Without a Trace is Danielle Steel’s latest book and my 47th book of hers I have read. Charles is in a loveless marriage and as he is driving alone on a very windy road, he veers off the road and nearly dies. Somehow he managed to survive and he finds himself at a lovely girls house, Aude. They fall madly in love and he “fakes” his death for several months. Everyone thinks he has died. I won’t give anything else away but this was a quick read for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Danielle Steel did it again! This book is one of her best ever! I swear recently she has been writing better than us did at her peak

This story is one, I think, almost everyone can relate to. Behind hasn't wanted, at times, to just escape their life and start over?

Just loved every second of reading this book. I read it in one setting and am currently reading it again and enjoying it just as much the second time through

Happy to recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books, and one of my favorite authors, Danielle Steel, for granting me an advance copy of this fabulous book in return for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed Without a trace. Ms, Steel has a way of weaving a story completely different than where you think the story is going to go. I'm so glad Charlie stumbled upon Aude and was finally able to experience pure and unselfish love, unlike what he had with Isabelle for over 30 years. Ms. Steel took you on an unexpected ride when Aude's ex husband Paul kidnapped. Luckily Aude had told Charlie about a remote place Paul had taken her and it turned out to be the right person. Kudos to you. Ms. Steel !

I have always been a Danielle Steel fan. I have read all of her books and usually enjoy them, but I feel this one missed the mark. There really wasn’t much of a story – a man drives off a cliff and pretends to be dead because he hates everything about his life. Enter a little love interest to the story and sprinkle in some crazy/toxic ex-spouses -that’s the whole book. I think this could have all been said in 75 pages really.
If you are looking for a Steel book to read, I would keep looking.
Thanks NetGallery for my ARC.

Charles Vincent appears to be doing well. CEO of a large toy company, apartment in Paris, a chateau, two children, large bank account and a wife who wants him to make more for her to spend. After an intensive argument over safety concerns with the owner of the toy company, Charles drives to the chateau. Along the way, he is thinking how bad his life is when he falls asleep and drives off a cliff.
He survives the accident but his car, phone and wallet are now sinking to the bottom of the sea. He begins walking and sees a light in the distance. He finds a remote cabin and it is here that he meets Aude. Life is beginning to change for Charles.
Without a Trace is perfect Saturday curling up in a chair on the porch read. I did have some issues with Charlie. He comes off as a man of high ethics and morals. He was fired from the publishing company for standing up against publishing soft porn. He was arguing with his current employer over safety labels then he sleeps with someone he just met after near death experience. I also got hung up on mention of the accident site when Charles and Aude are in the car after leaving the cabin in a rush. It leads me to believe that they had been traveling for a couple of hours by car when they passed the accident sight yet he walked to the cabin after the accident.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for allowing me to read this book and give my honest opinion.

Firstly I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and write this review.

Charlie is a man who feels trapped in his life. He has a job that he hates, a wife who only loves his wealth versus any characteristic he has and overall he’s a very unhappy man.

He is given a second chance when his car plummets off a cliff into the sea; when Charlie awakens only to find that he isn’t dead, but heavily injured…. He makes his way to find help. Little does he know that the woman’s cabin his literally stumbles upon will change his life for the better.

This book was extremely slow for me in the beginning. It wasn’t really dark, twisted or on the edge of my seat. It was quite predictable.

I liked the concept of wanting to start anew but struggled to actually like Charlie.

Mixed feelings on this book.
Charles is not happy with his life, having a money hungry/gold digging wife and a job he doesn't love and is only keeping it for the paycheck to keep his wife happy. He falls asleep behind the wheel and drives off a cliff, surviving to basically then question if he should vanish without a trace for good or return to his wife and adult children. The woman (Aude) that takes care of him after the accident has a past with an abusive ex husband who's in prison. They end up sleeping together the night they meet which I felt was too rushed and unrealistic. He's a stranger, she's an abuse victim and he just survived driving off a cliff.
The overall story line of not being happy and wanting to start over, to have a second chance at life is great just certain parts I felt weren't executed right and things being repeated.

Thank you to Danielle Steel, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for this ARC.

As a first time Steele reader, I expected to be perhaps dazzled. I was not. I had trouble finding a reason to finish the first couple of chapters, honestly. The story is very difficult to believe. A very wealthy (but unfulfilled) married business man falls off a cliff and into the ocean in his car after falling asleep. He manages to make it the cliff base, free climb up the cliff, walk until he finds the home of the younger woman he's going to fall for, and refuses any help other than sex and basic first aid!? Oh, and he's also got a head injury on the way down off the cliff. Nope. Turns out, she's got a psychotic ex of her own who wants to kill her, and so that's exactly what I would expect a woman who has already been abused to do-open her door to someone she doesn't know who has been in an accident and offer herself. I must say that I won't be reading anything else by this author, and yes, I do understand that fiction is make believe, but there should be at least some plausible theories there.

I was so excited to be offered an Advanced Reader Copy of Without a Trace from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine. I have read every Danielle Steel book so it was a real treat to get an early peek.

As I find very common when I read books from Ms. Steel, I devoured it. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It was a very easy, quick read that I got caught up in and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. However, when I finished it and paused to reflect on the book, there were a few things that bothered me, especially about the first few scenes in the book which form the cornerstone of the plot. Charlie manages to survive his car careening down a steep cliff, climb out, drag himself to a small cabin, and have to door opened to him in the middle of the night by a woman who was previously a victim of domestic abuse (and oh yes, he also had the energy to make love to her after just a few hours). Somehow, when I was reading the book, none of that bothered me, but now that I've finished it, it just seems so implausible. However, with that being said, I enjoyed this book and recommend it for a weekend read with a nice cup of tea.

This book was not one of Steel's better books. The beginning is clunky and awkward with a lot of very long repetitive paragraphs. From there, the story does start to evolve with a lot of radical plot lines including escape from death, new lives, and ex-spouses. The characters are not very developed and it's a fast/light read.

This is a book you will not want to put down. It is a good book. The two main characters are Aude and Charlie. Aude is single and an artist. Charlie is married with two adult children, who is a CEO of a toy company. Charlie s driving home and has an accident. He walks to the nearest cabin, which is where Aude lives. The police have evidence of Charlie’s accident and believe he is died. This book takes you through his family reactions to his death. How Aude helps Charlie to go back to his family and helps to find love.

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel, is Family drama with toxic relationships, selfish spouses, and abusive ex-spouses, second chances, and a new lease of on life with a new love. There is a lot of repetition in this book, which is normal for DS, but that being said this book had more then usual. I found myself skipping a lot, and skim reading, and still could follow the story line. The whole plot hinges on a man driving off of a cliff and walking for over an hour while marginally injured. He manages to stumble upon the house of a gorgeous younger woman living on the outskirts of town who opens up the door and lets said injured, bloody man in. We discover she is a victim of domestic violence and her ex-husband is in prison for murdering her last boyfriend eight years before. No person with a history of domestic violence like that is going to up and let a strange man into her home. She is for sure not going to sleep with him hours later. He lets his family think he is dead for MONTHS. A lot more happens, but that's the gist of this novel. I used to love a DS book. She wrote some really, really strong character-driven books that kept me enthralled. That has changed, however. It's like I have amnesia when I see Danielle Steel's name and I forget how meh the last book was, and the book before that, etc. DS either needs a new editor, or take out the repetition and make it a short story.

# netgalley

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this. Charles is unhappy with his life. He loves his two kids but is unhappy with his marriage and his job. His wife has never worked enjoys spending and redecorating her home. Charles falls asleep while driving and miraculously survives. He meets an artist and is unsure if he wants to go back. This book makes you question that very decision.

This was a wonderful story on family and.starting over and getting a second chance. The characters and storyline were wonderful . If you like a book about second chances and starting over if you even know someone in a accident this is the book for you.
This was approved by netgalley and the publisher.

I don’t know that I would call this a novel. It was a quick read and pretty predictable. It felt more like a short story. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I always enjoy reading Danielle Steel’s books because I can turn off my brain and escape.
There were some points in the book that were pretty unbelievable. For example, did the main character meet a beautiful woman after surviving a deadly car accident in which his car plunged into the ocean off a cliff? If you’ve read this author before, then you know where I’m going with this.
I recommend this book for a lazy day paired with a great glass of wine and a box of chocolates. It will be the perfect escape. Enjoy!
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

This was a really great departure from the typical Danielle steel novel. A man who is unhappy in his marriage and job, takes the opportunity to fake his own death. He finds a new love and a new life, but will he keep it and at what cost?
This is a bit darker than most of Danielle Steel's typical novels. I really enjoyed it and rad it in just two sittings. Perfect for a quick weekend red, but would also be good for a book club.

Charlie is a successful businessman trapped in a loveless marriage to Isabelle who's only interested in the lifestyle his money provides her. Even though he's miserable with his job, Charlie knows he can never walk away from his career without giving up the luxuries his wife demands. But then, on his way home from work one night, Charlie falls asleep at the wheel, and his car plummets over a cliff. Even though he survives the accident, the odds of his survival are next to nothing, and everyone assumes he drowned. Instead, Charlie walks to safety and stumbles upon a cottage where an isolated artist named Aude provides him with shelter. Charlie and Aude fall in love at first sight, and he has to make the decision about whether to return to his old life or start anew with Aude.

The book had some interesting twists and turns. Even though the love story with Charlie and Aude happened a bit too quickly (they sleep together within a few hours after meeting, even though he's just been in a near-death accident), I did enjoy their relationship. As if there wasn't enough drama, Aude's ex-husband is an abusive sociopath who just escaped from prison, and he kidnaps her just when she and Charlie are about to start their new life together.

The book moves quickly, and even if it did come together too easily and without any realistic consequences, the story will provide its readers with several hours of entertainment. As with all DS books, this is a light read that doesn't require a lot of effort. Steel is not a great writer, but she is a good storyteller, and you can always depend on her for an interesting tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing with an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my opinions.

Wasn’t sure I was going to like this book when I started reading it. Charles Vincent didn’t like the direction his life was going and didn’t know how to deal with that. He stood up for what he believed in the publishing world and lost that job and eventually ended working for a toy company and wasn’t happy with position. Charles’ wife Isabelle was a self centered, spoiled woman who was not loving and after what benefitted her monetarily. Charles had an accident that ended up helping him make decisions on how to change the directions of his life. The story took a completely different direction with romance and mystery making you to continue reading to see what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Without a Trace by Danielle Steel. DS is such a comfort read for me and I devoured this book in 1 sitting. Loved it!

There is a lot of repetition in this book. I couldn’t find myself to really enjoy any of the characters. There were kinda two stories in one and they didn’t mesh well. It is an overall decent book.