Title: Grace is Gone
Author: Emily Elgar
Published: January 2020, Harper Paperbacks
Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
From the bestselling
author of If You Knew Her comes this harrowing tale of suspense—a story
ripped from today’s headlines—of a tight-knit English community, who’s
rocked by the murder of a mother and the mysterious disappearance of her
daughter, and the secrets that lie concealed beneath a carefully
constructed facade.
A small town’s beloved family.
A shocking, senseless crime—and the dark secret at the heart of it all.
Everyone
in Ashford, Cornwall, knows Meg Nichols and her daughter, Grace. Meg
has been selflessly caring for Grace for years, and Grace—smiling and
optimistic in spite of her many illnesses—adores her mother. So when Meg
is found brutally bludgeoned in her bed and her daughter missing, the
community is rocked. Meg had lived in terror of her abusive, unstable
ex, convinced that he would return to try and kidnap Grace…as he had
once before. Now it appears her fear was justified.
Jon Katrin, a
local journalist, knows he should avoid getting drawn back into this
story. The article he wrote about Meg and Grace caused rifts within his
marriage and the town. Perhaps if he can help find Grace, he can atone
for previous lapses in judgment. The Nichols’ neighbor, Cara—contending
with her own guilt over not being a better friend to Grace—becomes an
unexpected ally. But in searching for Grace, Jon and Cara uncover
anomalies that lead to more and more questions.
Through multiple
viewpoints and diary entries, the truth about Grace emerges, revealing a
tragedy more twisted than anyone could have ever imagined…
My thoughts: I absolutely loved this book and I went into it only reading the synopsis, not anything else and for that, I am so glad. I think this is one of those books where the less you know about it, the better. And for that every reason, my review is going to be a bit vague.
It wasn’t until about halfway through that I realized where this book was going, or at least had an idea, and once I did, I knew exactly what was going on and believe it or not, was even more excited about the book. And it totally did go there and wow…what a story! It had captured my interest from the beginning, but midway, just hooked me even more.
I loved the way the story was told, alternating between Cara’s point of view, the neighbor of Meg and Grace, and Jon’s point of view, a local journalist. There are also diary entries from Grace interspersed throughout that are quite eye-opening. Having the story told this way allows it to unfold layer by layer and the impact is quite powerful.
Do yourself a favor and don’t read too much about this book before picking it up…you’ll thank me later. But do pick it up…it’s a fantastic read and it you are as obsessed with this subject as I am, you will definitely love this book. This is the first time I’ve read anything by Emily Elgar but it won’t be the last.
