Celia Guest has every reason to celebrate - she has a beautiful home, loving husband and great friends. But one day, she receives a note stating “you don’t deserve any of this”…then, early one morning, Celia vanishes.

Through dual timelines, we learn Celia’s past that she thought she had escaped. Although it had such potential, it just fell flat for me. I think I may have liked the premise of this book more than the actual story itself. I have seen so many people love it though so I think I may have just not vibed well with this book. Thank you to Netgalley, Minka Kent and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer for an eARC of Gone Again! This was my first read by this author and I'm going to send myself on a task to read her backlist now. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Netgalley & Goodreads.

Celia Guest is celebrating her 40th birthday with her loving husband and adoring friends. Why, then, does she receive a note among the cards and gifts that says "You don't deserve any of this." In the early hours following the party, Celia vanishes without a trace. Celia's somewhat-estranged sister, Genevieve, takes it upon herself to find her. What secrets will this unbury?

This was a super quick read that I enjoyed, but wasn't completely "wowed" by. I feel like there were a lot of red herrings, which always makes for a great mystery sort of read, but I was also hoping for more of an explanation on some of the things at the end that were left as question marks in the reader's mind. Very little explanation for some of the major things that happened in the book that in real life, would have serious consequences. This was quick, twisty, and I really enjoyed the multiple POVs. I am looking forward to reading more by this author!

Please please please check the trigger/content warnings before deciding to read this.

Oof. This was full of religious trauma, which I was not expecting at all based on the blurb. I’m glad I don’t have too much baggage when it comes to religion because this book could have stirred up so many more feelings than it did.

The ending seemed weird considering the first 75-85% of the book. The main character’s disappearance nor any of the flashbacks had anything to do with the ending whatsoever. I would almost think the ending belonged to a different book if not for the character names being the same.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Summary:

The morning after a fun 40th birthday party with her husband and friends, Celia vanishes.

In her cards she received a note telling her she doesn’t deserve the life she has.

What follows next are flashbacks to Celia’s disturbing childhood alternating with the present day search for Celia as well as Celia’s account of what is going on.

My Thoughts:

Minka Kent can do no wrong in my book! I can’t get enough of her books.

This one includes domestic drama, a “cultlike” environment, and family secrets. The suspense kept me hooked, and it kept me guessing. The dysfunction in this family is unreal and has many layers!

Gone Again by Minka Kent will be released for sale in March 2023. I definitely recommend buying this one next year!

Celia Guest is celebrating turning 40. But among the gifts & cards, is a note that tells her she doesn't deserve any of it. And then Celia vanishes. Told from 2 POVs, Celia and her sister, Genevieve, and a past and present timeline, Gone Again will have you guessing all the way to the end.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-arc.*

This was my first Minka Kent book and it won't be my last.

This had the thrill that I look for in thrillers that I feel we've not seen in the last few years with the explosion of MUST READ thrillers on the market. So this was a nice surprise.

3.5-4 stars

I really enjoyed Unmissing by this author so I was excited to read another by her.

Told from alternating chapters in the past and present, by Celia and her sister Genevieve, the plot is interesting. A young girl escapes a restrictive and abusive upbringing and her very conservative, borderline cult, religious family. 20+ years later Celia feels like the past may be trying to find it's way back to her as she feels like she's being watched. Harboring a terrible family secret, Celia must decide if the secret will be the death of her or the final piece of the puzzle to set her free forever.

The pacing was perfect, feeding me bits and pieces from the past while keeping me engaged and curious about what was unfolding in the present. Celia, Genevieve, and Celeste have very different views of their childhood based on their personality differences and I enjoyed the two different POV's to help the reader understand why they each were the way they were. I honestly enjoyed the bits about their past more than the present, only because the present seemed to have so many loose ends. The book was on the shorter side and I feel like if the author would have fleshed out some of these side stories the ending would have had a bigger impact. As it was it felt kind of incomplete, as certain things were never explained or left very open ended, leaving me feeling slightly cheated. I enjoyed it overall but if this was the first book by the author that I had read I might not read another, craving more plot development and completion of the storyline.

From the outside Celia has the perfect life. A wonderful husband, friends etc. When she receives an anonymous note that she doesn't deserve her perfect life, she panics and flees. This all comes on the night of her 40th. Celia's husband suspects that her sister Genevieve is behind this. No one has heard from Celia and her friends know this out of character.

Told in POV of Genevieve and Celia, this book is a wild ride that I flew through!

Celia spends her fortieth birthday surrounded by friends and her loving husband, but after finding an upsetting note mixed in with her birthday cards, she leaves home in the middle of the night to clear her head and then vanishes. Her estranged sister launches her own investigation to find out what happened to Celia.

GONE AGAIN is my first book by Minka Kent and, I’ve gotta say, the beginning chapters had me hooked! I love religious culty ish!

This book utilized multiple timelines and POVs (loved!) to piece together our main character, Celia’s, past and how it led to where she is now.

The investigative aspect was great because I just love hearing all the tea from fictional characters! However, that’s also where this book started to fall apart for me. A lot of statements that were brought up were just brushed under the rug, never to be brought up again.

The ending also felt rushed and didn’t seem to fully connect compared to where the story appeared to be going…

Overall, a quick read with a lot of very intriguing moments!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: March 7, 2023

I really don't enjoy it when I have an ARC to read and review and can't give it a nice write up - but in short, this was not the book for me. While I am generally up for a dark thriller, this was just horrific family dysfunction resulting in horrific child abuse and then some at the heavy hands of religious fanatics. I really don't have anything nice to say, so I will leave it at that. I am giving it a 2 and not a 1 just because I finished it.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, told in past and present timelines through the POVs of sisters Genevieve and Celia.

I preferred the past timeline over the present. Learning about how the sisters grew up in an almost cult-like religious household was more interesting and had more of a thriller feel to me. The present-day timeline read more like a mystery, but it did keep me guessing as to what was going to happen!

There were a few things that I felt were important but were left unanswered, and the ending felt a bit rushed, but overall, I recommend this one!

Thank you @netgalley, Thomas and Mercer and the author for the gifted e-arc of this book!

Gone Again by Minka Kent is a dark psychological thriller and domestic drama. Three sisters—Celia, Genevieve and Celeste—grow up somewhere in Florida in a severe household, ruled heavy-handedly by their deeply conservative religious parents. Celia is feisty and resorts to running away when she can, and most finally, at age 18. This leaves Genevieve, the peacemaker middle child, to help raise their much younger sister, Celeste.
Told from 2 POV—Celia and Genevieve—and in 2 timelines—past and now—the story is compelling, beginning with Celia’s present fragile happiness in a New York suburb threatened by something or someone from her troubled childhood.
No spoilers here…this story is well-paced, building the mystery (the title is important) and filling in the backstory of the girls with different scenes from their family’s past. The dramatic twist was startling to me, and the conclusion is satisfying, bringing the story full-circle.
Ms. Kent’s thrillers are always good page-turners, and I found this one also very thought-provoking.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Told mostly from the perspectives of sisters Celia and Genevieve and in two different time frames - when they were kids living with holy-rolling parents from hell and the present, 25 years later - the details on both ends of the quarter-century span are engrossing, but disturbing. Once out of high school, Celia finally escapes to build a life elsewhere - leaving her beloved younger sister Genevieve and even younger sister Celeste to the not-so-tender mercies of their father and mother.

Not too long ago, Celia and Genevieve reconnect; in fact, thanks to Celia's generosity, Genevieve and her husband relocate to be near Celia and her husband. Celia has just celebrated her 40th birthday with a big bash, many gifts and a card with a nasty message that rattles her brain. Who would hate her enough to spoil her birthday? Unable to sleep, Celia wanders off to clear her head and disappears off the face of the earth. The rest of the story centers on efforts to find Celia and flashbacks to the sisters' childhood secrets - including one that's a whopper. Of course, I must keep it all a secret as well so as not to spoil it for others.

Now that I've finished, though, I must say it's rare for me to advise an author to lengthen a book - more often than not, books tend to be padded with pages of trivial details that are marginally significant to the plot. In this case, however, there are holes are big enough to drive a snowplow through with room to spare. I won't dwell on them, but say only that many readers, including myself, will be left with some heavy-duty questions that another 50 or so pages could have answered without making this almost-too-short-to-be-a-book too long.

But despite my leftover questions, I enjoyed the reading experience - to the point that I held up starting to make dinner because I was too close to the end to put it down willingly. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

On her fortieth birthday, Celia Guest has reason to celebrate. She has a loving marriage, a beautiful Connecticut home, and treasured friends. Celia has everything she’s ever wanted. But among the cards and well-wishes, she discovers a disturbing note: You don’t deserve any of this.

Who could be so cruel, so resentful, so…knowing? Then, in the early morning hours, Celia vanishes without a trace.

As suspicions and concerns rise among Celia’s friends, her sister Genevieve, with whom she shares a fractured and troubling bond, starts to piece together a shattered life that Celia fled from once before. As a foundation of lies begins to crumble, a terrifying childhood secret Celia thought was dead and buried comes to light.

And this time, there’s no getting away from the truth. From the very first page of this book, I was stunned, mesmerised. Written with a ferocious passion that'll knock the wind out of you!

Sigh. Celia and her sister Jen tell the story of why Celia disappeared after her 40th birthday. Turns out she struck out from her family one before and she's been carrying a secret ever since. This had potential, to be sure, but it's short- so shore that you don't get a chance to know the characters or for the mystery to really make sense. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A miss from me.

Celia has just celebrated her 40th birthday when she receives an upsetting note. She then decides to take a drive to clear her head and no one knows where she has gone or why. Told from her POV and her sister Genevieve’s, we learn about their childhood and what is going on in the now.
There were just a few too many plot points that didn’t get any resolution, and I found myself reading the last page and going, that’s it. I did like Celia’s character, and felt sorry for the childhood she was forced to endure.
I’ll still look forward to the author’s next book,but this one unfortunately just wasn’t my favorite.

4.25⭐️

The main character is Celia Guest who unusually had a party to celebrate a milestone birthday.

Her story unfolds in a split time frame narrative,25 years earlier when she was raised in an ultra strict religious family, to my mind akin to a cult, she left as soon as she was able. The present time is soon after her 40th birthday party when she goes missing again without trace.

The story is told from Celia and also her sister Genevieve’s pov

I was immediately drawn to the premise of the story. Genevieve decides to try and unravel the mystery of the disappearance as the police aren’t actively looking for Celia as she’s not vulnerable.
I found the past elements far more interesting than Genevieve’s present delving which I found a bit dull and slowed the pace, but overall it’s got a decent pace with lots going on. It all comes together well at the end.
Interesting to see how the sisters personalities varied so much. Genevieve was my favourite, I thawed towards Celia by the end, but I didn’t like Celeste, I could see how each of their characters had been moulded by their experiences.

I really enjoyed it. Rating wise it’s on a par for me with Unmissing.

The premise of this one was so intriguing! A short, but sweet story with twists all around. I will definitely look for more of this author.

This title did not disappoint! I enjoyed it and look forward to more work from this author!

4 stars out of 5!

Minka Kent is one of my trusted authors that I turn to when I’m in the mood for a fast paced and entertaining thriller. I liked the concept here and it’s told from sisters Celia and Gen’s POV in alternating timelines. It’s pacey and there’s lots of secrets being revealed throughout and I really enjoyed the majority. The ending did fall a little flat for me, I was expecting it to pack more of a punch but overall that aspect didn’t really take away from my enjoyment of the whole thing.