“Cessy used the couch to stand. Nausea touched the back of her throat, grudgingly stayed down as she stared at a pillow and blanket on the living room floor, trying to figure out what had happened the night before. And why she was naked. She spotted an empty bottle underneath the coffee table. Vodka. Vodka had happened. And so had Anthony Jenkins.”*

Two women, whose husbands both met the same bad end, find themselves in danger. Their husbands’ secrets put them directly in the crossfire, but what one of their husbands left behind might give them the leverage they need to put the bad guys away for good.

This book was a mixed bag for me. I found lots to love in Cessy, a great noir protagonist. She’s strong and has the backup she needs to take on the bad guys in her psychopathic sibling, Chris. I found her compelling and relatable. Two of the secondary characters, Dana and Rose, were fantastic. Cessy and Deb both exhibited agency and, for the most part, drove the story forward.

The book is packed with violent scenes including one where a bad guy uses Siri in a creative way. I enjoyed the diverse characters and the way the book addressed domestic abuse and human trafficking.

Certain things about the book were problematic for me. While I love thrillers, I am not a fan of overt manipulation, as I felt as done with the way ‘the killer’s” point of view was handled. Speaking of point of view, I felt that not only were there too many characters, too many points of views were used and the shifts between them too frequent, bordering on the dreaded “head hopping.” Certain aspects of the plot seemed implausible/convoluted/cliched and were explained in large chunks of introspection.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC. for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text.

Thank you to @netgalley , @eaaymar and @crookedlanebooks for providing me with ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book will be published on 10th November, 2020. Hurry up and order your copy.

This book did not live upto expectations for me. The beginning was really interesting but my interest in the book tapered off as the book progressed. Honestly, it got tedious and repetitive after a point. The characters were lovable and charming. The plot had a lot of potential. The setting was gory and thrilling. I wished the book was much shorter and the ending was crisp.

The story is about 2 woman, Deb and Cessy, from different walks of life, they both lose their husbands on the same night. Their husbands are killed with 2 bullets, one to the head and the other to the heart. They both try to investigate the death and get targeted by an criminal organization. Deb is approached by a FBI agent and she finds out that her husband was actually cheating on her.

Cessy is glad her husband is dead as he was abusing her. But something doesn't add up and she ends up finding some incriminating photo's in her house. Deb and Cessy end up crossing each other. And the gang is out to kill them as they know too much. Will they survive? Or will they expose the criminals? Read to find out!

Overall, it was a good cat and mouse game. Can be read once.

-Afreen

3.5 ⭐️‘s

This book was definitely a page turner from the get go. When Deb Thomas and Cessy Castillo’s husbands are murdered on the same night, in the same fashion, no one really sees a connection. When the FBI arrives at Deb’s door, things start to be revealed. Things Deb never saw coming! Soon Deb and Cessy’s life intersect as they fight to bring a crime ring to justice and save themselves in the process. Barres novel is filled with well drawn, diverse characters, strong women, racism, trafficking and grief. Although fast paced, there were moments of disbelief and the ending didn’t quite live up to the rest of the book.

This novel is all about two completely different women and their husbands that have been murdered on the same night and in the same way. But who killed them and why?

Deb and Cessy decide they want to know more about their husband's death and quickly regrets it when things take a wild and scary turn. Can they trust the cops or even can they trust each other?. Will they get their answers? Will things ever get back to normal for them?.

This book was so good. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Lots of twists and turns. I just kept reading because I wanted to know what happens next. I love the leading ladies they were so badass. The writer really did an awesome job on this novel. I really liked having 2 stories with 2 very different characters but yet so much the same and in the same situation. Cessy and Deb make a good team.

I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books and E. A. Barres for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to everyone that likes Mystery & Thrillers with badass leading females.

My social media platforms:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mama.bears.bookshelf/
MyBlog:https://mamabearsbookself.wixsite.com/mamabearsbookself
MyGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/43206375-anik-mamabearsbookshelf

What a wild ride this book started off to be. Unfortunately, the pace burned off fast and left reader’s stalled in the middle waiting for, well, something. E.A. Barnes provided beautiful characterization and a plot that started to unfold into a dynamic, intriguing narrative. However, it seems to come to a sudden halt and an anticlimactic end. 2 stars.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

#readmorebooks

Two women from different backgrounds suddenly have something in common. They both became widows on the same night because their husbands were both murdered. One of the women lives in a wealthy neighborhood, the other was being abused by her husband and was a bar tender. The women were not likeable to me but I found the mystery to be intriguing. I don't understand why the other reviews weren't as positive. I like novels that allow me to escape and be along for the ride. This did the trick.

They're Gone starts off quickly pulling readers in with lots of different characters with different backgrounds that will make for a interesting read until a little over halfway through the story things change. Leaving readers wondering if they are reading the same book? The twist wasn't WOW its was more head scratching and what the purpose of the twist.

The more "Twist" the more the story puzzle pieces didn't fit together. Somewhere so left field leaving this review and reader confused as to why. If the author was looking for reaction from readers the one "BIG" reveal or twist didn't work and will leave readers wondering this books was written in parts and pulled apart and put back together.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of E.A. Barres They're Gone

E.A. Barres started out strong in this book where two women from different backgrounds meet up after both husbands were killed. About 40% in the book, the plot became unbelievable and while he finished it with us knowing what happened to everyone, I would have liked to see it more believable throughout.

This was an interesting book and I think that with a little finesse it could have been a very good book. Two women from vastly different backgrounds experience the killing of their husbands on the same night in a similar manner. Cessy was not too upset her husband was killed, he had been abusing her for quite some time. She was not too happy though when she’s approached by the killers to pay an outstanding debt they claimed he owed, if she doesn’t pay the would be consequences. Deb, the other widow, is approached by a guy saying he’s with the FBI who is investigating her husband’s killing. Her husband had apparently withdrew a large sum of money from their accounts. The two women eventually meet up and things don’t go so well after that. The book wasn’t bad, the writing was good at times, though I found it dragged and I had to force myself to finish it. Thanks to Negalley and the author for the ARC.

Two couples, two murders, two widows. Two very different marriages both end up with the wives becoming widows when their husbands are found murdered. What follows is a well executed plot line as the story unfolds. Although, it was easier to put down than when I normally read a good/great thriller. I didn't care much for Deb or Cessy on the beginning but as the story went on they started to grow on me. More character development would have been a big help here. The ending was satisfying. I like the writing style of the author except I did find the dialogue to be choppy at times. Overall a decent thriller and I would recommend this book to others and I would definitely read something else by this author.

Cessy and Deb live very diff lives, one lives as a bartender with an abusive husband, the other lives in an affluent suburb with her well off family. Their lives come crashing together when both their husbands are murdered! A little far fetched and draggy at times this book was still an enjoyable escapist read.

They're Gone ( E. A. Barres ) is a little different story. In this book we have the "good guys", the "bad guys." and the "worst guys"! Barres gives the reader vivid descriptions and some edge of the seat moments. I want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an early copy to review.

I very much appreciate that the author laid out the social issues she was espousing in the first quarter of the book. These things are not to my taste in literature consequently I did not continue reading.
I wish him well and am sure many others will find the story to their liking.
This ARC was received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The review will be posted on Good Reads immediately.

This started out as an interesting concept, two women from different backgrounds both lose their husbands to gun violence. The backstory on the two protagonists unfolded easily and was a pretty good read for the first quarter of the novel. But as the story line developed, cracks started to appear. The blind trust that Deb showed, despite red flags, didn’t seem plausible. And 3/4 of the way in the plot just lost all steam. None of the decisions made by the characters made sense, the trust they put in others was misguided, and the end result wasn’t believable.

This book is absolutely stunning. I loved the different perspectives, the chilling plot, and the deeply human characters. Can’t wait to read more from EA Barres!

Oh, wow. What an incredible book. Gripping, thought-provoking, with plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. I stayed up too late too many nights to finish this, and I loved every minute.

Review based on ARC.

This is my first E.A. Barres novel but I am a big mystery fan so this caught my eye.
Story stars with two men from very different background and from different cities are both murdered on the same night in the same way but seem to have no connection.

Soon the story centers on how the wives relate to this situation, both wives Deb Thomas and Cessy Costello have nothing in common and are as different as their husbands. Deb is a homemaking in Northern Virginia and her husband Grant is a reputable businessman. Cessy is a bartender in a not so nice part of Baltimore and her husband Hector is a drunk, although Cessy is a bit confused by his death but is not sad, in fact pleased to rid of her abusive husband.
Deb and daughter Kim a college student are both devastated. Soon we find what the connection might be between the two husbands. The two wives meet to try to get to the bottom.
Although I was completed drawn in at first, I started to get distracted by incoming emails and dings alerting new Facebook messages. Not a good sign as my reading time is highly valued and typically I am not so easily distracted.
I did hang in there and it did get more interesting and exciting! Interesting characters, some likeable some not so much!

Want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 10, 2020

Two husbands—one cheats on his wife, the other beats on his wife. Both are murdered on the same night, in the same way. Each one gets a single bullet in the head and one in the heart. Someone is sending a message. But who? And why? Two widows—one mourns the loss of her loving husband, the other celebrates the loss of her abusive husband. Under ordinary circumstances, the lives of these two women would never intersect. But, as both women soon discover, these are far from ordinary circumstances. It doesn’t take long for fate to come calling on both women. Levi Price, an FBI agent, heads to suburbia to inform Deb Linh Thomas that her husband has been under investigation. Smith and Harris, two muscle-bound criminals head to a Baltimore apartment to inform Cessy Castillo that her ex-cop husband owes them money, his debt is now hers. In “They’re Gone,” E.A. Barres has created a chaos-theory style thriller wherein random bad behaviors by two unrelated men bring about the near devastation of their families. “They’re Gone” is a tightly woven novel of love, loss, desperation and terror, but above all, it is a novel of survival. A novel that, once a reader gets started, will be hard to put down.

I’m really not sure what to make of this book. It has all the right ingredients, husbands hiding secrets, murder, intrigue. It just didn’t really work for me. The big reveals came far too early and I found myself just hoping to get to the end so that I could finish it. I think with some more character development so that I would be rooting for them a bit more then it might of held my interest but they just felt a bit one dimensional. The writing was good and I think if the story had been a bit more plausible then I would have rated it a bit higher.

This book started off extremely strong but lost me in the details at about 20-30% of the way through. However, it was a super interesting plot and it was very well written.