Surprising look at lasting effects from childhood trauma.

DNF at 80% I just could hang anymore. 

Gone Without a Trace was very intriguing at first. How could you not be interested in a book with that suspenseful blurb!?! Unfortunately, this book fell very flat.

It started off very good. One day Hannah Moore, who is on top of the world in both her professional and personal life, comes home to find her boyfriend has disappeared. All of his stuff is gone, every last trace of him. Then, strange things start to happen. Someone is following her, entering her house when she isn’t there. Sending her notes and presents. She determines to find her missing boyfriend no matter the cost!

It started to drag on a bit, with very small things that would somewhat catch my interest and then die out with no information. I found myself getting frustrated, and just needing the book to come to some kind of end, or at the very least find the guy! Every scenario I could imagine as to why her boyfriend took off, and the way he did kept running through my head; it was pretty much what kept me going.

Finally, that moment came, and let me tell you! It threw me for a complete loop! Not in a good way. I still don’t understand exactly what happened or why for that matter. The author just took the whole first half of the book and basically threw it out the window! I was so frustrated with this twist and felt like the whole beginning and middle was pretty, much a waste of time.

I think it is a very interesting direction to take, however maybe a little more clues in the beginning to prepare ourselves not to trust the main characters side of things, would have made it easier to swallow.

I received this book through Netgalley and the author for free in exchange for a review for the Mystery Thriller Event. This in no way affects my opinions, they are my own.

Hannah Monroe comes home from work that not only is her boyfriend Matt gone, so are all of his belongings gone and her house put back like it was before she moved in. Not only that, all of his calls, texts have disappeared as well as anything she ever posted about him on social media. Her obsession  with finding out what happened to him begins to endangers her health and her successfully position at work where she had been about to be promoted.

While I loved the premise of this book and was anxious to find out what happened to the boyfriend, the writing and story was pretty much the equivalent of a made-for-tv movie. This was yet another Gone Girl/Girl on the Train wannabe that doesn't measure up.

Gone Without a Trace is a compelling psychological thriller and a terrific read.   
Gripping from the beginning, cleverly plotted  & with lots of twists and turns, I finished it in three days as couldn't wait to find out what happened.
Highly recommended and I would read more by this author.

Thank you!

I couldn't put it down. Well written with tight character development and an ending that you'll never see coming!

I enjoyed reading this book and was anxious to find out why Matt, the boyfriend of main character Hannah, had disappeared and seemingly removed all traces of his existence from Hannah's life. I did feel that the story went on a little too long at some points, but it generally kept my interest and was very well written and intriguing. However, when it took a dark turn, I found it a little too dark, although it certainly made sense in the flow of the plot. I also could have done without the final few sentences; seemed a bit tiresome to me. But all in all, I'm glad to have read it and would recommend it. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy.

This book was certainly jaw dropping as the blurb entices the reader to want to read this book. It kept my attention as I kept on wondering just what had happened to Matt, Hannah's boyfriend. All of the characters are intense and appealing. You cannot help but become fixated on each and every character. When the truth is revealed about where Matt is that's when everything goes topsy turvy. The reader is left with an unexpected twist. The twist and the flash backs are well timed in the story and the ending is just one that left me with that 'whoa' reaction. Makes me wonder if there's going to be a sequel. It was a fantastic read! I really enjoyed it.

What a bizarre book or maybe it was just my reaction to it.  Hannah comes home from a conference and finds her boyfriend Matt has moved out.  He not only moved out, he took everything that he had brought into the house and moved her stuff back to where it was.  
Hannah freaks out.  The effort that she made to find him was baffling to me.  She let her entire life slip off a cliff to answer this question.  Just let him go! But, weird things keep happening to her.  Texts, someone taking pictures of her out running, letters in the mail.  Is it Matt (Why would it be Matt?)
She leans on her friends Katie and James who often don't believe the weird things she says are being done.
At this point, I almost stopped reading because her obsessive desire to track Matt down was just too weird.  
Then, about halfway through, we find out about her childhood.  The interest went up again.
The book is well-written, easy to read and I would get home from work to read more.  It's hard to explain my revulsion for the character but enjoying the plot.

Young professional Hannah Monroe returns from work and discovers that her live-in boyfriend, Matt Stone, has moved everything he owns out of her house. There’s not a single sign that he ever lived there. When he won’t answer her texts or phone calls, locating Matt becomes Hannah’s main priority to the detriment of everything else in her life. Hannah loses her grip on everything that had been important to her; she has no partner, she’s suspended from the job she always loved, she’s alienating her friends with her obsessive fixation on finding a man who left her with no explanation, and she’s not sure who she can trust anymore. They say you always hurt the ones you love, a lesson Hannah learned from a young age. She just thought it would be different with Matt.

<b>Mary Torjussen</b>’s GONE WITHOUT A TRACE is a uniquely provocative psychological thriller filled with clever and unusual plot twists and a shrewd resolution. Hannah, who I thought was not a very likable character, voices the story from her twisted point of view. But her actions and motives, as well as those of other pivotal characters, is what moves the basic plot to its extraordinary disclosure segment. This outcome of Hannah’s diabolical search reaches an exciting plateau – with a less than keen aftermath. With that said, I found GONE WITHOUT A TRACE kept my attention throughout Hannah’s lengthy hunt for Matt and surprised me with its big reveal.

This dramatic and emotionally intense story unfolds as details about a complex character and details of her life begin to slowly being to emerge as she searches for her boyfriend who has strangely and mysteriously disappeared.
Imagine that you’ve come home from a day-long business trip, expecting to see your romantic partner whom you’ve shared a home for the past four year. When you get there, you are shocked to discover that every last trace of them has disappeared, down to the ketchup bottle in the refrigerator!
Would you go about regular routine to try and get over it, or would you let it consume you, day after day, affecting your friendships and your work? In this slowing unfold story, which slowly intensifies, we meet Hannah, who is going through this situation with few friends and co-workers. As we read through her story, the details are finally thrown at us at a mind-boggling pace with a sobering ending, about domestic violence and the lingering effects on other beyond the victim themselves.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity. 

I was really intrigued in the first few chapters when Matt completely vanishes but as the story went on, I got extremely bored with Hannah and her search for him. After months of her obsession, it was easy to feel for the few friends and coworkers who were trying to help her move on.

Towards the 2/3 mark, there is a pretty good twist but it didn't take long for me to lose interest with her once again. It actually made me like her even less and felt like it made her seem even more pathetic. I have to say, I definitely didn't see the ending coming.

Unbelievably fantastic. I never saw it coming. Torjuseen does for books what M. Night Shyamalan did for the "Sixth Sense."  "Gone Without a Trace" is a phenomenal psychological thriller. Be prepared to be astonished. I normally see endings coming a mile away but this one had me on the edge of precipice until the big reveal and then I was hanging over the edge, heart beating waiting for it all to wrap up.
 
Hannah is successful and has just been told she will be up for promotion. She is hyped up on positive energy and excitement but it is all about to turn into a black sea of turmoil. She arrives home ready to celebrate, a bottle of wine in her hand when she notices that EVERY SINGLE THING that her boyfriend, Matt owns is gone. There is no trace of Matt or his belongs, furthermore all evidence of him is gone. There are no photos, his social media is wiped out and  her home looks exactly the way it did before Matt moved in but where is Matt? There is no "Dear John" letter, he has vanished.
 
Hannah falls into despair and makes is her mission to locate, Matt.  She becomes obsessive and creates her own circle of madness. Her work life begins to suffer and her relationship with others becomes further constricted Hannah's own personal health begins to suffer and her compulsiveness to locate Matt and get answers becomes unnerving. Her anguish and despair runs of the pages and it becomes evident that Hannah will do whatever it takes to find, Matt --- no matter the cost.
 
Hannah is an unreliable narrator, who keeps you guessing and pulls you into her world, making you empathetic and confused.
 
Expect a long day/night of reading because I couldn't put this book down until it concluded.

I really enjoyed this book since for once ( and very rare these days so it seems.....where the BOY is lost & NOT the girl. I believe for me, this was part of the major reason I enjoyed it!

It was a page turner for me with multiple twists & turns. It starts when Hannah realizes all her boyfriend's things are missing & their texts to each other are included!! She wasn't hearing or receiving texts from him, all pictures were gone....everything! As if he never existed

She starts searching for him but the journey isn't easy, she goes deeper & deeper & this is what turns into the "page turning, must find out why" parts, come in the book

Makes for a very good reading experience. D highly recommend this book esp. for those who like twists & turns in a mystery---this has many of those. Deeply layered  I kept asking myself, while reading----would I honestly go this far? How far would I really go, before giving up, or hoping I'd be successful?

Many thanks to Berkeley publishers for allowing me this early release---much appreciated!

A lot of psychological thrillers these days are touted as "jaw-dropping" but Gone Without A Trace actually delivers on its claim. The story moves quickly, and I couldn't put it down! There were a few points where I thought it was a tad predictable, but then something else would happen and I'd be gripped again. Definitely an author to keep my eye on!

Review coming as soon as I have read the book. Once it's read, it will be reviewed on my blog, amazon, and Goodreads. It will then be shared to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Suspense thriller at its best! Loved the action, drama, and twists/turns of this riveting story.

No matter what throughout Gone Without a Trace I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. No matter how stupid Hannah, our "heroine" was acting I was so "into" the story I had to see what came next. Ms Torjussen kept me guessing until the final pages. Will certainly be reading more by this author. I was given an early copy to review.

Great fast paced thriller that had me hooked from page one. This book was well written and had me guessing until the end. Lots of layers to the book- the more you read the less you know who you can trust! Makes one wonder how far they would go to find someone they loved and trusted who disappeared?

This book was amazing! I was captivated from the beginning. I had thought i figured out the plot, but I was wrong; what a great find! I loved the intensity, suspense and realistic content in this book.

What can I say, this is the book for us women that have a little dark streak, a little dark side that likes to come out and play. Although, in the beginning I suppose it could have gone many ways. In the end however, far more sinister and satisfying for that evil in us all. The writing by Mary Torjussen will have you believe the leading lady Hannah, is a damsel in need of help and rescue. Is that really what she is though? We've all thought at one point in time we've personally gone completely mad. Seeing things that are not there, wanting to believe in something we know better than, placing way too much focus on ridiculous ideas. The main character Hannah will have lots of those moments in this read, or is she just letting her dark side come to light?

The story plays out very well, leading the reader to many possible conclusions. This book also has the leading man or two along with the bestie role. We all know though, looks can be deceiving. Some friends are true while others maybe just want what you have. This book is full of plot twists and questions all the way to the end. May I add, I actually had to pick up my jaw off of the floor at one point (you'll know exactly when you read it). If you want a good enthralling book that will make you want to read from start to finish nonstop, you’ve found it in, Gone Without a Trace.