And Now She's Gone: A Novel

Grayson Sykes is working hard to be a private investigator. Her boss /mentor has given her the first case of her new career. Isabel Lincoln has gone missing. Abducted? Or did she leave on her own. That's what Grayson has to determine. At first glance, it seems to be easy enough .... What Grayson discovers is that no one seems to be who she thinks they are. The missing woman's boyfriend absconded with his dog. He's not too worried about the girlfriend, but he definitely wants the dog back. There's Isabel's best friend, Tea, who seems to know more than what she's telling. To top it off, Isabel has been in hiding from an abusive partner. Another person that's suspect. Grayson isn't who she says she is, either. She knows firsthand how domestic violence and fear can lead someone to abandon everything they have and know.. just to survive. There are twists and turns aplenty. It's a tightly woven, complex plot, featuring characters that are strong and intriguing to follow. This is a page turner to the very last page. Many thanks to the author / Macmillan-Tor/Forge / Forge Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/thriller. A special Thank You to Macmillan Reading Insiders Club. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

“Gray knew firsthand about men who could turn charm on and off like a beer tap. Love letters and expensive sea salt caramels one day, spit-flecked lips and bugged eyes two weeks later.” And Now She’s Gone is a novel by best-selling, award-winning American author, Rachel Howzell Hall. After two years behind the scenes at Rader Consulting, Grayson Sykes is finally given her first proper case (not a Chihuahua): she has a missing girlfriend to locate. “She’d always been the nosy kid, the Negro Nancy Drew.” Isabel Lincoln has been gone for six weeks, and her boyfriend, a hunk of a cardiologist named Ian O’Donnell, wants Gray to find her. “Once she realizes she’s being stupid, yes, she’ll come back.” Ian pointed at her. “I just need you to help me help her accept that sooner rather than later.” Isabel also took his dog, which angers O’Donnell, and Gray wonders if he wants the dog back more than the girl. She also wonders why he wants Isabel back: is it really love or is he concerned for his image? Even before O’Donnell has told Gray repeatedly what a nice guy he is, she has already decided that Isabel has gone “Probably because she smelled the crazy on him and didn’t want it to get into her favorite coat. Hard to get the stink of nuts out of wool.” Familiar alarm bells are faintly ringing. The more people she talks to, the more Gray feels that Isabel was lucky to get away, and Gray should know: she has her own history to draw on. But O’Donnell is the client so she at least has to go through the motions. When she does, though, something strikes her as not quite right: she’s getting conflicting information and begins to wonder if O’Donnell is an abusive, narcissistic and possibly dangerous man from whom Isabel Lincoln needs to escape; or if O’Donnell is a genuinely nice (if narcissistic) guy and Isabel is a vindictive gold-digger. And those disturbing texts to the number generated for her dating app: has Gray’s own personal monster finally tracked her down? Because Gray is heartily sick of looking over her shoulder, of checking the rear-view mirror on every drive. She’s armed and feeling dangerous. Wow, what a tale! The plot has so many twists that the reader might want to pre-book a chiropractic appointment. There’s plenty of dark humour in the dialogue and Gray’s inner monologue, quite a bit of action with knives, and the body count builds with each jaw-dropping revelation. Howzell Hall’s protagonist can’t fail to appeal: Gray is smart and sassy, gutsy and ready to stand up for herself. Her rotten past has firmed her resolve against being a victim and to help others “Especially cases that helped women get away from dangerous men.” A clever and brilliantly twisty page-turner. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Tor Forge