***** “A disturbing, gripping page-turner, it pulled me in further and further until I realised I was going to read it in one sitting.There’s a sense of menace throughout and the narrative is addictive. FIVE STARS***** “There’s no messing around with this book, it jumps straight into the action and keeps that pace up throughout. I love that it’s set in my favourite parts of North London and there … London and there are some truly dark edges to the book.”
The first book from ‘This Dark Town’ mystery thriller trilogy.
Eighteen-year-old Lydia Stone wakes up one morning in the north London gothic mansion she shares with her family, to find that her twin sister Kate has disappeared off the face of the earth.
CCTV footage shows Kate entering a night club in south London on the night she went missing, but there is no evidence that she ever came out of the club, and police are considering the idea that she was sex-trafficked.
In the days and weeks that follow, Lydia takes a closer look at her twin sister’s life; her modelling career, penchant for fetish clubs, and interesting array of older friends. It seems like Kate was definitely hiding something.
But she isn’t the only one…
more
I was interested in this book while I was reading it, but when I finished it I was so furious with the author that I will never again read one of her books. If a person decides to write a series of books with the same main characters, I’m OK with that. In this case, absolutely nothing was concluded and it just stopped in the middle of a dialogue between the victim and her kidnapper. I felt deceived into spending several hours reading this book when there was no conclusion. If it were poetic writing or if it taught a valuable lesson, I might have excused it. The author mislead me in order to force me into buying her next book. Well, no thank you.
I’m hooked! Already reading the second book!
The book ends halfway thru the story. Totally leaves you hanging.
This book didn’t wrap up the story.
This book was so well written and I couldn’t wait to read more. Unfortunately I felt cheated at the end when it was continued to the next book and then the next. I felt duped into purchasing the next two in hope of an ending. The writer is excellent and a good marketing plan on her part but I will be very careful to read reviews of her next book to be sure it is a stand alone story.
Lydia and Kate are beautiful identical twins. Kate, outgoing and unpredictable; and Lydia, stable, even bland, or so it seems at first. When Kate is kidnapped Lydia vows to find Kate and bring her back home to what seems, at least on the outside, the idyllic family and life.
As Lydia searches using whatever means she can use she discovers Kate has a wild side to her which is unknown to the family. Lydia also finds another undeveloped side to herself. As much as Lydia was horrified at things she found out about Kate there is a certain part of herself feeling excited about it. I found this to be a strange reaction. Her sister could be dead and she feels excited in some ways.
Characters are well developed in book 1 including Lydia’s boyfriend Simon, but In book II It seems that Simon hardly exists anymore. Strange because he was somewhat prominent in Book I.
What I did not like about this book was the cliff hanger ending. But it was a good cliff hanger. I did purchase Book II because I really wanted to know what happened to Kate, so it’s difficul to admonish our author for achieving her goal. I don’t plan on buying book III because I’m pretty sure I see the ending coming. But then again maybe I will!
Enjoyed this book so much I order the second and third book to finish the series!
This isn’t even remotely a whole book! The author didn’t finish any of the story, so you have to buy book 2 (and book 3, I assume) to find out what happens. I put this away in disgust. I won’t be buying anything from this author again.
Very interesting plot. Live when I can’t predict what’s going to happen. Enjoyed it so much I bought the rest of the series
Did not enjoy having to get the next book to find out anything!
Oh yes Oh yes – this one was a five star ++++ really good; entertaining; hard to put down and another late NIGHT reading – I seem to find these….well written – I really liked the characters and felt like I was part of the story it was that good……I highly recommend this one….
Celeste Robertson
Slow, pedantic, unrealistic
I could overlook the run-on sentences and sloppy punctuation, but it was infuriating to have the book end abruptly before the story was resolved. The victim is not yet rescued, the detectives are just arriving on the scene, a secondary storyline is threatening to explode . . . and, “to read more, check out my next book!”
No thanks.
Another book with no ending. Left hanging. Very disappointing to trudge through a book only to find more books need to be bought to find out the ending.
Liked book .easy reading. At 97 % point it said to continue reading go to book 2. Can not stand it when author does this. Will not read another from them
4.5 s for the first installment “#When You’re Gone” of the trilogy series by Marguerite O’Callaghan!!
Let me tell you, this book comes in installment of three books, #When You’re Gone, #The House in the Woods and #Us and Them. So readers have to be patient to reach the conclusion, as it is revealed through the three books.
When You’re Gone starts with the disappearance of beautiful, teenage, model Kate Stone on the night, when she visited Fetish club Haven, without the knowledge of her parents and twin sister Lydia Stone. Lydia is Kate’s conjoined twin and is almost her mirror image, except being just the opposite in nature. Kate was bold and experimental, where Lydia was shy and conventional, the docile daughter of her parents. The story explore various angles of sadomasochist world as the investigation proceeds and it also entail the dark web of crimes that undergoes in a fet-world.
I loved the characters in the story, as the way they are described will make the readers visualize each one of them as a movie scene. Kate’s mom, Barbara Stone is a beauty and hold many secret under her silence. While Brian, her husband is caring, comforting and doting. Lydia is one character, who doesn’t stop to surprise. Though she is docile, meek, however she does not hesitate to visit Haven, to explore the underworld herself and she easily make friends with few of the club members like Yukio and others. However, she always stay within her limits and that’s what is starkly different between her and Kate.
The introduction of Ida, the psychic, may appear little skeptical to some, who does not believe in telepathy or the power of thinking, but the author makes the character believable, by making her appear in very less instances and only by allowing her character to deliver few suspected names or incidents. Ida is lovable in her own way, with her cat Angel to accompany her. I think readers are going to accept her premonitions as well as her character in the story.
The two detectives, McCarthy and Davies are worth mentioning. The author has nicely balanced Davies, who is nonchalant, and simply following the orders given by McCarthy. On the other hand McCarthy is attentive, focused, dedicated and sincere, as a detective is supposed to be. He acts fast as per needed and that’s what make him more adorable.
Simon, Lydia’s boyfriend has been portrayed in an interesting way and it will be hard for the readers in the beginning to understand his intentions,until he himself surprises everybody with his disclosure.
The writing style is good and enjoyable. Readers will off course yearn to know more and turn the pages in gripping thoughts. This book is off course a page turner. Plot is extensive and twisted and at a time readers may feel that everybody is under the magnifying glass. But the book stops revealing more in the first part, with a promise to deliver more in the second part. So yes, it’s like a web-series where you have to watch the second and third episodes to know more about the ending. So get ready, have some binge eats and stay with this book installments… I promise you will not be disappointed.
Thanks #Bookbub for sending me the first part. After finishing the first part, I have started reading the second part and believe me, I am happy, that I downloaded the two books from Amazon!! It’s keeping its promise so far and maintaining the suspense!!
Overall: for the first part: A really interesting book with lot of information and overwhelming suspense. Loved reading the first part. Worth trying off course!!
Happy Reading!!
I ordered the second and it wash also very good.
I didn’t like that I needed to get a second book to find out the ending
Loved and hated the book. Loved it because I couldn’t wait to turn the page, see what was coming next, and I did finish it in one night; however, I hated it because it didn’t really come to an end. I don’t mind reading the next book but I want to be able to finish it and have some conclusion to the original reason the reader thinks the story is about. And, this didn’t. Sorry I will finish the story in my own way!
It kept my interest.