#cjsreads: Gone Without A Trace (Mary Torjussen) @BerkleyPub @MaryTorjussen

Another day, another #cjsreads April pick.  As mentioned previously on Clues and Reviews, this one was one of my most anticipated reads for Spring 2017!  Did it live up to the hype?

Keep reading for a synopsis of the book and to see what we all thought of this psychological thriller releasing this week!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A jaw-dropping novel of psychological suspense that asks, “If the love of your life disappeared without a trace, how far would you go to find out why? ”

Hannah Monroe’s boyfriend, Matt, is gone. His belongings have disappeared from their house. Every call she ever made to him, every text she ever sent, every photo of him and any sign of him on social media have vanished. It’s as though their last four years together never happened.

As Hannah struggles to get through the next few days, with humiliation and recriminations whirring through her head, she knows that she’ll do whatever it takes to find him again and get answers. But as soon as her search starts, she realizes she is being led into a maze of madness and obsession. Step by suspenseful step, Hannah discovers her only way out is to come face to face with the shocking truth…

 

What Chandra Thought

Hannah heads home from a fantastic day at work, a promotion on the horizon and the perfect man waiting at home for her. She’s walking on sunshine and ready to celebrate. What she comes home to is one whopper of a surprise. Every trace of Matt, her boyfriend, has disappeared. The house has been changed completely back to before he ever moved in. Her old tv in place of the tv he had bought when he first moved in. Furniture moved around. Every single item that was his is gone. There’s no trace of him on her phone, in her emails… poof! All traces erased from her life. How could he do this to her? How far will she go to find him and get some answers?

This novel keeps you guessing for the entire first half. I’m turning pages (or swiping left) as fast as my eyes can read. Why did Matt leave? Why can’t Hannah find him? How did he manage to erase ALL traces? Is that even possible? Watching Hannah spiral in her obsession to find him, not knowing if she’s completely crazy or if someone really is messing with her really kept my interest. Then we get some answers and the novel seems to take a wide turn in a different direction. Still engaging, but certain parts felt repetitive and dragged a bit here and there. Seeing how everything came together was pretty fascinating and I absolutely love the entire premise and where the author took it. I just wish it had been a little more seamless – I needed just a tad more integration from the first half to the second. Certain areas felt a bit abrupt but I do love Mary Torjussen’s mind. And that ending. Yes, please and thank you. 😀 3.5 stars

 

What Jessica Thought:

Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen was one I didn’t know too much about before starting (clearly I’m not the best with reading the synopsis before starting a book), so I didn’t know exactly what to think. I rather enjoyed it!

Imagine the best day ever. Work going great – with an almost guaranteed promotion coming your way, and then having the best boyfriend waiting at home for you. Sounds amazing, right? Well, imagine coming home and having everything be completely different. Back to the way it was before your boyfriend moved in. Everything from how furniture is arranged, to the actual furniture itself, and then all of his belongs completely gone. Well, this is the reality for Hannah. She comes home and her boyfriend Matt is nowhere to be found. Everything down to contact information and emails in her phone.

At first, I couldn’t stop reading! I NEEDED to know why he disappeared. How the heck did he get everything erased from her life in a day? As you read you start to wonder, is Hannah actually crazy? There were so many questions! Then the story took a complete turn in a different direction. There were parts in the book that felt a little slow.

Overall, I loved Hannah, she was incredibly relatable and you felt for her in her struggle to find Matt. It was an enjoyable read, and I think it helped that I didn’t really know much about this book before starting (I didn’t have any kind of expectations set). I only wish the second half was as fast paced and quick as the first half. Mary Torjussen did an incredible job, and I’d definitely read more of her books!

I give this 4/5 stars.

What I Thought:

 

I read this one a while back! You can read my full review here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for digital copies of this novel; it was our pleasure to provide an honest review.