I did not like this book at all. I thought that it was insanely verbose and so much of it was beyond unnecessary. This book felt very low on the thrill. And then after hundreds upon hundreds of pages...the entire book wrapped up in three paragraphs.

Great read, really gripping. Rachel Howzell Hall is a talented writer. For fans of Tim Weaver, John Marrs and Alice Feeney. A great thriller/sci-fi.

I'm happy to see women of color in this genre writing characters of color for readers in this genre. The book is well paced, definitely a journey length wise, but worth the read.

While I'm not usually one for a non linear timeline, I didn't find myself upset by this one. A fast placed thriller with a really interesting set of characters, though ultimately I found myself not terribly excited about any of them. I felt like there was just so much metaphor to wade through that I ended up doing a bit of skimming, which is very much not like me.

While definitely a page turner, I ultimately felt that many of the complaints I had about Gone Girl were present here. Without rooting for any characters, I found myself not really rooting for the book itself.

Very slow build, but also threw you into the information without much explaining prior. It was a lot going on at once and really long. I found myself struggling to get through.

AND NOW SHE’S GONE had so many twists and turns, and I was absolutely here for it. It wasn’t, however, super jumbled and confusing, which I appreciated. I love when a thriller is written in a way that’s not too twisty so that I can still follow along and try to guess what’s happening. I enjoy being an active participant in the thrillers I read, and AND NOW SHE’S GONE did not disappoint. It features an expertly set up plot, and I really enjoyed the character background and character arc we received for our protagonist Grayson Sykes. If you’re looking for your next thriller, I would definitely recommend this one!

Great thriller! Definitely kept me guessing throughout the book and had some twists I wasn't expecting. I had no idea that Dominic and Nick were the same person! It did wrap up very quickly, and I would have liked more insight into why Elyse kept taking over identities. And what happened to Kenny G?! Finding Isabel centered around Kenny G for Ian, but after he was found in the crate, we don't know what happened to him after.

I was really excited to get approved for this book on NetGalley, but then had a really hard time getting into it once I received it. I usually love PI/missing persons stories, but this one just didn’t pull me in. I let it sit on my NetGalley shelf for a long time, and finally got an audiobook copy from Scribd that allowed me to finish it pretty quickly.

Once I got further into the story, I really did like Gray. While comically green at being a PI, she refused to let the mystery get the better of her as she worked to figure out the truth behind Isabel’s disappearance. She was a strong, independent character willing to do anything to protect herself. The most interesting part of the book was the mystery around Gray’s own past.

I’m not generally afraid of “long” books (and I don’t really consider this one long--to me, 500+ pages is long and this one clocks in at around 400), but I have a hard time reading on screens as is, so when I start reading a digital copy and it tells me I have ten hours remaining in the book it’s a little disheartening. Add that to the slow beginning of this book, and that’s why it sat for so long. Thank goodness for audiobooks!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forge for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

And Now She's Gone is my first read from Rachel Howzell Hall and it was an excellent mystery/thriller. I was hooked from the beginning and it did not disappoint with the twists. Just when you think you've figured it out, it takes you for another wild ride. Told in two timelines, it allows us to discover about the protagonist's troubled past. Highly recommend this one. Thank you to Forge books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Grayson Sykes is a private investigator that has the difficult task of finding a missing woman named Isabel Lincoln. But is Isabel really missing and does she want to be found? Grayson is not sure if she should continue looking for this mystery woman. As she gets deeper into this case, Grayson runs into secrets and dangerous situations that she may not be prepared for. Will Isabel ever be found?

Strange leads, family secrets, and lies is what you’ll find in And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall. Hall pulls you into this book from the very first page. Grayson is a character that you definitely want to see in a future book. Just when you think you have the plot figured out, Hall throws something else in the mix. Good character development and an unexpected plot makes And Now She’s Gone an excellent mystery thriller by Rachel Howzell Hall.

I haven't read a thriller in ages, so tackling the thickest thriller I've read, plus a non-linear timeline (not my favorite) seemed like an undertaking! Actually though, I enjoyed the pacing and reading a book with a protagonist as relentless as this one was a treat.

And Now She’s Gone is one of the best mystery/suspense novels of 2020 and one of my favorite reads of last
year. Rachel Howzell Hall tells the story of a fledgling detective on her first big case, a woman’s disappearance, which turns out to be much more complicated than it originally appears. With the woman’s boyfriend picking up the tab for the investigation and allegations of possible abuse surrounding the case, Grayson has to proceed with caution. The last thing she wants to do is return a woman to her tormentor, but things may not be what they seem. Without giving too much away, I’ll say that one of the greatest strengths of this novel is that the author deepens the story by giving the investigator a compelling backstory that explains her empathy and insight. The twists and turns are well-earned.

Isabel Lincoln is gone.

But is she missing?

It's up to Grayson Sykes to find her. Although she is reluctant to track down a woman who may not want to be found, Gray's search for Isabel Lincoln becomes more complicated and dangerous with every new revelation about the woman's secrets and the truth she's hidden from her friends and family.

Featuring two complicated women in a dangerous cat and mouse game, And Now She's Gone explores the nature of secrets -- and how violence and fear can lead you to abandon everything in order to survive.- Goodreads

This book was extremely long winded. Was it worth the read? The last maybe 60% of the book made it worth it. But unfortunately, that ending wasn't exactly what I was hoping for after reading so much.

What I thought the author did well with was making the story complicated without it feeling as if it was just fluff to keep it going. What made the story long winded was the whole lot of nothing that happened in the first half of the novel. I don't even mean the whole investigating part because that continues throughout the whole book (obviously) but there was a lot of ifs floating around and a lot of comments about Gray's weight, the lack of wealth she has and etc.

However, I liked Gray. She was extremely intelligent, had a likeable personality and was honest with herself. I just liked her vibe overall.

The other thing I liked about this book was the flashbacks. I was able to get a clearer picture of Gray and it made sense with how the overall book flow. But the story was extremely long winded and there were way too many periods of nothing happening. ALSO not only did I feel some type of way about the ending, it also didn't address Gray's mental health which was noted more than once throughout the book. It would have been nice if this was spoken out loud.

Overall, I liked the book but it most certainly could have been written better.

3 Pickles

The characters were okay, some were a bit creepy but mostly everyone was predictable. Even though this book gave so many (too many?) characters to keep track of, I just didn't really care what happened to a single one of them.

“Gray knew firsthand about men who could turn charm on and off like a beer tap. Love letters and expensive sea salt caramels one day, spit-flecked lips and bugged eyes two weeks later.”

And Now She’s Gone is a novel by best-selling, award-winning American author, Rachel Howzell Hall. After two years behind the scenes at Rader Consulting, Grayson Sykes is finally given her first proper case (not a Chihuahua): she has a missing girlfriend to locate. “She’d always been the nosy kid, the Negro Nancy Drew.”

Isabel Lincoln has been gone for six weeks, and her boyfriend, a hunk of a cardiologist named Ian O’Donnell, wants Gray to find her. “Once she realizes she’s being stupid, yes, she’ll come back.” Ian pointed at her. “I just need you to help me help her accept that sooner rather than later.” Isabel also took his dog, which angers O’Donnell, and Gray wonders if he wants the dog back more than the girl. She also wonders why he wants Isabel back: is it really love or is he concerned for his image?

Even before O’Donnell has told Gray repeatedly what a nice guy he is, she has already decided that Isabel has gone “Probably because she smelled the crazy on him and didn’t want it to get into her favorite coat. Hard to get the stink of nuts out of wool.” Familiar alarm bells are faintly ringing. The more people she talks to, the more Gray feels that Isabel was lucky to get away, and Gray should know: she has her own history to draw on. But O’Donnell is the client so she at least has to go through the motions.

When she does, though, something strikes her as not quite right: she’s getting conflicting information and begins to wonder if O’Donnell is an abusive, narcissistic and possibly dangerous man from whom Isabel Lincoln needs to escape; or if O’Donnell is a genuinely nice (if narcissistic) guy and Isabel is a vindictive gold-digger.

And those disturbing texts to the number generated for her dating app: has Gray’s own personal monster finally tracked her down? Because Gray is heartily sick of looking over her shoulder, of checking the rear-view mirror on every drive. She’s armed and feeling dangerous.

Wow, what a tale! The plot has so many twists that the reader might want to pre-book a chiropractic appointment. There’s plenty of dark humour in the dialogue and Gray’s inner monologue, quite a bit of action with knives, and the body count builds with each jaw-dropping revelation.

Howzell Hall’s protagonist can’t fail to appeal: Gray is smart and sassy, gutsy and ready to stand up for herself. Her rotten past has firmed her resolve against being a victim and to help others “Especially cases that helped women get away from dangerous men.” A clever and brilliantly twisty page-turner.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Tor Forge

My god this book kept me on the edge of the seat from the start. This was the first book I have read by this author and I am adding her other books to my list as we speak.

This is te first book I read read from this author. In my opinion the story took some item to develop and it didn’t hook me at the beginning. The end thought was very twisty and gripping and I’m glad I didn’t give up and kept reading.

This is my second read by this author and while I really wanted to like it because I was searching for mystery/thrillers written by people of color... nope not so much. Admittedly I liked this one better than the other book I read. I don’t know if it’s the writing or what but I struggle to care about any of the characters. Maybe it’s just me but the story was just ok as was the mystery. It could really just be me but I managed to push through to the end though I doubt I’ll be reading any other books by the author if I’m honest.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing my review copy.

If you enjoy, or can even tolerate a non-linear time line, then you will love this book. It switched between the past and the present all the way through. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers so to find a book that kept me guessing was a novelty. I love when I think I know where an author is going and they just go off in a totally different direction. This didn't just happen once either, it continued all the way the end. This is a fun, fast paced mystery. I haven’t read any other books by Hall, but I sure want to now.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I really wanted to like this one and was super excited for it but overall it was just one of those books I could not for the life of me get in to. I know I notoriously have trouble with cops or detectives being the center focus of the story but I overall only care about the mystery and I think this was the case with this one. While our main character was refreshing and felt original I just kept feeling like I wanted to be more immersed in the case and less so her life and friends.

I had such a hard time with the characters. None of them stood out or seemed memorable to me and I could never keep any of them straight - but I also didn't care about any of them so it was hard.

The mystery was okay but again just kind of lackluster.

Overall it felt slow and a bit too dull for me to fully enjoy but I know it's gotten great reviews so honestly maybe don't listen to me on this one lol