Charles Vincent is already dissatisfied with all aspects of his life. After he is in an accident he realizes he could simply…. Walk away. Walk away from his wife, walk away from his family, walk away from his job and life as he knows it. I mean we’ve all wondered it right? What if we just walked away from it all? When he falls in love with a captivating woman, the allure of starting over is irresistible. This was an amazing exploration of just the desire to leave it all behind and thinking the grass is greener on the other side. I don’t want to say more and spoil anything. This is a must-read. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Great story!

Looking at Charles Vincent's life, it looked like he had everything a man could want: a great job with a large salary, two healthy, successful children, and a beautiful wife. The reality of his life is so different. He's miserable, the love in his marriage died years ago, now his wife, Isabelle, spends his money like it's her life's mission. His kids live in different countries and he hardly sees them, and he hates his job. He's miserable with the way his life has turned out at 54 and doesn't see it changing anytime soon.

When driving home along the coast one Friday night after work to their extravagant country house, Charlie falls asleep at the wheel and the car goes over a cliff and into the sea. He welcomes dying peacefully, but somehow he doesn't die and is able to swim to the surface. From there he walks looking for help all battered and bruised from the crash. He finds a cabin and a kind and beautiful woman tends to his wounds.

Aude Saint-Martin hasn't had an easy life. Eight years ago, she divorced her abusive ex-husband and as payback, he killed her boyfriend. Now he's currently in prison serving his sentence. Aude never needed money to be happy, she has her art. When Charlie shows up in the middle of the night hurt, an immediate bond snaps into place between them. Charlie stays with Aude for a few days, acting on their new found passion he never knew existed.

Charlie realizes that this is his chance to finally escape. Everyone will think he's dead because his car is in the sea and his wallet was found by two fishermen. Charlie could find a job that he actually loves and live with the love of his life, Aude. His wife would only be concerned about what he left her in his will, not care if he actually survived.

For almost five months they live in bliss, Charlie is working as a mechanic at the local garage; he loves it. But soon Aude becomes the voice of reason and he goes back for his kid's sake and to get a divorce. But when Aude's ex-husband escapes from prison and kidnaps her, Charlie drops everything in Paris to find her.

Will this couple get their second chance at life they both deserve?

A must read!

I loved this book. It grabbed me from the beginning til the end. Loved the characters and the storyline was great.

Another book by Danielle Steele, which she does not vary from her regular writing style. Charles is in a loveless marriage and as he is driving alone on a very windy road, he veers off the road and nearly dies. Somehow he managed to survive and he finds himself at a lovely girls house, Aude. They fall madly in love and he “fakes” his death for several months. Everyone thinks he has died. Charlie realizes that love not money matters. Readers will fall in love with the reverse rags to riches story. This is a light Summer read in my opinion and even though it may seem unbelievable, I think at some level anything is possible anymore. There is a bit of a contradiction in the idea that Charles is an honorable man but lies about being dead which I have a bit of a problem with but then it is a book.

Thanks to Danielle Steel and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for the book

Charles Vincent has been given a second chance at a life he really wants. He has money, that his wife has no trouble spending. She spends his money like it will never stop appearing. A near death accident , and the warmth from a women he has not felt in forever has his playing dead. It’s is the journey of discovery that holds the reader here. As Charles comes to understand the joy of the simple life of the artist Aude Saint-Marie he has an epiphany regarding his future. His wife is still living her lush life in the villa that was Charles’s ultimate expression of love. It is in the villa that his wife learns of his death and begins plans of her own. Extravagant plans, lush plans. Imagine her surprise when her husband reappears with a clear eyed view of his future minus her.

Danielle Steel writes another thought provoking story with her latest novel Without a Trace. Steel will have her readers questioning themselves what they would do if they were in a similar situation. I enjoyed he characters and beautiful setting. I highly recommend this book.

Without a Trace is only the second Danielle Steel novel that I have read in the last 20+ years. Steel’s plots do not deviate a great deal, but I suspect for most readers, that same familiarity is comforting. This was not a long novel and it reads quickly. Danielle Steel readers expect a quick ending with plot points tied up nicely and a satisfying resolution. For those readers, Without a Trace does not disappoint.

There is not a great deal of character development. In fact, that lack of character development is a major flaw of this novel. There is also quite a bit of repetition that is tough to ignore. Whole paragraphs repeat themselves. The novel feels rushed, especially toward the end. For victims of domestic abuse, this novel will provide unwelcome triggers and so a trigger warning would be helpful.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC for me to read and review. The comments included are my honest opinions. Thank you also to NetGalley for making this ARC so easy to access.

This is a Mystery/Women's Fiction. This is a very fast moving book, and I really enjoyed the storyline in this book. The characters were great. There was a lot going on in this book, but I really felt it was done so well. I really loved the ending of this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Delacorte Press) or author (Danielle Steel) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Without A Trace by Danielle Steel is another powerful book from a remarkable author. In this book, the storyline is magnificently woven. The characters came alive in my mind and I held my breath many times while turning the pages. It had a happy ending as well. While this authors stories may seem similar, it's what keeps us fans and readers returning for more. I will always read this author and look forward to many more wonderful books!

Without a Trace
by Danielle Steel
Pub Date: January 3, 2023
What would happen if you were given a chance to walk away from everything in your life and start over with a blank slate, and you had a split second to decide? In Without a Trace, Danielle Steel tells an irresistible story of the risks two people are willing to take in exchange for a chance at the life they’ve always wanted.
It's still hard for me to believe that this veteran writer can write 8 books in 2022 with another four lined up for early 2023. How is this possible? But the patrons at our library love her books so I just keep on buying them.
How many times can she tell us how miserable Charlie is with the selfish Isabella and how much he hates his job? I did like the main characters, especially Aude but the stories are very short now and not very interesting. I always hope her next book will have less repetition and more story. I believe in America it would have taken a much longer time to declare Charlie dead since there was no found body. I was surprised how quickly everything works in France.
4 stars

I love most of what Danielle Steel writes. Her book the High Notes is one of my all time favorites.

Without a Trace is a mixed bag for me. The character going off a cliff and surviving was pretty hard to believe and him meeting and sleeping with the woman who saved him immediately thereafter was as well.

If you stick with it through the first couple of chapters, the book takes a turn for the better when her ex husband comes out of prison and starts wreaking havoc. As much as I didn't like the animals being killed as part of the story, it is believable that the killer would be prone to doing so. The suspense after him taking his hostage was very well done. I really liked the way that it resolved.

While this was not my favorite book from this author, the storytelling is always very well done and she is a master at creating characters that we really love or we really hate (as she intends to be the case).

I would suggest this as a local library quick read and head on over and pick up one like The High Notes for your personal library.

Charlie Vincent is CEO of Jansen Plastics in France. He is married to Isabelle and father of Olivier and Judith, both grown and on their own. Charlie’s successful career in publishing crashed when he disagreed with adding soft porn books. Being unemployed for two years took a serious toll on his marriage until he got his job in plastics. Now, he has become very wealthy.

Isabelle is a woman who loves to spend as much money as she can. In addition to their Paris apartment, Charlie bought a beautiful chateau in Normandy where Isabelle enjoys throwing huge parties and entertaining. She was never a caring mother to their children and they always came to Charlie for comfort.

On his way to the chateau, Charlie falls asleep at the wheel and his car goes off a cliff into the water. Before sinking, he is able to escape. He walks down the road and sees a house. Aude is an artist living alone in her small home. She sees Charlie’s injuries and brings him inside to treat him. They immediately fall in love and Charlie is very happy never to return home. He lets everyone think he is dead and stays with Aude. Although his car is found it is presumed that his body washed away, so a memorial service is held for him.

Charlie gets a job and he and Aude are very happy. Charlie feels like he now living his life the way he wants it. But what about the family he left behind? He knows he needs to let his children know he is alive but when and how will he do that?

I really liked this book and as with every one of Danielle Steel’s books, she is always clever in finding new plots that are mesmerizing. While some readers may not like how Charlie took some time before letting his children know he was alive, I felt that he needed that time for himself for once. Too often, parents are expected to never consider their own wants and needs and feel they must always sacrifice themselves for their families. Great story. Don’t miss it!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I don't know how Danielle Steel finds all these amazing stories, but as usual she never fails to be the master story teller that she is. This novel explores what one would do if given the chance to walk away from life and disappear....would you do it or would you fix your life. I love the whole story and the ending was wonderful!!! Thanks to Random House and #Netgalley for this amazing ARC!!

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel is a typical Steel book: very readable and an interesting story. Told mostly in the third person, Steel still manages to make it interesting. Charles Vincent had a good job, which he hated; he also had a beautiful wife, who he didn’t much care for, nor she him; and he owned a gorgeous chateau, which he avoided whenever possible. In other words, he was not a happy man. He waited for hours on a Friday afternoon when he was supposed to be joining his wife for a house party at the chateau for his boss to deign to come and speak to him, which he finally did, only to rehash an old argument. Then, he finally left for the chateau, hours late. As he drove the treacherous mountainside, he felt himself falling asleep, and when he woke up the car was tumbling off the mountain. The door crashed into the rocks and flung itself open. Charlie knew he was plunging to his death and he thought how easy it would be to just die. It would solve all his problems. When he hit the water, however, instinct kicked in and he exited the vehicle and made his way to the surface, and then to some rocks. He climbed to the top and tried to remember which way to civilization. After walking for an hour or maybe two, he came upon a cabin with lights on. He knocked on the door and an angel opened it.

It took Charlie a few months to recognize that he couldn’t stay dead. It was not fair to his wife, to his kids, to his boss, and to himself. This was a man in serious denial about his life and how he wanted to live it. It took him a while to work it out for himself. The reader was with him every step of the way and felt his anguish as well as the peace he had found in his new life. His wife was busy wringing every dime she could from his estate, even going after that which he had left their children. Steel wrote it in such as way as to break his/our hearts as things played out. Charlie was an excellent character, exemplifying how many people feel about the lives they are living but don’t have the courage to walk away. It is a classic tale of people growing apart with the stresses of daily life. The little bit of a thriller that was part of the story was well done, and fit in, despite the fact it really didn’t. It was an engaging read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Without a Trace by Ballantine, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Ballantine #DanielleSteel #WithoutATrace

Without a Trace is my favorite book that I've read by Danielle Steel! This was a book with a lot going on. There's family dynamics, a second chance at life, working in a job for money vs happiness, finding love the second time around, and a lot of suspense towards the end. Wow, what a great read!! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to start over? What if you were in a terrible accident where your car went over a cliff into the water below and somehow you survived? Would you take that opportunity to start over or would you go back to the life where you were mostly miserable? That's the dilemma that Charles Vincent faces in Without a Trace.

Charles is in a loveless marriage to Isabella, has two adult children who live elsewhere, and is in a job he hates. The job pays well as he is the CEO so he keeps showing up. Charles had a job he loved when he was younger with a bit of a temper. He worked at a publishing company, was CEO, and very successful. When he disagreed with a direction the owner of the company wanted to go, Charles quit and stood by his morals. Unfortunately, Isabella was very angry over Charles losing his job and threatened to leave him. He looked for jobs for 2 years in publishing, but couldn't find any as the rumor was he was trouble. Charles took a job in plastics at a toy company and turned the company around. He ended up making way more money than in publishing and was able to gift his wife a lavish chateau. She loved it and threw massive parties there every weekend. Charles hated the parties and most of Isabella's "friends".

As Charles is on his way to the chateau for one of the parties, he leaves late due to a meeting. It's about a 3 hour drive from Paris and he's so tired that he falls asleep at the wheel and goes over the cliff into the water below. As he's plummeting over the cliff, Charles feels at peace. He's okay with dying and is somewhat relieved he won't have to keep disappointing his wife and going to a job he despises. As the car hits the water, the driver door flies off, and Charles is able to get out of the seatbelt. Charles swims far and finally reaches the surface. He's able to find hand holds and foot holds on the cliff so he climbs to the top. He's injured badly but has no broken bones. He continues to walk, looking for lights. Just when he's about to give up and rest, he spots lights through the trees. Charles goes to the cabin and knocks on the door. Aude Saint-Martin answers the door. He explains that he was in an accident and needs help. Aude takes him in and takes care of cleaning him up. He has a lot of blood on his face and body as there are many cuts. Aude gets him bandaged and gives him some food and drink. Charles is very tired, so Aude lets him sleep on her couch.

Charles wakes after a few hours to find Aude painting. Aude is an artist and has sold some of her paintings at a local gallery. Aude tells Charles to come with her. She leads him to the bedroom and tells him to sleep in her bed as his feet were hanging off the couch. Charles doesn't want her to be without her bed and asks her to please stay with him. One thing leads to another and they make love gently. There's an instant spark between them and a second chance to be happy and find love. Charles stays with Aude at the cabin while he recovers from his injuries. They take walks, talk, go to local restaurants, cook together, and just enjoy being together. They both grow very close to one another and don't want it to end. Aude is terrified that he will leave one day as he's still wearing a wedding ring.

Isabella is very angry that Charles never showed at the chateau for her weekend party. She tried calling him several times, but it went right to voicemail. As she is driving back to their apartment in Paris, she fully expects to find him there. When she gets home, the apartment is dark and it's obvious Charles has not been there. The next morning the police show up as someone reported that they think a car went over the cliff. Divers found the car and tracked the owner down from the license plate. Fisherman also found a wallet with lots of money and credit cards belonging to Charles. Isabella is shocked to see two policeman at her door. They break the news to her that her husband's car went over the cliff into the water below. They tell her that Charles couldn't have survived and they believe his body was washed out to the ocean and may never be found. After the police leave, Isabella is only concerned with how much money Charles left her. She doesn't seem upset at all that Charles is dead. The kids are devastated and come home to be with their mom.

Charles picks up a paper and sees a story about his accident and death. He reads his obituary and sees that there's going to be a funeral even though there's no body. He shows Aude the paper and he is happy that he can live his new life and be happier than he's ever been. Will Charles go back to his old life? Will he stay with Aude? Will his kids be okay? Charles provided well for his kids and Isabella will be fine, too. Why should he go back? Will anyone actually miss him other than his kids? They have their own lives and both live away anyways. What would you do? Charles was a wealthy man, but had no happiness. Now he's living paycheck to paycheck from a job as a mechanic and couldn't be happier. Aude is the love of his life. He loves the simple life that they have and can see himself living like this forever. Aude has an ex-husband who's in prison for murder. She is terrified of him as he became more and more violent. They are divorced, but her ex doesn't see it that way and he's very angry with Aude. He blames her for being in prison. What happens when he gets out of prison? Will Charles and Aude be able to live happily ever after? Will Charles make things right in both of his lives?

Trust me you need to read this book. I read it in record time and couldn't stop. I hope Danielle Steel writes more books like this. I rate this book 5 stars and give it my highest recommendation. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for an advanced copy of Without a Trace in exchange for a fair review. #WithoutaTrace

I enjoy Danielle Steel novels as fun easy reads in between weightier works BUT this one just didn't work for me. It just strains credulity that Charles could/would walk away from his life and let his adult children believe he died. With that I just didn't pull for the lead character which ruined the story for me. His love story with Aude is also so lacking in any sort of realism and I just couldn't get into it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Without a Trace in exchange for an honest review.

Without A Trace
By: Danielle Steel

Without A Trace is a tension filled, atmospheric escape into France, about taking risks in life to find passion. Charlie, with a complex career history, is now a wealthy businessman in the toy industry. He and wife Isabelle have an elegant apartment in Paris as well as a lavish chateau in Normandy, above the rugged coastline of the sea. Their loveless marriage lacks the beauty and comfort of their residences.

The kind artist, Aude, lives a quiet life in a small cabin in Normandy. Although she enjoys the simplicity of a quiet lifestyle, her past has been turbulent. After Charlie's car plunges off a rocky cliff on the Normandy coast, his life suddenly intersects with Aude's.

What follows is fast paced and suspenseful, leaving me pondering decisions that were made about honesty, timing, ethics, and secrets. Some of the characters in the book are anything but likeable. The plot made me think about the implications of choices when one is faced with what to keep and what to leave behind in life. I enjoyed being taken away by Steel into the French setting, a perfect backdrop for this smoothly flowing book about disappearance, discovery, and finding happiness.

In Without a Trace, by Danielle Steel, Charlie Vincent gets a second chance at life after surviving an accident when his car went over the cliff and into the ocean. Charlie has to decide between just disappearing forever and assuming a new identity or returning to Paris, facing his wife, Isabella, and family who the police had previously notified that he was dead, and then facing the consequences. With the encouragement of Aude, the artist who nursed him through his recovery from the accident back to health, Charlie confronts his past and his extravagant wife, who is only interested in what his money can provide for her. Afterward Charlie is ready to reconcile with his children and move forward into the more simple life he so desires. This book is about overcoming personal obstacles and being true to oneself as well as finding the courage to live life as one desires.

I really wanted to like this book, but I found Charlie, the main character, to be somewhat unlikeable and Aude, his love interest, to be underdeveloped and flat. I thought the book was a little sloppy in terms of the perspective -- in one sentence, we would hear the story from one person in one location and in the next sentence, we would hear the story from another character in a completely different location. It was jarring and abrupt, making the story hard to follow in many places.

That being said, I enjoyed the overall premise, but I think the execution could have been much better.

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel is a standalone novel. The story revolves around Charles Vincent, who is married, has two grown up successful children, and a high paying job; but he is currently trapped into an unhappy marriage. His wife (Isabelle) never works, spends money, enjoys being considered wealthy and lives a glamorous life. Charles had been in the publishing field, making very good money, until he quits his job, and money becomes an issue for two years, with Charles borrowing money from his wife’s father; his wife constantly threatening a divorce. Charles finally gets another job, making even more money, but he does not like the work and his boss. 

One night, Charles’s boss keeps him late, and when he drives along the coast to their lavish chateau for the weekend, he falls asleep at the wheel and goes over a cliff into the Ocean. Expecting his death during the fall, Charles manages to survive, and he is badly bruised as he desperately walks in the dark to find help. He comes across a cabin, where he meets a kind woman, Aude, who nurses his wounds, and allows him to rest and sleep in her cabin. In a very short period, Charles begins to discover the passions he never had, and both Aude and Charles fall in love. Being presumed dead, Charles realizes that he can choose to disappear and have a happy life with Aude. Everyone thinks he has died, with funeral services done, and lawyers working on his will. Charles will learn that Aude has some secrets of her past, that will threaten their lives.

With many months having past, together Charles and Aude must decide which was the best way to go for their lives together. Do they disappear forever, or have Charles make amends to face his family?

Without a Trace was an interesting and different kind of story, with the entire focus on Charles’s unhappy life, at least until he meets the woman who will change his life forever. What follows is an exciting and tense last third of the book, with Aude’s past coming back to haunt her; as well as everyone learning the truth about Charles’s disappearance. Without a Trace was well written by Danielle Steel.