I really enjoyed When She Was Gone. It was full of suspense, mystery, drama, secrets, and betrayal.

I liked Sara's writing style. It drew me in immediately, and I couldn't put it down, I devoured it in one sitting.
Rose was a great main character. She was strong, determined, loyal, and relatable.

This is the first book I've read from Sara, but it definitely won't be the last.
I thought I knew where it was going, but I was completely wrong. The twists kept me guessing right to the end.

I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins Publishers Australia, and Sara Foster for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT: . . . (she) runs over to the steep pile of weathered granite stone, scampering up there as adept as a mountain goat and then disappearing over the top.
'Not so far!' Lou calls. 'You don't need to go -'
But the little girl has already gone.
Lou sighs, raising her eyebrows complicitly at Kai, who giggles as he sits on the blanket, only eleven months old but fully aware of his sister pushing the boundaries. She's hurrying over to the rocks when there's a high-pitched scream from the other side. Lou stiffens. This is exactly what she'd dreaded. It would be a disaster to go back to the holiday house with Honey wailing from a fall, no matter that cuts and scrapes are part of childhood. It doesn't take much to turn Frannie's polite charm to cold fury. She casts a nervous glance back at Kai, who is still sitting on the blanket, and decides that if he sets off at a crawl she could get back to him before he reaches the water. So she turns and breaks into a run towards the sound, calling, 'Honey? Are you okay? Did you fall?'
There's no answer.
She hesitates, envisaging telling Frannie and Kyle that one of their babies has been hurt on her watch. They would kill her. Literally. All that crushed, repressed rage would be released onto her. She wouldn't survive it.
She shudders and checks back again. Kai is still on the blanket, head turned towards her, watching, his expression solemn now, his back straight and alert in his little romper suit. She climbs the rocks, terrified of seeing Honey sprawled out and bleeding.
But when she gets to the top and looks down, it is much, much worse than that.

ABOUT 'WHEN SHE WAS GONE': Was she taken ... or did she run?

Rose was torn away from her daughter. Now, is she the only one who can save her?

Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote Western Australian beach, and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care, Rose is asked to help bring Lou home. The police think Rose's insights will lead them to Lou, but they don't realise that Rose hardly knows her daughter anymore.

This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood's illustrious career, and there's a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and as their multimillionaire grandfather breathes down Blackwood's neck for results, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn't know who he can trust.

Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter's innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she's no longer part of Lou's life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers' secrets, the investigation takes a much darker turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers and Rose, and soon it's clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?

MY THOUGHTS: When She Was Gone by Sara Foster is an engaging, well-paced mystery that ramps up the tension as the plot progresses.

Told from multiple POVs the pointing finger of suspicion moves from one character to another as family secrets are slowly revealed and the worms come out from the woodwork. There's no shortage of suspects or motives in this dysfunctional family - there are plenty of people who have been left disadvantaged and damaged by the Fishers' business practices - but would any of them really kidnap the nanny and two small children for revenge? Or perhaps it has been orchestrated by someone within the family itself, someone with an axe to grind, a point to prove. But whoever it is, the silence from the kidnappers is deafening . . .

When She Was Gone kept me on my toes, kept me guessing. I loved the opposing police presence. Rose is there only as Lou's mum, but she can see gaps in the investigation and follows through on them herself. This doesn't earn her any brownie points from DSS Blackwood or his 2IC, Angie. Rose considers herself lucky to have the support of her estranged brother-in-law, Charlie, to fall back on.

I loved the characters of Rose and Charlie, and even that of Blackwood who finds himself on his final case, stuck between a rock and a hard place with his boss breathing down his neck, wanting to keep on the good side of the influential Fisher family.

There are multiple twist and turns as heads butt and the case seems to go nowhere, but the final reveal is a doozy.

An extremely satisfying missing persons mystery set on Australia's beautiful west coast.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#WhenSheWasGone #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Sara is passionate about writing strong female characters and often incorporates contemporary cultural themes into her stories.
She lives in Perth, WA, with her husband, two daughters, three cats, Luna the cavoodle and Sunny the bearded dragon.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins Publishers Australia via NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of When She Was Gone by Sara Foster for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

When She Was Gone is the latest from Sara Foster. I really enjoyed Hush, and I suppose it has set the bar for me now with this author. While I didn't mind this one, it was by no means inhabiting the same orbit as Hush.

This story was a classic crime fiction. Nanny goes missing with her two charges. Did she abscond with them, or were they kidnapped? Is the family she worked for above board or as shonky as they come?

Underneath the narrative was a theme of domestic violence, not woven into the plot as such, but almost as an instructional manual on recognising the signs, statistics and facts, all delivered via Rose's perspective, who had made it her life's work. I found this a bit of a barrier to connecting with Rose, to be honest, as though she was not a real character, but merely a vessel by which to convey an important message about a crisis within our society.

The story was well paced throughout, but nearing the end, everything seemed to happen so fast, all loose threads being tied neatly, issues resolved, baddies disposed of, in the blink of an eye.

Crime fiction fans will no doubt love this. I listened to it on audiobook, and it was an entertaining read, but ultimately not a memorable one.

When Lou and the two young children she is nanny for disappear … lots of questions are asked! Did she take them or were they taken … and it is up to her estranged mother and a detective on his last case to solve this dynamic and terrifying situation … especially when blood is found near where they disappeared …

This is not your usual police procedural … instead it takes place on warp speed! Readers are thrust into a series of complicated back stories and multiple points of view as the story unfolds and yet it is done so skilfully that it is possible to keep up and make sense of the many complexeties behind each person and relationship in this fast paced suspenseful story.

Thoroughly immersive and completely captivating it is hard to come out of this world because it had such a hard hitting impact. I want more stories of Rose and her years working with domestic violence, I want more of Blackwood and for this not to be his last case … I definitely want to read more of Sara Foster! There were also so many unlikeable characters in this story including most of the Fisher’s and their “friends”. Meanwhile Charlie stands out as such a fascinating character … and then we have Lou and discovering the truth of what happened there!

Thanks to HarperCollin’s and Netgalley for turning my insides upside down while trying to read this story; and to Sara Foster for creating such an engrossing and thrilling set of puzzles and dramatic conclusions!

4.5/5☆


This is definitely a book I would have binged in one sitting if I didn't have a toddler and newborn 😅

The Grandchildren of a high profile multimillionaire businessman and their Nanny go missing from a small Australian beach. A detective on his last case before retirement and the estranged mother of the Nanny who's also an ex cop use all their skills to find the missing.

This had all my favourite elements of a crime/mystery book; It was multi POV, fast paced, plot driven and extra juicy because who doesn't love a scandal amongst the rich and famous?
I love a bit of gossip so all the dirty little secrets of the Fisher Family being revealed kept me eagerly turning the pages.

Wow what a book, I loved it! I found this to be really suspenseful and had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. It kept me guessing with a few twists in the story. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a gripping read! The mystery had me hooked, and the emotional side of it really hit hard. Some parts slowed down a bit, but overall I couldn’t stop reading. If you’re into twisty, emotional thrillers with strong characters, definitely give this one a shot!

This was a hard to put down thriller about a nanny and two small children going missing from a remote Western Australian beach. The kids belong to the youngest son of a rich tycoon who arrives in the town with the rest of his arrogant family to cause trouble for the police team lead by DSS Blackwood and DS Angie. Rose, a former police officer, is the nanny’s estranged mother and she arrives from England determined to help find her daughter. I liked the main characters and the plot was well written with occasional flashbacks that added to the suspense. I read it quickly and enjoyed it.
(Could’ve had a better title though)

I was lured in by the stunning cover of When She Was Gone, and was immediately immersed in this engaging thriller.

The pacing was perfect, enough to get to know the broad cast of characters, but keep you hooked. The chapters were short and punchy and I could have easily flown through this book in one sitting! The alternating POV and flashbacks were executed cleverly and deliberately, creating a strong sense of suspense and putting readers right in the drivers seat of this gripping read.

The strong family drama elements were driven by a truly despicable family, and I thoroughly enjoyed the respite of Rose and Lou’s storyline as an estranged mother and daughter seeking to reunite. The gentle social commentary of power and privilege made this story all the more chilling, and the ending was both satisfying and emotional. The Western Australian setting was spot on, and I’d strongly recommend this read for fans of Jane Harper, Gillian McAllister, and Lisa Jewell.

Thank you HarperCollins Australia for this ARC. Opinions expressed are my own.

I could not put this book down so thank goodness it's the long weekend because
I stayed up way too late finishing it.

The book follows former London police officer Rose Campbell who receives a phone call from her ex-husband telling her that her estranged daughter Lou has disappeared with the 2 young children she is a nanny to in Western Australia. Rose heads to Australia to find her daughter because one of the theories is that her daughter has kidnapped the children.

Lou was working for a very wealthy and powerful family and not everyone was happy with their business dealings.

Told from multiple POV’s this book took me on a ride. There were so many secrets and accusations that I didn't know what to believe but what a thrilling end!

Thank you to @harpercollinsaustralia and @sarafosterauthor for my #gifted eARC.

The suspense, the character insights and personalities. I do n0t want to give much away but for a book that sucks you in, I suggest you read it. Thank you so much for the copy.

This centres around the disappearance of two children from a wealthy family while in the care of their nanny. All three disappear from a beach leaving limited clues. The nanny had concerns about the parents' care of the children so there's a question of whether Louisa (a young English woman staying in Australia) took them herself. It's only when the body of her boyfriend washes up that the police fear more for their safety.

I enjoyed this though read it directly after another book featuring a very wealthy family with a similar legacy (Rachel Parish's <i>See How They Fall</i> so had to keep reminding myself who was who. I really liked Rose - our female lead - ex-cop now domestic violence warrior, despite the fact she could be a bit prickly. I appreciated the complexity Foster reflected here in her feelings toward Louisa given their estrangement - particularly that she didn't 'know' what sort of person her daughter was so couldn't be sure she hadn't taken the kids. I also liked the backstory Foster gives us for Rose, with the book opening in 2002 when she was a cop and attending a domestic violence scene which ended tragically.

I felt I should have liked DSS Malcolm Blackwood more than I did, but suspect his antipathy towards Rose's interference in the case annoyed me a little. I certainly liked his partner however.

The missing kids' parents seemed to be drawn a little inconsistently. We meet Louisa briefly before she disappears and get a glimpse of irresponsible parents who put partying ahead of their children, but they seem to be genuinely devastated at the kids' disappearance.

This goes in an unexpected direction but Foster feeds us backstory in a consistently well-paced way so we get clues as needed and I also liked that Foster's not afraid to give us nuanced characters who aren't all-good or all-bad.

Young English nanny Lou is in Australia looking after the two young children of a wealthy family, Kyle and Fannie Fisher. They are holidaying at their beach house near Margaret River in Western Australia, when Lou and the children disappear from the beach one morning. The police must determine if Lou has run away with the children or whether someone has abducted all three of them.

Told in short sharp chapters from multiple points of view, this is a fast paced and gripping thriller..There is a host of well-drawn intriguing characters from the odious extended Fisher family to DSS Mal Blackwell, the detective leading his last case before retirement to Lou’s estranged mother, Rose and Lou herself.

Rose is convinced that Lou would never do anything to harm the children, and starts her own investigation into Lou’s life, social media and the network of other nannies working for friends of the Fishers. Although Blackwell is aware that Rose is an ex-police officer, he does his best to keep her at arm’s length from the Fishers and the police investigation, but she is determined to do anything it takes to find the daughter she feels she has let down. Suspenseful and nail biting, this is a terrific read with plenty of surprises and a stunning climax.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Australia & Sara Foster for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5 stars.
Genre(s): crime, mystery, thriller.

Overall impression: a very impactful thriller that kept me on my toes until the last pages. The characters were complex, flawed and diverse in their reasons for wanting to solve the missing persons case. I wasn't able to solve the case on my own and it wasn't until the 2/3 mark that everything started to unfold and make sense. Sara also focused on the prevalence, forms and devastating impact of domestic violence on victims and their families. It was a great teaching moment for readers that might not be aware of the issue, whilst not detracting from the main plot. I'd love to read more of her books in the future.

Tropes:
➵ Missing persons case
➵ Run away or kidnapped?
➵ High profile victims
➵ Nanny for rich family
➵ Family secrets
➵ Power, money & control
➵ Everything isn't as it seems
➵ Stalker
➵ Isolated town
➵ Ex-police officer mother
➵ Estranged daughter
➵ Domestic violence
➵ Running out of time
➵ Final stand off
➵ Not everyone survives
➵ Set in Australia
➵ Multiple POV

⤷ Plot:
The main storyline revolved around the search for the missing nanny and children of a wealthy high profile Australian family, who disappeared without a trace on a family holiday. It was told from multiple POVs, highlighting the complexity of the case. It was unclear if the children had run away or been kidnapped, which kept me on edge as more of the Fishers' secrets were revealed and experiences of past nannies were exposed. The ending was also hard to predict but everything started to align and make sense.

⤷ Characters:
There were quite a few core characters, each with completely different personalities, motivations and experiences. Rose was an ex-police officer from the UK that was estranged from her daughter because of her abusive and controlling ex-husband. She used her detective and negotiation skills to help guide the investigation in the right direction. She had a very strong personality and didn't shy away from investigating leads that the Australian officers neglected.

Blackwood was the lead investigator but I couldn't quite picture him as the expert he was portrayed to be. He was a pushover when it came to the Fishers and relied on a lot of other people to solve the case for him.

The Fishers were really complex and interesting characters. They were majorly flawed and thought that they could throw money at any problem they created. The missing children were the only innocent parties in their family and I was hoping they would be found safe the entire time.

⤷ World-building:
It was very easy to picture all of the locations. I could feel their isolation when the desolate beach, thick bushland and sprawling mansion set far away from everyone else were described. It felt like this could have been a true crime novel with how well it was planned out and executed.

⤷ Writing:
I was fully submersed in the story. The chapters alternated from different character's perspectives and time periods, showing how a string of events from the past led to the missing persons case in the present. It flowed smoothly and nothing was revealed too early. I think a lot of people will find this book bingeable.

⤷ Everything else:
I love the book cover design. It encapsulates the feel of the story perfectly.

Was she taken… Or did she run?

Former London police officer Rose has been estranged from her daughter Lou for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote beach in Western Australia, and there is question of whether she kidnapped the two children in her care, Rose is asked to help bring Lou home.

The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and while their multimillionaire grandfather is breaking down DSS Mal Blackwood’s neck, the media storm is intensifying.

As Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a dark turn and it soon becomes clear that every hour is critical.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the three main points of view were very easy to follow and gave great insight into the characters and the development of the investigation.

The story was believable and I liked the focus from the beginning on the different forms of abuse and the ways that it can shape the lives of the people involved; both the abuser and the abused.

In saying that, the story wasn’t overly predictable and while I did guess certain parts, there were a few twists that I definitely did not see coming.
Overall this was a fast paced and interesting read that kept me engaged and hoping for the characters to get home safe.

This book was so addicting. It is dark and full of characters that I'm sure you will love to hate.

The story is told from multiple POVs and details the search for a young nanny that goes missing from her rich employers holiday house. It is a race to find her and her employers two children. Did she take them and disappear? Or did someone take her?

This book is suspenseful and so emotional. I binged it in one sitting because I just had to know what happened.

Thank you so much @HarperCollinsAustralia for the arc of this book.

When She Was Gone will be available from the 2nd April.

Lou is the nanny of two young children from a wealthy Australian family, the Fisher's. Early one morning, Lou and the kids vanish from a remote Western Australian beach. With no major evidence, the police suspect Lou kidnapped the kids, or something more sinister is afoot.

Rose, a former London police officer is estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. When Lou disappears, Rose is called on to help bring Lou home, however, the police don't realise that Rose hardly knows her daughter anymore. How can she prove her daughters innocence when she barely knows the girl? How can she be sure Lou isn't capable of something like this?

This is the final case in DSS Blackwood's career and there's a lot riding on it. The Fisher children are heirs to the Fisher property empire and as their multimillionaire grandfather breathes down Blackwood's neck for results, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn't know who he can trust. As Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers' secrets, the investigation takes a much darker turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers and Rose, and soon it's clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?

This was my first Sara Foster book and it definitely won't be my last! This story was well written, with well rounded characters and a good plot where you cannot easily "pick who-done-it." The story is told from multiple POV's which was also done quite well. I mostly don't like multiple POV stories but this one flowed effortlessly. This story follows the three main characters above with some other character storylines thrown in the mix.

The main reason I cannot give this one 5 stars is because I really struggled to connect and engage with the character. Yes they were well rounded, but I could not care less about Blackwood and felt as though he added nothing to the storyline. He was just cop in charge of the investigation. Rose and Lou were definitely more relatable, even some of the side characters too.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable thriller which was easy to read and difficult to put down. Thank you to Harper Collins NZ and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this one to review!

When She Was Gone by Sara Foster was captivating.

The former London police officer, Rose Campbell who was also a best selling author and domestic violence consultant has her own personal issues and when her estranged daughter Lou who is working as a nanny goes missing in Western Australia along with the two children she is looking after, it is her and not her ex-husband and father to the daughter who races over to undertake an investigation. She hopes to work with the detective in charge of the case, Mal Blackwood but it is a rocky relationship.

The storyline is intriguing, the characterisation is complex but also believable and the plot development was engaging without losing the main threads.

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from HarperCollins Publishers Australia via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#WhenSheWasGone #NetGalley

When Lou disappears from a remote beach in Western Australia, her estranged policewoman mother Rose, is quick to fly down from London. It is unclear whether Lou was taken or whether she chose to take the two children she was minding with her.

This was an amazing book. Heart stopping in parts because you could feel Rose's pain and full of action in other parts, especially the last 25% of the book. Once the story took shape, it was incredibly hard to put down. Told through multiple POVs, this fast paced novel will have you flipping those pages at rapid speed. Read it and thank me later.

Such a gripping read!

I loved everything about this. The Aussie setting, the fast paced drama, the surprises, and the insight into a few different lives along the way.

There's a lot of characters but I found it easy to follow who was who.

One of those books that make you regret you have a day job and don't have all day just to read to find out what happened. Definitely recommend.