Gone was completely different to other Mystery/Crime/Thriller books I have read in the past and I was honestly hooked from start to finish.Even though the premise is pretty unlikely to occur in real life, I liked that it was possible. I wouldn't put it past some people to play such games.

The plot was suspenseful and kept me on my toes 95% of the time, and I really enjoyed reading about protagonist Dr Augusta Bloom.

I loved the light in which social media was addressed in this book. The idea of filling in "random" questionnaires on Facebook, Twitter etc has never really appealed to me personally, however I do know a good few people who complete these kind of forms out of either boredom or interest in finding out what type of animal or celebrity personality they are. I would love for these people to read Gone and consider the consequences!

I managed to spot a couple of minor twists before they happened, but not quite to their full extent. I thought this was perfect as it meant I picked up on a couple of clues, but the author held enough back to surprise me.

I have both a good and bad relationship with the ending of this book. I really liked how things were not absolutely perfect at the end. Things were wrapped up and questions were answered, but it wasn't all 'happily ever after'. However there were some very small aspects I didn't agree with. Now this could be due to my lack of experience in the legal system so I think its best I don't think too much into them, but overall I thought it was an exceptionally well written and interesting read and i look forward to more of Leona's work.

Gone by Leona Deakin is a unique psychological thriller from the author and her debut novel.
The story starts with Dr Augusta Bloom who specialises in Child psychology counselling 14-year-old Seraphine Walker. She has been accused of stabbing the Caretaker of the school. They do not know the reason why. Seraphine has Psychotic tendencies. Then Dr Augusta Bloom is then asked by her partner Marcus Jameson (ex MI6) to investigate 4 missing people. One of which is a family friend. The 4 people have gone missing after receiving birthday cards inviting them to ‘play a game’. First, they think it is a bit of harmless fun but, when more people go missing under unusual circumstances. They realise that something is not right about the disappearances and they seem to become linked in some way. Marcus and Augusta decide to investigate what’s happening to these disappearances without the help of the police.
I liked the premise of this story. I found it original and intriguing and full of suspense But, along the way I got confused to what is going on. 4 stars from me. Thank you NetGalley and Random house for a copy of this book.

Having been asked for help by a young girl whose mother ,Lana ,has disappeared Marcus Jameson , a retired MI6 agent decides to help . He enlists the help of his business partner Augusta Bloom who is a Psychologist with issues from the past ,after a teenage patient had committed suicide . In trying to locate Lana they discover a larger number of people missing , all around their Birthday and having received a white Birthday Card inviting them to join in a game . It transpires that all these people have one thing in common and the game is being played out with one intention . A different sort of story with plenty of twists as the tale unfolds and a shock ending .

Thank you #NetGalley for an advance copy of Gone in exchange of my honest review.

It took me quite a while to understand what was going on as there are two simultaneous stories that were told at the same time.

I am not sure how this will be sorted out in the physical copy but in the ebook, the stories weren't separated properly, they were talked about in the same chapter. I would be reading about a story and the next paragraph would be talking about other story.

That was quite confusing and I admit that I enjoyed the book a bit less for that reason.

However, there was something very addictive and I wanted to find out what that was.

I liked the story about Seraphine a lot more that the one about the disappearances. The whole thing was a bit odd and I had to push myself to keep reading as I didn't find it too interesting.

By the time I got to half way, I was as lost as at the beginning. I didn't know where things were going, what was happening or how the planned to solve the situation.

Regarding the two main characters, the detectives Bloom and Jameson, I couldn't connect with them. I didn't dislike them but I didn't care for them either. They were normal people for me and that made a bit detached from the story.

Although I think the main idea is great and it is very well worked, it just didn't work for me. I like thrillers and this one is a good one but there was so much going on and so quick that I was too lost to like it.

The end was good. I didn't expect the final twist and, to be honest, I had no idea that that was how the book was gonna end but like I said before, in general this story didn't work for me.

This original dark, psychological thriller has tension in bucketloads. People are sent a card on their birthday saying ‘Happy First Birthday’ and then they completely disappear. What has happened to them? Leaving behind devastation, their families are puzzled and distraught. Marcus Jameson who knows one of the missing people and his business partner Dr Augusta Bloom intend to discover the truth. Understanding the true meaning of a psycopath has the reader wondering just how many they could actually know! A great read, and a true page turner, only the very end being slightly disappointing but this in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

Introducing Dr Augusta Bloom and her business partner Marcus Jameson in a chilling psychological thriller.

What starts out as a missing person case, when Marcus is asked by his sister to look into her friends strange disappearance suddenly becomes something much more with a discovery of a game being played, people are receiving first birthday cards asking them if they dare to play a game then promptly going missing.

It appears someone is trying to recruit psychopaths

For a debut this is a very intelligent polished read, it’s clever, whilst not frantically paced like some in the genre, but enough to keep you interested and turning pages.

I didn’t overly take to Augusta, I was more Inclined to Marcus, both main characters have secrets they don’t want to talk about and if this is the start of the new series which it feels like, I think there is a bit than can be done with this duo, and I’ll be interested to see what’s next.

Tightly plotted and very current, with the uses of Tor, the dark web, and social media, it's a book that will give you pause to think about your social media behaviour.

Some nice ideas and a bit different , this stands out, and you can tell the author works in the profession as she clearly knows her stuff but she writes in a way for anyone to understand, you aren’t overloaded with terminology.

I like the ending as it wasn’t the usual, again something fresh,

A clever thriller, with some fresh ideas from a new voice who knows her subject matter.

Recommended

4🔥🔥🔥🔥

Really enjoyed this novel. Excellent storyline build up and fascinating characters bring this story to life. I will definitely reading more books by this talented author.

A different debut with psychological thrills!

This is a delightful debut for Leona Deakin ... I was hooked from the outset, and Leona reeled me in!

What an unusual beginning! "Your gift is the game. Dare to play!"

Initially, four people received birthday cards, but they were the first to go missing. It looked reasonably harmless... but this made Dr Augusta Bloom feel that maybe something sinister was going on underneath this online game. Sure enough, more people start to disappear in strange circumstances, even as many as one hundred!

'Mind Games' is the perfect title, making this psychological thriller a real page-turner. I enjoyed the relationship between Augusta and Marcus Jameson, an ex M16 Agent. They are the perfect protagonists who mold together beautifully.

Augusta specialises in the minds of psychopaths. It soon becomes clear that all of the missing people have mental health problems.

I also found that the issue of psychopaths and sociopaths was raised? I'll leave the outcome for the readers to decide. There are several unusual characters, and I was particularly intrigued by Seraphine and how she fitted into the plot. Thank you, Leona Deakin, for this twisty thriller. I'll look out for your next offering.

Galadriel.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

People have been going missing.
They receive a birthday card inviting them to play a game. But, this is no regular game. There is something more sinister at play.
What better duo to solve the case than Marcus Jameson, an ex MI6 secret agent. And, Augusta Bloom, a criminal psychologist.
The author is a psychologist herself, and she uses her experience and knowledge perfectly to get points across in a simplified version for the reader to follow the story along. I have learnt a lot about traits of different personalities by reading Gone.

This story is full of mysteries that unfold throughout and keeps us guessing as to why are all these people playing such a sinister game.

I figured out pretty early what the outcome was, I did hope I was wrong because the character that gave it away didn't sit right with me. I would have preferred a more long standing character (I'm trying not to give spoilers, so may come across confusing 🙈)

I liked the partnership between Augusta and Marcus, they bounced off each other and it brought another dimension into the story.

Overall this was a great debut thriller by the author, and I will look forward to read more from her.

I love how original this novel is. With missing person cases in fiction, it’s often a case of the individual(s) having been kidnapped or otherwise forced to leave by the perpetrators. But what if the people who have gone missing have done so voluntarily? What would make someone leave behind everyone and everything they know? Such is the case in Gone. For the families of the missing, this makes things difficult, as the police don’t have time for cases of people who leave willingly, especially as they are all adults. As Dr Augusta Bloom becomes involved, she seeks a common link between those who have gone missing, and while I don’t want to get into the detail at all, it’s an exciting and original concept.

Augusta is an interesting character. A psychologist, she comes across as being somewhat clinical and dispassionate. While she has to be outwardly calm for her career, this did make it a little hard for me to warm to her initially, and I got very little sense of what she was like as a person. I did grow to like her as the novel progressed, however. She is smart and I loved her determination to work out the mystery behind the birthday cards, the game, and those who had gone missing. While Dr Bloom is the main character, her partner (in a work sense), Marcus Jameson, also plays a significant role in this novel, and I liked him immediately. He’s quite different to Augusta, and has a very interesting past. He's a great character, and I loved the friendly banter between these two colleagues, which comes across as warm and realistic.

Deakin does the psychological elements of the novel brilliantly, which isn’t too surprising given that she is a psychologist herself. Dr Bloom’s character and the profiling of those who have gone missing come across really well, and show Deakin’s expertise without bogging the story down in unnecessary jargon. I did find that I worked out the twists in the novel before they were revealed, but I still found this to be an entertaining read.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The start was a bit confusing, but despite this, I was quickly drawn into the story and the intriguing premise. There is a lot of psychological science, but it is all explained in fairly basic language so that even the least aware person can keep up. There are also some very relevant messages and thought provoking ideas about how we use social media and how we present to the world. I will definitely think twice before filling in questionnaire’s again. There are a lot of characters, in this and this can sometimes put me off, but this flowed really well. I appreciate that my copy was an ARC, but the formatting was horrific in the version I received. I had to reread some parts to try and see what I had missed.

The main characters are a little two dimensional on occasions, but interesting enough for this story, there is room for character development in a possible future sequel.

I would of loved to give this 5 stars, but I found the pacing a little bit flat, it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat or not wanting to put the book down. I rated this as 3.5 rounded up to 4 as this is a very good novel for a debut.

Loved, Loved, Loved, this book! A fresh story for the thriller genre and it was addictive to say the least. A fabulous procedural set in London. Dr. Augusta Bloom and her partner begin to investigate a missing persons case- with a twist. On their birthdays people around the country begin to receive cards inviting them to join a 'game'. This is all i'm going to give away as I think this book is one of those the less you know the better novels. A must read for any fans of the thriller genre. Thankyou to NetGalley for the ARC.

A great book to keep you guessing what will happen next. I very much liked the description of psychopaths and other various mental health conditions as they are factual. The plot itself with a psychologist Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson ex MI6 person investigating alongside the police keeps you on the edge of your seat. The behaviour of the possible guilty candidates is intriguing and the description of their behaviours very realistic. Thank you for an exciting read.

I really did enjoy this book. I loved the Ying and Yang of Augusta Bloom and her partner Marcus Jameson. The story itself was original and drew me in. I worked out the culprit about sixty percent in (roughly where Blooms life fell apart) but that's through years of reading mystery novels. I still enjoyed the story and wanted to continue to read. Leona Deakin's writing is brilliant and very easy to follow whilst drawing you in. This was her debut novel and I'm excited to read more Jameson and Bloom.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. I haven’t read anything by this author before but I’m glad I gave her a try. Although the first few pages didn’t immediately pull me in, once I got further into the story I had to keep going. Dr Bloom and Marcus are very good characters and I could see them in a series! Really well written and certainly full of twists. I didn’t cotton on really until the author wanted me to! If you like psychological thrillers then this is a must read.

Gone by Leona Deakin a five-star read that you won’t want gone. This was my first read by this author, but it won’t be the last, this just rang so true to me, it was such a great read I felt like I was being spoken to directly and that’s a rare treat for this reader. Dr Augusta Bloom was a compelling character, she added the thrill to thriller, and also make me think what would you do if you got a dare on your birthday? The one thing this story will have you doing is looking at everyone in your life like the characters in the story and trying to guess who the psychopaths are, as this story shows us that not all psychopaths are what you imagine. As you get into the story you will start to see the underlying story as well as the story that you can see on the surface, much like Bloom and her partner you will be digging into things that maybe you shouldn’t be.

d a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story starts off with Psychologist Augusta Bloom counselling 14 year old Seraphine. Seraphine has been accused of attacking the caretaker at school. Her investigative partner Marcus then asks for help in locating 16 year old family friend Jayne’s mum Lana. Lana went missing on her birthday after receiving a card which read Happy First Birthday & inviting her to play a game. They then become aware that other people have disappeared under the same circumstances.

I really loved the idea of this book but it honestly didn’t keep me hooked. When I read a thriller I really want to keep turning the page to see what happens next. I really didn’t get that with this one. Towards the end I started getting a bit confused as to what was happening. It just wasn’t for me I am afraid.

Wow, wow, wow!

This has got to be my no#1 book of the year!

I was totally gripped from the first chapter to the very last sentence. The most intriguing, interesting, shocking, suspense filled novel I've read in a long time.

Love how complex the story is and how cleverly the author has written the past into the present which flows brilliantly.

Completely immersive read, extremely well written with fantastic characters and the most amazing storyline.


I cannot wait to read more from Leona!

Huge thank you to netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for the EArc of this book
I didn't realise this was a debut novel but can definitely say it was a great pace, excellently written and great characters with twists and turns throughout.
Bring on the next book.

“Everything is not as it seems”
 
I am still basking in the mystery’s awe of the book. What a book! I highly recommend this book. It was an immersive read. Every single page of the book had something to offer. For a debut novel, Leona Deakin has done a commendable job. Absolutely Amazing!!
 
The story revolves around 2 private investigators, Dr. Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson. 
Augusta is a psychologist who frequently works with the police. Marcus is ex-MI6. 
 
The story is intelligent and complex. The writing puts you in a lost- in- the- story mode (I lost track of time). It swayed me to imagine every scene. Every minute detail is precise from the first page where Dr. Bloom is talking to Seraphine Walker to the last page where Dr. Bloom is tackling a difficult situation. These scenes played right in front me (was that redundant!).
 
What I love about Dr. Bloom’s character she doesn’t have any shade. It is mostly neutral throughout the book. She’s strong, but she’s not turned into a hero. Jameson, is, however, is complementary to Augusta’s character. 
 
The central theme of the book is society and the human connection. Pain and experiences connect all human beings. I think the book also highlighted how we like to label people around us. 
 
The ending was a masterpiece and merged with the story making it sensible climax. And it seemed the ending paved way for more of Dr. Bloom novel (at least I loved to read more of them). 
 
Complete mind-twisting and gripping suspense.
 
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
 
My rating for the book is 5 stars.