“Courage was always the right answer. And love, the reward.” If you were trapped in a bad marriage and a bad job and had a chance to escape it, would you? Charles hates his life. An accident occurs and he has the chance to let everyone assume he was killed. He meets a woman, falls in love and has a chance to start over with her. This is such a great story about two people who take risks to get the second chance at the life they’ve always wanted. This book is very different from what this author usually writes and I couldn’t put it down. Thanks to @NetGalley for this very enjoyable ARC!

I loved this novel. Danielle Steel had me captured from page one and I had a hard time putting it down. I'll be recommending Without A Trace.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for my ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Three and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭒
Without a Trace by Danielle Steel is a fast-moving romantic suspense set in France, about a man who decides to change his life after a near-fatal accident.

Story Recap:
Charles Vincent appears to have everything he’s always wanted in life, his two children are grown and off doing their own thing, and while his marriage isn’t perfect, he’s worked hard to keep it together. His job pays well, which helps his wife maintain the lifestyle she desires, but his job isn’t what he’s always wanted to do. But, overall he’s content with his life, but he hasn’t felt true happiness in a long time.

On a trip from his office in Paris, to his château in Normandy, his car swerves off a cliff, and Charles and his car plunge into the ocean, far below the road. Charles manages to get out of the car and swim to safety and even manages to climb up the cliff and back onto the road, where he walks, in the dark, until he finds a remote cabin. There he meets the beautiful, Aude Saint-Martin, who takes him in and helps tends to his injuries. But, when Charles discovers that the police think he’s dead, he thinks about just staying with Aude and living a simpler life.

My Thoughts:
I’ve always wondered about people who can just walk away from life, and in Without a Trace, we get to see a man walk away from a lavish lifestyle, his wife, and two grown children.

The setting is gorgeous, part of the book is set in Paris, some of it is set in Charles’s lavish château in Normandy, and part of it is set in Aud’s small cabin, also in Normandy. All of these places are well described and made for a bit of escapism.

The characters were not very likable for the most part. Although I could sympathize with Charles in wanting to leave his old life, I didn’t like that he actually let his family believe he was dead. Also, the romantic relationship between Charles and Aud was very rushed and not all that believable to me. Aud wasn’t very well developed and although she had a rough past, I didn’t understand her rush into a new relationship.

Recommendation:
I recommend Without a Trace to anyone who enjoys romantic suspense. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel
Another excellent and thought provoking novel by Danielle Steel.

This is the story about Charles Vincent. Charles had everything in life that anyone would want. He had a great job, beautiful wife, two adult children with lives of there own and money. With his wife there was never enough. On a trip out of Paris to one of his wife's many parties. Charles went over a cliff and almost died. Then there's a lady Aude who helped Charles who helps Charles. Their live would never be the same!

My thoughts - This is great story about looking at your life with your eyes wide open. The characters were so real and well written. The story pulled me in and kept my interest. It was a all around get book

I will be recommending this book to others through Amazon, Bookdud, Goodreads, Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble.

This book is a 5 out of 5

I received this complimentary from the publisher for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

Charles and Isabelle have had a long marriage. The marriage is good for Isabelle because she gets to spend all the money Charles makes. When an accident offers an opportunity, Charles decides to take a break from his life and meets Aude. That’s when things get crazy! Only after a kidnapping, shootout, and fight for money will Charles be able to resume his new life. This was a wild story!

I've always been a Danielle Steel fan so it pains me to write that this was a hard pass from me. Charles, a wealthy man with a, to put it mildly, contentious marriage, drives off a cliff and survives. That he is able to walk to Aude's home in the dark is impressive, that they fell Into insta-love and bed almost immediately strains credulity and makes you wonder about their judgement. Oh and she's hiding from an abusive spouse newly released from prison for murder. Sigh. Charle's wife is depicted as the worst sort of harridan and Aude as an angel. What about the children? Is it fair that they think their father is dead (he doesn't seem to think about them at all). I honestly didn't like any of these characters, which surprised me. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I didn't like this one but I'm still looking forward to her next.

Excellent Danelle Steel book. Charlie was married to isabelle who was very materialistic. Nothing was ever enough. They were very well off but she always wanted more. When he fell asleep driving home and almost was killed, he thought he would just walk away from that life. He hated his job, he was not in love anymore and the only thing he would miss would be his kids. He walked until he found a cabin where Aude took him in and they fell in love. She knew he had to go back to his old life to finish it, but he kept putting it off. This was a story about a deeply unhappy man who took an escape route that he had to work his way through. There was drama with Aude's ec-husband and Isabelle wanted more and more, but everyone was finally happy. A very good story

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Thank you NetGalley, Danielle Steel and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of Without a Trace. This is my personal review.
I am a Danielle Steel fan and have read all her books.
Without a Trace is for me not one pf her better books. I was disappointed in it so much.
All the characters were boring. The story line was dull, and it was for me not a good way to spend my reading time. I read the book to the end just so I could have closure with what happens to the characters.

Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you could step away from your current life and lead a different life? That's the premise of Without a Trace. Sadly, I feel this book got too far-fetched.

Charles is a successful business man, married to a miserable woman. On his way home to his country estate, he has an accident and is given the opportunity to walk away from the life he loathes. His wife and children believe he has died. I don't want to give the story away, but I think the premise had potential, and yet, Ms. Steel missed the mark with this book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I loved Danielle Steel's last book The Whittiers. I was so looking forward to reading Without A Trace. It is most definitely not one of her best novels. It's a bit repetitive. The characters are not likeable......they are either victims or bullies. The best part of this book is that there was a happy ending. Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC.

Danielle Steel brings us the story of Charles and his family. Charles seems to have it all with his beautiful family and successful career. Behind closed doors, his perfect life is not so perfect. Falling asleep behind the wheel of his car and ended up crashing his car into the water pushes Charles to make a fateful decision. He finds himself at a crossroads where his decisions will decide how his life will play out. He is given a second chance at life with a clean slate, or so he imagines. Will Charles be able to just walk away from his former life unscathed? Or will there be consequences he did not imagine come up affecting his family?

Danielle Steel shares with us what could happen if you walked out on your life and was able to start all over again. Does taking a chance to pursue love and true happiness worth it in the end?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press for this privilege.

How can Ms. Steel write eight books in 2022 with another two lined up for very early 2023? I don't want to falsely accuse someone of using ghostwriters, but I just cannot see how this is physically possible. I did like the book The Whittiers, which came out in November, and that is why I agreed to read the next two books, this one (published in January 2023) and Worthy Opponents, which I hope isn't as far-fetched as this book was.

I almost gave up on this book after the first few chapters. But, I must admit that Ms. Steel does bitchy, money-grubbing wife really well, so I keep going. But, unfortunately, the story got increasingly ludicrous as it went on. I must that it took me a while to understand that while in America, the family would have had to wait a number of years for him to have been declared dead since there was no found body, and then they could split the estate. I was surprised at how fast everything works in France.



SPOILER ALERT>>>>>>>>>>SPOILER ALERT>>>>>>>>>>>>SPOILER ALERT



The gist of the story- The husband hates his job, quits his career is out of work for two years, and takes a loan from the money-grubbing wife's father. He finds another job and makes even more money but again hates his career and his employer. Then, one night as the money-grubber is having a party in their fancy chateau, he falls asleep at the wheel as he is coming home and drives off of a cliff into the ocean. Yep, you heard me. And get this-he lives and makes his way to a lovely little YOUNG french woman and makes love to her within several hours of her rescuing him.

Long story short-he feigns his death until one day, his hotties ex-husband breaks out of jail (yep, in there for murder) and makes his presence known to them. So the husband decides to return from the dead and make things right with his family and his finances *snort* so he can spend the rest of his life with his young hottie.

Now, what do you think the money-grubber will think about this? She already has issues with splitting his estate with their two children.

Well, the rest I will leave up to you to imagine. I've read about 80%, and while I'm still interested in how the greedy wife is going to take him to the cleaners during their divorce and just what is going to happen to the hottie and her escaped ex. But get it from the library if you can.

*ARC was supplied by the author, the publisher ‎Delacorte Press, and NetGalley

This was one of my favorite Danielle Steel books in a long while!

Have you ever thought about faking your death and disappearing? Charlie was given just that chance when his car ran off the road late one night and he almost died. Luckily, he survives and finds his way to a small house occupied by Aude, a local painter who lives a quiet, understated life - she is the opposite of everything Charlie's wife Isabelle is.

The storyline covers 6 months of Charlie and Aude's life, his healing, finding a life again and then suddenly a traumatic event that changes everything. I don't write spoilers, so I can't go into more detail, but let me say that I enjoyed Charlie and Aude's story very much.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Charles Vincent appears to be living a life that most people would envy, but all is not as it seems. His wife cares nothing for him, only the money he makes and he is in a job he hates. Things change when he falls asleep at the wheel and goes over a cliff, miraculously surviving. Charlie decides he doesn’t want to go back to his old life. This is the story of a man who decides he wants to change his life. There are complications when his new relationship is threatened. This is a typical Danielle Steel, entertaining with a good story with the expected happily ever after. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Although I haven’t finished the book yet , I want to share my thoughts, this is a hard book to read. Reading how selfish this woman is and how money hungry she is makes me want to put the book away. “ All she could think of now was Charlie, what he had left her, and how she would survive.”
Reading about Charlie, who walks into A’s life and just stays? Does that happen? Does it matter, this is a book after all.

Just finished and I did not like this book any better. Seeing A get kidnapped and what she went through.

Just not my kind of book, I would say my least favorite of all of DS’s books.

Thank you NG and Delacorte Press for allowing me to read this early for an honest review.
Growing up as a kid my mom was already reading Danielle Steel so when I saw this book I thought yes this would be good to read. And it was. I really enjoyed the book. So much happened in the beginning but I felt like as the book started to get closer to the end things were just rushed and loose ends quickly tied off. I would have liked to know more of what happened after the return. The book was still a good read and worth recommending.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Danielle Steel never disappoints, and “Without a Trace” is no exception. I love her easy to read writing style and storylines that are always interesting and engaging. This story takes place in France and reminds us that everyone deserves to be happy- even if it means starting over with a new job or a new love. Thank you DS!

What would you do if your life was unhappy and you had a chance to disappear and start your life all over again? Charles Vincent learns the answer to that question when his car slides over an ocean cliff into the water. He survives, and finds his way to a country house where a lovely woman takes him in and helps him heal. Charles hates his job, is unhappy in his cold marriage, and wants nothing more than to move on in his life. Could this be his chance to just disappear?

WITHOUT A TRACE by Danielle Steel is a page-turning story of a man struggling to let go of his past life so he can finally be happy again and move forward. As Charles and the new woman he’s fallen madly in love with face devastating complications, the only truth is their love and devotion to each other. And after all, isn’t that what everyone wants?

I highly recommend this exciting tale by the queen of women’s fiction. This is one Danielle Steel story you won’t want to miss.

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel takes place in modern day Paris. Charles is married to Isabelle. They have two adult children, who live abroad. Charles hates his job as well as his marriage. Isabelle just takes from him and is only interested in what he can do for her and make her life better. On a dark night on his way to see Isabelle at their chateau, Charles's car goes off an embankment and he and the car go down a cliff and ends up in the water. He must make a decision - die in the water or try to survive and live out his life. He gets out of the car and survives, but his wife and children believe that he is dead. He does nothing to discourage that, and eventually his will is read. Isabelle is not happy about what she is left, and now needs to find another way to survive. Charles is happy living his new life with Aude, who has her own past that she is trying to outrun - an abusive ex-husband who is in prison for killing Aude's boyfriend. She persuades him to resurface and claim back his life for the sake of his kids and officially file for divorce from Isabelle. Meanwhile, Aude's ex-husband has escaped from jail and is hell-bent in finding Aude and killing Charles because her ex still believes that they are married. Charles must find her after her ex kidnaps her.

A great Danielle Steel novel set in France. Good descriptions of the settings as well as character development.

Thanks to and Netgalley and the publisher who provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This one talks about a guy wanting a better life. The ending could have been a little better. All in all it was good.