I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
This is an "edge of your seat" chilling thriller. For me, the subject matter was horrific. A woman who has been abused by her husband and left him taking her 2 children, is driving to California for a new start and is stopped by the police. Not wanting to give any spoilers away what follows is unbelievable and shocking. On occasion I questioned the possibility of it being credible, but we live in a cruel world. A really well written thriller, nicely paced and one of those books that you have to keep reading to get to the end and find out how it concludes.
The only reason it does not get 5 stars is I needed some explanations. Again cannot say more without giving spoiler alerts!
4.5****

I was enjoying it from the first pages of the book. The description above describes this book quite well. It started with Audra in the car with her children. That got my attention. Why? Where are they going? And little by little the main character, Audra, unfolded it. I am not big fan of the books about children and their parents, because all you read is how much parents love their kids. But this book somehow gripped me. The main character suffered a lot in her life, so the way she was trying to fight for her kinds and not to give up, really made me respect her. I think that author of this novel done a great job by letting all the main characters to speak in this book, even the evil ones. Another great point of this book, that author was finishing every chapter with a cliff hanger and just starting the next chapter with different characters story. It was so addictive and all I wanted was to figure out how the previous story finished. I enjoyed reading the story from children’s perspective as well. The little boy, Sean, was a real sweetheart; incredibly smart, caring and little hero. (Reminder, I do not like children). The ability to read the story from different perspectives and told by different characters made it very enjoyable and allowed to understand the characters way better.
The whole plot was happening in one area and was really concentrated on a small, dying town of Silver Water. I really liked the whole story; I found it really original and very interesting. The more I read this book, the catchier it got. I really liked how this story unfolded, with Audra’s difficult past and husband’s abuse and her fight for her children at present. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this book. When I thought that no one there to help Audra, author nicely twisted in a help for her. I liked the topics this novel was discussing: different ways of emotional abuse against women, hard life and decisions when you don’t have money, corrupt authorities and how they can ruin people’s lives. There are some violent details in this book, so if you have weak nerves, be prepared. The ending of the book was well thought through and didn’t leave me disappointed. It was well deserved after everything. So to conclude, it is twisted, fast paced and addictive thriller filled with mother’s fight and love for her children and surprisingly I really enjoyed it.

Here and Gone

I was hooked by the blurb and once I had the book, I really couldn't put it down!

Audra is escaping an abusive marriage with her two children when she is pulled over by a sheriff. Things happen and she is taken into custody, but what happens to her kids? Where are they and who has them?

This truly is a tense, taught thriller, it's not always a comfortable read but it is one that you won't be able to put down. A fast paced thriller that has it all, 5*.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

I thank Netgalley for providing me with an un-proofed copy of this book to read. There are levels of proofing and this is at the level where my brain screams...NO...STOP...put it down now!

I didn't because I had agreed to read and review.

Have you ever read those articles that start "You will be astonished at what happened next"?

I am astonished. Within pages my brain overcame my usual reaction. I only stopped reading at 2am when an urgent need for sleep floored me. I was reading again by 6am. Proving to myself that if the story works the words will show you what they should be.

This story is AWESOME. It grabbed me and pulled me in even when my pedntic nature should have had me kicking and screaming.

I will not re-hash the blurb. No way would I chance any spoilers. If you read only one book this year make it this one.

Tense and exciting I read it with my heart in my mouth most of the time. I thought the plot was very clever and very well paced. The characters were well developed and I soon loved some of them and equally hated others.
If I had a tiny complaint it would be that the timing of events just towards the end of the story was a bit off with people being able to get to the scene of the action a bit quicker than the distances would allow but that really is me being picky because overall this was an excellent book and I am only sorrry I have finished it.

Oh I LOVED this one. Well, you know, I use the word loved to mean it destroyed me and stole a few hours of my life then spat me out ragged the other side. One sitting, totally immersive, bang on the money thriller with heart. Just load up on the sugar and dive right in (the slight sugar rush might be running this review too)

So Here and Gone has a hugely emotional core, missing children, now in danger – of course its going to get you right by the throat. What helps that along and makes it so darned addictive is the near perfect pacing, the highly intriguing and resonant characters and that indefinable something that means you just CANNOT put it down.

I always think its clever when an author manages to make a book fairly rock along, but still keeps the heart and soul in it. Here and Gone is a book that you feel – from the opening pages when Audra is making her tentative but determined escape from an abusive marriage you just get enveloped right into it. Then the heart stopping moment when she loses sight of her kids stays with you from that moment and as events unfold you spend half the time wanting to clap your hands over your eyes, wondering what fresh hell Audra will face next. The plotting is tight, intense and utterly riveting, the final few chapters I barely drew breath for and in the end you let out a huge sigh of…well you’ll have to read it to find out but the whole thing was completely traumatic – reading trauma. Its what I live for.

Oh that Sheriff, I wanted to poke him with red hot pokers. Danny I adored. Audra was a particularly strong character because her flaws were on display for the world to see but she had that tough inner core that just resonates so you are with her all the way. And she wasn’t stupid. You know? Sometimes in thrillers like this the main protagonist is so stupid you want to throttle them, but Here and Gone has a healthy dose of reality that just feeds into the wider drama.

Things I wish would happen now.

Danny would get his own book series.

I could see what Audra does next.

Patrick’s mother falls down a well and Lassie never comes. (remember the whole sugar rush thing)

Seriously though, Here and Gone is a very clever, very emotive, highly charged read that will mess with your head and keep you up at night. The themes running underneath the thrill ride are hard hitting and distressing. None of it is impossible. All of it is compelling. Overall Here and Gone is a purely dazzling read.

I thought I would probably like it, this being the pseudonym of an author I’m already a fan of – but you can never be quite sure when these authors go rogue and write something different whether they really should be doing that or not. In this case the answer is a hugely resounding YES. So do it again please.

An edge of the seat full on emotional blast of a novel.

Highly Recommended.

**Review also available on Goodreads**

Audra Kenney has escaped the abusive marriage she was in and is now trying to build her relationship with her children. En route to a friends house, while crossing Arizona, Audra is pulled over by Sheriff Whiteside. When searching her car he finds a bag of marijuana. He radios his colleague, Deputy Collins, to come pick up her kids while Audra is taken into police custody, and her car is taken away for forensics. But when Audra asks later to see her children......

We explore a very serious subject matter in this story. With its fast pace set from the beginning it quickly had me caught up in it. It's characters are believable. I found this gritty, well written book hard to put down and the ending did not disappoint. Highly recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and the author Haylen Beck for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not my usual read but I really enjoyed this book and will keep a watch for this author in future.

This book has everything you need for a satisfying dig-in read. Audra is escaping an oppressive and abusive marriage. Recovering from the aftermath of too many pills for too long, Audra has plucked up the courage to take her 2 young children and flee New York. She is heading for California, a long drive across country, knowing that with her history of drink and drugs and her husband’s influence she would stand no chance of keeping her children were she to stay and sue for custody.
Driving through Arizona, she is pulled over by the local Sherriff for a minor traffic infraction. Suddenly her whole world is turned upside down. For the Sherriff finds a bag of marijuana in her boot and calls his deputy to tow her car with the children into town, while he takes her in.
But when they get to the police cell and Audra asks for her children, she is met with stony faces and a denial that she ever had children with her.
Alone in a state she does not know and under caution, Audra can find no-one who will listen to her story and soon she finds herself the subject of national press attention - accused of the murder of her own children.
Here and Gone is the story of how a mother’s determination knows no boundaries. It deals with one of the most heinous of crimes – against children – and it is a novel of grit and revenge.
The characters are very well drawn, the plot is tight and thrilling and the setting authentic and chilling.
Very readable, I enjoyed this thriller and look forward to more from this author.

I enjoyed this book, I didnt love it. Some parts of the book I felt myself wander off. I really liked the character of Danny and I would have liked him to be in it a bit more. Also I felt his story was not really tied up at the end. I found it quite hard to care for Audra I found her quite annoying. Overall I enjoyed this book and it was a easy read.

I had seen a good bit of chatter on Twitter about Haylen Beck, and upon reading the synopsis for Here and Gone I was instantly intrigued. Haylen Beck is a pseudonym for another well known author whose (story of my life) books I have on my shelves to be read so I figured I'd give this one a go.

I really wanted to love this one, I did but for some reason I wasn't completely sold on it. Now, that's not to say it isn't a good book! IT IS!!! However, I read a ton of these crime thriller books, and it takes a lot for them to stand out for me these days.

Here and Gone has so much going for it though. It has a really interesting premise. The blurb above doesn't do it justice. There is so much more going on with this book than meets the eye. I found myself really rooting for Audra as she went on her journey, and willed her to just keep going.
I don't want to give anything away about the plot. I will say that I put this book down at 25% because it made me feel uncomfortable. More than once. So I walked away from it because it left me feeling a bit, I don't know, anxious maybe? For the characters. And due to the situation. Which is a reaction, for sure. Here and Gone evoked some pretty strong feelings in me early on, but I found that it just didn't keep me feeling like that.

All in all though, Here and Gone is a solid US- based thriller. Definitely one to pick up if you enjoy thrillers that make you think!

Recommended for sure!

I cannot recommend this book enough! The narrative is so fast paced from the start and never slows down. You're really able to connect with Audra in her fight against a corrupt system, and the more that is revealed about her past, the more you begin to admire her. I haven't actually read many books where the protagonist is a powerful woman, but Audra is just that and I enjoyed her character immensely. I loved the detail in the setting of the plot, evidence of the brilliant research Haylen Beck had done in order to write the book. Furthermore, the complexity and motivations of each character are brilliantly thought out, you really do hate Whiteside, whilst Collins leaves you feeling sympathetic to an extent. The fact nobody believes Audra is extremely frustrating, and so I was so glad when Danny decided to help her. An excellent book that I would definitely read again.

This book was gripping and uncomfortable from the outset. It was one of those books that you don't want to put down. When it was over, I couldn't decide as to whether I was relieved or disappointed. I would recommend this to people that like a fast paced thriller.

A terrific thriller which I raced through. Haylen Beck has written a smart page-turner with believable characters, emotional depth and an incredible sense of place. Starts with a killer hook and never lets up.

I think this may be the best book I've read so far this year. It got me so frustrated but I couldn't put it down. I was so eager to find out what was going to happen to Audra and her children. Absolutely brilliant, thank you so much for letting me pre read it.

Wow! I loved this book and really couldn't put it down - reading it in a day. It is a psychological thriller with pace, the whole story occurs over a period of only 4 days although the reader is given plenty of background information along the way to make sense of things.
Audra Kenney is on the run from child services having escaped an abusive relationship with her husband a couple of years previously. We learn that he and his mother mentally and physically abused Audra to the point that she had no control over her life however, she managed to escape with the help of the nanny and had begun to rebuild her life and relationship with her children. She is several days into a trip across America to stay with a friend in California and start to rebuild a life when she is stopped by local police. Audra fears that her husband has the nation looking out for her but what she has stumbled into is a whole lot worse and every mother's nightmare. The sheriff, Whiteside plants drugs in her trunk and arrests her for possession. He arranges for his deputy, Collins to come and take the children somewhere safe whilst he deals with Audra and that is the last she sees of them. The Sheriff then reports that when he arrested Audra there were no children in the car and alleges that she must have killed or dumped them prior to his pulling her over. Audra is held in a cell in the back of beyond and has literally no hope of either seeing her children again or convincing anyone that her version of events is true. Meanwhile, Whiteside is in negotiations via the dark internet to sell the brother and sister to a ring of wealthy business men with an unhealthy hobby. The book is so successful in my opinion as Beck conjures up empathy with Audra's utter despair at the situation. Slowly, little chinks of hope appear for Audra and at the same time, in swings Danny 'Knife Boy' to the rescue. Gang member, murderer and criminal, he is not the sort of person Audra would usually associate herself with but he offers her a lifeline and she is desperate enough to take it. Danny experienced a similar situation a few years previously, losing his wife and his daughter in the process and is out for revenge as well as the chance to stop the same thing happening again. The pace really keeps going right until the end which is fitting and whilst most ends are tied up, a few questions are left hanging which prevents the story from having that all too disappointing clichéd ending. This book is gritty, pacey and clever - 5 stars from me!

Review Thank you to net galley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Audra is leaving her husband with their two children when she is pulled over by the local Sheriff. What unfolds is a grizzly tale of being accused of murdering your children with no one to help. The fbi want to arrest and the local police are corrupt.

I devoured this book and in fact woke up at 5 this morning to carry on reading. I even had a whole cast in my head as to who would play everyone in a film version!

Although this has the basics of a fantastic novel. The edgy dark plot and the concept which is a mothers worst nightmare. It lacks dialogue a lot! its too descriptive in parts and I found this frustrating.