"Detective Chelsey Calhoun's life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state - but Ellie's reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.

It's been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun's sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she's been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey's line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won't say where she's been, or who she's protecting, and it's up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken - and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page."

I'm always here for mysterious disappearances and reappearances.

I really enjoyed this book. Impossible to put down! One thing i would have liked to read more of the main character's (Chelsey) backstory. The plot was great and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!

This is my first time reading a book from this author and I was definitely not disappointed! This story has so much mystery to it that it definitely creates the page turning effect. I read almost the whole book in one day because I could not put it down. I was not at all expecting the turn of events through out the book. So much love was put into the characters that my heart absolutely broke for them. I am very big on closure in books and I felt as though the book provided everything I needed. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author! Highly recommend!

I read The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean. I was offered an ARC by @Thoughtsfromapage podcast. As a Patreon member, I will have the opportunity to attend a zoom with the author to discuss this book. I thought this was a great opportunity because I have enjoyed Emiko’s previous romance books! Yes, she has taken a serious genre jump, which I applaud. I’ve known her to be a good writer.
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This book is extremely well written and the story is well told! I was kept in the story and wanting to know what happened not only to Ellie, but to other characters as well! I did not know how the case would be resolved and the ending was so well done! There was so much unexpected at the end. It was very satisfying in terms of resolution.
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Those who read mystery thrillers, I think, will really enjoy this book. I do think the reader should be warned that young girls are abducted and assaulted. I find it so hard to believe, in spite of the news, that people can be so unthinkably cruel to other people and I don’t want to read about it. That’s a personal choice. I recognize that my preference does not take away from the excellent writing of Emiko. I’m looking forward to talking about this book with her!
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Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean was a fast paced and unputtdownable thriller. After my two day binge of this novel, I am still pondering the darkness of this one.

The point of views of Ellie, the detective, other family members, and the psychologist therapy sessions were well done. Chelsey (the detective) flashbacks were also interesting; she had a huge a backstory. I loved seeing the unraveling of the story through all the POVS, and the ending was unexpected, multi layered, and complex.

The mystery contained several issues/themes: violence against women and children, PTSD, trauma, kidnapping, abuse, and grief (just to name a few).

All and all, this is a great mystery novel for your summer reading!

Thank you to Cindy Burnett with the Thoughts From a Page podcast / Page Turners Patreon Early Reads group for arranging ARC copies. Thank you to the publisher Simon and Schuster; Emiko Jean; and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Holy twisters!

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Chelsey Calhoun is a cop plagued and yet driven by the murder-suicide death of her own sister 15 years ago. Now a missing girl has returned after two years - Ellie Black, damaged and broken from unspeakable horrors. But something doesn’t feel right to Calhoun, and despite risking the loss of everything she loves, she plunges into the case without looking back. But what will she uncover? Just where was Ellie? And is her story all that it seems?

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 😮. I kind of need an emoji on this one. Just 😮. This is a book that had me hooked from the first to last page, that one I had to flip back a few pages just to verify… DID I JUST READ THAT? 😮

Writing was paced well, a plot that twisted in all the ways, characters I could picture and cheer for (or not) - all the makings of a psychological thriller. To say much more would spoil soooo much, and I would do anything for review readers, but I won’t do that. #meatloaf

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Psychological thriller, mystery

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: lovers of the genre, those looking for a fast-paced page turner.

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: TWs exist - do Google them, if you’re burned out on the psychological thriller genre.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me swear off walks in the woods (seriously, watch the ID channel. Nothing good comes from that).

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.