A missing child sets the lives of three women on a collision course in this powerful and compelling novel by USA Today bestselling author Bette Lee Crosby.1971.When a music festival rolls through the sleepy town of Hesterville, Georgia, the Dixon family’s lives are forever changed. On the final night, a storm muffles the sound of the blaring music, and Rachel tucks her baby into bed before … her baby into bed before falling into a deep sleep. So deep, she doesn’t hear the kitchen door opening. When she and her husband wake up in the morning, the crib is empty. Emily is gone.
Vicki Robart is one of the thousands at the festival, but she’s not feeling the music. She’s feeling the emptiness over the loss of her own baby several months before. When she leaves the festival and is faced with an opportunity to fill that void, she is driven to an act of desperation that will forever bind the lives of three women.
When the truth of what actually happened that fateful night is finally exposed, shattering the lives they’ve built, will they be able to pick up the pieces to put their families back together again?
Winner of the Royal Palm Literary Award for Women’s Fiction; the Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for Southern Fiction; and the FAPA President’s Book Award for Women’s Fiction.
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I just received this book in the mail yesterday afternoon. I meant to only read a couple of chapters before bed but before I knew it it was 2am and I had flipped through 283 pages! No wonder it’s currently #1 on Amazon’s Southern Fiction list; it’s great! It looks like I have yet another new favorite author. I can’t wait to read more of Bette Lee Crosby’s books.
An unforgettable experience and outstanding drama regarding the need of and kidnapping of a child. Excellent review. Drama is relevant to news of the day and the aftermath. Superbly written, wonderful plot and superbly drawn characters. Highly recommended and a MUST READ!
Although set in rural Georgia, there is nothing small about this book—it is worldly in its reach. The genre may be southern fiction, but it seems more like the genre of life, telling the story of people in adverse situations, and how to overcome them. Crosby inspires the full range of emotions that someone should feel while reading a book through her meticulously detailed writing, and the wholesome feeling of time well spent when one reaches the end.
I was gifted with a copy of this book, and truly blessed and thankful to have an opportunity to read something I may not have picked up myself.
How could anyone take a baby? Food, maybe, but a child? But Vicki has suffered an incredible loss and Emily seems to be the answer from Providence. Taking her sets into motion a horrible chain of events that will sap the life from Emily’s parents, Rachel and George, and unwittingly involve Angela and Kenny.
The story unfolds with clockwork precision, not only interweaving timing and people, but opinions and deep-set beliefs and emotions. Crosby goes beyond the surface into the fragile core of the characters, into their fears and doubts, their hopes and dreams. The desire to love and be loved, to share that love with a child, a husband, a family. What it’s like to lose that love, to feel as if your heart will never heal. What impacted me the most were the quiet moments of revelation that the characters discover. The ones we all hopefully uncover as we journey through life.
Emily, Gone is a lovely journey through devastation into healing that will touch your heart.
What a wonderful, moving story that will have the tears flowing down your cheeks! This book will have you experiencing love, loss, anxiety, heartache, and forgiveness, You will find yourself asking how a mother can handle such a devastating loss, whether justice will be meted for horrible behaviors, if such a magnitude of forgiveness is possible.
Once I opened the book, I was hooked and could not stop reading it. Though the story will be an emotional trip, you will also be filled with an amazing sense of compassion and grace.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Not too many stories will take you on a journey that makes you feel the heartaches and joys of character development as this one does.
Told in an amazing storytelling fashion that only Bettie Lee Crosby can. She grabs your heart and takes it on a wonderful but at times heart wrenching ride. At the end I was happy and sad.
I also love the way Bettie not only wraps up her story but shows you the future of it. Bravo Bettie!!
All I can say is wow!
This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last!
It was a real page turner! I felt ever emotion from sadness, loss, heartbreak, love and even happiness.
I honestly don’t think I have ever had a book pull at my heart strings like Emily, Gone did!
I was taken on an emotional ride and I loved every second of it.
I highly recommend this book to anyone! You will love how beautifully written the story is and you will see how well Bette pulls you into the story!
Once again, I loved Bette’s book. The characters are ones you immediately become invested in and attached to. I really enjoyed this book. Highly recommend
This was my first Bette Lee Crosby book I’ve read but it will most definitely not be my last!
Right away I was instantly hooked and couldn’t put the book down. I liked the different point of views and hearing all different sides of the story. You really got to see how differently everyone felt about the situation. It is very well written and such an amazing story.
This will definitely be on my list of book recommendations!
Bette Lee Crosby just put me through the ringer!!!! This was heartbreaking, yet heartwarming.
Imagine waking up to an empty crib, your 6 month old daughter vanishes, gone, kidnapped while you slept and you never heard a thing. How does one move on??? Bette Lee Crosby shows us just how this is done.
When a book elicites every single emotion you have, that’s when its a 5+ star book. The characters (even the kidnappers) are totally lovable and believable.
#Emily #Lara #Rachel #Angela #Tears #Faith #LoveandFamily #Death #Heartbreak
Very interesting story and written with a different twist.
Looking for a book that will capture your heart and keep you flipping pages into the wee morning hours? Look no further!
With eloquence and compassion, Crosby captures the emotional roller coast of two couples’ journey through unimaginable loss. Crosby’s skillful prose made me think about myself. How would I respond if this happened to me? What would happen to my marriage? Could I ever forgive? Crosby, as well, provided me a different lens, helping me to feel compassion for folks caught up in a situation that’s not as black and white as it may seem.
What a masterfully told story. This was my first Bette Lee Crosby book but it won’t be my last. I’m thrilled to see she’s written many novels that will keep me busy reading through the coming months.
This story is told from various viewpoints, giving the reader insights into each character’s motivation. I wasn’t sure until the end how it would turn out, and I felt for each of the players in this drama. The ending was unlikely, but I felt good about it.
This book was really good
I discovered this author by chance via Facebook and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I read this book today, in one sitting. I did not want to put it down but yet I did not want it to end. A kidnapped child. Parent’s grief. What happened to Emily ? and who took her ? Two separate families and how this one event changed all of their lives. This story will run the gamut of emotions for you. I HIGHLY recommend this book. You will not regret it. #buythebook Enjoy.
Rarely do I carry a book I am reading in my heart but Emily Gone was the exception. So much more than a story about a missing child, page after poignant page Bette Lee Crosby takes us on a powerful emotional journey of healing and forgiveness laced with deception, loss, grief, hope, love and sacrifice. Family relationships are tested, lost, broken and mended while some struggle between doing what is right vs breaking someone they love who has already been broken. Well developed characters and authentic dialogue move this story along to an ending that has left my heart both broken and full. Ms. Crosby is a consummate story teller and Emily Gone is truly a gift to the reader. I would give 10 stars if I could.
I haven’t cried over a book like this in years! From the moment Rachel Dixon discovers her baby Emily is gone the tears were flowing. This story pulled at my heartstrings for all three women, but also for Emily! These mothers struggled with such painful decisions, and the love, compassion and forgiveness was just so heartwarming. I was truly touched by the relationships developed amongst all these characters. I especially loved Mama Dixon and the unconditional love and caring way she helped Rachel overcome her grief. I couldn’t wait to get home to read what was going to happen as the story unfolded.
Filled with all these emotions of sadness, happiness, joy and the coincidences that brought the ending together was what made this a five star for me. I highly recommend this book to everyone! It’s a must read from beginning to end. What a wonderful book Bette Lee Crosby! If I could give it 10 stars I would! Thank you so much for this incredible story!
A riveting story that begins with every mother’s worst nightmare. You walk into your child’s nursery to find an empty crib. The story unfolds over the next 18 years as you find out what happens after Emily’s gone.
Heartbreaking and emotional
5/5
This book is absolutely gut-wrenching and you will not be able to put it down. The prose is gripping and yet poignant. Bring tissues because you will cry multiple times throughout this book. A mother loses her child and she doesn’t know where she is. Instead of being angry and bitter, she just hopes whoever took dear Emily is a loving person. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s a great emotional read. I highly recommend
The Dixon’s live in rural Georgia where a music festival is being held in the summer of 1971. Over a three day period the family endures blaring music with shrieking crowds leading to frayed nerves and sleep deprivation. As the festival winds down Rachel Dixon forgets to lock her back door and wakes to find her baby missing from her crib.
Vicki Robart is attending the festival with her boyfriend after arriving from Kentucky. The last night of the event is getting stormy so they decide to head home. They are hungry after non-stop partying but find all the local stores are already closed for the evening. Desperate for food, they decide to loot one of the local houses. Vicki spots baby bottles in the kitchen and sneaks a bit further to view the child. In her weakened/crazed mind she believes that this is the baby she lost seven months ago and takes the girl from her home.
Emily Gone by Bette Lee Crosby is the emotional story of a family coping with loss. The book is told with the differing point of views from Rachel and Vicki while showing how each coped with this spur of the moment crime. The raw sensitivity and courage shown leads the reader to sympathize with both women. I look forward to Bette’s next novel.