The Return of Ellie Black was a dark and twisty mystery thriller. I was immediately hooked by the opening chapter when Ellie is discovered by two hikers. She disappeared nearly two years prior and was found miles from her home town. Detective Chelsey Calhoun lost her sister, Lydia, twenty years ago so she has a strong connection to Ellie, it was her first case after becoming detective and has stayed with her ever since.

The mystery continues when Ellie is afraid to talk. Chelsey is compelled to bring Ellie justice, feeling guilty for not doing so for her sister. Chelsey uncovers multiple missing girls and clues connecting them to Ellie, were they taken by the same person? She knows their time is quickly running out when a nine year old girl is linked to DNA evidence and Ellie disappears again.

Tense and suspenseful, the mood overall was very dark with small sparks of hope throughout. Quite psychological and showcasing the evil side of violence against women even from a young age. Most of the first half of the book dives into the procedurals of Chelsey’s job working this case but also her history and grief of losing her sister and most recently, father to cancer. I thought her drive was very admirable and it made the story that more important. There are multiple POVs including some from Ellie and her parents as they figure out how to bring her back to some normalcy.

The author did a fantastic job bringing the reader on the rollercoaster of emotions experienced by the characters. I was angry for and frustrated at Ellie, understanding she knew crucial details that would help the investigation, but has been broken down by her captor. Working with a therapist, Ellie’s recollections were disturbing at times, laying out the clues and hints as to where the plot was going, it was captivating but sometimes made me feel helpless and sad. A strong third act really sped up the plot with a few shocking twists that I think make this a very memorable book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance reading copy to review.

First things first, this book is NOTHING like this authors last book (a YAish rom com).
The book kicks off with a young woman found scrambling out of the woods, looking beaten up, dirty and skittish. Turns out it’s long lost Ellie Black, believe to be abducted 2 years prior. Detective Chelsey Calhoun is on the case and with her own past to wrangle with, she’s both more invested and distraught by what she finds out.

This book begins with such a bang it was hard to put it down. You’re immediately engaged wondering what happened to Ellie and the way Jean weaves the story you’re really on the edge of your seat. No spoilers but there certainly are surprises and you’re really kept in the dark. And speaking of dark, yes there is a lot of dark stuff in this book. While I did really like this book I will say it read a little YA times given the young perspectives and I did find some of the reveals could have been explored more- some just felt a little too unrealistic. That all said this is a propulsive read I can see being the talk of May and beyond.

This was my first book by the author and will definitely not be my last! This was wild y’all! I could not put it down. The plot and the characters are so complex and interesting. The twists and turns had me frantically turning pages until the very end. The conclusion was shocking and completely unexpected. This one rocked me and I absolutely loved it!

4.5 ⭐️

The story opens with a bang when Ellie, a missing teenager, is found alive 2 years after her disappearance. I love that we pick up the story after she is returned and the book focuses on the aftermath of her ordeal. This was a riveting but difficult story that obviously deals with trauma, psychological and physical abuse. There is plenty of plot to drive the story and excellent character development. I wanted to give this 5 stars but part of the ending became too far fetched. It didn’t ruin the book for me just because the rest of the book was so strong.

Thank you to Cindy Burnett from Thoughts from a Page podcast and Simon and Schuster for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

This dark and gritty suspense novel focuses on what really happened to Ellie Black, a teenager who disappeared and suddenly returns home after almost 2 years. Visibly battered and showing signs of trauma, she refuses to say what happened to her. Chelsey Calhoun, the detective on the case, begins to look closely into Ellie’s reactions and behavior, knowing that something isn’t right. Determined to help Ellie to make up for her own sister’s death decades prior, Chelsey soon discovers that Ellie may not be the only girl to disappear, and that other girls may still be out there, needing to be rescued.

Alternating between multiple points of view, this book digs into the lives of several characters whose lives are affected by Ellie’s disappearance. As Ellie shares her story throughout the book, the details are both traumatizing and heartbreaking, as the reader begins to understand her motives and intentions. I enjoyed reading the perspectives of the various characters throughout the book. The guilt, emotions, and fallout from Ellie’s disappearance left those around her reeling, each one dealing with how to move on and then how to handle the fresh wave of emotions when Ellie unexpectedly returns, completely different than the girl they knew before. Even though this book is more character-driven, the plot and pacing does not slow down at all. I was racing to finish this, because I had to know what truly happened to Ellie. And there’s a twist I did not see coming at all; one that added depth to the characters in the novel and left me shocked.

This book deals with abduction, captivity, and some scenes are just hard to read. I would definitely check out the content warnings before proceeding. With that being said, I think this is a must read book. It’s complex, heavy, and utterly terrifying, but definitely worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings: abduction, rape, assault, trauma, loss of a loved one

Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister went missing 15 years ago. Since then she has grown up, gotten married and followed in the footsteps of her recently deceased father. Chelsey has a bone to pick with justice and wants to do the best possible at her job. Ellie (aka Elizabeth) Black has been missing for two years and suddenly she turns up and Detective Calhoun’s wants nothing more than to solve this crime. She is great at picking up puzzle pieces, wringing her hands and inserting herself into the story of the missing girls.
Alternating between Ellie and a third person POV was genius. Ellie’s perspective (especially reading this as a mother of girls, a sister and a daughter myself) is heart wrenching and brings it to life. I may have shed a tear or two at the very end. It is so hard to really put yourself in any of the characters places, but not with this one. I felt every emotion throughout the book. The twists and turns in this book that keep the pages turning… and then the end. Seriously! I did NOT see any of this coming. Kudos to Emiko Jean for her debut thriller. Thank you to Emiko Jean, Netgalley, and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Return of Ellie Black was a good slow burn thriller with well developed characters, thoughtfully placed twists, and has an ending I was completely thrown by! This has so much left for discussion and questions it would be a really good book club choice.

Read if you like:
•slow burn thriller
•missing person cases
•multiple POVs

Thank you Simon & Schuster audio for the ALC. the audiobook was so well done with a full case. It really brought the different POVs to life. I really liked the detective and her willingness to continue digging to find the truth.

This was an absolute page turner and completely gripped me but was not expecting such a dark execution. I thought the premise of a missing girl showing back up after 2 years was so interesting and though this clearly doesn’t depict a happy scenario I wasn’t a fan. TW: SA would’ve been appreciated.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance readers copy.

This was a decent thriller. It was very readable and I read it quickly, so that is a plus. Also, it's set in Washington state which I enjoyed because I live there. But, there were things I didn't really enjoy about the book either. The writing was a bit overwrought. Which I don't really hold against the author as it's her first thriller. There was also just so much about girls being in danger at every moment in their lives, which kind of annoyed me too. The plot has good twists and was pretty well thought through. Many reviewers said that the ending was out of left field but I was guessing it pretty early on. But I was also suspecting another person and was way off, so! Good red herrings. Was it totally believable, no, but most thrillers aren't!

Addictive with jaw-dropping twists. I was hooked from the prologue until the very last page. I loved how Jean includes the perspectives of others touched by Ellie’s disappearance and return including her parents, boyfriend, therapist, and nurse. It adds so much depth and complexity to the story and offers a unique perspective to a missing person case.

I highly recommend this for fans of crime thrillers and mystery thrillers.
My rating: 5⭐️

What to expect:
🎒 missing persons case
🎒 adopted Asian female detective
🎒 multiple POV & alternating timelines
🎒 Pacific Northwest setting
🎒 addictive, page-turner
🎒 dark, slow-burn crime mystery/thriller

Whew, what a wild ride! This book had me HOOKED! I absolutely loved the characters. I felt for Ellie and wondered the whole time what was going to happen. THE TWISTS! Incredible.

I have read some terrific thrillers lately and this for sure is at the top.
Ellie Black went missing 2 years ago, and now she's back.
Casey was the investigating officer, and while she is glad this case seemingly has a happy ending, she feels something is off.
She needs her questions answered, or Ellie might still be in danger.
I don't want to talk about the plot too much more because I want everyone to get the full experience. It is a "locked room" type abduction/captive story. It is a story of survival, it is a story of what you would do for someone you love. It is about how you move forward after a loss, and how you move forward when that loss is rediscovered.
It's also highlights social class and how some missing persons are given more attention than others. It's about how people in positions to help others use their positions to help themselves.
The story arc of Ellie Black is one I will not soon forget. I DID figure out part of it pretty early on, but it didn't take away from the ending. Some may feel it pulled too much in- I thought it was perfect.
All the stars. You will devour it in one sitting.
Trigger warning for violence/SA
Pub date 6/30/24
Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Shuster for my ebook advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this debut thriller from Emiko Jean.

This book drew me in right away. It was written very well, and it had me guessing right up to the end with page turning suspense.

There were lots of twists and turns. I loved the different povs. The pace was very fast, and the book was hard to set down.

Ellie has returned after missing for years. Detective Chelsea Calhoun has been haunted by her case as 20 years prior, Calhoun's sister vanished. Chelsea has been helping search for other missing girls since.

Things are weird and perplexing with Ellie. She doesn't want to say where she was or who was involved or talk about the case at all.

Chelsea just keeps digging and finding out information that threads connections you never see coming. She has more questions than answers and really needs to get more information from Ellie.

The way this all came together in the last 30% or so was so good and shocking and superb!

I really hope Jean continues forays into this genre because she is very good!

I loved Detective Chelsey Calhoun and this story had my attention the whole time. Her sister died at a young age after going missing and she makes it her mission to help others, even at the cost of her own relationships. When a local teenager returns after 2 years, Ellie Black, Chelsey is ready to find the person the took her, but Ellie isn't sharing much. I loved the descriptions of the woods and life in Washington, I could picture the denseness of the area. I also appreciated Chelsey's dedication. We read multiple perspectives in the book that work seamlessly. This is a great thriller! Highly recommended.

This is a missing girls story and while there is tough material discussed (talk of bruises, abuse, neglect etc), there thankfully aren't too many written details or descriptions, but people should be aware of trigger warnings.

Ellie Black was missing for 2 years and suddenly was found in the woods by some hikers. The Return of Ellie black went through many different perspectives (mostly current, but we did get Ellie’s perspective when she was kidnapped). I was trying to think what was going to happen, but my thoughts were wrong. I’d definitely recommend this for an easy to read thriller

I've read Tokyo ever after, Tokyo dreaming, and Mika in real life and I really enjoyed all of them so I was excited to see that the author had a new thriller coming out! It kicks off right away with action and mystery. It's definitely dark, sad, tense, and heavy. I felt like it was a Criminal Minds episode in a book form. Overall, I enjoyed the mystery and alternating between what was going on with the lead detective and the victim helped move the story along at a fast pace. The ending did feel like it wrapped up slightly too quickly, but for the most part there weren't really any major lingering questions or loose ends. I'd recommend this book if you like thrillers and mysteries. I suggest taking a look at content warnings before reading it.

I enjoyed this different take on the “missing girl” plot. In this story we follow Detective Chelsey Calhoun and Ellie Black. Black has been missing for two years when she suddenly appears out of the woods in Washington state. Calhoun is tasked with getting to the bottom of Black’s case, and it’s personal for her since her own sister went missing when they were younger.

The examination of shame and blame that women place upon themselves for what should be regular behavior, but then has a tragic result was so well done in this novel. This story was much darker than the authors previous novels but Jean did a great job of delving into a tough topic without making it feel too traumatic.

Thanks to @simonandschuster and @thoughtsfromapage for the ARC and author discussion. In a fun tidbit I learned last night while chatting with the author – this book has a different cover and title in the UK. I always find cover differences fun to see how publishing houses market things different to different countries.

The author had my attention from the start and kept it throughout this suspenseful and enthralling book. Some parts are difficult to read as the story includes the kidnapping and treatment of teenage girls while held captive. The last few chapters held unexpected twists. Great book! I will look for more from this author.

This made for a fun, engaging and interesting literary suspense novel. I enjoyed the chapter breaks of the detective in current time and Ellie in her past time.

Ellie has been one for two years and one day she randomly appears. She's not open to wanting to rehash all that she has been through but the detective slowly begins to piece the mystery of Ellie's disappearance.

I loved the twists this book took me down. It discusses a dark subject matter but does so in a way that didn't feel too burdensome. I will definitely be interested to read a future Emiko Jean mystery book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advance eARC.