Before You Were Gone: A completely gripping crime thriller packed with suspense

Emer Doran unexpectedly sees her sister, Kitty. Very surprising since her sister drowned twenty years ago. Her body was never found and Emer has always felt she didn't die. No one seems to believe her .. not her father who walked out on them after Kitty's accident, not her mother who wants only to control her daughter, not friends who didn't even know her sister. Working temporarily in London, Emer reaches out to her cousin, woman Emer has never met. Dee jumps at the chance to meet and get to know her cousin ... until she asks for help. Dee doesn't know if she believes Emer or not. But as an investigative journalist, she senses a good story. What Dee finds are lies and secrets that have been in the shadows for many years. The only people who know what happened that day twenty years ago are not talking ... and someone will make sure their secrets remain secret ... no matter what it takes .... even murder. This is a nicely paced well-written family drama. Suspense starts slow but builds steadily leading to twists and turns that keep one compelled to keep reading. The ending was surprising, totally unexpected. The characters are solidly drawn, the plot well thought out. Although this is third in the mystery, it is easily read as a stand alone. Many thanks to the author, Canelo Publishing, Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Before You Were Gone is the third instalment in the Eastbourne series featuring journalist Dee Doran and whilst it can be read as a standalone, I do encourage you to read the previous two books to fully immerse yourself in it’s brilliance. You won’t be disappointed! When Dee Doran receives a call from her long lost cousin Emer, wanting her help in locating a woman whom she believes is her dead sister Kitty, Dee jumps at the chance. But the deeper she becomes involved, the more herself and Emer put themselves in danger. Someone is hiding a deeply buried secret and they will do anything to make sure it stays that way… I loved the premise for this story and was immediately hooked and caught up in trying to solve this mystery alongside Dee and Emer. Could this woman really be Kitty? I was just as invested to uncover the truth as the others were and when the story took a dramatic turn at the halfway mark, that was when things really got good! A brilliant twist that caught me off guard! I loved catching up with Dee again, which also makes you feel like you are catching up with an old friend. She is such a great character and my heart was breaking for her as she threw herself into this latest mystery, as a way of trying to avoid the inevitable with what occurs in a smaller subplot. The setting in Eastbourne, is just magical. Through each book Sheila Bugler brings the sea side town to life so vividly, adding another element of perfection to the series. I love when books are set in this environment in this genre, It really adds to its chilling and sinister tone. Before You Were Gone is a perfectly written, gripping and suspenseful crime thriller that will have you reading long into the night as you race through the pages. I absolutely love this series and I am hopeful for some more to come. I have everything crossed! It was an absolute pleasure to read and review Before You Were Gone, which I highly recommend.