Chelsey Calhoun has been haunted by her younger sister's disappearance for over two decades. Following in her father's footsteps, she enters into the police force in her hometown with hopes of helping other's escape danger.

Two hikers come across a girl while hiking in the Washington State woods. The girl? Ellie Black has been missing for two years. Chelsey spearheads the investigation determined to find justice for Ellie, yet Ellie remains quiet and refuses to participate in the investigation. As Chelsey digs deeper into the evidence, she discovers Ellie still remains quiet. The clock is ticking and Chelsey desperately needs Ellie's help to save the other girls.

This gripping story alternates between third person and Ellie's POV, which was brilliant. Seeing the world through Ellie's eyes really allows you to feel and see how fragile she is and how determined she is to do what needs to be done. This story gets darker and darker as more of what Ellie went through is discovered. However, throughout the high drama, high intensity chapters are softer, quieter scenes that give us a glimmer of hope that Ellie's life could be normal again, despite all that she gone through.

The twists and turns in this book are jaw dropping, but provide closure for not only the Chelsey and Ellie, but also the readers. This was so well written, I look forward to reading more from Emiko Jean.

Thank you to Emiko Jean, Netgalley, and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchance for an honest review!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Review: wow, this was one fascinating read. As some of you know, I love books that have some sort of captive part to it (think The Quiet Tenant or Room). The unique setting of this book is that Ellie Black was held captive and we can see her story unfold in the present and past.

What I found so interesting was the POV of Chelsey the detective. I loved her story and her determination to figure out what happened to Ellie. I felt she was so well developed. The author did an amazing job weaving the past and present together and really had me stumped multiple times. There were so many plot twists, with the book ending with a phenomenal twist that I didn’t see coming and wish it was flushed out a little more.

Ellie’s story was hard to read at times. I ant fathom what she went through. Despite that, I enjoyed reading about her time at the camp and all the connecting parts. I stayed up until 2am reading this. It was an excellent thriller that left me in disbelief!

A big thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.


Pub date: May 7, 2024

It's been a lot of fun watching Emiko Jean explore different genres as an author. Going from her YA duology to her adult romance and now this thriller. I always enjoyed her previous works because of the joy and fun personality infused in her writing and main female characters. So to suddenly read something so bleak and dark was a little disappointing. I was hoping she'd put her own spin on thrillers by still maintaining her buoyant prose, but the style she went for is a lot more stilted.

Even though a lot of this story is high intensity, high drama (sometimes bordering on melodrama), my favorite parts were the quieter scenes. Ellie and her boyfriend having a tender moment when they first see each other again or Chelsey and her husband Noah sharing in a bit of lightheartedness. That's where Emiko Jean shines in my opinion and we just didn't get enough of it.

Great missing person mystery and police procedural!
A missing teenage girl is found after being gone for two years and Detective Chelsey Calhoun is charged with leading the investigation. Not only is Calhoun leading the investigation but she is extra invested because years ago her older sister was missing from the same town and was later found dead. There seem to be ties to Ellie Black, the found missing girl, and possibly other missing teenage girls from Washington state.
The author, Emiko Jean, very clearly gets both into Ellie’s mind as well as detective Calhoon’s. The reader gets good details on the two main characters’ backgrounds and emotions and there are quite a few surprises along the way with a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this upcoming thriller!

I’m going to make a prediction, this will be. Reese’s book club pick. The story unfolded cinematically and kept me entertained.

This story was so good! The author did an amazing job with character development and bringing the characters voice to life. I highly recommend.

4.5 stars rounded up

A teen is discovered in the woods by hikers and says she's Ellie Black, a girl who went missing two years ago. Chelsey is the detective that worked on her case and is now trying to find who abducted Ellie. This also dredges up what happened to Chelsey's sister when they were teenagers, when her sister, Lydia, went missing.

I've read Emiko's other books, but this is her debut thriller and I could not put it down. I absolutely devoured it and needed to know what was happening. In terms of content, be mindful that you get narrative voices that involve violence against women.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the ARC on NetGalley.

A quick-paced, procedural type thriller that kept me interested! I NEVER saw the twist coming and I loved the narrative surrounding women and how men are treated differently in life.

Strong thriller with good fast-paced writing that kept me locked in from the start. I try to be pretty self aware while walking around town or riding the metro but I shamelessly admit carrying my kindle around for all of the one day it took me to read this book. This is definitely a novel where the twist(s) at the end feel pretty wildly out of left field, which is why this book gets 4 stars instead of 5 (would be a 3.7 if Goodreads did decimals but I am generously rounding up) - it’s easy to imagine the writer looking at herself in the mirror and whispering “hell yeah” when she came up with the ending. I didn’t hate the ending but it was definitely a little forced, which took away from what was otherwise an excellent thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and the author for the ARC. This book will sell!

The Return of Ellie Black had so many aspects I absolutely love in a thriller- a fast pace, short chapters, alternate timelines and alternating POV. It’s hard to believe this is the author’s first thriller- it was done so well!

From the first page I was drawn in and had a hard time putting this one down! I felt so invested and was curious where it was going and what had happened. It did end up feeling a little far fetched but that can be fairly typical for a thriller!

I loved how the end tied everything up and you got to see what happened to each character. I would definitely recommend this one to any thriller lover. I can’t wait to see what the author writes next!

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Return of Ellie Black.

I love police procedurals featuring a female protagonist so I was excited my request was approved. I was eager to read this!

The premise was intriguing; a girl missing for two years suddenly returns, unable and unwilling to aid in her investigation, the lead detective Chelsey Calhoun soon discovers the clues to the perpetrators lead close to home.

What I did like:

1. Detective Chelsey Calhoun is a decent main character, the adopted daughter of the former police chief, a Japanese woman in a sea of white faces in her small town.

The loss of her older sister, whom she shared a fierce and loyal relationship with, destroyed her family and led her into a career of law enforcement.

2. Ellie Black's former boyfriend, Danny, is supportive, kind, and understanding. Most men, including fathers and husbands in these types of genres are scumbags and/or prone to gaslighting the main characters. Danny is a good guy.

3. The mystery wasn't bad; I was interested in Ellie's POV and how she endured and survived in captivity.

What I didn't like:

The identity of the perps was difficult to suspend disbelief in, as was the reveal of what happened to Chelsey's sister, though I accurately guessed she wasn't deceased.

Recently, it feels as if more and more mystery/thriller writers are throwing in twist after twist to 'shock' readers even if the 'twists' are hard to believe in.

The writing is fine, but the ending was just plain silly.

One more thing, I get understand this is an ARC so there are bound to be errors.

For example, The Goonies is referenced in one chapter but as Goonies. I hope that gets fixed in the final edit.

Young Elizabeth Black returns home after having been missing for two years. You’d think that is the end of it, but it’s not. She’s uncooperative during the investigation, and it’s up to Detective Chelsey Calhoun to find the answers.

TW: kidnapping, rape, murder, suicide, manipulation (gaslighting)

Emiko Jean has become one of my favorite authors, and thriller is one of my favorite genres, so I was more than excited to see that she was in the process of writing one.
Many mystery-thrillers are written about people who go missing and are either never found or are found dead. But this time, the missing person returns. But what really makes this case an interesting one is that it doesn’t stop there.
I loved Chelsey as a main character. This case was very close to her, and it was clear that she was set on cracking it as a way to cope with the regrets of her past. She couldn’t save her sister Lydia, so maybe she could save Ellie and the other girls.
Ellie was definitely a strange and complex character. I knew if the case was going to continue even after she returned home, something had to be up with her. I studied psychology in college, so I was able to see many signs of trauma in Ellie.
What I especially love about thrillers in general are the twists. The events of this book were definitely unexpected, that’s for sure. This book made me wonder if I can really trust certain people.
Like other books I’ve read by this author, she likes to throw out questions to make us think. It was also sad, thinking of those missing girls. What could’ve been.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and the author for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

The Return of Ellie Black is a uniquely refreshing mystery in that is starts after the teenage girl who disappeared two years ago (when she was only 17) and works its way backwards from there, as the intricate mystery is unwoven, later by delicate layer.

This is one of the most outstanding mysteries I have read in years, with wonderful character development, an evolved plot, and it is extremely well-written. I enjoyed ever minute, and I definitely hope that this is the first in a long series with the primary female investigator in this novel!

Kudos to the author, for her excellent work, and an enthusiastic 5 star rating from this reader.

First of all, this cover is stunning. I would buy this in the store for that alone. What’s inside the cover is fantastic too! The twist blew my mind. Definitely recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. This story had lots of twists and I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend for anyone who likes a good thriller.

Geez! My eyes are going to be puffy for work tomorrow! Whoa! What a book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one! It had everything! It had high suspense, intrigue, kidnapping, action, murder, rape, cult, gas lighting, great ending, a great who done it, great police work, and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was so very interesting and had me glued to my Kindle! I highly recommend reading this book!! It was so worth reading!! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Ellie Black disappeared two years. Then she’s found wandering in the woods. Detective Calhoun thinks something’s not quite right about Ellie. This story was engaging, the characters really pull you into their world. You feel their pain. You know their fears. Excellent.

US pub date: 5/7/24
Genre: mystery/thriller
Quick summary: The only thing more puzzling than Ellie Black's disappearance is her reappearance years later - and detective Chelsey Calhoun is determined to figure out this mystery and those of many other missing girls.

There are so many stories about missing girls - but not very many about them coming back. I was hooked on this one early in the book - Emiko Jean did a great job creating a dark and mysterious atmosphere in the story's Washington State location. I enjoyed trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together using Chelsey and Ellie's perspectives. There is a lot of darkness, but it's balanced by Chelsey's hope to stop the cycle of lost girls by catching the culprit. There were a few surprising twists that elevated this one beyond "just another thriller". 4+ stars.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars-“I wish this was not a cautionary tale about what happens to girls who wander off in the dark. Who are made to learn there are bad people everywhere. That the truth is these people aren’t not strangers. They are the men who you sleep with, the men you work with, the men you raise. I wish this wasn’t what it means to be female-it is not a matter of if something bad will happen, but when.”

Ellie hosts a party at a motel, charging admission to earn money for a new phone. She leaves the room in search of a place to pee, when the bathroom is occupied and she can no longer hold it. She is abducted from the field across from the gas station. This story is told from her viewpoint, what happens to her during her kidnapping, and also from the viewpoint of Chelsey, the detective on the hunt for her.

This one definitely held my interest, especially with the multiple POV’s. The quote I started my review with sets a tone of sadness that permeates throughout the book. The characters are all broken in their own ways, and that pain drives their motivations. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I will be looking for more books by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, Emiko Jean, and Simon and Schuster for a free ARC of The Return of Ellie Black. This book will be released 5/7/2024.

This is a well written thriller with plenty of surprises along the way. I couldn’t put it down, and I was constantly reading through other characters chapters to get to Ellie’s chapters.

Trigger warnings include kidnapping, rape, captivity, adoption, sibling loss, and abuse.

The book transitions between the viewpoint of Ellie and the lead detective on her case, Chelsea. Chelsea herself lost a teenage sibling which fuels her fire even more to find Ellie. Then one day, Elizabeth Black turns up after being missing for 2 years. She is obviously traumatized, but some things just don’t add up. What is she hiding? Why won’t she help the investigation?

As what happens to her becomes more and more clear, the story also gets darker and more twisted. You feel every single emotion as you walk with both Ellie and Chelsea and their complicated pasts, present, and futures.

This book is hard to put down and will keep you in suspense through the twists and turns.