This one was wild and unhinged—just what I expected from Rea Frey, having read another of her books a while ago! Addictive, it sucks you in and won’t let you go until you finish reading it.

3.5 ⭐️

Popcorn thriller with some strong points but ultimately not my favorite. I enjoyed the past and present perspectives, but it all seemed a little too over the top for my liking.

I really wanted to love this one but it just didn’t work well for me . The author built up great suspense in the present but the past/ then seemed too long and the ending was predictable yet didn’t really make much sense .

My rating 3.25 ⭐️


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review

This started with such a bang- drew me right in. It is the story of a kidnapping that spans three decades. It's a story of gymnastics, high school, friendships, rivalries and obsessions.

Cora was the one kidnapped and years later it is now her daughter who has been taken. In order for Cora to get her back she must take another child.

This was a real bingeworthy read!

* You may enjoy this if you like halloween vibes, high school dramas, mother-daughter relationships, fast-paced thrillers, ethical dilemmas and suspense.

When She’s Gone is the last book that kept me up way past my bedtime. @thrillerbookloversthepulse always nails the book recommendations!

This book is packed with themes perfect for a book club—family drama, the dark side of competitive sports, and the pressures on young women. Even outside of the thriller aspects, @reafreyauthor tackles isolation, toxic diets, and ambition in a way that will resonate with readers across genres.

It’s perfect 90s nostalgia and gives us a riveting look into the world of gymnastics, with real-time references that make the story’s stakes feel believable (think Tonya Harding meets Nancy Kerrigan vibes).

The writing is fast-paced and gripping, jumping between the past and present without losing any of the tension. I especially loved the past timeline (no surprise to anyone who knows me).

The relationship between Cora and Lennon was another standout—intense and layered, especially in those gym scenes where the stakes sizzle right off the page. Plus, Lennon? Absolutely hilarious.

Thank you @netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.

In a deliciously unhinged, edge-of-your-seat premise, When She’s Gone took me both into the world of competitive gymnastics as well as an unsettlingly twisted kidnapping plot gone wrong. Told via dual timelines of now and then by Cora’s thoroughly convincing persona, I easily got swept up in her dark history and even darker present. Throughout it all, the suspense ratcheted right along with the pace until an utterly over-the-top climax that had my eyes moving at speed. The definition of an addictive popcorn thriller, this reader inhaled it fast as could be. After all, I just had to know whether my suspicions were correct before setting the book down.

As much as I loved the general course of the novel, there were two tiny issues that bugged me just the teeniest bit. Namely, the overriding requirement to suspend all disbelief on top of the fact that I guessed each and every shocking twist before it was revealed. The former, of course, I got over tout suite as I decided just to go along for the ride. The latter, however, was somewhat of a letdown. For that reason alone, I believe this book would be perfect for newbies to the genre over diehard thriller readers like me. After all, I suspect my insatiable appetite for all things suspense was a big reason why I could see behind each and every reveal in this unputdownable psychological thriller.

Despite both of the above, however, this book had me spellbound for sure. So much so, in fact, that I sped through it in just one hypnotized evening without a single reading break in sight. With short chapters, a blazingly fast pace, and plenty of palpable fear, it was every parent’s worst nightmare come brilliantly to life. And while the plot itself had more of a fictionalized drama vibe, the vicious gymnastics world felt 100% real. All said and done, it’s no surprise at all that my friends and colleagues with Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse have been raving about this one for ages. Bingeable and well-plotted in the extreme, you aren’t going to want to miss out on this rollicking good time. Rating of 4 stars.

Thank you to Rea Frey, Thomas & Mercer, Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse, and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

This was the perfect popcorn thriller! What you'll get is a fast paced plot that will keep you turning pages. Two timelines of our current day and back into the 1990's that starts at a haunted house!! This book tugs at your heart strings a little bit and leaves the reader gripped to the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the gifted e-arc.

Thank you @bookloverstheoulse for the opportunity to read this ebook!

Cora, a gymnast, escapes a kidnapping when she was just a teenager. Years later it seems as if history is repeating itself when Cora’s daughter is taken.

This book hooked my attention from the very beginning. A kidnapping that could potentially be linked to one that happened years before had me not wanting to put this book down. I do have to say that I wasn’t too surprised by a couple of the twists. However in all, it was an enjoyable read.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘When She’s Gone’ written by Rea Frey in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Cora Valentine is fourteen when she’s taken to the Halloween parade at Boone’s Creek and is persuaded to go into the haunted house at the fairground. Waiting outside to be collected by her parents Cora is grabbed by two men in black clothing and ski masks, and although eventually released she’s never recovered from the trauma especially as her kidnappers were never caught. Now Cora has a four-year-old daughter Lulu and doesn’t want her dread of Halloween to be passed on to her, so when Lulu asks to go trick-or-treating she takes her to the main street. But it takes just one second for Lulu to disappear and Cora’s nightmares to resurface.

‘When She’s Gone’ is a gripping thriller with a dual timeline of the present time and thirty years previously. The story incorporates Halloween, kidnapping and gymnastics as Cora believes she has a chance to qualify for the Olympics. I sympathised with her for what must be a mother’s worst nightmare especially as she can see the similarities between Lulu’s kidnapping and her own. From page one I was gripped by the story and supportive of Cora and what she was going through as, with the help of close friends, she had a race against time to find her daughter. This excellent book contains plenty of emotion, suspense and drama with quite a few twists thrown in to confuse, and a mind-blowing conclusion. It’s easy to read, impossible to put down, and I recommend it.

4.5 Stars-rounding up
Mark your calendars for January 14, or pre-order your copy of Rea Frey's upcoming thriller now! This book promises to be a tense and electrifying experience. The team at #thrillerbookloversthepulse has been sharing some fantastic reviews. This gripping narrative weaves together themes of Halloween, gymnasts, and a chilling kidnapping—what more could a reader want?

Rea Frey shines as a masterful storyteller and brings her expertise as a former gymnast to the table.

Set against the eerie backdrop of Halloween and crafted across two timelines, this tale will keep you on the edge of your seat! Cora is a gymnast on the brink of Olympic glory until her life takes a dark turn during a haunted house visit. Flash forward three decades to another fateful Halloween when tragedy strikes again—Cora's daughter is kidnapped. The twist? The abductors demand that Cora harm another young athlete, an Olympic hopeful, in exchange for her daughter's safety. The haunting echoes of Cora's past collide violently with her present as she races against time to uncover the truth behind this sinister plot.

As I raced to the conclusion, the tension ramped up. "When She's Gone" masterfully intertwines high-stakes suspense with the intense pressure elite athletes face, revealing the troubling dynamics of trust among teammates. This sport-themed thriller, wrapped in the thrilling ambiance of Halloween, adds an unexpected depth that will leave you breathless! Prepare yourself—this is one story you won't soon forget!
Thanks to the author and Thomas & Mercer for this gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and provided voluntarily without compensation.

This fast paced thriller has everyone at @thrillerbookloversthepulse buzzing! Thank you @reafreyauthor for allowing me an eARC of this fabulous thriller!
‌
Cora was a teenage Olympic hopeful when she was kidnapped while at a haunted house with her teammates. She managed to survive that but it changed her life forever.
‌
Years later, her young daughter is kidnapped on Halloween. Cora will do whatever it takes to get her back. As a mom, I found this nerve wracking and I felt all of Cora’s emotions.
‌
The dual timelines helped weave everything together. So twisty!

This one is a fast-paced thriller that had me hooked from the first page! From the world of elite gymnastics, this book dives deep into the complex lives of its athletes, full of drama, suspense, and SO many twists!

The plot is intriguing, layered, and gripping. Every chapter kept me on the edge of my seat, building tension in the most unexpected ways. I couldn’t stop turning the pages! The short chapters are perfect for binge-reading, and they’re packed with detail and emotional depth that kept me fully invested. There’s a lot of complexity here—perfectly crafted to keep you guessing. It’s definitely one of those *popcorn thrillers* that you can’t put down! 🍿 Suspense? ✔️ Emotion? ✔️ Drama? ✔️

Highly recommend for anyone who loves a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat story with a lot of heart and intensity! You won’t want to miss this one!

This was a fast-paced thriller that unfolds entirely over one intense Halloween night. The story revolves around Cora Valentine, a former Olympic hopeful whose life was derailed after a traumatic kidnapping as a teenager. Now, years later, as a mother, she’s forced to confront her past when her own daughter disappears under eerily similar circumstances.

The novel dives into the competitive worlds of elite athletes and their almost obsessive drive to win, providing an interesting backdrop that ties into the characters’ motivations and decisions. This relentless pursuit of victory, even in morally questionable situations, is at the heart of the story.

While the clipped, fast-moving chapters made for an engaging and quick read, I found it difficult to connect with Cora and her choices. The central moral dilemma—hurting someone else’s child to save her own—felt implausible to me, making it harder to sympathize with her as a protagonist. The tension was certainly there, but the emotional depth I was hoping for didn’t resonate as much as I’d expected.

Still, When She’s Gone offers an ambitious and high-stakes narrative that may appeal to readers who enjoy morally complex thrillers set within a single, intense night. While it wasn’t entirely the right fit for me, the unique premise and suspenseful pacing are sure to draw in fans of fast-moving, high-drama stories.

The dual time line novel of Cora who was kidnapped when she was fourteen and her little daughter Lulu who is missing in the present. It's more than a little implausible but it's compulsively readable thanks to the details about Cora's gymnastics and the atmospherics. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. This would make a very good travel read.

When She’s Gone is a superb thriller with a lot of emotion. I really loved Cora’s backstory as a teen gymnast in the 1990s and how realistic the various gymnastics scenes felt. Working in recognizable names didn’t feel forced, rather, it helped create a rich and immersive story that will have you on the edge of your seat!

The book is intense, suspenseful, and emotional. There are dual timelines. The past is so unsettling and there are secrets, revelations, and twists. This is my second book by the author and I definitely recommend it.

Thanks to the Publisher

What a solid popcorn thriller. This had me turning the pages late into the night. A departure from her contemporary fiction and I’m here for it. This was short and tense and compelling. Halloween, the 90s, gymnastics and kidnapping, oh my!

While I predicated some, I still enjoyed seeing it all come together. Grab this for your next slump buster.

When She’s Gone

When she is gone is a tense, fast paced novel that keeps you on your toes. As the story flips between then (whenCora was kidnapped as a teenager) to now (her daughters disappearance) years later, we learn bit by bit how Cora became the hyper vigilant person that she is today. She is not only prepared for almost anything that could happen she is also tough and very smart.

I really liked Cora as a character and felt like I could completely relate to how her team mates treated her. This made the book seem even more real and intense to me.

With short chapters and tons of surprises along the way, I highly recommend this to any mystery/ suspense lovers!



Available January 15th, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer, and author, Rea Frey for the advanced copy.

Loved it!! I enjoyed how the book alternated between Cora now and when she was fourteen. I started reading this not knowing the premise of the book, which I do for many books of authors I love. So I was a bit shocked about everything that happened to Cora. First she's kidnapped and years later so is her daughter. It can't be a coincidence. It must be related somehow. They never found out who kidnapped Cora all those years ago. Could it really be the same person? How did the people hack her phone and security system? I figured it had to be someone close to Cora. I was extremely suspicious of Faith and Joe. I really had no reason but they seemed like obvious choices. Smorgasbord was definitely the scariest haunted house. There's no way I would have even stepped foot in there. That place was terrifying, especially what happened to Jessie. Jessie was rude and mean, but didn't deserve what happened. There were so many twists and turns. I would never have guessed the ending. Every time I tried to figure out what was going to happen, I was completely wrong. My opinion constantly changed about each of the characters. The lengths people will go to for money!!! All that time and effort was put into hurting people. The reasons behind both kidnappings were insane. I can't believe the short sentence the one person received.

Definitely recommend the book. It was a great mystery/thriller that had me guessing until the end. I can't believe that people were able to keep secrets about what happened quiet for so long. I loved the story, writing style and characters. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I don’t even know what I read… it was the most propulsive read with the most far fetched situations. Did I like it? I don’t know. Did I binge it? Yes, yes I did.

It was wildly bizarre, completely bingeable and a little bat shit crazy.

Geez, this is nothing like her last book which I loved. This was a whole new genre with a whole new voice.

I don’t know how to rate this? It was bizarre but bingeable.
Not believable but a thriller beach read. Geez, pretty cool that the author was able to do this

3 stars for plot
5 stars for making me constantly flip the pages
Settling for 3.75