This story is full of twists and turns. I definitely thought one thing and then the story twists. It was shocking and I enjoy a story that has a plot change, however, the end of the story almost comes too soon and is wrapped up a little neatly, given how complex the story is. Not really a happy ending but a clean ending nevertheless.

For her debut novel, author Emiko Jean presents a commercial book about kidnappings and murder of young women by evil, nasty males. Sexual exploitation of women and girls is a dastardly subject area and I did not enjoy reading how evil the men who committed these acts were.
Which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy much of the novel. The author is excellent in describing the emotions and fears that the female characters have. I do wonder why a debut novelist chose to go this dark in her first book. The Return of Ellie Black does not tell us anything new about the crimes discussed. It's main satisfaction is in the interesting characters the author presents.
My rating of 3.5 stars is rounded up to encourage this author in her writing career. Another topic might have blown me away! I'll keep an eye out for her second book!
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

An interesting twist on abductions, Stockholm syndrome, and dysfunctional families. I thought this title started slowly however I plugged along and was glad I did. I think the ending could have been tighter.

This was truly a humdinger! The author definitely captured what I perceive to be the trauma and mindset of kidnap victims. At first I was wondering if she were talking about Elizabeth Smart and later on I wondered if she were mixing Elizabeth with Patty Hearst. In any event, it was a very gripping and poignant story, certainly hard to put down.

My single complaint was that there were too many social issues included in the story. They detracted from the main plot.

I will look forward to more novels by this talented author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for an early readers copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Just, wow. This book was amazing. It pulled me in from the very beginning and I could not look away. Parts were a bit disturbing (because they were so believable), and at one point, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor because I did NOT see that coming.

Also, this made me cry. Mostly happy tears, some sad for the things the characters went through. This book definitely played off one of my deepest fears, but I couldn’t let my discomfort keep me from finishing it.
Absolutely spectacular, will definitely read this author again.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A woman wanders out of the dark woods where she’s been held for 2 years, 2 months, and 1 day. Hikers find her dirty, dazed, and confused asking who she is and where she came from, but she can only whisper that she’s Ellie Black and she thinks she’s missing.

Detective Chelsey Calhoun has been working Ellie’s missing person’s case since the beginning when Ellie was last seen at a motel party. Chelsey is flabbergasted when Ellie is found alive! Did she escape her captor? Or was she let go?

Upon testing Ellie’s clothes; Chelsey finds out that Ellie was with other girls, other girls who’ve disappears in the last couple years. Chelsey needs answers, but Ellie refuses to talk. She needs to untangle this mystery to find the other girls before it’s too late.

This book was dark, but I flew through the pages of the book in one day. The author did a brilliant job keeping readers engaged in the story with twist after twist that led to an unforgettable ending. I feel like I’m still processing the bombshell that was exposed near the end, even after reading it a second time.

This was brilliant. Full stop.

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.

Read in a day, The Return of Ellie Black is bingeable, well crafted, and a thriller for the ages.
What starts out as a miracle in a missing girl being rescued turns into questionable series of events that leave you wanting to keep turning the page to understand what the heck happened to Ellie Black!?

I enjoyed the small town optics. Chelsey Calhoun is a perfect FMC; she is flawed, gutsy, and a total anomaly.
While this story unfolds, I found myself falling into assuming the typical tropes found in mystery/thrillers and accepting obvious red-herrings but NOPE, Jean is methodical in how she unravels this story. You're in for a ride!
And the social commentary on womanhood, violence against women, the way in which boys/men can be allowed to be coddled monsters in society, fathers versus mothers, and even more smartly, Chelsey's arc as one of the few people of color in this small town and adopted by a white family sets up a book that is simply, more.

Highly recommend. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advance electronic reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ellie Black went missing at the age of seventeen. Two years later she’s filthy and stumbling around in Washington State Park found by hikers.. After her parents confirmed her identity she is interviewed by police investigator Chelsey Calhoun. Chelsey’s own sister went missing twenty years ago and knows the agony that a family goes through when someone is missing. Chelsey is determined to help bring to justice whoever held Ellie captive. It appears that Ellie has escaped from her captor but will give little information about where she had been or with whom. The clothing Ellie was wearing is tested for DNA and the results lead Chelsey’s investigation to suspect there were other missing girls with Ellie. This is a psychological thriller featuring kidnapping, sexual abuse, brainwashing, dysfunctional families and murder. This ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This is a really twisty one! I didn't predict the ending, as I often do, and I love when an author can do that to me. It was such a page-turner that every time Emiko Jean added flashbacks or other breaks in the action I tried to read faster to get back to it. I hope there another Chelsey Calhoun book. I really liked her character.

Upon the return of Ellie, missing for 2 years, Detective Chelsey and their little town are thrown into a tailspin. Ellie does not want to contribute to the investigation, but the few clues indicate a much bigger crime than a simple kidnapping. Chelsey is a tortured woman considering the disappearance of her sister years ago and her troubled upbringing by an overbearing and misogynistic father. Chelsey's background plays a big part in her manner of investigating and in the way the clues are unearthed. I really enjoyed the way in which the author sprinkled innocuous clues along the story line that became integral to the case. The action evolves like a symphonic crescendo, with the crash reverberating throughout the town. The author was able to capture the fear and despair, the dissolving of hope and the reaching for reason that a kidnapping victim suffers. You could also feel the echoes of loss felt when someone close goes missing without a trace. Jean has an incredible way of portraying such raw emotion. This is an excellent book that is not only a great thriller but is also emotionally charged.

Twenty years ago, Chelsey Calhoun’s sister disappeared. It was concluded that she had been killed by her boyfriend who then committed suicide. Now a detective in the same police department where her father was once chief, Chelsey is notified that Ellie Black, another female who disappeared a few years ago, has been found wandering in the woods. Traumatized, Ellie is reluctant to share any information about her captivity. As Chelsey seeks information and answers, she begins to wonder about other missing girls/young women in her area of Washington State.

This is a very disturbing story with lots of twists. It touches on some very important topics; women as targets, the fear that must be instilled in all girls and women of men who may harm or exploit them, missing girls who receive no real notice if they are minorities or poor, and a point that Chelsey makes about society’s acceptance of women dying at the hands of men.

The main characters are well developed. Chelsey is laser focused and indomitable in her quest to find the truth and perhaps save other lives. Somewhat damaged herself by the loss of her beloved sister and her parents’ reaction to it, she is driven to close this case, even when she is removed from it and her personal happiness is at stake. The physical and psychological toll of Ellie’s abduction and treatment is a comprehensive case study in victimology.

Thanks to @netgalley and @simonbooks for the DRC.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean from Simon & Schuster/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Well-paced and solidly anxious-making, and—to a great extent—believable.

And I was very thankful that the plot twist I thought was coming didn’t, because I thought our main protagonist deserved better.

That said, the plot twist/s that _did_ come had me rolling my eyes a bit.

But maybe this is just the first in a Chelsey Calhoun series and things will get better? Fingers crossed!

DESCRIPTION
“The Return of Ellie Black is a page-turning suspense novel, a shrewd character study, and a captivating mystery, all at the same time. The last fifty pages are magnetic. I couldn’t put it down until I’d experienced every last twist and turn.” —STEPHEN KING

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.

Whew! This story shook me!

The more a book affects me, the harder it is to put it into words. And I am struggling to find the right words to describe this book. I found it almost impossible to put down. From the first pages I was captivated. I quickly became invested in the characters despite their flaws, their questionable past actions, and what may or may not be the truth of their current actions. Both of the main characters, Chelsea and Ellie, imprinted themselves in my mind and I still find them tumbling around in there at odd moments.

I was completely riveted by this book as this author led me into a tale that was dark, uncomfortable at times, and so twisted I was left gasping when all was revealed.

Yes! A page turner for sure. The story’s evolution kept the reader wondering and thinking. Were there things I questioned about the police investigation? Yes. Were there things that took place that felt a bit implausible? Yes. Was the ending dramatic? Yes. This was a good mystery and I enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for granting this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #TheReturnofEllieBlack, #NetGalley, #Simon&Schuster.

My mind is blown after reading this gut wrenching book. Ellie Black has been missing for two years when suddenly she is found. Chelsea is the detective working on her case, she had a sister who went missing and murdered, so she is very invested in the case. What ensues is stellar writing that goes into each characters lives with remarkable detail. Heart pounding good. Be forewarned when you pick up this book because you won't be able to put it down. Excited to read more from this talented author.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. It was my pleasure to read and give back honest feedback.

Set on the rugged coastline of Washington state this is a powerful tale of a kidnapped girl. Time is critical in these types of cases which kept me holding my breath as events unfolded. Then Ellie’s sudden reappearance after two years missing lights a fire in a young detective. Chelsey will stop at nothing to get to the truth about where Ellie’s been, who took her and how many more girls are part of this nightmare. Her steadfast perseverance is obsessive. She pushes the victim to reveal more than she’s comfortable with. I was so immersed in the safety and wellbeing of those taken that I didn’t focus much on who the perpetrator was. There were twists and it’s a story that involves uncomfortable and graphic topics.
I’ve read quite a few books themed around missing women, how their plight continues, along with a pronounced lack of response or empathy. This story presented a different perspective and the characters will continue to resonate with me. It’s dark, with despicable acts of violence by depraved predators. The aftermath of trauma is addressed and the victim’s characterization was rendered with a unique viewpoint. It was a thrilling and emotional novel by an author I had not read before, Ellie will stay with me.
An advance reader’s proof of “The Return of Ellie Black” author Emiko Jean, published by Simon & Schuster, expected publication date is 05/07/2024, was provided by NetGalley. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without expectation of compensation.

What's not to love about "The Return of Ellie Black"? It is a very well written book, full of suspense, with great character development.

I had not previously heard of Emiko Jean, but will definitely investigate her previous offerings. This book will not disappoint you!

Two years ago, Ellie Black disappeared. Now she’s back, but she isn’t talking, holding her secrets close despite the local detective’s best efforts to find out the truth.
Having overdone it on thrillers, I am now very selective about the genre. What attracted me to this book was King’s ringing endorsement. And sure enough, this was above average. Still way too much of a formula to truly wow, but entertaining and compelling enough to keep the pages turning.
I can’t say that I particularly cared about any of the characters (and that just isn’t how you spell the name Chelsea) but the suspense aspect was nicely done and well maintained, as were all the twists and turns toward the end.
Like just about every single thriller of this kind out there, the book featured the right i.e. overwhelming amount of estrogen and girl power messaging with just enough token diversity thrown in. Like most YA authors turning to adult fiction, the book featured a lot of teenage and young characters written stronger and more credibly than the adults.
If you’re looking for a decent, albeit cliché-heavy thriller, this might do the trick. Thanks Netgalley.

Fascinating, addictive and stunning novel starring a policewoman and a kidnapping victim. Well written and will keep you turning pages.

You may recognize Emiko Jean as a best selling author of books like Mika in Real Life, but this is her debut thriller and she knocked it out of the park!

Local teenager, Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace 2 years earlier has been found alive in the woods of Washington State. Something isn't right. She won't say where she was or what happened to her. Detective Chelsey Calhoun desperately needs Ellie to open up because she fears there are more girls in danger. This novel has been called a "feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy". Perfectly said.

This was my kind of thriller. Told from dual POV we are given insight into where Ellie has been, while following the detective on her case. Parts of Ellie's disappearance/trauma are hard to read and may not be for everyone. As dark as it gets, there are glimmers of hope that things could get better for Ellie. A bit of me wanted something different with the last twist or two, but overall I devoured this one and think thriller lovers will be all over it!
4.5/5- rounded up!