Detective Chelsey Calhoun is called when two hikers come across Ellie Black, a teenager who
vanished two years ago. Ellie has little to say about where she has been but Cheslsea senses
something is off about Ellie. As Chelsey investigates, the difference in Ellie, past and present, is.
stark. Ellie's chapters reveal what she endured and Chelsea's chapters reveal the struggles she
faces in the investigation. The ending will reveal long held secrets and have a great impact on
Chelsey's life.
#TheReturnofEllieBack #Simon&Schuster #NetGalley

Couldn’t put it down!! I love crime novels and the suspense of this kidnapping kept me on the edge of my seat. One of the best thrillers I’ve read so far this year.

I knew I wanted to read this because I liked Emiko Jean's young adult books so much and this one did not disappoint. Highly recommend her first thriller! This book had me on my toes. Every time I thought I had a guess for what was coming next, the book took a different turn. I actually finished it in less than 24 hours, that's how invested I was in Chelsey and Ellie's story.

4.5 stars. This is a very well-written mystery with solid, well-developed characters that you are quickly invested in and care about their stories. Ellie Black disappeared two years ago, and now she is back - but her unexpected return is yielding far more questions than answers. What happened to Ellie? Where was she and why is she acting so strangely and refusing to talk about what happened now that she is back? Our main character Chelsey Calhoun, is determined to find the answers. As she digs into the story, the picture gets more and more puzzling until it builds to a shocking ending. I went into this knowing very little about the story, and that is how I recommend that you go into it as well. This is my first book from this author, but it will not be my last. If you love a good dark mystery, then this book is for you.

A solid 3.5 stars from me. Firstly, I was generally into the storyline. I thought Jean had the right thoughts, took the right turns, gave us some suspense, but she failed to deliver in her writing style. This is my first Emiko Jean book and the summary of it drew me in. Detective Calhoun aka Chelsey, was really hard to keep up with. I had more trouble with the writing style than I did the storyline. Chelsey would often have memories that could pop up during dialogue in the book, which often made a difficult to follow or transition back to the original conversation. We also were informed at least three times before we were 30% of the way through the book that Chelsey was adopted. The repetition was a bit of a distraction.

Elli Black returns. We often hear her POV and/or a memory. This novel transitions between POV's; however, it's up to you to determine who's POV you're reading until you're a few lines in. I think Jean could add names at the top of the paragraphs like other authors do. It gives the brain a chance to transition to a different POV.

The overall story was captivating and twisted. The end threw me for a loop, but not in a good way. It left me wondering why? Of all of the crazy endings this book could have had, the one Jean picked was completely unrelated to anything in the story. Which finalizes my three star rating.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tight, twisty, titillating…an excellent mystery! Emiko Jean has written a must-read thriller in The Return of Ellie Black. Suspenseful, surprising and SO good!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! A missing girl is found after being gone for years, which reopens the case to discover what happened.
I read this entire book in a night and couldn’t get enough!

Ellie Black is found by hikers in a remote part of Washington State, after having been missing for two years. Both her family and Detective Chelsey Calhoun are elated. Where has she been, and what happened to her? Chelsey is like a dog with a bone on this case and will stop at nothing to solve it. Haunted by her own family’s past, she has many reasons for wanting to learn the truth.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s a page turner, for sure! It’s also a dark and intense book. It’s a look into the shattered psyche of a girl who went away a carefree teenager and emerges as a shell of her former self. Full of tense moments, the whole time I was wondering what would happen next.

This story is told from both Chelsey and Ellie’s points of view. If you enjoy twisty, psychological fiction, this may be a book you’ll enjoy. The conclusion was definitely unexpected.

3.5 stars

CW | Strong profanity sprinkled throughout. Violence against women, sexual abuse. Not descriptive.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Cindy Burnett, Thoughts From a Page and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was done SO AMAZINGLY WELL. I thought I knew where it was headed but it kept shifting ever so slightly. Do yourself a favor and read this one!

Spoiler but not really....
My only complaint is I want to know what happened to Star. :-)

Emiko Jean used imagery and descriptive language that blew me out of the water. And the TWISTS - I could NOT put this book down! What a ride. One of the best thrillers I have read this year.

"The Return of Ellie Black" kept me thoroughly entertained from start to finish. The storyline was gripping, and I found myself eagerly turning the pages to uncover what would happen next. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that certain aspects of the story could have been expanded upon more. Despite this, the unexpected twist took me completely by surprise, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the narrative. Overall, a great read with room for further exploration in certain areas. Thank you #NetGalley for this early copy to enjoy!

I really loved Emiko Jean's novels Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming, so I was thrilled to get this eARC!! This was a quick but interesting read. You could tell this wasn't going to be the same formulation as most thriller novels, in the fact that it was obvious we weren't receiving all of the information from the beginning. I was initially a little put off by the writing style, I'm not sure why. It felt very...staccato. A lot of empathy surrounding the situation, but it just felt a little disconnected. Overall, it was good and I enjoyed it and was on the edge of my seat near the end. I was just wanting a little more connection. Maybe because the POV of Chelsey, she's a cop so she's a little standoffish, which if that was the point, it was succeeded. 3.75 rounded up to 4, will still recommend to my YA readers!

Ellie Black went missing a few years ago and has now resurfaced. Detective Chelsey Calhoun was assigned to her case when she first went missing and is determined to get answers.

This story is quite the page turner and takes you on one crazy ride. Chelsey suffers from her own past trauma which motivates her to do the best she can at her job. Ellie is brave and selfless and shows the true meaning of self sacrifice and love. There were a couple of jaw dropping twists and the ending wrapped everything up nicely. I didn't know what to expect going into this, but I was definitely blown away. I would highly recommend this fast paced and suspenseful thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Years after Ellie Black disappeared, she suddenly returns. The detective on the case is desperate to find out what happened but Ellie isn't talking. What is she hiding? Who took her?

This was a fast-paced thriller with lots of intrigue. Detective Chelsey Calhoun is a terrific character and Ellie is peculiarly flawed, not the perfect girl who goes missing.

Highly recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

My thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to review this arc.

Missing teen Ellie Black is found after 2 years . Where has she been because Ellie is not sharing anything. Why? Detective Chelsea Calhoun is trying to find the answer while dealing with the demons of her own sister Lydia's disappearance and supposed death.

I did enjoy this book. It was an engaging read that held my interest.

Missing for 2 years, local teenager Ellie Black suddenly walks out of the woods, but refuses to talk. As small town detective Chelsey Calhoun begins her investigation, she is thrown back 20 years to when her own teenage sister disappeared. She vows to find out what happened to Ellie.
I was pulled into the story right from the start. I really enjoyed the alternate points of view between Chelsey, Ellie today and Ellie while missing. This book gets dark. It is a page turner full of twists and turns and is really well written. I look forward to reading more from Emiko Jean.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book in exchance for my honest review.

Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s fifteen-year-old sister mysteriously disappeared when they were teenagers. Since then, Chelsey has dedicated her life to investigating the mysterious disappearance of young girls under mysterious circumstances. The chances of finding these girls alive is slim. When Ellie Black, a teen that had mysteriously disappeared two years before was found in the local woods, Chelsea jumped on the case hoping her story would help in finding other girls who disappeared under similar circumstances.
After several futile attempts Ellie would not tell anyone what happened to her. Chelsey’s desperation to find the truth leads her into a world of twists and turns that don’t end until the last page. This is a page-turning suspense novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end, a very shocking end.

This is the first book I’ve read by Emiko Jean so I had no idea what to expect. I was surprised that this is the author’s first thriller - I hope there’s more to come!

Ellie Black has been missing for two years when she’s found lost and confused in the woods. Detective Chelsey Calhoun has been working Ellie’s case and hopes Ellie can give her the information she needs to find whoever kidnapped her - but Ellie isn’t talking. Chelsey’s sister was murdered when Chelsey was young, so Chelsey has her own reasons for wanting to catch whoever kidnapped Ellie so that they can’t do it to other girls. It’s almost hard to keep up with all the twists in this book, but those twists are what makes it so good. There are some very dark moments in this book that were hard to read, but if you enjoy suspense and mystery, you’ll enjoy this.

I enjoyed this book. Chelsey is a small town detective that’s been through the wringer in her personal life. She is smart and extremely dedicated to solving missing girls cases for a very personal reason.

Ellie Black mysteriously disappeared two years ago from a party and suddenly reappears in the woods. She has been through hell and is having a difficult time connecting to her old life. I enjoyed the dual timeline and story from Ellie’s perspective. I thought the end was twisty and wasn’t what I expected.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Last year, I read and enjoyed Mika in Real Life so I jumped at the chance to read Emiko Jean’s new novel, The Return of Ellie Black. At first I was surprised to find the subject matter darker than her earlier work but thoroughly enjoyed this darker tale as well. Jean wrote well developed characters while also building tension and there was a final surprise that I did not see coming.

Thank you to Thoughts from a Page and Simon and Schuster for the arc. I look forward to more novels (any genre!) from Emiko Jean in the future.