4.5🌟
Happy Birthday Celia!🥳
Celia just celebrated her 40th birthday in style, thanks to her husband. But after discovering a cryptic note among the many cards from her friends, her mind starts racing. Perhaps a little drive to calm her nerves. (Though these days, a drive is anything but a calming experience for me!🤦🏻‍♀️).

Eventually her husband realizes Celia isn't back from her drive. He makes a frantic call to her sister, Gen. And the news is not good. No one has heard from Celia!

Told from the perspectives of both Celia and Genevieve in both the present and past.

I found this book absolutely unputdownable! Wrapped it up in just two sittings! So drawn into Celia’s story and her upbringing I couldn’t tear myself away!

I always look forward to sitting down with a book by this author, and luckily enough I have a couple more sitting on my shelf waiting for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer

There honestly isn’t a single book by Minka I haven’t hands down absolutely loved. This book definitely did not disappoint. It was a total page turner from page one all the way to the end. I enjoyed the flashbacks that were weaves into the present of Celia’s life. Read on if you want to find out who thinks she doesn’t deserve what she has.

Intrigue, mystery, and familial bonds shape this new story from the talented mind of Minka Kent.

This is a story of sisters, of trials and tribulations between them.

Readers will get sucked into the story of Ceila, Genevieve, and Celeste. Each direction the sisters take towards what they feel is their future, their lot in life.

Their shared past has shaped them into the women they become, and the intrigue comes from what binds them together.

This story was hard to put down once I started. I can't wait to see what comes next!

I finished this before bed and completely forgot it by morning. Extremely average plot and characters. The entire middle portion could have been cut out and the story would have ended the same. Also I didn't think the flashback chapters added any weight to the story whatsoever. Minka Kent has always been a hit or miss author for me and sadly this one was a miss. A quick and easy read that sadly wasn't entertaining or memorable.

**I received a free arc from Thomas and Mercer via Netgalley.

Gone Again tells the story of Celia, who mysteriously disappears after her 40th birthday. Her sister Genevieve, who's just recently reunited with Celia after 20 years of estrangement, vows to find her and sets out piecing together the clues to her disappearance. Along the way long buried secrets are unearthed that might change their world forever. This was a good story with really great characters. It's told in present and past timelines, told by each of the sisters. The ending was not what I at first thought and it was explosive! Highly recommend!

A mesmerizing and intense storyline....

People are not always as they seem. Especially those domineering strict authoritarian types. Looking from the outside in, the Fieldings appeared to be a dedicated God loving family with strong beliefs and values. Now flip that coin, and looking from the inside out, it's a totally different story.

Jim Fielding, a husband, father and police officer is supposed to protect, not only his family but his community. He does neither. He controls them, especially those around him. Particularly his eldest daughter, Celia. And maybe even, a few outside of his immediate family.

Will Celia escape his brutality with her life, or will she be forever capsulated by his cruelty? What about those outside his family?

I highly recommend this book. The characters demonstrated a connection with one another, as did the telling of the story. I enjoyed the switch back and forth between present day and the past.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced reading copy of this novel. I leave this review in exchange.

Celia Guest is celebrating her 40th birthday and has a lot to be grateful for. A beautiful home, a loving husband, and great friends. Among all the cards and gifts, she finds a note that says: You don't deserve any of this. She has no idea who could be so cruel and in the early morning hours she disappears. As her disappearance is investigated, her sister Genevieve pieces together a shattered life from Celia's past. As all the lies surrounding Celia come to light, a dark childhood secret Celia thought was buried also comes to light.
This was a great quick read with plenty of suspense and twists. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed Gone Again… I’m oddly addicted to books where the characters and story revolve around religious fanatics. This book goes back and forth to 26 years ago and present time. Celia and Genevieve are the main characters. Sisters. Celia was a “wild child” in a religious home. She ran away as soon as she got the chance. Now, celebrating her 40th birthday she receives a sinister note and shortly after, goes missing. The story has a little bit of thrill but mostly domestic suspense or family drama. The character development is beautifully done. This is a great story to buddy read with friends to discuss theories and plot. Thanks so much for this!

“You don’t deserve any of this.”

Can you imagine reading this note while you are opening your 40th birthday gifts and cards? A milestone birthday tainted by an anonymous note. Well, it had a profound effect on Celia Guest - she ran away! Disappeared. Vanished. Without a trace. The thing is, it isn’t the first time she’s disappeared. Curious? So was I. The remainder of the book is full of flashbacks to Celia’s childhood and her sister, Genevieve Jacob’s, attempts at finding her estranged sister. As the layers start to unfold, readers are aware of the abusive childhood both girls experienced under the care of their religiously fanatic parents.

In short: Minka Kent attempts to explore how long someone can run from the past and highlights the ripple effect when we don’t practice what we preach.

While I enjoy this author’s books, I didn’t feel that this one was as powerful as it could have been. There were too many loose threads for me. I wonder if some of the backstory and motives were cut in an effort to keep the word count manageable. I felt the ending was rushed, too. Perhaps a little anticlimactic, even. Don’t get me wrong. It was definitely tension-filled and the creepiest of her books. It’s been a long time since I was uneasy reading a book or being by myself in the house. But something was missing that would have made this a five-star thriller.

Regardless, in my view, it’s a strong 4-star mystery. It’s a quick read, with lots of family secrets and twists, and definitely held my attention.

I was gifted this copy by Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Celia’s husband has just thrown her a 40th birthday bash and all of their closest friends were in attendance. Unable to fall asleep afterward, Celia is opening her gifts in the middle of the night. Amid the gift cards, cut-crystal vases, and sapphire tennis bracelets, Celia finds an ominous note: “You don’t deserve any of this.” Shaken and terrified that someone knows her long-buried secrets, Celia flees to the city.

This quick and easy read is good but not great. While I enjoyed this dual-timeline, dual-POV novel, it left me feeling a little unsatisfied. Shortly after Celia gets to the city, her present POV ends abruptly and the bulk of the present storyline focuses on her sister Genevieve trying to find her. This consists of mostly conversations with Celia’s friends but not much action, which is interesting but not particularly thrilling. Some plot points weren’t fleshed out as well as I would have liked. For example, when young Celia is sent to a Christian reform camp, more time is spent on getting her there than showing what she experiences while she’s confined there.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I never heard of Minka Kent before requesting an advance copy of Gone Again on NetGalley. Since finishing it, I noticed that the ebook can be purchased for a very low price, and let me tell you, if you like psychological thrillers, this one is worth every penny!

From the beginning, the story unfolds in a very unpredictable way. The main character, Celia, is one that I felt sorry for, worried about and immediately liked. When she went missing I could only hope that Minka would not have something even more horrible happen to her. I loved the way that the author carefully plotted all the little nuances that led me to "feel" the way the characters did. She had an excellent way of submerging me into not only a world of terrible parenting by those who are influenced by super-strict religious beliefs, but she also added details of some more minor characters in a way that made them relatable.

Bravo! 5 stars!

Thank your for the opportunity to preview Gone Again
This is a family drama story centered around three sisters brought up in a strict religious home. Each sister has her own memory of childhood. They are grown women with secrets and trams.
The oldest sister Celia ran away from the family leaving her sisters behind and the guilt and sadness haunt her.
She goes out after her 40th birthday and is not heard from by anyone
Her sister Genieve is not close to Celia but is determined to find her and in this journey to find her sister she learns more about her and realizes the pain they have all felt as children is different but the same.
As the search for Celia gets cold, secrets are revealed and memories become reality.
Very good

Gone Again is my first novel by Kent. I had high hopes for this novel as I heard that Unmissing was a great book. However, I think I set my expectations too high. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good book. But it’s just that, a good book – not fantastic or amazing. It is told from multiple points of view, and in two differing time periods, which at first, gets very confusing if you’re not paying close attention. After I got a handle on that, I did enjoy reading the book. However, there was just nothing particularly gripping or thrilling about the book. It is more of a mystery than a thriller. There were a few moments that I didn’t see coming, but since the build up of them wasn’t great, the shock wasn’t that great either. Overall, it is a good book, and perfect for any mystery reader.

I have been a big fan of Minka Kent books in the past, so I was very excited to read another from her. This was a read in a day book for me. Easy to read with chapters ending that left me with more questions. While I did enjoy this one, unfortunately it left so many threads unanswered. Who attacked Celia in the city and why? I kinda guessed part of the big secret as well. Not my favourite of her, but still a good read.

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer for the advanced copy of this book to read. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

I was immediately hooked to this story - I couldn’t put it down. The story was perfectly woven with the lives of 2 sisters intertwined with mystery and a strange form of distant closeness. The twists at the ended were an added bonus. A good read for sure.

This book was enjoyable. It seemed a little slow and the twist wasn't as huge as I expected. I would recommend it for a quick mystery read though!

Wow! Another great read by Minka Kent! I really enjoyed the heck out of this book. An intense overlapping timeline was perfectly executed. The characters were gripping. This hooked me from the beginning and did not let go. Twists, turns and crazy reveals Can’t wait to read more by this author.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Celia disappears on her 40th birthday, during which time we get to learn about her history growing up with a very strict and religious family, her younger sisters, and how Celia comes into the life she’s happily living prior to her disappearance. This was an easy read, with enough suspense to keep me turning the pages, although not one of my favorites from this author. Maybe a little more insight into the sisters growing up, as well as the night Celia goes missing, might’ve been helpful when circling back to the ending.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just insanely tense and a good run of the mill thriller. Can see most thriller lovers loving this one. Thanks to Amazon pub

This wasn't my favorite from the author. There's just a lot that's left fuzzy in the end. I liked the overall ride, but it ultimately didn't feel satisfying.