Good as gone by Amy Gentry.
Eight years ago, thirteen-year-old Julie Whitaker was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night.

In the years since, her family have papered over the cracks of their grief – while hoping against hope that Julie is still alive.

And then, one night, the doorbell rings.
A fantastic read with some great characters. Brilliant. Loved this book. 5*.

Loved this book - it was so gripping! I will be recommending to everyone i know! Perfect for fans of Girl on the Train or Gone Girl!

Why did I miss out on Good As Gone in 2016? The mistake is remedied as I will never miss another Amy Gentry novel again. You shouldn't either. This book is filled with suspense, great writing, fantastic characters, and a truly unputdownable plot. The second you start, you will have to fight to stop reading. It is addicting until the very last page. You will need to figure it out. The setting is both moody and atmospheric. The writing weaves in emotion. An utterly compelling read through and through. Highly recommend fans of psychological thrillers check this one out today!

Good as Gone is the debut novel by Amy Gentry. It is a fast paced novel which will grab you by the throat and you won’t want to put it down until you have finished it.

The book opens with a shocking scene which pulls you into the story. Julie Whitaker is thirteen when she is kidnapped by knife point from her bedroom in the middle of the night. Her sister, Jane, is powerless and she has to live with the guilt that she didn’t do more to save her sister that night. Eight years later and Julie’s family are still searching for her but they are stunned when one night the doorbell rings, Julie has come home. But is everything as it seems and when Julie’s mother, Anna begins to have doubts she fights to find out what is really going on. But is she prepared to find out what really happened the night her daughter disappeared?

What I really liked about Amy Gentry’s writing is its addictive quality. Amy knows how to hook her reader. There are some scenes in the novel, however, which I did find confusing. Amy tells the story from different perspectives, it was difficult to tell how these scenes connected to the story at first and occasionally I did have to go back and re read a few paragraphs so I could make sense of what was happening but as the plot unravels everything did begin to pull together.

Amy has created some intriguing characters in this book. As I started reading I wanted to find out more about Julie and her sister Jane, what would their relationship be like now that Julie has come back and how this would affect their family.

A really enjoyable read, perfect for fans of Helen Callaghan’s Dear Amy and the BBC Drama The Missing. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy to read in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed the book, it has everything I love in a novel from start to finish. I can’t wait to read what the author has planned next!

A psychological and disturbing thriller with some troubling inconsistencies.

Thirteen-year old Julie Whitaker was abducted at knifepoint from her room at night by an unknown intruder, the only witness being her ten-year old sister Jane. The family was torn apart by the loss, particularly Anna, the girls’ mother. One day eight years later, a young woman shows up on their doorstep, exhausted but alive, claiming that she is Julie. The family are delighted and relieved to have their daughter back, but Anna can’t shake the feeling that there is more to Julie than meets the eye. As small cracks start to appear in the story of Julie’s abduction and ordeal, Anna starts to wonder if the girl she has welcomed into her home is really her daughter at all.

This was a well-written story that takes the reader straight into the action, with the opening chapter that describes Julie’s abduction coming across as both chilling and intriguing. As the narrative progresses, it alternates between Anna’s POV in the present day as she wrestles with conflicting feelings of relief and suspicion about her newly returned daughter and the POV of multiple different girls, describing the events of their lives. This structure was a bit difficult for me to get my head round initially but once I figured out what was going on (which I won’t explain here to avoid spoilers), I realised that it is actually a very clever way of telling the story and provides the reader with a very well-built up to ‘moment of realisation’ towards the end of the book when everything falls into place. The middle section of the story falters a bit occasionally as Anna goes about trying to quash her doubts about the woman living in her home, but when the truth about the events of Julie’s abduction eventually comes to light, the novel picks up again and made for extremely engaging, if quite disturbing, reading.

Anna is a sympathetic character and her behaviour and motives throughout the story are mostly believable and understandable, although at times she seems a bit out of it and not really connecting with any of the people around her. I found that both her husband Tom and Jane were a little less well fleshed-out and they seemed to be less important to the overall story. Julie is a bit more difficult – I wasn’t sure if I felt as sorry for her as perhaps I was meant to, and her motives seemed a bit contradictory to her character and didn’t really make complete sense in the context of the story. Some of the minor characters barely stuck in my mind, making me think that the book could have worked better without them and with more focus on the major players.

Despite great potential, some parts of this novel fell through a little, with my main issue being that Anna is unsure if she recognises her thirteen-year old daughter as a twenty one-year old. I refuse to believe that anyone could change that much during that short a time period to be unrecognisable, and this inconsistency really affected my enjoyment of the book. There were also a few other plot holes that really bothered me, some of which were unavoidable but others could have been tied up with a bit of tweaking from the author. Additionally, whilst the narrative structure was unique, it didn’t work perfectly and at times I found myself a bit confused as to what was going on. I also thought that the very ending of the story was unrealistic and felt like a bit of an anti-climax, though the build-up to it was very good.


Overall, this was an entertaining thriller and worth a read, but not perfect. A few too many plot devices were crammed in and at times the writing felt a little detached and disconnected. This book also had some quite dark themes which some readers may find a little disturbing or unpleasant. However, it was an enjoyable novel and an impressive debut for the author and I expect that her writing ability will only improve with time.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This is a story all about 13 year-old Julie and her kidnapping, which is told through the eyes of her mother, Anna. All members of the family are impacted by Julie’s disappearance, especially sister Jane who witnessed Julie’s abduction.

You’d be wrong in thinking that Good as Gone is your typical ‘thriller’ because in reality, it’s so much more. You’re kept in suspense throughout, with little droplets of shock thrown in for good measure. Rather than a gritty crime scene (no spoilers here), there’s a puzzle for you to finish. Julie’s kidnapping is far more complex than anyone can imagine, and when people start making an appearance, it leaves Anna and the family questioning everything they’ve experienced, or felt.

Part of me wanted to read about Julie’s experience first hand because I’m a little sadistic in the fact that I’d want to feel what she experienced. Sometimes you can relate more to a character if you’re aware of how they are feeling. However, I also think it was clever to read about how Anna was feeling, so you’re left in the dark with what has happened. It focuses on Anna’s mental health and the relationships she has with other people. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to experience such a loss, more so when you don’t have any answers. Her relationship with her husband Tom and daughter Jane were strained, which added extra sadness onto an already sad situation.

I will admit that I preferred the second half of the book because I felt that the story hit speed during this time, compared to quite a slow, yet informative beginning. Given that it’s penned as ‘a novel of suspense’ I’m not too sure if there was a lot of suspense, more of why things happened and who people were.

So I started this book without knowing anything about it. I saw on Goodreads that a good friend was reading it and decided to just read the synopsis, grab a copy and dive straight in.

I think I was a bit deflated by the plot almost straight away. I liked the first 3 chapters, and then by the time I got to the Chapter entitled 'Julie' (which was between chapters 3 and 4) I had already lost interest. However because I was only on page 54 at that point, I thought I should give it more of a chance.

I reached the half way mark and was feeling really frustrated.

The plot idea was there, the structure idea was there, but it still wasn't working for me as the reader.

I hated the way it alternated between chapters 1,2,3 to girls names that seemed to have no relevance to one another.

I disliked how some of the relationships were portrayed including Anna's with her youngest daughter Jane.

I was angry at the way Tom (Anna's husband) handled a few of the situations, including that Gentry wrote into the plot that someone else involved in the situation had their daughter held at ransom. What kind of town was this?! It was too far fetched for me.

I didn't think there was a "twist" at the end, I totally saw it all coming, even though I'm sure at one point I was skimming the pages with nothing going in whatsoever, in my rush to finish the book.

2-star

Now I know this looks like a terrible review, and in some respects you might be wondering why I bothered with 2 stars at all? Why not 1? My logic behind my rating is that

My rating system states that I award a 2 star if I disliked it but did not DNF it.
I know many people that have a rule of reading 100 pages before deciding it isn't for them and its okay to DNF it. This rule isn't one I use, as I am the worst at DNFing books (something I really need to work on). In this case I was hearing a few good things about the plot and how it all comes together, so was even more inclined not to give up. Also it was only 273 pages which isn't too long, which was another reason I kept going.
I didn't completely hate the plot idea... I simply disliked the way it was written, and a lot of the elements that was written into it. I can see why some people like the book, and I appreciate it might just not have been my cup of tea. Therefore I didn't want to brand a book "rubbish" just because it wasn't for me.

Also please note that obviously this is my own opinion and this is not to say that others will feel the same way about the book that I did. In fact I already know of at least 1 person who enjoyed this book so much that it even helped to pull her out of a reading slump.

This is a brilliant thriller and is the story of the Whitaker family. Eight years ago their 13 year old daughter Julie was kidnapped form their home. There has been no trace of Julie until one day she turns up on the doorstep. Is it her? Where has she been? We begin to wonder as the truth starts to emerge. A good read.

The Plot:

Thirteen year old Julie was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night, witnessed only by her younger sister. Her family still have hope for her to be alive and to return home. 8 years later and a young woman, who appears to be Julie appears at their home. However there are doubts casted, has their daughter returned to them after all these years? We follow Anna on her journey to find out more about her daughter’s disappearance.

My Thoughts:

WOW. A gripping read.

This is a book that will grab you and as a result you will not want to put it down as it grips you from the very beginning. Well pretty much the very beginning, I must admit it took me a few pages to get stuck in, but I have just put that down to my book slump at the time. It helped that the story line is different to any book I have personally read before and I enjoyed that. I can’t even begin to think what it would be like to wake up one morning to find your daughter was missing and not only that she was taken from your own home where you were asleep! It’s terrifying!

I commend the way Amy has written this. It’s fascinating. You hear from Anna’s (the mums) point of view alongside the tale of various characters. The change in perspective is refreshing. It helps you get a true feel for the story and what’s going on.

As the story unfolds you start to guess what is happening and if people are telling the truth and you are left guessing until the end. Storytelling at its best! Without giving too much away, it’s a great suspense read which will keep you on your toes!

I would highly recommend this to you if your looking for a suspense read. The details are fascinating and it’s crazy how real this story felt!

Julie is kidnapped from her bedroom aged thirteen. The only witness is her terrified sister Jane who is only nine. Eight years later she is back apparently escaping from a Mexican drug lord's house to return, damaged and vulnerable into the arms of her family. But is she as vulnerable as she seems? Indeed is she even Julie?
Well the answer to the latter question has to be Yes doesn't it? I'd like to think I would recognize my 13 year old daughter in the face of a 21 year old no matter what trauma she had suffered so I was a little unconvinced by Anna's doubts. This however was a minor point when measured up against the fact that this was a pretty confusing read. It felt like Julie was changing her name on every other page and coupled with the fact that the narration switched between herself and her mother it just got a bit too twisty for me (I'm still not convinced I know what Cal was all about). Overall it was a great premise for a story and used an original plot device re. the reason Julie was kidnapped but it was all a bit confusing in the end.

Well what a book had me hooked! I loved this book it all starts when Julie was 14 and was taken from with her youngest sister June been the only witness. He Eight years forward and Julie comes back and just shows up on the family's doorstep....

Well what can I say, is it really Julie? An imposter? What's happened to her in those years?

You'll have to read the book and see!!!! You won't regret it and if I say anymore I'll spoil it for you all and you defo don't want that, a must read it had me sat there gripped all day long god I begrudged making tea for the kids!

A totally red hot read for 2017!

I was thrilled when I was offered a copy of Good as Gone to review for the blog tour as it sounded like such a gripping read, and I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed. I read this in one sitting as I just got lost in the novel for an entire afternoon!

I’m always intrigued by novels where someone has gone missing and then seemingly returns years later. It’s one of those things that you can barely even imagine and yet it has happened in real life too. In this novel I was immediately curious as to where Julie had been, and if this even really was Julie that had come back. I would imagine that if your child had been missing for all those years and someone who looked just like her came to your door you wouldn’t immediately question if it really was her because you would so badly want it to be. In Good as Gone it felt believable to me that the family accepted Julie back so quickly and didn’t question the situation, but as a reader I was quickly wondering if this really was going to be a happy ending for the family and it really made the book a gripping, rollercoaster of a read that I was so unsure and unsettled by Julie.

As we begin to learn more about Julie and where she might have been in the intervening years and what might have happened to her I found I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the pages, I simply had to know how it was all going to turn out.

My favourite thing about this book was the chapters by all the different people and how each chapter gives a clue and gradually a picture is built up about what has happened. It was great how the reader has much more information than the family and we are there in each setting and trying to understand whether this person was Julie or if that person was, but we also see the family trying to come to terms with what has happened, and they start uncovering secrets that have been held in the intervening years and have to deal with the fallout from that. I found I was trying to put the pieces together from the start and some things I got wrong and others I got right, it was very cleverly written.

I definitely recommend this book – it’s a gripping, absorbing, rollercoaster of a thriller that will keep you turning the pages long into the night. Go buy a copy now, you won’t regret it!

I received a copy of this book from HQ Stories in exchange for an honest review.

A good debut novel. Written slightly different to most thrillers. A great story line about Julie who disappears when she is 13 to return 8 years later.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

From the synopsis it sounded intriguing and promising but it was too disjointed. It wasn't clear what was happening, whose perspective it was and after having to go back and reread pages three, sometimes four times i gave up.

This had a very interesting premise and I couldn’t wait to read it. This book starts with the return of Julie who was kidnapped at only 13 and returns 8 years later. This book had so many layers to it that it kept me reading until the middle of the night.

The best thing about this book is the way it explores how trauma effects our characters. Amy Gentry does the brilliantly by showing us each character Julie has had to play in her journey to return to her family. It was a really unique way to tell the story of what happened to Julie in those 8 years, it was especially inspired that she did it in reverse chronological order.

You would think that this book would centre on who kidnapped Julie, but in fact it actually looks at the way that all of this family have changed in the time since she’s been away and how hard it is to reinsert the missing ‘piece’ of their family: Julie. Amy Gentry makes sure the reader experiences all the emotions of the characters - like denial and pain - through her vivid imagery and spot on descriptions of pain, loss and suffering. She looks deep into the physiological effects of losing a child from each perspective, the parents that lost that child, and the child that was taken.

Another really, really relevant topic that this book challenges is the dangers of the Internet for children. If there is anything that we need to learn as a society it is to protect our children better from the Internet. It has never been easier for bad people to do bad things and it has never been harder to protect our loved ones from them. I hope anyone reading this book will take away that message and Amy Gentry has captured the ease with which children can be manipulated through the Internet with chilling scenes that were so realistic it was uncomfortable to read.

A brilliant thriller with many twists and turns that will keep you guessing. It also had a fantastic ending. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Loved the book cover, really enjoyed it, it wasn't amazing but an enjoyable read

At the age of thirteen, Julie is kidnapped at knifepoint and taken from her home never to be seen again - her younger sister, Jane, the only witness to the crime, hidden in the closet and unable to comprehend what's going on. Eight years later, she reappears on the doorstep of her childhood home, the victim of imprisonment at the hands of a shady drug cartel leader, and the family look to start rebuilding their life. But her mother, Anna, has doubts - is the young woman upstairs really her daughter? Doubts she wants to ignore, until a former detective turns private investigator gets in contact with some information that might just lead to the truth behind Julie's disappearance...

I've avoided thriller novels for a while; so many of them seem to hinge on a common thread of violence towards woman - the more brutal, shocking and, in many cases, sexual, the 'better'. Don't get me wrong; I think it's important that we discuss the realities of violence against women - there are too many who seek to belittle and ignore it, and it's unfortunately an experience that too many go through. That said, I think that there are a lot of suspense novels that are gratuitous about it, using it as a trope to shock the reader without any real exploration of the topic more widely. I was hoping that this novel, recommended by one of my favourite bookish podcasts - All the Books - and with a not-so-subtle nod in the title to 'Gone Girl', which is one of the best in the genre, would be a little different. I think you can probably tell from my prelude that it was not, at least for me.

At first, I was captured by the mystery; who on earth was this woman claiming to be Julie, and what was her motive for doing so? Safety? Money? Something more nefarious? As you're taken back in time through the case and through the many lives of 'Julie', the plot becomes more intriguing, and slightly more obvious. I'm not that great at guessing twists and endings, but by halfway I was pretty sure I had this one nailed (and I was right). There were a few parts that I couldn't (and would not have been able to guess) when it came to the actual revelation, so it wasn't a total loss and I did read through to the end but I found myself a little disappointed that, once again, gratuitous violence against women (and in particular young girls) was at the crux of it without much context or depth. I'm left wondering, once again, whether I should just ditch thrillers for good - but when they're good, they're so, so good and I'm going to keep hoping for one that surprises me and goes against those tropes.

Any book that is compared to Gone Girl has got so much to prove. This was a decent storyline and at only 275 pages is a quick read.