Here and Gone is a gripping, wonderfully tense suspense thriller about a mother’s desperate fight to recover her stolen children from corrupt authorities.It begins with a woman fleeing through Arizona with her kids in tow, trying to escape an abusive marriage. When she’s pulled over by an unsettling local sheriff, things soon go awry and she is taken into custody. Only when she gets to the … when she gets to the station, her kids are gone. And then the cops start saying they never saw any kids with her, that if they’re gone than she must have done something with them…
Meanwhile, halfway across the country a man hears the frenzied news reports about the missing kids, which are eerily similar to events in his own past. As the clock ticks down on the search for the lost children, he too is drawn into the desperate fight for their return.
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1/2 Stars
Oh wow, this was one amazing read and the only reason I have taken half a star away is that I would have preferred a bit more closure in regards to Danny’s story.
I felt so emotionally invested in this poor man’s tragic tale and really wanted some answers for myself as well as for Danny, (a whole lot more than what was provided second hand anyway), it all just felt really abrupt in the way it ended and it felt very unsatisfying and rushed, or maybe that’s just me.
So back to the main event and a story that grabbed you by the throat the instant you open this spellbinding piece of fiction.
So we have Audra Kinney and her two young children Sean and Louise on the road escaping Audra’s wealthy abusive husband Patrick.
Upon being pulled over on a bogus traffic offence, Audra is cuffed and taken to the local backwater police station on trumped-up charges.
The kids are escorted by the deputy too and I quote
“somewhere safe”.
When Audra asks about her kids later, at the station, the answer she receives is
“What Kids?”.
This is where Our story really starts as Audra gets to experience every parent’s worst nightmare.
Two missing children and not a single person who will listen to her because of her past combined with her sheer unbelievable tale.
Audra is banging her head against a brick wall.
That is until Danny sees her story and recognises similarities to his own.
This was so good and Here And Gone was permanently attached to my hand until the final words were broached.
despite being quite predictable in the direction this was going it really didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment this story brought.
No-one person except maybe the children was completely good or bad, you could find something redeemable in most all of them except perhaps the sheriff, he seemed completely unredeemable with no recoverable qualities at all.
he’s definitely going to hell in a handbasket.
I think out of the whole book my favourites were Danny and Sean.
Danny, well as I said above needs more closure than what he was awarded in this, maybe even his own book.
Yay I would so be on that,
he was a person who made no apologies for his actions and lived by his own rules, loved the man.
And Sean for an eleven-year-old was quite the fellow, I think shaped by his past he had grown up way faster than his peers.
This made it so much easier for him to step up to the mark in regards to protecting his little sister Louise.
Here and Gone was so rich in diverse interesting characters, each one leaving a big impression on me all in a different kind of way.
So in regards to recommending, this well that’s a big hell yeah from me.
Pick this up, you so won’t regret it this is up there with my favourite reads of this year.
A real heart stopper of a book is Here And Gone.
Thank You to NetGalley, Random House Vintage and Haylen Beck for providing me with an advance reader copy this is my own unbiased honest opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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This book ruined me. I’ve seen other reviews saying that they read it in one day, and I would have done the same had I not read myself to sleep. Everything about this book had me hooked. The characters with the broken back stories, the mom who would do anything to save her kids, all of it. I would recommend this book ten times over. I want to read more by this author!
Thank you First to Read for this incredible arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Audra leaves her abusive husband and is driving cross-country with her two children, Sean and Louise. In a small town in Arizona, she’s stopped by the sheriff, arrested, and then her children disappear. The storyline is intense, but something seemed to be lacking. Perhaps it was that we knew all along where the children were. There was no suspense or thrilling moments.
Another part of the story I really didn’t care for was Audra’s past. For the first 10 years of her Sean’s life, she was an alcoholic who suffered from blackouts. She couldn’t remember how old Louise was. It just seemed a little farfetched. I realize it was done to make the point that no one would believe her story, but it was still a little too out there. She could have been June Cleaver and no one would believe her because of the planted evidence.
The storyline of child trafficking is quite intense and dark on its own, and the e-mails from the traffickers was quite unsettling. The ending was formulaic, and I could predict exactly what happened. All in all, not a bad book, but I really hoped for more.
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Really enjoyed this fast paced book. Never a slow moment for me. The scary part about it is, you can see how this could easily happen, especially in the crazy times we live in.
Couldn’t put this book down but there is a part two
Gripping! I liked the characters and surprises.
Interesting subject – never realized this type of thing can really happen. Worth reading.
Here and Gone: 5* amazingly scary until the proper steps are taken to make everything good happen. Unable to stop reading.
This was tough to put down! I just wanted to keep on reading!!
I thought this book was very well written.. very suspenseful and scary.. my only complaint would be that it ended rather abruptly.. But, a very enjoyable read…
Very exciting from beginning to end
A story that will scare many people about the underbelly of the Internet and the depravity of some individuals. It keeps your attention though out and is a quick read. I read into the night to finish this book.
A pageh turner for sure,I kept cheering for the Mother. Enjoyed the book.
A mother’s love for her children never gives up
I listened to the audio version of this book and found myself looking forward to cleaning, walking, driving, whatever, just so I could tune in. I read reviews that said the characters were a little two dimensional, the antagonist to evil, but I disagree. The story touches on a horrendous topic—child prostitution. Anybody who participates in the industry that makes it possible, in my mind, is as evil as they come. The children in this book were heart wrenching without being insipid. The mother’s agony believable. Only warning, don’t dive in until you have the time to invest!
Fleeing her abusive husband with her two children, Audra is stopped by a cop in the middle of the Arizona desert. A routine stop turns into a bust for possession for drugs Audra has never seen before … but the worst hasn’t happened yet. Audra is soon to have the fight of her life to save everything she loves.
Here and Gone easily drew me into the story, and the real world quickly drifted away. I finished reading it in a few hours. The feelings stirred up while reading Here and Gone included fear and anger, and those feelings were hard to shake off.
The characters fit well into their roles; all were well-done. Collins was the “good” cop, desperate but not really a bad person. Whiteside … he was dark. The “bad” cop, with no conscience and nerves of steel. My favorite character would be Sean, Tandy (even though he only had a short role), or Special Agent Mitchell. It’s really hard to decide. Especially nice was how Beck showed the inner turmoil of the characters without flat-out explaining it, like in this section:
“When he finished, Mitchell remained still, her gaze on the notebook. The muscles in her jaw bunched. After a few moments she inhaled, exhaled, and got to her feet.” pg. 194
If you enjoy great writing and are a fan of thrillers, then this is definitely a book for you.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.