After You Were Gone

by Vikki Wakefield

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Pub Date Apr 11 2023 | Archive Date Oct 31 2022

Text Publishing | Text Publishing Company

General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers

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Description

Six years after her daughter goes missing, Abbie receives information that sets her on a dangerous path to discover what really happened... After You Were Gone is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that poses the question: How far would you go to find your child?

In a busy street market, Abbie lets go of six-year-old Sarah’s hand. When she turns around, her daughter isn’t there. After a full-scale search and a high-profile investigation, there is still no trace of Sarah.

Six years later, Abbie is in love and getting married. Her family, despite their problems, have seen her through her worst imaginings. Her fragile peace is constantly threatened: not knowing what happened to Sarah is like living with a curse.

Then a phone call from an unknown number offers closure. A man claims to know what happened to Sarah, but if Abbie tells anyone or fails to follow instructions, she’ll never find out. What price must Abbie pay to know the truth?

After You Were Gone is a gripping novel of psychological suspense that explores themes of gaslighting and coercion, family trauma, and mother/daughter relationships. Vikki Wakefield successfully makes the jump from YA fiction to adult fiction in a book that will satisfy thriller-hungry readers of Megan Miranda, Mary Kubica, and Shari Lapena.

Advance Praise

‘Elegantly written and utterly chilling. A dark and twisting novel of psychological suspense that will have you turning pages and checking your locks.’ —Emma Viskic, author of Those Who Perish

‘Gripping, propulsive, and unbearably tense – the best psychological thriller I’ve read in years.’ —Mark Brandi, author of The Others

‘An original thriller full of empathy. Flawed and vulnerable, Abbie is so real. I was with her all the way.’ —Sarah Bailey, author of The Housemate

‘An elegant, powerful and utterly compelling thriller. The best book I have read all year.’ —Lucy Christopher, author of Release

‘After You Were Gone cleaves open ideas of friendship and family, revealing the complex inner workings of our closest relationships. In doing so, Wakefield achieves what all good crime writers aspire to do: she forces the reader to stress-test their own sense of morality. She looks you in the eye and asks what would you do if the unthinkable happened? What would you sacrifice? How far would you go? At once tense and atmospheric, After You Were Gone is also brilliantly plotted and populated with complex characters. An exciting new voice in Australian crime.’ —J.P. Pomare, author of The Last Guests

‘Spooky, believable, compelling. I kept turning the pages hoping for a way out.’ —Leah Swann, author of Sheerwater

‘Beautifully written and superbly unnerving, After You Were Gone is the very best kind of thriller: tender and wise as well as pulse-poundingly tense, with characters so real you want to linger with them even as you race through the pages, desperate to find out what happens. Absolutely wonderful, I could not have loved or admired it more.’ —Anna Downes, author of The Safe Place

‘Through captivating prose and an intricately crafted plot, After You Were Gone explores the complexities of what it means to be a mother: the joy, the rage, the floundering—and the desperate, unquenchable love.’ —Amy Suiter Clarke, author of Girl, 11

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