I'm a sucker for thrillers with unreliable narrators so this one really spoke to me! Emily is bipolar and head-over-heels in love with Paolo. So even though she has a fear of water, she agrees to a romantic date aboard a sailboat with him; however, in the morning as she awakens with nausea, she discovers that Paolo is missing. Did he drown even though he was an accomplished swimmer, or is something more sinister at work? Finding the truth is more difficult than she imagined because no one believes her crazy theories and she isn't even sure what to think as her mania keeps her from sleeping well. Lots of twists and turns that you won't see coming!

What a gripping ride, a psychological thriller with a difference, I could not put this book down.

Emily wakes up on the boat she spent the night on with her boyfriend Paulo, feeling sick, she goes to find Paulo who was not in the bed beside her…. He is nowhere to be found on the boat, she manages to get the boat back to the marina and raises the alarm that Paulo is missing.

Missing and presumed dead, Emily feels herself falling into a black hole that is her condition, bipolar disorder, she is under immense stress, she can’t and won’t accept that Paulo is dead and sets out to discover the truth. Her life seems to be spiralling away from her. With plenty of twists and turns, you better clear your schedule!!

This book will have you from page one, it draws you in, you are right there with Emily, like you’re seeing everything through her eyes which is down to the author’s writing style which I loved. This book is out 13 March 2019 and I highly recommend you buy it!!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

And Then You Were Gone by R L Jacobs is a psychological thriller that takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey to the truth. Through the eyes (and bipolar mind) of Emily Firestone, we follow her as she trys to solve the mystery of her boyfriends disappearance.

Loved this book and especially loved the view into what it is like to be Bipolar. The internal monologue was fascinating!

A thrill ride, this time with a bipolar psychologist in a fight for her life to unravel clues before she's the next to disappear.

Set in Nashville, things seem to be great for Emily -- a loving boyfriend and a good job, her bipolar mania managed. Somehow, a magical date with her boyfriend goes all wrong and Emily wakes up with Paolo missing. She becomes a suspect in his case and other mysterious things start happening with the virus research at the lab where Paolo works. Emily teams up with an old friend of Paolo’s, Cal, to try to get to the bottom of the situation, but her mania starts to creep in again. I enjoyed her interactions with Cal, he seemed to be a steady influence for her.

I found this an interesting glimpse into the life of mental illness and a fun guessing game for the ultimate bad guys in the book. It was also fascinating to read more about the life of a psychologist. I was not at all close in my hunches with this one. I look forward to future books from R.J. Jacobs.

*I will update my Goodreads review closer to publication date

✨Book Review✨ "You know, my worst fear is losing my mind. When I think about him, it all gets so twisted. If some of it was fake, was all of it? I don't know." 🌊

And Then You Were Gone is a debut novel by RJ Jacobs. Goodreads calls this one a "propulsive twisting psychological thriller for fans of B.A. Paris and Alice Feeney."

Emily is a psychologist who has bipolar disorder. She manages her bipolar disorder well, and she has a great job and loving boyfriend. Her boyfriend, Paolo, decides to take her sailing one day for a romantic getaway. They spend an amazing day together, but when Emily wakes up the next day, Paolo is gone.

This was a great debut novel by Jacobs. A couple of aspects of this novel that made it different than your stereotypical thriller were the depiction of mental illness and the incorporation of a scientific element. I thought the author depicted bipolar disorder realistically, which I appreciated. Emily's character was complex, and so was her journey throughout the story as she navigated through her bipolar disorder. I also liked that Paolo was a scientist who was working on a new vaccine, and I liked how that played into his disappearance/murder. In addition to these elements, the plot was fast-paced with many twists and turns. Make sure you add this one to your 2019 TBR's. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

Thank you @netgalley and @rjjacobs75 for the ARC!

Really enjoyed this book, this author has shown his knowledge and expertise for psychology. The main character Emily who is Bipolar is written superbly. its hard to keep up with her and the train of thought but thats what makes it believable.
i found myself wanting the story to move a bit quicker, think that i am used to reading fast moving plots and this one needed more attention to detail and understanding Emilys mind and situatuions. i think that it came together well at the end i would not have guessed the outcome.

thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book and i will be keeping an eye out for this author in future

This was a really good read!! A woman finds herself a top suspect in the sudden disappearance of her boyfriend. On a weekend outing on a boat she wakes in the morning to find that her boyfriend is not on board, no where to be found and she can’t remember a thing! She quickly takes the boat to shore and calls the police! In a quest to find the answers and evidence to clear her name it turns into more drama and more murders than she had imagined. A definite page turner and must read!

This book was painfully slow and I really tried my best to not giving up on it, but I guess I failed and here I am. I'm also not the biggest fan of the writing style. The narration was surely poetic and beautiful, but personally I don't think it's working with this kind of story. I prefer more action and surprises in between the lines rather than subtle and slow paces. It's a thriller but I don't feel thrilled at all.

Paolo is a medical researcher who works long hours in the lab so when he suggests spending some time together, Emily is all in. They spend a romantic night on a boat and when morning comes, Paolo has disappeared. Did he drown, was he murdered, or did he simply run off? Emily tries to find answers while dealing with her bipolar disorder which leads to some erratic and unconvincing actions. I didn't particularly like her character and it certainly didn't help as she was the main character! But it was a fun read nonetheless trying to figure out what happened to Paolo. (instead of Where's Waldo...#wherespaolo?)

Great Read!

First off, thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in about two days. I liked the way that Emily was distrustful and questioned everyone's motives because that is what I do when I read these books. To have the character do it kept me on my toes and guessing the outcome. Looks like this the first books for this author but I hope he has more in the future.

I learned of this debut after connecting with local author RJ Jacobs over a Nashville zoo photo he’d posted on IG. Our families had coincidentally been there the same day. Small world!

This thriller, set in and around Nashville, trails manic-depressive psychologist Emily Firestone as her life suddenly unravels. She’s not sure who or what to trust, even her own intruding thoughts. I don’t want to say too much or give anything away, but I needed something fast-paced and this delivered. I loved the local setting as well. Congratulations on your first novel, RJ Jacobs!

Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley!

Advanced reader copy provided by Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.

This book was pretty average. It's a really slow read for me and I did my best to continue reading. The plot however was pretty interesting yet the writing style, even amidst how beautifully written and how unsettling and chilling it was, it didn't really reel me in and keep me attached to the plot or the characters. Sometimes, I would have to reread parts of the book due to the fact that the plot was quite slow at some points and it would be quite confusing in an unnecessary way. I feel like the slow start was exhausting to the point that the thrill slowly died out and I was not exactly surprised with all the twists.

It isn't a bad read. The writing and the use of words are beautiful. The characters and the plot are really interesting. The only problem for me was that its slow start may put people off.

This book is an interesting, gripping read that has many twist and turns. The main character has many flaws which makes her even more interesting. And then you were gone is a great read.

“Memory is an interesting thing. It’s woefully inaccurate. People think they capture moments perfectly, but they don’t. Images fade and change over time. When a person remembers something, they remember the last time they remembered it, a copy of a copy. Then the next time is a copy of that. Each time, a little less of the original.”

After years of learning how to manage her bipolar disorder, Emily Firestone finally has it under control. Even better, her life is coming together: she's got a great job, her own place, and a boyfriend, Paolo, who adores her. So when Paolo suggests a weekend sailing trip, Emily agrees - wine, water, and the man she loves? What could be better? But when Emily wakes the morning after they set sail, the boat is still adrift... and Paolo is gone.

I love a book with an unreliable narrator. Many of my favorite thrillers explore that idea in different ways. This book will be released on March 13th, 2019.

Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review. #netgalley #bookreview

I quickly lost interest in this one unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough suspense. I also found it a bit confusing & disjointed at time, which was unfortunate as it had a great concept.

I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This story is a debut thriller from R. J. Jacobs and while this story started out as a romantic, overnight boat trip with Emily and her boyfriend, Paolo, it suddenly turns deadly when Paolo is nowhere to be found the next morning. Emily has the sudden fear that her boyfriend has drowned and this is where the story becomes a different story altogether. While I read the entire book, I'm graciously giving it 3 stars. This book wasn't really about the synopsis that I thought I was going to read. Honestly, I felt like there were two different plots going on and at times I became disconnected from the story all together. One description of the book talks about Emily's bipolar disorder and honestly, I don't know what that has to do with the story at all. I wish I could give a fair review of the book, but I lost interest quickly and unfortunately spent most of my time reading it with confusion. I would be more than happy to try another book from R.J. Jacobs, but this book wasn't for me.

This book actually had me on the edge of my seat. It was off to a bit of a slow start, and it was frustrating to travel along with the main character through her fear, confusion and disjointed way of trying to figure out what happened. However, as the gentle new romance she found along unfolded along with the genuinely unexpected exposure of whodunnit, it made for a satisfying read.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't personally have bipolar disorder but my friend does and from that perspective, the portrayal seemed realistic. I think everyone, with or without mental illness, should read it to gain insight into what it's like to be bipolar.

I enjoy reading books where I can really get to know the characters. I also enjoy becoming a fan and falling in love with a somewhat flawed character. People aren’t perfect, so as I read and got to know Emily, I came to appreciate her and her struggles with bipolar disorder. I felt pulled into her mania and desperation at times.

As the plot unfolds, the writing style gives enough clues to develop a theory about what may have happened, but the end is still a thrilling surprise. This makes for an excellent thriller novel. I didn’t want to put it down!

As much as I really enjoyed the first third of the book, once it turned out to be about bio-terrorism, I lost interest. The lead character, Emily, was well drawn (the others may have been overlooked--lacking background) but I had a hard time feeling for her. Overall, the story was well written and flowed pretty well, with some good descriptions, but there was nothing new and the ending was predictable.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.