I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The start was a bit confusing, but despite this, I was quickly drawn into the story and the intriguing premise. There is a lot of psychological science, but it is all explained in fairly basic language so that even the least aware person can keep up. There are also some very relevant messages and thought provoking ideas about how we use social media and how we present to the world. I will definitely think twice before filling in questionnaire’s again. There are a lot of characters, in this and this can sometimes put me off, but this flowed really well. I appreciate that my copy was an ARC, but the formatting was horrific in the version I received. I had to reread some parts to try and see what I had missed.

The main characters are a little two dimensional on occasions, but interesting enough for this story, there is room for character development in a possible future sequel.

I would of loved to give this 5 stars, but I found the pacing a little bit flat, it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat or not wanting to put the book down. I rated this as 3.5 rounded up to 4 as this is a very good novel for a debut.

Loved, Loved, Loved, this book! A fresh story for the thriller genre and it was addictive to say the least. A fabulous procedural set in London. Dr. Augusta Bloom and her partner begin to investigate a missing persons case- with a twist. On their birthdays people around the country begin to receive cards inviting them to join a 'game'. This is all i'm going to give away as I think this book is one of those the less you know the better novels. A must read for any fans of the thriller genre. Thankyou to NetGalley for the ARC.

A great book to keep you guessing what will happen next. I very much liked the description of psychopaths and other various mental health conditions as they are factual. The plot itself with a psychologist Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson ex MI6 person investigating alongside the police keeps you on the edge of your seat. The behaviour of the possible guilty candidates is intriguing and the description of their behaviours very realistic. Thank you for an exciting read.

I really did enjoy this book. I loved the Ying and Yang of Augusta Bloom and her partner Marcus Jameson. The story itself was original and drew me in. I worked out the culprit about sixty percent in (roughly where Blooms life fell apart) but that's through years of reading mystery novels. I still enjoyed the story and wanted to continue to read. Leona Deakin's writing is brilliant and very easy to follow whilst drawing you in. This was her debut novel and I'm excited to read more Jameson and Bloom.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. I haven’t read anything by this author before but I’m glad I gave her a try. Although the first few pages didn’t immediately pull me in, once I got further into the story I had to keep going. Dr Bloom and Marcus are very good characters and I could see them in a series! Really well written and certainly full of twists. I didn’t cotton on really until the author wanted me to! If you like psychological thrillers then this is a must read.

Gone by Leona Deakin a five-star read that you won’t want gone. This was my first read by this author, but it won’t be the last, this just rang so true to me, it was such a great read I felt like I was being spoken to directly and that’s a rare treat for this reader. Dr Augusta Bloom was a compelling character, she added the thrill to thriller, and also make me think what would you do if you got a dare on your birthday? The one thing this story will have you doing is looking at everyone in your life like the characters in the story and trying to guess who the psychopaths are, as this story shows us that not all psychopaths are what you imagine. As you get into the story you will start to see the underlying story as well as the story that you can see on the surface, much like Bloom and her partner you will be digging into things that maybe you shouldn’t be.

d a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story starts off with Psychologist Augusta Bloom counselling 14 year old Seraphine. Seraphine has been accused of attacking the caretaker at school. Her investigative partner Marcus then asks for help in locating 16 year old family friend Jayne’s mum Lana. Lana went missing on her birthday after receiving a card which read Happy First Birthday & inviting her to play a game. They then become aware that other people have disappeared under the same circumstances.

I really loved the idea of this book but it honestly didn’t keep me hooked. When I read a thriller I really want to keep turning the page to see what happens next. I really didn’t get that with this one. Towards the end I started getting a bit confused as to what was happening. It just wasn’t for me I am afraid.

Wow, wow, wow!

This has got to be my no#1 book of the year!

I was totally gripped from the first chapter to the very last sentence. The most intriguing, interesting, shocking, suspense filled novel I've read in a long time.

Love how complex the story is and how cleverly the author has written the past into the present which flows brilliantly.

Completely immersive read, extremely well written with fantastic characters and the most amazing storyline.


I cannot wait to read more from Leona!

Huge thank you to netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for the EArc of this book
I didn't realise this was a debut novel but can definitely say it was a great pace, excellently written and great characters with twists and turns throughout.
Bring on the next book.

“Everything is not as it seems”
 
I am still basking in the mystery’s awe of the book. What a book! I highly recommend this book. It was an immersive read. Every single page of the book had something to offer. For a debut novel, Leona Deakin has done a commendable job. Absolutely Amazing!!
 
The story revolves around 2 private investigators, Dr. Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson. 
Augusta is a psychologist who frequently works with the police. Marcus is ex-MI6. 
 
The story is intelligent and complex. The writing puts you in a lost- in- the- story mode (I lost track of time). It swayed me to imagine every scene. Every minute detail is precise from the first page where Dr. Bloom is talking to Seraphine Walker to the last page where Dr. Bloom is tackling a difficult situation. These scenes played right in front me (was that redundant!).
 
What I love about Dr. Bloom’s character she doesn’t have any shade. It is mostly neutral throughout the book. She’s strong, but she’s not turned into a hero. Jameson, is, however, is complementary to Augusta’s character. 
 
The central theme of the book is society and the human connection. Pain and experiences connect all human beings. I think the book also highlighted how we like to label people around us. 
 
The ending was a masterpiece and merged with the story making it sensible climax. And it seemed the ending paved way for more of Dr. Bloom novel (at least I loved to read more of them). 
 
Complete mind-twisting and gripping suspense.
 
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
 
My rating for the book is 5 stars.

An unusual storyline about psychopaths.
Seraphine is a teenager who stabs the school caretaker in the carotid artery.
She is interviewed by Dr Bloom, a psychologist, who has been asked by her mother to help her daughter.
In another part of the storyline Augusta Bloom is working with Marcus Jameson, ex secret service who work together as consultants for clients including the police.
Lana, the mother of Jane( friends of Marcus’s sister) goes missing and he is asked to help track down Lana.
During their investigation they discover other people have gone missing, leaving behind strange birthday cards as part of the game..
Marcus, Augusta and the police then try to infiltrate the game and track down the missing people.
Further in the story it is revealed that Seraphine killed herself and Augusta was blamed as the cause of this.
A clever book, well written but not particularly enjoyable as I found most of the characters not particularly likeable and also found the storyline unbelievable.
The reveal at the ending was a bit predictable.
This book was just not for me - others may enjoy it.

Really enjoyed this. Took a bit for me to get into due to confusion about name of book etc. But enjoyed it in the end.

I didn't realise this was a debut novel and I was worried that I'd really missed out at first.
Superb pace. Excellent, believable (unfortunately!) characters with very clever twists throughout.
Really enjoyed the ride.
Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy. Absolutely made my weekend.

Gone is a gripping psychological thriller .Someone is recruiting people to play a game after receiving the request in a Card on their Birthday they then disappear .Marcus Jameson and his partner Dr Augusta Bloom are asked to investigate and this leads to a roller coaster of a ride .The plot twists and turns and is so different from other books I have read .I didn't guess until the end the reason behind the disappearances.I loved the characters of Marcus and Augusta and do hope this first book will become a series .Many thanks to The Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Belter of a psychological thriller!

Read it super quickly because it grabbed me from the start, enjoyed the plot and it stood out for me because it’s set in the UK which I like as most of the thrillers I read are set in America.

Read if you like fast paced thrillers.

Thaks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
I would say that over the piece this was a very enjoyable read although there were a couple of sections where I felt that the entertainment value dropped a couple of gears.
Putting that aside, a decent book with a good story and no hesitation in recommending to anyone with an interest in reading this particular genre of publication

"Happy First Birthday."
Dr. Augusta Bloom, psycho!ogist, is reluctant!y drawn into the search for a missing woman by her partner, former secret services, Marcus Jameson. Lana, the mother of a girl his sister Claire looked after for periods of time whilst mum was away on army manoevres, had disappeared on her birthday. Never the most responsible of parents, Lana had done nothing like this before and teenage daughter Jane was worried. So was Claire, especially since the mother had gone missing on her birthday, leaving behind the only possible clue as to why - a 'Happy First Birthday' card with an invitation to play a game, and the message 'I dare you.' Investigation initially shows that three other people, a woman and two men, had also recently vanished after receiving similar cards. But what was the game and where (and why) had they gone?

The Opening chapters are dramatic, curious and quickly pull the reader into the story and the working persona of Dr.Bloom. The intriguing concept of people apparently voluntarily walking instantly away from their lives and the other people in them, without a word to anyone, merely at the invitation of a birthday card to play a game, immediate!y raises expectations for the reader: this is a plot unlike most others. The excitement carries the storyline well until some two thirds of the way through when, for this reader, it began to fall apart: not only did certain major (hidden) aspects become obvious, but they were still drawn ou, but the overall concept remained unexplained. Apologies, but it is not possible to go into specifics without major spoilers. What had begun as a clever idea and fascinating reading lost traction in the final chapters, as if the author hadn't quite worked out the overall basis for her story.

Gone, is the debut thriller of author, Leona Deakin, however, and as such a good first entry into the genre. Herself an occupational psychologist who previously worked with the West Yorkshire police, her observations on her protagonists must be given credence but the characterisation of most failed to fully lift them into the three dimensional living people world. And being constantly told how good a judge of character someone is, does not make it so.

An enjoyable and easy read which could have been so much better with a little more attention to detail and a fuller final resolution. A good first foray into the world of psychological thrillers, however, and worth reading for the opening scenes and b earlier mystery of the story.
My thanks to the publishers, through Netgalley, who, at my request, gifted me with a complimentary pre-release copy of Gone

It didn’t surprise me to learn that Leona Deakin is a psychologist as her debut novel Gone proves that. This is a taut, pacy thriller exploring the world of psychopaths and who doesn’t love a story about psychopaths? Shockingly I learnt that one in a hundred people exhibit those traits that typify a psychopath, demonstrating a complete lack of empathy and conscience. Criminal psychologist Dr Augusta Bloom and former spy Marcus Jameson make a pretty formidable duo who have banded together to solve mysteries. The story opens with a gruesome stabbing of a school caretaker by a pupil and Dr Bloom is called upon to talk to the 14 year old pupil. The storyline quickly escalates into a daring game which arrives via an invitation contained in a birthday card which reads ‘YOUR GIFT IS THE GAME. DARE TO PLAY?’ As the pair start to investigate, the number of people who have accepted the dare steadily rises and the police become involved but there is seemingly no pattern, apart from birthdays, and no motive. I hope this is not the last we hear of Bloom and Jameson though I found the latter’s amorous exploits rather unconvincing. Thanks to Penguin for the ARC.

Sensational. As debut novels go, they don’t get much stronger than this. An original and captivating premise. A psychologist and former spy are asked to investigate the disappearance of a diverse group of individuals, all of whom have suddenly disappeared from their lives, apparently having been invited to join a game by way of a mysterious birthday card. I don’t want to say any more about the plot as I don’t want to inadvertently include any spoilers. The flowing prose makes for a very engaging writing style and there is plenty of tension and action included. The psychology is clearly well-researched and delivered in a thought-provoking and informative way and the plot is crafted well, with reveals and subverted expectations but without illogical changes in characters’ behaviours and motivations. I will look out for more from Leona Deakin in due course.

# Gone # Netgally
This is a extremely cleverly written book, by far one of the cleverest piece of writing I have read in sick a long long time. At first I must say I found it a bit of a slow start. Yet.when Marion wondered back and forth from the present to the last it became a completely different book. Overall it was a bit of a slow paced book, and I do have to say it worked out well. Despite it appearing a little on the slow side I couldn't put their book down. The intrigue gets its nooks really feel into YOU. I can not say in the same way some books do with excitement. Because that's not the case. It's about a family who in their own way are affected deeply by a accident. I became more and more intrigued with Marion. Her behaviour her selfishness. She actually thought some of her actions went unnoticed. Now wrong was she. I was probably just over 2 thirds of the book, when I became aware of such a a enormous twists that was coming.... I wasn't 100% sure it would be defiantly how I thought it would be. Yet you just know this massive twist will completely chang the entire book. The more I read I was almost certain it was going in the direction I tnought. However when it did come it was far far better than I had ever imagined. It cmplety was a knockout that no one could have seen coming at the begging. It's was beyond brillian, it's say beyond awesome, I can not put into words how cleverly it was designed to be written the was. I can not expect anyone to fully understand until you have read it. I really really encourage everyone to stick with the book. As I said at first it seems a little on the slow side you will soon be compelled with Marion. It's beyond intriguing it's deep with the final twist that you could not have anticipated at all......... I have to really admire Leona Deaking. and giving her a massive thank you. For such a ingenious storyline. Now I will say phenomenal. Although that doesent cover how good this book is .