"Everyone lies. Everyone leaves something out of the narrative...There were big secrets everywhere"

Grayson Sykes got her first case as a P.I. Isabel Lincoln is missing for weeks and her boyfriend wants her to be found. All the evidence points that she is hiding, and don't want to be found. But the case isn't that simple as it looks. Grayson is also hiding her own story and got many secrets. 

This book was all over the place, so many things were going on, so many characters were involved. It was hard to differentiate between both plotlines of Isabel and Grayson and their past. I still don't know if the story was focused on Grayson or Isabel. The author kept throwing information, information and information, after every chapter. Unnecessary details were spread all over the book.

Mystery and Thriller wise, this was fast pace book and many things were happening so it got so many twist and turns. But there were many parts which I found completely boring, I was zoning out throughout the book. The writing style also made it hard to focus on. The story is set in all over the USA, so many cities, places and things, which just kept coming, I was like wohooo slow down, I really don't know what are these...So what I am saying is maybe if you are American, you'll feel connected to the story more.

The ending didn't make sense for me. After 384 pages what we got? loose ends...

Isabel Lincoln is gone. But is she missing? It's up to Grayson Sikes to find her. This story takes place in LA on two timelines. Gray Sykes is a PI that takes on the case of Isabel Lincoln, a women who disappeared.
This is a long book and it draws you right into the case. There are flashbacks to show the connection Gray has to the case. Gray has a lot going on in her own twisted and imperfect life.
Read this roller-coaster thriller for yourself and see if you can see the twists coming! Enjoy this slow burn and also notice the well developed characterization, gripping story and tantalizing unexpected ending!!

Overall, a quick-paced and decent read. Grayson has just been promoted to investigator. Incidentally, she does have a shadowed past, knows all about needing to disappear, so she only wants to help her new client's girlfriend (Grayson suspects abuse at the hand of her client) possibly do the same. But this mystery is definitely a neverending roller coaster ride. There's also that persistent pain in Grayson's belly and images of a haunted past becoming too real; percocet only works for a short time.

Compulsively readable. I'd read more Grayson Skies in a second. Great with some twists.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Grayson Sykes starts this story as a newbie P.I. hired by long time friend Nick. Her assignment is to solve a missing person's case, the disappearance of a cardiologist's girlfriend. Through a series of twists and turns, we follow Grayson's step by step process to solve the case. We also are witness to flashbacks to Gray's past in an abusive relationship and her paranoia that her ex may be stalking her.

Grayson does grow on you, even as she struggles with the learning curve of a new job. Ultimately, she solves the case by stumbling onto most of the clues. The characters were well developed and the plot moves along with good pacing. I enjoyed this read and plan to seek out other novels by this author.

QUICK TAKE: if you can past the page length (it is LONG), then you're in for a treat. This new private investigator series is engaging and suspenseful (the diner scene at the end is excellent), and i was totally invested in the story of Grayson, a woman running from a dark past while trying to solve a missing persons case she feels connected to. I liked the specificity (Los Angeles is its own character) and the discussion of domestic violence, particularly towards Black women, was eye-opening and heartbreaking.

Dual-line story about an abused woman who changes her identity and becomes a private investigator. She tries to solve a mystery of who she thinks is another abused woman. The premise of this intrigued me, confused me in the beginning as so many characters were introduced, but kept me reading to see what was going to happen. It was a quick read and a page turner. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this advanced reader’s copy. It is scheduled to be published in September.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for the ARC.
Publication Date: 9/22/2020

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

And Now She’s Gone is my first read by Rachel Howzell Hall and I am definitely going to be checking out her backlist because I absolutely loved this book. All 5 stars go to my favorite character so far this year - Grayson “Gray” Sykes.

And Now She’s Gone weaves together two timelines - the current timeline focusing on Gray as she takes on her first case as a private detective and a past timeline about a woman trapped in an abusive marriage. As Gray starts to investigate her new case that involves a doctor looking for his girlfriend, Isabel, who disappeared without a trace along with his dog, she realizes that the case is far more complicated than what her and her boss initially thought.

The only way I can think to describe the tone of this book is that it’s almost like Jane Evanovich started writing the new super dark/gritty/noir reboot of Perry Mason. It’s hilarious, weird, sharp, quirky, angry, and intense all at the same time. It touches on topics of race, gender, abuse, and family, while maintaining a sarcastic wit that makes you fall in love with Gray and her family and friends.

And Now She’s Gone is an entertaining mystery with a compelling protagonist that is perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Karin Slaughter. Definitely add this to your TBR and pick it up when it releases on 9/22/2020!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I would say this was a 3.5-4 star read. I loved reading about a Black female PI and Hall made both Vegas and LA come alive in her descriptions. I do think this book being marketed as a thriller is somewhat inaccurate. There weren’t really any big twists and there wasn’t anything scary or creepy. It was just a good detective story. I also could have done without the romance between Gray and Nick. All in all, a good summer read that I will recommend.

"Everyone lies. Everyone leaves something out of the narrative...There were big secrets everywhere"

Los Angeles on the west side. Grayson Sykes was creeped out. She felt she was being shadowed by a black Range Rover. What if "the man" tried to open her car door or break a window then kill her as he promised to do. Gray was always looking over her shoulder.

For two years, she had worked for Rader Consulting as a contractor. Dominick Rader, founder and CEO, had modeled his business "...on the backs of cheaters and scammers...". Gray was assigned her first case as a private investigator. Ian O'Donnell, a cardiologist at UCLA Medical Center hired Rader Consulting to locate his girlfriend, Isabel Lincoln. Defining features included: 5 ft 9 in, butterfly tattoo on left thigh...innocent eyes. Additionally, Ian's Labradoodle, "Kenny G" was missing. A consult with the police: "women disappear all the time...some intentionally".

Why would Izzy leave? Ian claimed they were happy...making wedding plans. "I just want her to come back home...I want her to just...talk to me...explain why she left this time. And why she pulled my dog into all of this".

Grayson Sykes aka Gray, seemed to bumble a little at first. After all, this was her first case as a PI. She had no usable pens to take notes and she forgot to record her conversations with her client, Dr. Ian O'Donnell. Ian "...the man who healed people every day [was] the man who probably always got what he wanted from women...[he claims however] I haven't touched her. I haven't seen her...". Why then, does she need to be found? "Because I want my dog".

Gray's investigation started to peel back layers of mistrust, abuse and neglect. She knew only too well the havoc and trauma of a troubled past. She, herself, had set up an automatic tracker for both a black Range Rover and a red Jaguar, Nevada plates. A rear license plate from "that Range Rover" was captured on the streets of L.A.

The back stories for Isabel Dixon and Grayson Sykes showed past harrowing experiences for both women. Lies, deception and a secret desire to stay missing? Perhaps the necessity to emerge anew from the ashes of one's former life? And where in the world was "Kenny G"?

"And Now She's Gone" by Rachel Howzell Hall was a suspenseful thriller that had many twists and turns. I wanted to love the well developed characters, however, for this reader, the plot lost it's fizzle and became an average read.

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well I’ll definitely have to categorize this one as an “on the edge of my seat, omg another twist?!” mystery/thriller. Sometimes this type of book almost becomes too far fetched to enjoy, but the author did a really solid job of bringing the story together. There are many details and names to follow, which got me a little confused at times, but then when the plot lines would reveal themselves everything made sense. Definitely think this will be a great beach read this summer (and by beach read, I mean at home quarantine read). I love when I can’t put down a book, but also hate that it’s over so quick. Definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for my copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Huge thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this book before it's release date in exchange for an honest review!

Where do I even begin?? This book was all over the place. What started off as a harmless detective/PI type of mystery book started giving me whiplash by the halfway point with how the plot-line was going. One minute we are focused on finding Isabel and everything that entails and then the next minute we are diving into Grayson's past and don't get me wrong, two parallel plot-lines can and have been done well but in this book it was dizzying how the plot's priorities switched from Gray to Isabel and back again! In the beginning of this book I was actually very curious on the missing woman Isabel Lincoln but then as the story trudged on that whole plot became very convoluted and the clues were all over the place! I'm not even talking about red herrings I mean I feel like the author had a bunch of different ideas and could not decide which to use and just said screw it ill include them all on after the other and it made for a story that made no sense and had no foundation to it at all. The character of Grayson I realize was meant to be deep and we were meant to feel for her and her rough past but I just felt like it was info dump on her tough past and then a whole lot of the author trying so hard to give her this bad-ass no nonsense personality that for the most part did not translate well at all. I was entertained by most of the book only because it was so convoluted I just was curious on what the real truth would end up being. Even that was unfortunately disappointing there were loose ends not a whole lot of character building for the villain of the story which would have made me care more and the ending "twist" was very lackluster and predictable. There were huge chunks that were boring like Gray's interactions with her co workers the whole Las Vegas trip was unnecessary and boring the ending tried to wrap everything up for us in a nice clean bow but I still has lingering questions and by the end of it I was asking myself what the hell I just read I am grateful that Netgalley gave this to me if not I might have bought it and regretted it. Also, the whole romance aspect of this book had potential but could have been fleshed out more. Boy did this plot need major surgery... it would be going 120 mph one second and then slow down to 30mph then 80-100 mph in the next minute it was like whoa totally unbalanced and not in a good way but more in a way that left you confused and not very sure where the plot was going. The writing style was easy to fly through but at times the character's dialogues were written very awkwardly and did I mention there were a crap ton of loose ends?? There was a whole lot of telling and not showing when I think most would prefer the opposite. I unfortunately would not recommend this book to anyone unless of course you are curious....

4.5 stars.
This is a fantastic novel about a PI investigating the disappearance of a young woman (and her boyfriend's dog). The grittiness of L.A. feels dirty enough to want to wash your hands and the characters are alive and flawed on the page. Gray makes an excellent protagonist for this story (both the current timeline and the backstory). I took away a half a point for her not being more jaded/self-aware/less-trusting. Overall, I loved this and I really hope it is the start of a series.

I’m a sucker for women bounty hunters/PIs/detectives because they’re some of the most tenacious, resourceful characters you’ll ever have the pleasure of reading. They’ll get your perp, locate your missing man, and possibly wreck and/or find themselves along the way. Stephanie Plum, Charley Davidson, Cat DeLuca… Heck, even The Stalk from Saga and Nancy Drew make the list.

And now, it’s time to welcome Grayson Sykes to their ranks.

And Now She's Gone centres a Black woman PI with chronic pain and a past she’s tried to leave far behind. It begins almost benignly: a good-looking man hires Gray to find the woman who left him. But this isn’t just a goodbye-and-fuck-you—there’s more to Isabel than meets the eye. And it turns out that Gray’s past mirrors Isabel’s present in more ways than she’ll expect.

What can't be ignored about Isabel's story are the facts: Ian’s a man, and Isabel’s a woman. More than that, Ian’s a white man, and Isabel’s a Black woman. When women of colour face misogyny and abuse, it isn’t just domestic violence: it’s also racialized violence. And this book takes that overlap/distinction HEAD-ON.

Rachel Howzell Hall writes sharp, vivid prose; Gray’s tension is so palpable it rolls off her in waves—and really gave me the noir vibes of Juniper Song's LA in Follow Her Home. I devoured this book because Howzell’s language isn’t clichéd. It's laden with offbeat metaphors and quick, dry dialogue. Most of the time, this really WORKS: And Now She's Gone was compulsively readable as hell.


CONCLUSION: This won't be like any thriller you've read before. I started this book because I was mildly curious and I wanted to; somewhere around the halfway mark, I was reading because I HAD to—and I guarantee you'll be sucked in just the same.

And Gray—a Black woman PI who's gone through shit and come out the other side imperfect and resilient as FUCK—might just end up one of your new favourite sleuths.



Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this gripping e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Grayson is a newly employed private investigator with her own past of secrets to contend with.
Leaving her abusive husband behind in Las Vegas years before she has started a new life and all is well until she sees a black SUV following her one day while on a case. and she knows deep in her gut it’s Sean the ex husband.
Taking place over two timelines several in the past and current we learn how Grayson has started a new life working at Radar Consulting and she’s happy to be working with a bunch of woman who are now all a big piece of her new life.
A girlfriend has gone missing and a pet dog and Gray has been employed by the Doctor boyfriend to find them.
Starts off seeming fairly simple until a whole can of worms is opened and we have a modern day mystery on our hands.
As Gray leaps into the case the more twisted it becomes and while this is going on Sean the baddie is out looking for her. But will she get him first? This time she will finish this herself at all costs. Even if she has to go to Jail.
For me the plot is adequate but I didn’t bond with the characters and we got to the end and I was blah is that it? It kinda just ended for me without a triple salchow spin at the end.
Yes lots of twists and turns. But too many mentions of procedures and repetition.
Great strong female leads who take no shit - which is always good in a book.
A strong three stars - wanted to give more but left me a bit flat.
Thank you Forge Books for the advanced copy and Rachel Howzell Hall
Expected publication date 22nd September.

This is the first novel by Hall that I’ve read (which is a little strange, seeing as I have all of her previous novels…). Set in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, this is an engaging mystery about a woman’s disappearance and the novice PI tasked with finding her. Stitching together two parallel-yet-unconnected storylines, I quite enjoyed this.

And Now She’s Gone can be split into two parts: Grayson Sykes’s investigation of Isabel Lincoln’s disappearance, and also Gray’s own past. They take up roughly the same amount of space in the book. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it felt a little bit like reading two novels smooshed together. Both were good, though, so it wasn’t really a problem.

Elements of Gray’s past inform her approach to the missing person investigation, as she is led on a merry chase through Isabel’s life in LA and with her boyfriend, Ian O’Donnell. Nothing is as it seems, and Gray comes across plenty of red herrings. Is Ian a well-meaning, concerned partner, or is something more sinister going on? He is, after all, an incredibly self-involved doctor — Isabel’s disappearance is something that has happened to him, and he seems more interested in getting his dog back. And what about Isabel’s friends? They paint interesting and different pictures of Isabel, whose past also seems murky.

Meanwhile, it looks like Gray’s past might be catching up with her. Constantly looking over her shoulder, Gray’s investigation into Isabel’s disappearance takes some diversions as she comes to grips with the fact that she may need to confront a painful past. If not, it could have deadly consequences. The novel deals with domestic abuse quite well — the way victims rationalize it, convince themselves it is “their fault”, allowing the cycle to continue for too long, and its long-lasting impact. There are a few intense, horrifying scenes.

Hall is a very good writer, and her characters feel very well-constructed and real. Sometimes they make… interesting choices, which didn’t always make sense. Gray’s romantic life isn’t a normal one for the genre, as past traumas have clearly left scars and an void in her soul. The fact that Gray is a newly-minted PI was also a welcome element, as she is still making her way in the industry and figuring out the rules and options available to her. She adapts quickly, making some innovative and interesting decisions, employing some tactics that could go very wrong but are luckily pulled off with aplomb. There’s some good tension, and reveals come thick and fast towards the end of the book. I only figured it out shortly before Hall presents the big reveal, and I thought it was well done.

It’s not clear if this is the start of a new series or a stand-alone, but I would certainly be interested in reading another novel starring Grayson Sykes.

Thank you to Forge Books for my review copy.

I really went back and forth with this review.
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Let's start with what I enjoyed.
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Diverse narrator. A Black woman PI? Yes, please. So often the thriller genre is very, very white. It was a nice change to have a diverse woman narrator to learn how that plays out in the White Boys club of the PI world.
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Grayson was such a well paced character. I became very attached and really wanted to find out exactly what was going on.
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I love dual timelines. Rachel did it well. That is not always the case....but bravo....well done.
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The atmosphere was very well written. It was somewhat dark and smokey and that really played to the plot.
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Now let's talk about what I didn't enjoy.
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The novel for me was somewhat of a letdown. Now, having said that...it is absolutely on me. It was very hyped and I let that go to my head.
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The novel was forgettable. Aside from the narrator, this one will not stay with me for a long time.
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It was a smidge predictable...
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I have said all that to say. I will recommend this novel. It was different enough for me that I think it is worth the read.

I'm ending at a solid 3 1/2 bumped up to a 4 star read. Go into this one with zero expectations and enjoy the ride!

I really loved this whirlwind story of stolen and mistaken identities, a lost dog, and an abused woman fleeing her past. Set in LA and Las Vegas, this book was a slow burn that had me turning the pages well past my bedtime. There were a few too many characters in here to keep track of at times, but Racahel Howzell Hall tied everything up with a beautiful, gritty bow!

Grayson is on a case as a PI. She is on the search for Isabel.... But does Isabel want to be found?
This is a true cat and mouse game.
At first I was a little worried.... Started out a little slow. By the 3rd chapter I was really getting into the book.
Graysons search becomes very dangerous.
I loved the twists and turns the book had. It's was very easy to read.
My first time reading anything from this author and I'll be glad when she writes another novel.

Thank you NetGalley for this Complimentary read!

Loved this one so much!
Everything works - pace, characters, finale.
I was instantly intrigued, and loved the main character. Didn't see the ending coming, and enjoyed the twists