starts her job. The multiple family dynamics were interesting, but I definitely felt that I was continuously missing information as the book went on in all aspects of the characters. In the end, it definitely had me question who was the “good” person in the storyline. Another interesting thing is this entire book spanned less than a week, which seemed crazy that all of it happened in a short amount of time. I am definitely intrigued to read the next book in the series to see if things resolve itself or if they get more confusing. It wasn’t necessarily a cut and dry storyline nor with the characters and I’m interested if all the books will be that way or just this one.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
I am a BIG fan of Blake Pierce and am constantly amazed that he can turn out one great reading after another. This one is a must to begin the series. A great mystery for the twisted, dysfunctional, and sinister characters.
Based on the recap I thought this would be an interesting read, but I found the main character to be so annoying because of the continual bad choices she made. There were so many red flags in this book. The average person would have said to themselves, “No, I don’t think I’ll go there or do that because that would really be risky or dangerous (and stupid)”. But she continued to do all of them, so I really had no sympathy for her plight. I kept reading hoping it would get better, but finally quit about 2/3’s of the way through. Couldn’t take it anymore.
A very good read!
Young woman travels to France to care for 3 children and to get away from abusive boyfriend. Finds more troubles ion France.
Really enjoyed reading!
It was never finished as it was not to my liking
I liked this book, but since Cassie and Zane are both from the states, I think the author should have ensured that they used US terms rather than English to help build the character of Cassie. One who is that young would not be familiar with English terms and I also think she would have had a bigger learning curve navigating the countryside and driving on the other side of the road.
I was annoyed with the main character and what I felt as her lack of growth despite the author trying to show it.
Whereas the premise was filled with possibilities, the ending was weak and unbelievable. The heroine was too naïve to have gotten where she was and then the final resolution too easy.
Awesome read
Plot too predictable, characters not engaging or sufficiently credible