I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, which follows.
Rachel cannot believe it when she wakes to find her baby daughter missing. For years, through the birth of her twins, and their childhood, she mourns the loss of her firstborn, and prays that she has been loved and cared for.
Vicki is devastated by the death of her baby, and when she breaks into a home looking for food and sees a baby girl, she is sure it is HER baby, and meant to be with her.
Throughout their lives, questions arise, but a fateful road trip brings all answers to light.
I love this author's writing style. I found all of the characters interesting and relatable, and was so torn as to how this could end well.
I was impressed by the plot twists and the ending was just right, and not rushed.
I definitely would recommend this book.

Bette Lee Crosby's Emily, Gone is an awesome read. This emotionally charged book is set in 1971 through the present. When a baby Emily goes missing her parent's grief is palpable, especially for her mother. Seventeen years later by some strange twist of fate Emily and her adoptive mother cross paths with Emily's birth family. Would definitely recommend this book.

This book tells the heart wrenching story of a mother's horrific reality nightmare and her most fervent prayer. It is powerful, amazing, and memorable. I highly recommend it!

Vicki and boyfriend Murph are at a music festival in Georgia in 1971. It's on a farm near the Dixon's little farm and the music is so loud that George, Rachel and 6 month old Emily are having trouble sleeping. They are all exhausted. On the last night of the festival, Rachel finally gets Emmy to sleep and falls into bed and into a dead sleep. Leaving the grounds, Vicki and Murph are going home. Vicki is smoking pot quite heavily. She is missing the baby that was stillborn a few months before. She's hungry and tells Murph to pull over in front of the Dixon's house so she can sneak in and steal some food. As she enters the kitchen, she sees baby items and goes to Emmy's room and kidnaps her.

This is a hard book to read because of the subject matter. You feel for Vicki but you are agonized over the loss for George and Rachel. Bette is a master at pulling at your heart strings for both the parents and having sympathy for Vicki. The writing is very well done and makes you feel that you are going through the issues that the characters are dealing with. Keep tissues handy. Very good read.

This was such an emotional ride - I finished this book in just t a few days and it is still on my mind. Rachel Dixon is devastated, as any mother would be, when her baby daughter, Emily, was kidnapped. Ms. Crosby did such an amazing job in writing the character that I felt like I *was* Rachel - I was going through the emotions as she was mourning the loss of her daughter. This is a book that keeps you intrigued and involved the whole way through and you won't want to put down once you start. I held out hope for Rachel and Emily to be reunited. The way Ms. Crosby told both sides of the story and got you invested in the characters was wonderful. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to Bette Lee Crosby, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this fantastic book!

a story of grief, resilience, and healing is compelling and well written. It was a tissue book, it was beautiful and full of pain, full of anger and forgiveness. BEAUTIFULLY written.

Overall, the book was fine. I didn't love it, mainly because several of the characters and plot points were a little too overdone and somewhat saccharine. Also, the ending required a complete suspension of disbelief of how the families end up involved with each other and how they reconcile all the issues of Emily/Lara.

The people of Hesterville knew the music festival in the summer of 1971 was going to be trouble with a capital "T". And when the music's over, and the people roll out of town, Rachel and George Dixon awaken to find their baby Emily is gone, too.
Murph brings Vicki to the festival on the hopes it can bring back the woman he first fell in love with. Vicki's been in a vortex of grief and longing for her dead baby, Lara. As they head out of Hesterville, Vicki makes Murph stop so she can she can see if there's some food in the remote house on the outskirts of town - as luck would have it the back door isn't even locked. A peek in the kitchen and Vicki sees baby bottles in the sink, and is drawn to the faint night light of the nursery. She is elated to see a baby with same blond hair and blue eyes as Lara's . Thinking only of intense longing for Lara, Vicki grabs the baby, wraps her in a blanket and jumps back in the car. When Murph realizes several hours later that the bundle Vicki carried out of the house, he knows the baby belongs with her parents. The problem is, Vicki has already convinced herself that the baby is actually Lara and won't listen to any talk of bringing "her" baby back. Vicki eventually leaves Murph, reconnects with her sister and finds that no one doubts the baby is hers. Angela and Kenny push aside any questions they have when Vicki dies and Lara becomes theirs to raise. Since they've never been able to have children, Lara's given all the love they have for a child.
Several decisions, 18 years, and car trouble lead to the families ending up in each other’s path. When the group realizes that their lives are going to irrevocably changed fear, hope, love, and family are faced head on and where it leads them might surprise even them.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and am sharing my honest opinion.

Stories by Bette Lee Crosby just keep getting better! How can a book about a kidnapped baby end so beautifully? -- just read it for yourself! As I read one of her books, I feel like I actually know her characters, as she describes not just how they appear, but how they feel and react to what they are going through. At the end of this book you can feel the blended love the two families have for Emily\Lara.

Emily is taken from her crib in the middle of the night by a woman grieving the loss of her own baby. From there, Vickie expects everyone to believe, as she does, that Emily is really her Lara. Her boyfriend tries to work with her while figuring out how to make things right, but Vickie is still savvy enough to know she will lose the baby if she doesn't run. Desperate, she reconnects with the sister she hasn't seen in years, working enough guilt on Angela to ensure her version of events isn't questioned too closely by her or her husband, Kenny. While Rachel and George work desperately to move forward while holding their lost Emily in their hearts, Angela and Kenny work just as hard to welcome Vickie and her child into their home, especially after unexpected events lead them to become parents to Lara. When a chance encounter years later brings the kidnapping to the surface, two sets of parents must wrestle with the legal and emotional aspects of what Vickie set into motion on a rain-driven night 18 years ago. As a lawyer and a mother, this novel held my interest from start to finish. Crosby captured the nuances of every emotion the characters faced, allowing the reader to wonder how she would react if faced with similar events.

Bring a box of tissues. This story is gut-wrenching and every mother's worst nightmare. It happened during a music festival; too many people and loud music. When the Dixon family finally got to sleep they were in so deep they did not hear the person who got into the house and stole Emily.

Vicki, who lost her own child to stillbirth, was the one who took Emily and ran off to raise the baby as her own. But circumstances changed somewhat, Emily ends up getting raised by Vicki's sister, and then you start to wonder when or if these families will be able to tie up the loose endings of this abduction.

I always love reading Crosby's books because she always writes stories that give you a heartwarming feeling of love, family and secrets. She tells a story that makes you angry, makes you smile and finally makes you believe in love again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book before the published date, as this has been one of the best books I have read in quite a while. While the setting of the book started in the '70s, and normally I'm not a fan of books that are set back in the past (even if it's just a not so long ago past), the story started out with a bang, and truly ended with the same BANG!! This is an amazing and intense read, and I couldn't put this book down from the moment I started in.

The story was very intriguing, and kept me thinking throughout the whole book. I don't want to give anything away, but the author knows how to let the reader experience grief within the pages of the story, and allows the reader the opportunity to understand each side of the story. By the end of the book, I couldn't imagine the love and pain from both families portrayed in the book.

Based upon this book, I now have a new author to read, and I appreciate NetGalley and the Lake Union Publishing Company for this.

This book is one of Ms.Crosby’s best that I have read, and she carries the story out with her usual dedication to developing the characters into people that we truly care about. It begins with the people in Hesterville “just knowing” that this music festival being held outside of town (that the townspeople were against having) was just going to bring nothing but trouble. And that it did. When the Dixons woke up to find their baby daughter, Emily, missing from her crib, the life-shattering story develops. Besides the Dixons, we meet the man and woman who take the child, the man and woman who raise the child, the mother-in-law who goes from choosing to be on the outside, to bringing the family togther again, and the sheriff who spends years tracking down every lead to find the child. But tucked into the main story is also the story of the love of family and the strength drawn from each other during times of crisis, and how life truly does move on. A signature style of Ms. Crosby is that she digs into each character and finds the traits that make them who they are and allows the reader to really see into that character. This is another of her books where she chooses to show that there is true goodness and compassion in people. This story pulls you in to the depth of emotions of all concerned in the disappearance of a child and the lives that are changed dramatically because of that. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book. I received an ARC in return for an honest review, which this has been. #EmilyGone#NetGalley

This book was heartbreaking as you traveled through the years with Rachel and George. I can’t imagine losing a child. The ending g is incredible. I recommend this book for anyone. It was amazing

I really enjoy this author's books. This story was a pull at the heart strings. There are so many moving parts to this story that each have different emotions. Crosby really breaks down each character and helps you to visualize their role in this compelling story of loss, family and forgiveness.

Oh my gosh, Bette Lee Crosby has really outdone herself! After having read several of Bette’s books, I have to say Emily, Gone is my favorite so far. I think it’s a little different than anything she’s written before, maybe a little more intense and perhaps that’s why it grabbed my attention like it did. It’s a story surrounding the abduction of an infant and goes on to tell what it’s like for all the characters involved and how they carry on with their lives. You really grieve right along with the birth parents although at the same time you can almost understand and feel for the woman who did the kidnapping. It’s a very emotional story with a lot of heartbreak so be prepared with tissues on hand. If you enjoy reading women’s fiction with family drama then I’m sure you will love and devour this book. I know I did! I can’t recommend it enough. I had the pleasure of obtaining an arc from NetGalley but have full intentions of buying a physical copy for myself upon release day. That way I can share with my reader friends and family. I’d like to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and author Bette Lee Crosby for allowing me the chance to read this early and give my honest opinion.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and I wasn't sure if I would be able to read this book because a baby was kidnapped but I was drawn to it so I read the book. This book was such a heartfelt story, even from the start where Emily Dixon was kidnapped, I felt like Bette Lee Crosby could tell the story calmly. Rachel Dixon put Emily to bed and then went to bed. When she woke Emily was gone. Vicki Robart was leaving the music festival and decided she needed food so she stopped at the Dixon house to see if they would give her some food. The door was unlocked so she walked inside and saw baby bottles and then went and found the baby and took her. She named the baby Lara. Vicki hadn't seen her sister, Angela for 3 years but she went to her sisters and her sister let her move in with the baby. Vicky got a job and she went to work one day and wasn't feeling well so she left work and had a heart attack and died. Angela and her husband raised Lara. The story continues on and Angela and Lara were traveling and their car broke down. They ended up having to spend the night at a bed and breakfast which happened to Rachel's. Bette Lee tells us how Angela found out what her sister had done, Rachel discovers Lara is her daughter and Lara has to figure out what she wants to do. Bette Lee does it as she always does and gives you a chance to walk in other people's shoes to know what others go through. I am glad I read this book, I came away with a lot more understanding.

This ws a good. This book started out sad, but as it went on things changed. Emily/Lara did have a good life with her adoptive family. Rachel never gave up hope thst her daughtr was still alive. When the truth finally came out, the fasmilies melded as one.

1971, Georgia

Rachel Dixon is tired. So very tired. The last couple of days a music festival has been playing at a nearby farm. The music has kept her small family awake for days. Weary and ready to drop she puts her six-month-old daughter, Emily, down to sleep in her crib and finally sleeps herself. Only to wake up to a nightmare - Emily is gone! No longer in her crib, where could she be?

Vicki Robart is at the music festival numbing herself from the grief of losing her infant daughter months earlier. Leaving the festival, the night of a terrible storm, she enters a home hoping to find some food but instead finds the answers to her prayers. A way to fill the void in her heart, she makes a snap decision which will change lives forever.

Bette Lee Crosby does not shy away from tackling difficult subjects in her books. She does so with grace and charm. She does not lay blame in this book and leaves that up to the reader telling both women's (families)stories. Her characters are likable and relate-able. She also writes about relationships touching on marital relationships, sibling relationships, friendships, etc. and does so in this book as well. Often, she has older female characters who are there to provide strength, wisdom, insight and love to the younger characters and I appreciated how this was true in this book as well.

What makes a family? How do love and faith help people heal? What happens when the truth comes out? Could one forgive someone of taking their child?


Well written, thought provoking, moving, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Another solid book by this Author although I thought the ending was tied up a little too quickly and nicely. Grab some tissues and dig in!

Thank you to Bette Lee Crosby, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The first page drew me in. I could feel the rumble of the music and feel the sweat of the crowd. This is a story I will remember. The tears flowed while reading. Each twist and turn of the lives of the characters brought more emotions to the surface. I could feel the pain of all of the parents at each moment. A great story. Bring the tissues. I received a complimentary copy of the book. No review was required.

A beautifully woven story of love, loss, forgiveness and faith. My heat broke for all the women in this story; all struggling to survive the loss of a child in more ways than one. Bette is a great story teller and weaves these characters together beautifully. Have a tissue nearby! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC