Pub. Date: April 18th, 2017
Pages: 352
Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense
Synopsis
A jaw-dropping novel of psychological suspense that asks, If the love of your life disappeared without a trace, how far would you go to find out why?
Hannah Monroe's boyfriend, Matt, is gone. His belongings have disappeared from their house. Every call she ever made to him, every text she ever sent, every photo of him and any sign of him on social media have vanished. It's as though their last four years together never happened.
As Hannah struggles to get through the next few days, with humiliation and recriminations whirring through her head, she knows that she'll do whatever it takes to find him again and get answers. But as soon as her search starts, she realizes she is being led into a maze of madness and obsession. Step by suspenseful step, Hannah discovers her only way out is to come face to face with the shocking truth...
For anyone who has ever asked “Was it something I did?” GONE WITHOUT A TRACE brings to chilling light the doubt, fear, and obsession that can lie dormant in our most intimate relationships.
What Did I Think About the Story?
Gone Without a Trace has such an interesting and unique/bizarre concept. The fact that every single trace of Hannah's boyfriend, Matt, was gone from her house when she returned from an important work conference left me absolutely stumped and seemed nearly impossible....I mean, how would someone remove every trace of themselves, not only from the home they had lived in for four years but completely from online, in such a short span of time? And why? So many ideas bounced through my head regarding what could have happened. Was he abducted by aliens? Was he part of the witness protection program? Was he all in Hannah's head? I could never have guessed what the big revelation ended up being and, after all the build up to get there, I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed.
So much of the story is spent with Hannah trying to find Matt and grappling with why he would leave her like he did and, if he did leave her, why she keeps getting strange texts, calls, and letters that seem to be from Matt. I couldn't help but get somewhat annoyed with Hannah after a while as she kept letting everything else in her life slide into destruction as she single-mindedly persued Matt. The author made such a big deal about the fact that Hannah was ultra competitive and had put her career above everything else for years with the plan to become management and make her disapproving father proud. It didn't then make sense for her to miss work, come in late, not turn in assignments on time, etc. She even comments numerous times that she needs to buckle down at work and get caught up and then instantly turns back to searching online for Matt. For me this just seemed odd.
I can't honestly think of one character that I liked in Gone Without a Trace either, however in this particular situation I think that helped my overall enjoyment of the story. Having everyone be so unlikable made it hard to figure out if any of them was somehow involved in Matt's disappearance as they all seemed like they could have motive for either getting rid of him or ruining Hannah's life. Hannah's erratic actions even made her seem suspect and I honestly had no idea where everything would end up. Then all the pieces fell into place and it felt like a total curveball was thrown into the end of the story, one that was barely hinted at before. The reasons for Matt's disappearance really did seem strange and overdramatic, however the way the story finally ended made it seem more plausible and necessary. It's very hard to say anymore about this without giving anything away, but I'd be curious to read what others thought about the ending of the novel.
Gone Without a Trace, while not, in my opinion, the "jaw-dropping novel of psychological suspense" the synopsis leads you to believe, does have a very interesting concept and an ending that would be hard to predict. I might have preferred a little quicker lead up to the big reveal and a little less whininess by Hannah, but I still did enjoy the story. It's definitely worth a read for those that enjoy unique mysteries and unreliable narratives.
What Did I Think About the Cover?
It's nice enough. I like the spliced cover, making it seem like two sides of the story, but other than that I'm not sure how it really fits the story. I do like the colors as well.
My Rating:3.5/5.0
Thank you to Berkley for providing me with a free copy of Gone Without a Trace in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please find more information about the book below.
Praise for Gone Without a Trace
“Mary Torjussen spins a clever, fast-paced tale with a twist so sharp it will give readers whiplash.”—Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Bitter Season
“Gone Without a Trace has one of the most interesting narrators I’ve ever come across. Suspenseful and subtle, this novel plays with all of your expectations. Not to be missed!”—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door
“A tightly-written thriller with a genuinely shocking twist. Mary Torjussen is an assured storyteller who weaves a compelling web of secrets, lies and obsession.”—Anne Corlett, author of The Space Between the Stars
“Grabbed me right away with its mind-blowing and heartbreaking premise, and I couldn’t read fast enough as the book revealed a series of twisting and even jaw-dropping surprises. This thriller thrills, but it’s grounded by complicated, complex, and sometimes deeply flawed characters I couldn’t stop thinking about. An absorbing, shocking thriller!”—David Bell, bestselling author of Bring Her Home
“With characters who feel real to the bone and a voice that chills through and through, Gone Without a Trace had me hooked from the very first line. Torjussen delivers an absolutely thrilling novel with an ending as shocking and satisfying as any I’ve read. This is a novel you won’t want to miss!”—Diane Les Becquets, national bestselling author of Breaking Wild
“Gripping suspense with a chilling twist. Mary Torjussen kept me turning the pages to the very last.”—Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award–winning author of Phantom Instinct
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About the Author
Mary Torjussen is the acclaimed author of Gone Without a Trace. She has an MA in Creative
Writing from Liverpool John Moores University and worked for several years as a teacher.
You can connect with Mary on Twitter and Facebook.
It's Giveaway Time!!!
Thank you to Berkley for providing me with the chance to give away a copy of Gone Without a Trace (US only)!! All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the giveaway form HERE. Please be sure to leave both your name and your email on the form so I can contact you if you are my winner (no email address, no entry!). For extra entries you can follow the blog in various ways (links are on the right hand sidebar) and leave the name/email you follow with on the form. That's it!
I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner on May 8th, 2017 and will announce the winner here as well as email the winner. The winner will then have 48 hours to respond to my email with their full mailing address. If I don't hear back I'll pick a new winner. If you have already won this giveaway on another site please let me know so I can pick a new winner and give someone else a chance to win a copy of this great book.
Good Luck!!
The winner of a copy of Gone Without a Trace is....Melanie L!! Congrats, Melanie, I'm off to send you an email for your address right now!
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