I liked the premise of this book, but after an initial good start, it devolved into melodrama, and the twist at the end was just too unbelievable.

The *chokehold* this book had on me!!! Firstly, thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book. At first, I had a hard time getting used to the staccato-style writing; short sentences squeezed between longer sentences. it was through out the book but I eventually got used to it. Other than that, the writing was immersive and creepy. I appreciated a lot of the sexiest/racist narrative with the MC, Chelsey since she's a transracial adoptee - I am one myself. I wish it was more in the forefront of the story and woven into the character more. I did also appreciate the statistical narrative of women and sexual violence against them. We learn the abductors obviously have hatred towards women early on and use this excuse of the "bad mom" narrative later on is something that doesn't get talked about enough; it does beyond just the sexual nature of the violence Ellie, Willa, Hannah, and Grace went through. The plot was really well done - I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!

A nuanced, gripping thriller.

“I wish this was not a cautionary tale about what happens to girls who wander off in the dark. Who are made to learn there are bad people everywhere. That the truth is these people are not strangers. They are the men who you sleep with, the men you work with, the men you raise. I wish this wasn‘t what it means to be female - it is not a matter of if something bad will happen, but when.“

Ellie Black was seventeen when she vanished in the middle of her own party. Two years later, she reappears seemingly out of thin air in the middle of Washington State Park, alive but deeply traumatized. Local Detective Chelsey Calhoun, who lost her own sister when they were both teenagers, soon senses that Ellie is hiding something about what happened to her. And as she digs deeper, she begins to fear Ellie might not have been the only girl in those woods.

At first glance, this might seem like a fairly typical story about a young girl gone missing, and the local detective (with her own tragic past) assigned to her case. To that end, the mystery itself is nicely done, if not entirely original. The pacing is fairly slow until the last bit, when the story kicks into overdrive.

At second glance, thanks to the author’s thoughtful, eloquent storytelling, „The Return of Ellie Black“ is a deeply nuanced reflection on what it means to be female in today‘s society. A lot of it hit home for me, and I can affirm the publisher‘s enthusiastic praise of this book as a „feminist tour de force“.

Another thing that makes this not just another thriller is Detective Chelsey Calhoun herself. Sure, she is a small-town detective with her own baggage who seems to be the only one putting the pieces together in this case (been there, done that), but it‘s a testament to the author‘s writing skills that Chelsey still remains an interesting, and thoroughly likeable, protagonist - so much so I‘m holding out hope for her to make another appearance in a future book.

Thanks to its nuances, this is one of my favorite thriller reads in a long time.

TW for sexual abuse, kidnapping, domestic abuse, substance abuse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My review can also be found on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199798460.

I would like to preface this review by thanking Simon and Schuster for sending me an advanced readers copy of The Return of Ellie Black in exchange for my honest review.

Two years ago, Ellie went missing. Until one day she is found but she is different. Chelsey, the detective on her case, is determined to find out what really happened.

Oh. My. God. This book was a whirlwind from start to finish. I loved the dual narration between Chelsey and Ellie's flash backs. A lot of care and depth was put into this story. It was so twisty, but in the best way possible. When I tell you my mouth DROPPED after some of these plot twists. You are truly blindsided. But, that's what makes this book so good. I love a thriller that is unpredictable and subtle. If you're in a reading slump, I highly suggest picking this one up.

Obviously, this is 5 stars for me. This is an unputdownable story and perfect for the thriller reader in your life. This one comes out May 7th, don't sleep on it!

Thank you @netgalley for the ArC of The Return of Ellie Black. This is an unsettling book and one that I couldn’t put down. I find kidnapping/trafficking books make me anxious especially being a parent and this one really made you feel that way. It was a powerful debut and I look forward to reading more by Emily Jean. I could see this becoming a detective series with Chelcey as the detective. She was likable and would like to see more of her back story. I was a little unnerved by the parents’ reaction to when Ellie retired. It seemed flat and although they weren’t the focus, it seemed off.

Ellie Black has been missing for two years when she didn’t come home from a sleep. When she returns one night in the woods, Detective Chelcey Calhoun investigates her disappearance. However, something isn’t right with Ellie and Chelcey wants to find out the truth.

"Detective Chelsey Calhoun's life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state - but Ellie's reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.

It's been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun's sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she's been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey's line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won't say where she's been, or who she's protecting, and it's up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken - and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page."

I'm always here for mysterious disappearances and reappearances.

I really enjoyed this book. Impossible to put down! One thing i would have liked to read more of the main character's (Chelsey) backstory. The plot was great and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!

This is my first time reading a book from this author and I was definitely not disappointed! This story has so much mystery to it that it definitely creates the page turning effect. I read almost the whole book in one day because I could not put it down. I was not at all expecting the turn of events through out the book. So much love was put into the characters that my heart absolutely broke for them. I am very big on closure in books and I felt as though the book provided everything I needed. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author! Highly recommend!

I read The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean. I was offered an ARC by @Thoughtsfromapage podcast. As a Patreon member, I will have the opportunity to attend a zoom with the author to discuss this book. I thought this was a great opportunity because I have enjoyed Emiko’s previous romance books! Yes, she has taken a serious genre jump, which I applaud. I’ve known her to be a good writer.
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This book is extremely well written and the story is well told! I was kept in the story and wanting to know what happened not only to Ellie, but to other characters as well! I did not know how the case would be resolved and the ending was so well done! There was so much unexpected at the end. It was very satisfying in terms of resolution.
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Those who read mystery thrillers, I think, will really enjoy this book. I do think the reader should be warned that young girls are abducted and assaulted. I find it so hard to believe, in spite of the news, that people can be so unthinkably cruel to other people and I don’t want to read about it. That’s a personal choice. I recognize that my preference does not take away from the excellent writing of Emiko. I’m looking forward to talking about this book with her!
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Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean was a fast paced and unputtdownable thriller. After my two day binge of this novel, I am still pondering the darkness of this one.

The point of views of Ellie, the detective, other family members, and the psychologist therapy sessions were well done. Chelsey (the detective) flashbacks were also interesting; she had a huge a backstory. I loved seeing the unraveling of the story through all the POVS, and the ending was unexpected, multi layered, and complex.

The mystery contained several issues/themes: violence against women and children, PTSD, trauma, kidnapping, abuse, and grief (just to name a few).

All and all, this is a great mystery novel for your summer reading!

Thank you to Cindy Burnett with the Thoughts From a Page podcast / Page Turners Patreon Early Reads group for arranging ARC copies. Thank you to the publisher Simon and Schuster; Emiko Jean; and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Holy twisters!

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Chelsey Calhoun is a cop plagued and yet driven by the murder-suicide death of her own sister 15 years ago. Now a missing girl has returned after two years - Ellie Black, damaged and broken from unspeakable horrors. But something doesn’t feel right to Calhoun, and despite risking the loss of everything she loves, she plunges into the case without looking back. But what will she uncover? Just where was Ellie? And is her story all that it seems?

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 😮. I kind of need an emoji on this one. Just 😮. This is a book that had me hooked from the first to last page, that one I had to flip back a few pages just to verify… DID I JUST READ THAT? 😮

Writing was paced well, a plot that twisted in all the ways, characters I could picture and cheer for (or not) - all the makings of a psychological thriller. To say much more would spoil soooo much, and I would do anything for review readers, but I won’t do that. #meatloaf

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Psychological thriller, mystery

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: lovers of the genre, those looking for a fast-paced page turner.

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: TWs exist - do Google them, if you’re burned out on the psychological thriller genre.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me swear off walks in the woods (seriously, watch the ID channel. Nothing good comes from that).

Detective Chelsey Calhoun is called when two hikers come across Ellie Black, a teenager who
vanished two years ago. Ellie has little to say about where she has been but Cheslsea senses
something is off about Ellie. As Chelsey investigates, the difference in Ellie, past and present, is.
stark. Ellie's chapters reveal what she endured and Chelsea's chapters reveal the struggles she
faces in the investigation. The ending will reveal long held secrets and have a great impact on
Chelsey's life.
#TheReturnofEllieBack #Simon&Schuster #NetGalley

Couldn’t put it down!! I love crime novels and the suspense of this kidnapping kept me on the edge of my seat. One of the best thrillers I’ve read so far this year.

I knew I wanted to read this because I liked Emiko Jean's young adult books so much and this one did not disappoint. Highly recommend her first thriller! This book had me on my toes. Every time I thought I had a guess for what was coming next, the book took a different turn. I actually finished it in less than 24 hours, that's how invested I was in Chelsey and Ellie's story.

4.5 stars. This is a very well-written mystery with solid, well-developed characters that you are quickly invested in and care about their stories. Ellie Black disappeared two years ago, and now she is back - but her unexpected return is yielding far more questions than answers. What happened to Ellie? Where was she and why is she acting so strangely and refusing to talk about what happened now that she is back? Our main character Chelsey Calhoun, is determined to find the answers. As she digs into the story, the picture gets more and more puzzling until it builds to a shocking ending. I went into this knowing very little about the story, and that is how I recommend that you go into it as well. This is my first book from this author, but it will not be my last. If you love a good dark mystery, then this book is for you.

A solid 3.5 stars from me. Firstly, I was generally into the storyline. I thought Jean had the right thoughts, took the right turns, gave us some suspense, but she failed to deliver in her writing style. This is my first Emiko Jean book and the summary of it drew me in. Detective Calhoun aka Chelsey, was really hard to keep up with. I had more trouble with the writing style than I did the storyline. Chelsey would often have memories that could pop up during dialogue in the book, which often made a difficult to follow or transition back to the original conversation. We also were informed at least three times before we were 30% of the way through the book that Chelsey was adopted. The repetition was a bit of a distraction.

Elli Black returns. We often hear her POV and/or a memory. This novel transitions between POV's; however, it's up to you to determine who's POV you're reading until you're a few lines in. I think Jean could add names at the top of the paragraphs like other authors do. It gives the brain a chance to transition to a different POV.

The overall story was captivating and twisted. The end threw me for a loop, but not in a good way. It left me wondering why? Of all of the crazy endings this book could have had, the one Jean picked was completely unrelated to anything in the story. Which finalizes my three star rating.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tight, twisty, titillating…an excellent mystery! Emiko Jean has written a must-read thriller in The Return of Ellie Black. Suspenseful, surprising and SO good!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! A missing girl is found after being gone for years, which reopens the case to discover what happened.
I read this entire book in a night and couldn’t get enough!

Ellie Black is found by hikers in a remote part of Washington State, after having been missing for two years. Both her family and Detective Chelsey Calhoun are elated. Where has she been, and what happened to her? Chelsey is like a dog with a bone on this case and will stop at nothing to solve it. Haunted by her own family’s past, she has many reasons for wanting to learn the truth.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s a page turner, for sure! It’s also a dark and intense book. It’s a look into the shattered psyche of a girl who went away a carefree teenager and emerges as a shell of her former self. Full of tense moments, the whole time I was wondering what would happen next.

This story is told from both Chelsey and Ellie’s points of view. If you enjoy twisty, psychological fiction, this may be a book you’ll enjoy. The conclusion was definitely unexpected.

3.5 stars

CW | Strong profanity sprinkled throughout. Violence against women, sexual abuse. Not descriptive.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Cindy Burnett, Thoughts From a Page and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was done SO AMAZINGLY WELL. I thought I knew where it was headed but it kept shifting ever so slightly. Do yourself a favor and read this one!

Spoiler but not really....
My only complaint is I want to know what happened to Star. :-)