Publication Date: 22nd September 2020
Publisher: Mcmillan – Tor/Forge Books
ISBN: 9781250753175
Genre: Mystery
Strong Point: How we learn about the protagonist’s own story at the same time she is investigating the case. It is very well constructed.
Weak Point: Any.
Books on Tour Rating: 
(4/5)
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.49/5)
“AND NOW SHE’S GONE”
I love a good mystery book. It is probably one of my favourite genres, together with horror and classics (what a mixture, right?).
And this book is a solid mystery book. The story is hard because of the topics it talks about (abuse against women, domestic violence, etc.) but it is well built and the characters are relatable. Let’s talk about it.
THE STORY
We find Grayson Sykes in Los Angeles working already for two years for a company called Rader Consulting. Work is ok, but she is a bit tired of looking for chihuahuas for rich people. What Grayson really wants to do is to be a private investigator.
Her boss is Dominick Rader, an old friend of hers. Already at this point, we sense something going on between the two of them, but the author is only giving us bits of info, so we have to wait to know what is happening with these two.
Furthermore, something else is going on with Grayson, as she is from the beginning of the book suffering from severe pain as a side effect from a recent laparoscopy. However, she repeats to herself she shouldn’t go to the hospital because there would be “too many questions”.
So one of the two central plots starts when a woman called Isabel Lincoln is missing and Gray starts working in the case.
She tries to investigate Isabel’s last movements and the people around her, the usual. Meanwhile, she has to deal with her own demons.
TWO DIFFERENT PLOTS WHICH COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER
While she investigates Isabel’s disappearance, we also know Gray’s own story, about which I cannot talk about at all, as it is the main turn of the book.
What I can say, is that I like the way the author, Rachel Howzell, blends the two stories and how it all makes sense at the end.
The book is very well written and Howzell’s style is articulate and fluent, even though the topics she writes about are quite hard and horrendous.
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT “AND NOW SHE’S GONE”
“And Now She’s Gone” is a good book. I totally recommend it if you like thrillers or mystery books. This one has as a protagonist a strong, black, female character whom I quite liked. And I really felt for her throughout the whole story. You really feel her pain.
Furthermore, everyone seems to lie, and it was quite fun to try to discover what was going on with all those characters. It has been fun.
On the other hand, the book talks about domestic violence, so please check all the trigger warnings before you read the book. Sometimes the violent scenes are quite intense, but in my opinion they are necessary because it is a topic that the more we speak about it, the better. So go ahead and read it. I am sure you won’t be disappointed.
Thanks to the publisher, Mcmillan – Tor/Forge Books, the author Rachel Howzell and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of “And Now She’s Gone” for review purposes.
