Cover Image: Gone

Gone

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Member Reviews

I saw this book before it came on here and everyone was commenting on it.
I got annoyed at certain parts as it kept going from 1st name and then surname. This was a buzz kill for me
It never seemed to get started just a slow pace all the way through

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This was a very interesting and unique thriller. People have been disappearing on their birthdays after receiving a birthday card with the message 'your gift is the game, do you want to play?'. Dr Bloom, a psychologist, and Jameson start to investigate into these disappearances when they discover that one of the missing people is someone who Jameson knows.

The chapters flick between the present day and the past where Dr Bloom was working with a young student. It was very hard for me to see how these two narratives were linked together, and - I'm not sure if this was just the e-book but - the separation of these two narratives wasn't always clear.

I wasn't a massive fan of the characters in the book, and I also found parts a little unrealistic; but I was gripped throughout and although I had an idea of what was going on, I didn't guess the ending completely which I always enjoy! I would definitely recommend this for those who enjoy a thriller.

3.75 stars.

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People are disappearing. They all seem to be playing some kind of game. There's a birthday card left behind saying"YOUR GIFT IS THE GAME. CARE TO PLAY" written inside it. It seems the victims volunteered to disappear. Dr and psychologist Agusta Bloom is called in to investigate along with her partner, Marcus Jamieson.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. It looked liked the chair challenge in The X Factor. I didn't particularly like Dr Bloom. Marcus Jamieson, the MI5 operative was more likeable. They did work well together. The book starts of slowly as we are introduced to some of the characters. There was so much potential for this story. Its plotline a little different from the normal. The ending, for me, was a little disappointing. The two simultaneous stories made me confused. I sure many other readers will disagree with me.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Just thinking about this book gives me that feeling in my tummy when I go over a humpback bridge. This is an absolutely top of the league read and what makes it even more thrilling is that this is the author's debut!
From the opening couple of chapters, I knew that I was going to love this book. Four people have disappeared on their birthdays, all of them leaving behind a very unique birthday card with a message, Your Gift is the Game. Do You Want to Play? They all came from different backgrounds, had different jobs and family but they were all gone without a trace. One of the 'victims' was known to ex-secret service agent Marcus Jameson, who worked alongside psychologist Dr Augusta Bloom in their P.I. business. As the story unfolds something very disturbing begins to come to light.
The chapters go backwards and forwards to a much younger Dr Bloom and her work with psychopaths and what makes them tick, a very under the microscope type look through very clinical eyes. Other chapters follow a young girl at school who has recently been in pretty serious trouble.
I have to say that I was truly fascinated with this story and loved the working relationship between Jameson and Bloom, each so very different and yet on the same page in so many ways. Jameson a bit of a nerd that tries to fit in and Bloom a woman that I felt was constantly evolving. The story held a fabulous pace making it a straight-through read in one sitting for me.
I really am so excited to think that this is the start of a series. A brilliant pairing of Bloom and Jameson. Loved this book.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

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Well what a debut novel from Leona Deakin. It was certainly a page turner and I read the book really quickly. Interesting main characters and a brilliant plot line. I figured what was happening early on but certainly didn’t expect the ending. The author has the scene for more books to hopefully follow with Dr Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson.
Definitely worth a read.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

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Really enjoyed this book, what a fabulous debt novel, twists and turns galore with plenty of edgy writing. Cannot wait to see what Leona Deakin brings out next. Struggled to put this one down, every time I had a couple of minutes I would read some more. Excellent.

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Turning the classic missing persons case on its head, this addictive debut plays with the unsettling idea that the victims are the dangerous ones. Full of dark twists and turns, this pacy thriller, penned by a former psychologist with the West Yorkshire police, will deliver an adrenaline rush to keep you reading well into the night.

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Several people receive a birthday card, daring them to play 'the game'. Then they go missing..........

This is a gripping psychological thriller that bodes well for what I hope will be a series. The 2 private investigators work well together and the author's background as a Police psychologist is evident in the plot. I didn't lose interest at all throughout the book and it will definitely make me think twice about taking part in online quizzes!!!

A fast paced read that kept me turning the pages.......with the light on! 4.5 stars

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Clever, pacy thriller


I really enjoyed this title. The description gripped my interest and I thought it had a clever premise. I don't want to give too much of a description for fear of giving the plot away but basically people start going missing after a receiving a birthday card saying "Happy First Birthday".

The story had me gripped from start to finish. The characters were interesting and all different and the writing was cleverly done with a few twists.

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A really clever, well plotted and compelling thriller. An interesting and original premise which began by piquing my interest and then I was hooked. A debut book and can't wait to read more from this author. Almost five stars and highly recommended.
I would like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

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Very interesting in both its plot and main characters, but a little confusing in places. I'm really hoping this is going to be a series as I would like to see more of the two investigators.

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A promising series opener which sadly faded towards the finish. 3/5 stars.

Gone is the opening installment of a new series which features an intriguing heroine. And Dr. Augusta Bloom comes as a breath of fresh air if you feel you’ve read about enough brilliant detectives with apparently obligatory issues with drink, drugs or family. The good doctor is instead a PhD psychologist, specialising in psychopathy, who collaborates with the police and, all in all, appears to be a fairly together individual who is still good at her job!

The set up and initial investigations are really well done. I was particularly pleased that it didn’t take long for our heroine to figure out what was going on and, even more shockingly, for the police to look at the blatant evidence in front of them and actually believe her, rather than (as in many other stories), saying she’s some sort of crackpot.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the last third of the book as much as the first two. I felt there was a lack of pay off from the set up. However, I do appreciate this is probably because, as a series opener, this book has to do a lot to put wheels in motion for future stories. Also, I didn’t find the big shock reveal at all shocking, which was a shame.

I think the most interesting aspect of the book was its nuanced view of psychopathy. Not all psychopaths or those with psychopathic traits are serial killers, but you should still watch your back around them!

Overall: An interesting and entertaining series opener which fell a little flat for me in the final act. I’ll be intertested to see where the series goes next.

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What an interesting debut exploring the mindset of psychopaths as functioning members of society. The two main characters - Dr Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson - have an interesting partnership and their characters are well developed. The plot, though the time frame is a little confusing at first, is well developed and moves forward with speed. Hopefully this is the first in a series featuring these two characters.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Leona Deakin/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

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This is quite a debut! A psychological thriller, this is a refreshingly different tale of two private detectives Dr Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson and how they endeavour to solve the mystery of a sinister ‘game’ which evidently causes several people to disappear on their birthday, having received an unsigned birthday card inviting them to risk playing ‘The Game.’ This appears to be the only connection linking the victims. But are they victims?

I was hooked right from the beginning of this story, The plot line jumps around somewhat but it is still easy enough to follow, and it certainly keeps up the momentum for the reader. I was pleasantly surprised to read such an engrossing thriller which did not find it necessary to include gory details of violence, bloody crime scenes and PMs. It just shows it can be done without detracting from the storyline.

This is a very clever premise, and the more I read, the more chilling it became. I will never take part in an online quiz again - just in case! I really hope there is a second book, as I found Bloom and Jameson to be interesting characters with potentially more layers to be revealed for each of them. I will look out for more of Leona Deakin’s work, she is definitely an author to watch in future.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this title. I really enjoyed it.

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Lemons Deakin write a true thriller, is it based on real life? You are left thinking by the end that it might be we have all meet people who would suggest it might be after all.
Looking forward to next one in what surely must be a series of books

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The premise for this book was very ambitious and it started with a gripping bang. Following the exploits of psychologist and private detective Dr. Augusta Bloom as she and her partner Marcus Jameson are drawn into a dangerous game when they investigate a number of people who have gone missing. The only obvious connection they all disappeared on their Birthdays following receiving a mysterious card asking “Dare To Play?”

Both Augusta and Marcus are interesting characters with a good bit of chemistry and the book is undoubtedly a fast-paced page-turner that I raced through. We get a lot of psychologist talk looking at psychopaths (who doesn’t’ love a good psychopath tale!?!) and a very tangled web is weaved. The investigation is interesting and doesn’t let up however the book doesn’t quite reach the full promise of the early and middle sections and did end up being very obvious in its main twists.

A dark world was set up but not looked at in any depth and I wanted to know more. I understand there will be more adventures in the future with Dr. Bloom and I hope they touch on some of the world investigated in this book. I’m certainly keen to take another outing with Augusta, I see a lot of potential.

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This is a absolutely addictive psychological thriller with plenty of twists and great characters. I loved the original themes, this is a genre that really seems to have been done to death recently. A must read.

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Gone is a cracking debut thriller from Leona Deakin, a former police psychologist. It has a great pace with some early interspersed chapters that keep your interest and fit puzzle-like to the complete plot.
The main characters are engaging and believable and the whole crazy initial idea becomes creepily plausible linked to social media profiling and data harvesting.
I did guess the big reveal quite early on but because it was a clever, well-plotted thriller it kept me interested as to how things would play out.
A thriller highlight for December and I look forward to further books by the author.

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Four people have gone missing, all linked by a card they received with the words "Your gift is the game: do you dare to play?" written inside.

Initially the police aren't too concerned. The people who are missing are all adults who appear to have left of their own free will and aren't classed as vulnerable. However, when psychologist Augusta Bloom digs deeper, she finds out something that the police should be very concerned about.

If Augusta is right, the game is much bigger than anyone could have guessed. And maybe they shouldn't be worrying about the people who are missing. Maybe they should be worrying about finding them...

This one had me gripped from the very beginning - such an interesting and original premise, and all the way through the book, I couldn't help but think that it would make for a brilliant Netflix series - the reveals are managed so well, and would lend themselves brilliantly to a weekly cliffhanger.

I loved the two main characters, Augusta Bloom, and her business partner, Marcus Jameson - both had their own personal demons and histories that affected how they each dealt with the case, and both were well developed and realistic characters. I won't say much about the premise and the various reveals as I don't want to spoil the surprises, but this one definitely kept me guessing. I've already spotted that there is a second book in this series forthcoming, and am really looking forward to reading it - I really enjoyed the world Leona Deakin created here, and can't wait to see more from these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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What an idea for a book!
Random people on their birthday are sent a card asking ‘dare you play’ and are given a web link to go to
And then they disappear
But then even though they are missing they are dangerous
Nothing seems to link them BUT psychotherapist Augusta Bloom and her partner ( ex Secret Service ) Marcus Jameson think different and are on a mission to find out just ‘what is going on’
I liked both of them, both quirky characters, unusual and interesting to get to know
Once a link is established ( wont say what it is ) there is a lot of information to read on the thing that links all those missing and its fascinating reading!
I loved the travelling in Yorkshire throughout the book ( lived in Bradford 10 years ) and loved the almost ‘over the garden fence’ type of narrative
The downer for me was the ‘twist’ that was apparent to me as soon as the person appeared in the book and I did question how the fab team of Bloom and Jameson didn’t also see it within a few seconds
Nonetheless no book is perfect and taking all things into account its a ballsy debut brimming with excitement and facts and a great theme running through it which was an enjoyable read
7.5/10
4 Stars

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