Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC of this book. Dr. Augusta Bloom is a psychologist and private investigator and along with her friend and business partner Marcus Jameson, ex MI6 operative, they investigate the disappearance of a family friend of Marcus. This leads to the investigation into other missing people, strangers who have also received a mysterious birthday card. The pair work very well together and honestly seem to care a lot for each other. The book starts slowly but soon moves along at a cracking pace. It's a bang up to date, at times slightly scary, suspense story that kept my attention right to the end. Gone was a great, well written first novel from Leona Deakin which I would recommend to anyone who likes a good intriguing story and I'll certainly be looking forward to the next one.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the story was really clever and well thought out. I liked the writing style, enough information for you to follow what’s happening, but not too much detail that you want to skip pages. The story follows Dr Augusta Bloom who is a psychologist and private detective. She has been asked by her colleague to help find a family friend who has gone missing on her birthday. Bloom soon discovers there is much more to the case than they originally thought. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you #netgalley for the ARC.

Utterly gripping! This debut thriller is very cleverly written - the characters are well drawn, the plot intriguing and unpredictable with several twists and turns. Really hope this is the start of a series!

This was a really unusual story, which I enjoyed as it's rare to have a completely unique plot. However it was a bit unbelievable so you just have to go with it! I liked the idea of the game and it was interesting reading about psychopaths and their traits. For me I found that the plot was a bit slow at times, and some if it felt quite clichèd. I guessed the main twist early on, and just think the main characters needed a little more development. If you can get passed that and focus on the plot it's a good read.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for my advanced copy of this novel.

You recieve an card on your birthday from a stranger inviting you to join a game that will make your wildest dreams come true. Would you join?

Four missing strangers with one connection, the same birthday card left at their last known locations daring them to join the game.

When the police refuse to help 15 year old Jane find her mothe, ex Secret Service member Marcus Jameson and psychologist Augusta Bloom team up to investigate who is sending these cards and what the game is.

They quickly learn that someone is targeting and collecting psychopaths, but
As devastating accidents and events begin to happen in Marcus's and Augusta's lives it is evident that they too are a target.
Can Augusta and Marcus find they find the mastermind of this game before they come for them?

The storyline of this novel was great, albeit a little over the top/ unbelievable at times. It takes a little while to get into the story as the author introduces a lot of characters and background at once, but once the ball is rolling the plot becomes crazier and the reader is trapped

What I loved about the storyline was that it was not predictable at all, I was so surprised at many of the twists and while my ability to believe the situations and plot twists was strained at times I still enjoyed the novel thoroughly.

The pace I had a few major problems with. I felt that within the majority of the novel the pace was quite slow moving and developments in the case were long and drawn out. Whereas at the conclusion of the novel everything was rushed and I felt like i was left with a lot of answers.
Some people love being left questioning at the end of novels but I like resolution and this book has a lot of loose ends. Maybe they will be answered in future novels in the series?

Overall this was a well written and fascinatingly scary book with such an intriguing premise. What a great debut thriller for the author. With more books to come in the series I am sure the authour can only improve and I am excited to read her future works.

This book is a lot of fun. You have to suspend your disbelief a bit, because the plot is kind of mad, but it's fast-paced and engaging and very readable nonetheless.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.
I enjoyed this book, it held my attention the whole way through, some good twists and turns

Do you believe psychopaths attract other psycopaths?
Well in this amazing debut novel this question is put to the test. A well renowned psychologist Augusta Bloom and her secret service partner are brought into a strange situation when Marcus her work mates best friend goes missing after receiving a birthday card. The card wished her happy 1st birthday and inside was simply a question "do you want to play a game?"
They then discover other people who have received these cards and subsequently simply disappeared from their everyday lives
So they with the help of some police officers start to investigate what this game is but the only thing Augusta thinks they have in common is they show traits of psycopaths
Is someone trying to attract psycopaths? To get them to break the law? Or for what purpose?
Augusta and Marcus will follow a very dark,destructive path to the centre of this game.

This is the first book I've read by Leona Deakin and its her debut thriller and it's a great start.
There's two central characters Augusta Bloom, a psychologist who specialises in child and young psychopaths and who is now working alongside Marcus Jameson an ex Secret Service operative. Their main work involves helping police and the legal profession with understanding the minds and habits of suspects or accused people. But one day Marcus asks Augusta to help with a case closer to home, a young girl, Jane, who is a friend of his sister wants help to find her mother who disappeared on her birthday.
Marcus and Augusta then find themselves investigating the weirdest game they've ever heard of. As more about the game is revealed, the duo find themselves running all over the country trying to save Jane and discover the scope of what's going on.
This is a very twisty tale where we're faced with some very scary realisations about psychopaths and their place in society, the way their minds work and where they see themselves amongst their peers.
I really enjoyed this story and I'm really pleased to see that Leona has this as book 1 of a series, book 2 "Lost" is out next year, I'll be pre-ordering that I think.
A new writing talent in the psychological thriller genre.

The most scary psychological thriller I have read for a long time. I will never complete a quiz on Facebook again or use an app when I am walking. This takes the use of technology to a new level. The end was unexpected too. Mind games are fine in the right context but this blew them out of all proportion. Well written and researched - a book well worth reading.

Really excellent novel and one I thoroughly enjoyed reading from start to finish . I say from start to finish literally as sometimes when reading a book there may be parts where you wonder what that particular part adds to the story, whether it was actually necessary, but ‘Gone’ is not one of those. Every single part of the story is essential, even though the reader may not think so at the time. It’s a gripping page turner of a book and one I would highly recommend.

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

I thought the start was a little confusing, though quickly got into the storyline, once the book picked up the pace. The book is a great read and has an intriguing premise, which offered a new and different storyline for the thriller genre.
The premise centres on the recruitment of psychopathic personalities, managed this an intriguing way. That leads the reader back to the starting point of the book. Set in the UK, two private investigators, one a forensic psychologist, the other ex-MI6 accept an assignment to find a missing family friend. That leads them to discover individuals all around the country are being sent cards on the birthday inviting them to ‘play a game?

What follows is a twisting and turning rollercoaster of a read, which I very much enjoyed. I thought this was a brilliant debut novel by Leona Deakin.

Four people go missing on their birthdays all with an invite to play a game. This book follows Augusta Bloom and Marcus Jameson as they delve into the lives of the 4 missing people in hopes of discovering who is inviting them to play the game and why.
Sadly this book just didn't do it for me. I loved the concept of it but for me it took too long to get going. I like thrillers to keep me gripped from the get go which I didn't feel this did. The beginning was very confusing and I don't think the format of the version I recieved helped either. Was glad I got the chance to read it but sadly it just wasn't for me.

I loved this. It hooked me instantly. Think I’ve found a brilliant author and when that happens you have to share it. This is why I love being able to review books.
No spoilers but guaranteed you will love this. Can’t rate it high enough. 5/5 on goodreads and Amazon.

This mystery/thriller deal with psychologist Augusta Bloom and her partner Marcus Jameson, as both start investigating (first for personal reasons) the disappearances of four people, all after receiving a mysterious card on their birthday. A lot of the investigation rests on psychology rather than on typical clue analysis by the police, in that there are very few physical clues, and so Augusta tries to find out more by relying on what psychological profiling can tell her. Which in itself was pretty interesting, all the more after she develops her theory about who/what exactly the vanished people are.

The novel also makes use of contemporary internet, both when it comes to its strong points and to its weakness: one of the involved policemen goes to the deep web to look for clues, for instance, but it’s also clear that relying on social media to glean information is definitely a double-edged sword, since it allows other people (shady characters included) to get to know you.

Then there’s the setting—I always enjoy being able to relate to the places in a story, so with part of the action set in London (and the UK in general), that was good for me. And it was good, too, to see the investigation progress with both the ‘private eyes’ and the police working hand in hand, rather than have one try to hide information from the other.

It was a good story in general, but I admit I sometimes had trouble with the pace (in places, it was just a tad bit too slow) and with really connecting with the main characters. For reasons I won’t detail because Spoilers, Augusta was fairly aloof and emotionally remote, so it was difficult to empathise with her. I found Marcus, in spite of his past as an ex-MI6 agent, was too quick to trust certain people, which jarred with what I had expected of him. Finally, the ending was slightly too rushed, and too open as well—but then, I took this book as a standalone, so I guess that if it turns out not to be, then said open ending will not be a problem.

It took me awhile to get into this book but once passed the initial few chapters I was hooked.
If a card arrives daring you to play a game would you drop your whole life to do so?
Dr Augusta Bloom looks into the four lives that had agreed to play the game and soon discovers not everything is as it seems.
Can she find the psychopath responsible for the game before they come for her?

Four people are missing. Each received an envelope inviting them to join a game- but what is the game and what is the outcome?
Dr Augusta Bloom is a private investigator and is looking for them. then more envelopes are delivered and more people disappear but who really is in danger?
This will have you on the edge of your seat, a real rollercoaster.

In the beginning of Gone by Leona Deakin I was a bit confused. I was not sure I as going to like it despite all the good things that I had heard about it. Never fear - once this book got going it did not stop! This is a scary, thrilling ride that I really enjoyed. I am already looking forward to another book in this series. As long as you take the story for what it is you will really enjoy it, some parts are a little far fetched but still enjoyable.

Psychologist Augusta Bloom and her colleague Marcus Jameson get caught up in a strange case of missing people. 4 people that they know of have gone missing, all on their birthdays after receiving an interesting birthday cards. The more they investigate the more it seems that the real victims are not who they believe they are. It gets dangerous in many ways but they don't give up.

Thanks yo Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Black Swan and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

I loved the way the plot of this book unfolded. Very addictive reading. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Leona Deakin for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Complex thriller with some scary ideas. I liked the two main characters but thought the story was just a little unbelievable.