Here and Gone by Haylen Beck is a fast and furious thriller. Audra leaves behind her domineering and abusive husband to set out on a road trip with her two young children. In remote Arizona, she is stopped by a local sheriff and arrested whilst her children are separated from her. Later, the sheriff denies her children were with her and Audra is plunged into a nightmare and a fight to find her children before it is too late and they disappear for good. I enjoyed this book very much, interesting characters and a terrifying story.

This was an absorbing thriller of greed, corruption and depravity, tragedy and joy and could almost be real. It was an emotional book to read as it arouses your basic instincts for safety and survival at any cost. I fear for humanity.

Audra Kinney leaves her abusive marriage and sets off cross country with her children. When she is pulled over and arrested on a quiet Arizona road her life changes forever. When she arrives at the station her children are gone and the police want to know what she did with them.

Here and Gone is a heart in your mouth thriller that grabs your attention from the get-go. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a bit too straight forward for my liking.

I absolutely loved this, gripping, harrowing even, a mother desperately trying to get her children back will do anything....it held my attention from the first chapter, it was very involving as I became more angry with the seemingly blinded authorities...
Highly recommend this

I began reading this book one evening and by the time I put the light out to sleep I was afraid I was going to have nightmares, as I do have an overactive imagination. I then purposely read the book only in the day time, which as it turned out was only a few hours as the story line had me well and truly hooked.

To put this into context for you, I just found the story very unnerving in the beginning and I was concerned that the horrifying dark web content was going to go into details, fortunately it didn't. What did happen is that Audra finds herself in jail without her children and you are left wondering if the police aren't on her side, how on earth will she ever get out of this hell?

The author has a very clever answer to Audra getting help and in its own way it also brought me a little anxiety, but the will she won't she aspect of the book just drove me to read it in two sittings. All the characters were very well drawn - perhaps too well sometimes I certainly wouldn't like to meet them. That is apart from the children - Sean, Audra's son is certainly a smart cookie and he too was a very believable character.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars and my thanks go to Netgalley and Vintage for a review copy of the book.

BTW apparently Haylen Beck is a pseudonym of Stuart Neville. I have never read any of his books but you may wish to know that if you want to read this book.

First time reading a book by this author but won't be the last. Very well written just could not put it down. A must read.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but it was a real let down. It was a struggle to read and there was no way that I could have read the whole thing.There seemed to be a plot that has been rushed and not thought out.
The book had no detail and it was confusing very hard to follow. There seems to be no backstory that would help the book flow.
The children get taken away but you don't know who or why it's really hard to follow not very well set out and a real let down. It might have got better but when the last page I am sorry but I will not be reading any other books by this author.
No structure or clearly marked chapters I really did not have a clue what was going on.

Audra had gone through a lot before she finally decided to take her children & leave her abusive husband & mother in law. She aims to drive across the country to seek sanctuary with a friend. In Arizona she is pulled over by a local law man. When searching her car he 'finds' drugs and takes her into custody sending her children off with a deputy. Later when Audra asks where her children are she gets the chilling reply, "What children?"

All this sounds a great start to a story and I don't know what it was that stopped this from being a great read. Was it too violent? Were the 'baddies' too bad? Was it predictable? As I say I don't know. I was interested enough to read to the end but couldn't give it more than a 3.5* and did not honestly think it could be bumped up to a four.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book- not really one for me though!

Here and Gone starts with a mother, driving her two young children far from home. They’ve been on the road for a while, and you can sense her desperation, their worry, a quiet sense of panic in the car. Then she must stop for refreshments, and after she has, someone is following her. It’s a cop. Is he going to pull her over? Yes? No? Maybe he will, and maybe it’ll be ok? Maybe he will, and maybe it won’t be ok? It’s the sheriff and he does. And even though you can read more in the blurb, I’m not telling, because you need to discover for yourself.
Stories about mothers trying to escape, in fraught circumstances with their children always ensnare me. This one is no different, yet completely different. The tension you feel from my opening paragraph is the first few pages. Then it gets worse. And then some more injustice and accusations are added to the pot. And when you think you can’t breathe anymore, and you’re wondering if you can dare to keep reading, and also wondering if you dare stop, there is a tiny glimmer of hope.
Haylen Beck is the pen name of Stuart Neville, and he’s renowned. In Here and Gone, he tells the story of Audra, Sean and Louise with a style that is fast paced, yet empathetic; true to life - some broken people trying to make the world little better, and a mother prepared to fight to the death for the future of her children.
Don’t read anything about this book - not even the blurb. Just go and get a copy, clear your diary, and wallow. Maybe have the kettle boiled - you may need to distract yourself with a brew in those “I can’t anymore” moments.
A tense, twisty, completely enthralling thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Audra Kinney is a woman on the run, hiding from an abusive husband, she is taking her 2 children to start a new life in California. However, she finds herself in trouble when a Sheriff pulls her over and claims to have found drugs in her car. She is separated from her children and when the Sheriff takes her to be charged he denies that there were children in the car. A dark and disturbing novel which deals with power, money and the Dark Web, it reminded me of those horror movies where teens are kidnapped and tortured for wealthy individuals. I must admit the suspense could have been built better, you could sort of see where things were going. Slightly choppy in parts which meant it didn't flow as well as it possibly could.

2★
I read enough to know this is not for me. Mother escaping abusive husband, fleeing New York for California, gets waylaid by a sheriff wearing mirrored sunglasses, kids are snatched, and after some bone-crunching and brutality, we follow the kids to a secret, run-down cabin.

Then in another chapter, there's something to do with Chinese and the Tong. Then there's another bit about an internet forum, presumably older men talking about children.

And flashbacks to the apparently psycho so-and-so who fathered the kids.

A lot of threads that will presumably intersect, and some people obviously loved them all.

If I'd liked the writing, I might have continued, as so many people did. I do like a good mystery, but graphic violence is no substitute for good writing. I'm not a fan of phrases like:

"a jagged dream shook her loose"

"pain clamoring from her shoulders and wrists"

And this apparently mixed metaphor:

"his tongue always the gentle blade with which to stab at her, so gentle she wouldn't know she'd been cut until long after, when she would lie awake with his words still rolling in her mind, rolling like stones in a glass jar . . . "

The blade and the stones lost me, but I did persist for a while longer - just not long enough to find out what happened at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a copy for review, from which I've quoted. Quotes may have changed, but these are pretty representative I think. And apologies to all my GR friends who liked it!

I agree with the reviews that have given this more stars than me.... this is a great read!

Audra faces every mother nightmare when, after being stopped by police, her children seem to vanish as police claim they never were with her in the first place.

The plot follows Audra as she desperately searches for her children alongside Danny who is horrifically familiar with her story as it happened to his wife.

The story is unusual in that the reader knows from almost the start who the villans are.. but the why and the larger 'picture' is revealed slowly. Beck manages to make this whole terrifying scenario seem plausible which makes it even more chilling.

However, the whole book dragged a lot for me - its a short book and could have been cut by 1/3 more. Lots of boring detail which did not add to the story.

After reading just a few sentences of the description for "Here and Gone", I knew it was a book I wanted to read. The plot sounded intriguing and I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy it. And I was right. This is possibly the most intense book that I've read this year, and it is absolutely gripping.

I loved the format - with multiple POV and emails and reports included in the text - and reminded me a little of a book I loved as a child - Stolen Children by Gwen Hunter. I have a feeling I'll be pulling this book out once a year and re-reading it for a very long time.

A fast-paced and heart-stopping thriller which will have readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. The whole plot runs along quickly, taking the reader on a journey of suspense and tension as events unfold and the characters find themselves in seemingly impossible and life-threatening situations, ensuring the reader is left with their hearts in their mouths throughout the narrative.
The plot revolves around a mother on the run, Audra Kinney - a mother with a past and a record that is not going to make things look good for her. As she makes a run for it from her ex-husband and the authorities, she is stopped by the police for a seemingly routine inspection - and then her real troubles start. Finding herself arrested and, with events running out of control at an incredible speed, Audra has to face any mother's worst fear as her two young children go missing and the trail goes cold almost instantly. The weaving of the narrative and the details provided through the characterisation are mesmerising and force the reader to empathise completely with the drama and trauma of the situation and the mastery of the writer ensures we are gripped until the very end. This truly is one of those books nobody will be able to put down until the end is reached and it is worthy of the time given to read it

🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2 Stars
Oh wow, this was one amazing read and the only reason I have taken half a star away is that I would have preferred a bit more closure in regards to Danny's story.
I felt so emotionally invested in this poor man's tragic tale and really wanted some answers for myself as well as for Danny, (a whole lot more than what was provided second hand anyway), it all just felt really abrupt in the way it ended and it felt very unsatisfying and rushed, or maybe that's just me.
So back to the main event and a story that grabbed you by the throat the instant you open this spellbinding piece of fiction.
So we have Audra Kinney and her two young children Sean and Louise on the road escaping Audra's wealthy abusive husband Patrick.
Upon being pulled over on a bogus traffic offence, Audra is cuffed and taken to the local backwater police station on trumped-up charges.
The kids are escorted by the deputy too and I quote
"somewhere safe".
When Audra asks about her kids later, at the station, the answer she receives is
"What Kids?".
This is where I story really starts as Audra gets to experience every parent's worst nightmare.
Two missing children and not a single person who will listen to her because of her past combined with her sheer unbelievable tale.
Audra is banging her head against a brick wall.
That is until Danny sees her story and recognises similarities to his own.
This was so good and Here And Gone was permanently attached to my hand until the final words were broached.
despite being quite predictable in the direction this was going it really didn't detract from the overall enjoyment this story brought.
No-one person except maybe the children was completely good or bad, you could find something redeemable in most all of them except perhaps the sheriff, he seemed completely unredeemable with no recoverable qualities at all.
he's definitely going to hell in a handbasket.
I think out of the whole book my favourites were Danny and Sean.
Danny, well as I said above needs more closure than what he was awarded in this, maybe his own book.
Yay would so be on that,
he was a person who made no apologies for his actions and lived by his own rules.I loved the man.
And Sean for an eleven-year-old was quite a fellow, I think shaped by his past he had grown up way faster than his peers.
This made it so much easier for him to step up to the mark in regards to protecting his little sister Louise.
Here and Gone was so rich in diverse characters, each one leaving a big impression on me all in a different way.
So in regards to recommending, this a big hell yeah from me.
Pick this up, you so won't regret it this is up there with my favourite reads of this year.
A real heart stopper of a book is Here And Gone.
Thank You to NetGalley, Random House Vintage and Haylen Beck for providing me with an advance reader copy this is my own unbiased honest opinion.

This book has not been edited very well. I am not sure if it’s just the copy (Kindle) that I received or if they are all this bad but it was pretty much unreadable and I had to force myself to finish it.

To start with, most names (characters, towns and the beginning of sentences) are not capitalized. However, some names are a combination of letters, “eLder CoUnTY SHerIFF’S department” for example.

Some sentences are also very long as well. As there are some very short ones, it makes the book difficult to read as well as annoying.

The story has potential but it’s hard to focus on what’s going on when sentences are cut in half by odd formatting.

I would not recommend it.

Fatima

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

I thought this book was fantastic and I read it in a day. The concept is simple Audra leaves her abusive husband and takes her two kids with her.on the drive she is pulled over and arrested. The sheriff then states that there were no children in the car.
What follows is the investigation into where her children are as no one believes Audra's story all think she killed her children. It was well written and gripping. A perfect portrayal of the media as well and how quick they are to condemn and sensationalise. The only person who believes her is a complete stranger. Would definately read this author again.

Spine chilling, scary, on the edge of your seat reading, Here and Now is absolutely brilliant.
Superb characters and great writing that pulls you into the story, a truly captivating thrilller that kept me glued to the pages as you discover that nothing is what it seems and no one should be trusted.

Thank you!

A thrilling thriller that tugs at the heartstrings as the heroine is accused of a heinous crime by the guilty villain of the piece. Brutal and violent this is a super well written novel that grips from the start and refuses to let go until the end. Brilliant!

Audra takes her two young children, Sean and Louise, and drives from New York to Arizona, a trip which takes her four days. She is fleeing from her abusive husband who is encouraged by his mother to marginalise and des-stabilise Audra. She is hot and tired and the children are restless, in fact Louise is quite ill. She stops at a remote gas station for water and snacks for the children and sees a Sheriff's car which she tries to avoid. On leaving the gas station the car has gone and Audra continues on her way. Shortly afterwards she is stopped by the Sheriff, she is nervous that her husband and Children’s Services have alerted the police and her children will be taken from her. And so begins a nightmare.

The Sheriff plants some drugs in her car, she is arrested and a female officer is summoned to take the children to a place of safety whilst her car is towed away for forensic examination. She is then asked “what have you done with the children?”

As a person whose only experience of small town police in the USA is via films, TV and books which is generally negative, the alarm bells started ringing straight away and worry came crashing in.

This is an exciting, different, thriller and hard to believe this is a debut novel. Great characterisation and with more than enough twists and turns to satisfy. The inclusion of the ‘buyers’ of the package was brilliant – clearly people intent on doing great harm to the children but without detailing what this entailed; a masterful ploy because it is so under-stated and not a catalogue of the horrors that they would undergo.

This would make a brilliant film. I can’t wait to see it and I can’t wait for more from Haylen Beck.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.