This was an incredibly fast-paced read. I felt like I was perched on the edge of a boat during a swift-water rescue, watching events unfold before my eyes in quick succession.

I loved the excellent character development and the short, multi-character POV chapters—even more than the central mystery of what happened to the nanny and kids, or the dark secrets the Fisher family harbors, giving off Australian Corleone vibes!

When Louisa, a nanny to a wealthy Australian family, and her two young charges disappear from a secluded beach in western Australia, the police are in a race to find her and the children and bring them home safely. But did she take off with them on purpose, or did someone else have more sinister intentions? Lou’s mother Rose, a retired London police officer herself, flies halfway across the world to help find her estranged daughter.

Told from multiple POVs, When She Was Gone is a solid mystery/thriller with a lot of complicated family dynamics. Rose’s relationships with her ex-husband and daughter are examined, as are the dark dynamics of the uber-wealthy Fisher family, and even the rocky marriage between Detective Blackwood and his wife (retirement and date night will just have to wait until the case is solved!). All of those relationships added a real human element to this carefully plotted and evenly paced mystery. The twists are dark and everything gets wrapped up in a very satisfying way!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I absolutely loved this thrilled from Sara Foster and can’t wait to read more from her soon. I particularly enjoyed the easy to follow, multi-characters POVs and rich character development.

Thank you Blackstone book for the copy of When She Was Gone by Sara Foster. This would have made a great last book in a series because we know from the beginning that this is Blackstone’s final case. It would have also made it so we didn’t have to spend so much time on Blackstone and his relationship with his wife along with the long descriptions of people and places, that was too much when I wanted . The story started to pick up as we started to meet the other characters and hear them being questioned. While I loved the premise, the writing never really captured my interest. Everything came together in the end, but the big reveal was just okay for me. I’m not sure this book was for me,, but readers who like more “police procedural” books will probably love it. 3 stars

3.5🌟🌟🌟💫
Lou is employed buy a wealthy family in Australia as a nanny for two young children. But a play date at the beach may have turned into something sinister when Lou and the children vanish.

Rose has been estranged from her daughter Lou since Lou was a baby. All attempts to be a part of her life were thwarted. But now, with Lou missing across the world, the gloves just came off as Rose jumps on the first plane to Australia. With a background in law enforcement and being a mama bear she’s laser-focused on finding her daughter.

Detective Mal Blackwood is coming off a medical leave and hoping to rekindle his marriage as he inches his way towards retirement. But when the chief requests that he head up the investigation into the disappearance of the nanny and kids he can’t refuse. Retirement and his wife will just have to wait. (Sorry honey💔).

What I enjoyed:
*Told from all three perspectives, including a couple additional voices along the way.
*A solid thriller that wasn’t too OTT
*The cover art is gorgeous.

What fell short:
* I was never completely vested in the characters.
* There was a lot of telling rather than showing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing

What a fantastic, solid thriller. No twists and turns just for shock value and cheap entertainment, no plot holes- just a good old fashioned mystery set in the Australian bush. BRB - off to read everything Sara Foster has written !

Super good book and author !! Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review!!!

Was she taken … or did she run? Rose once walked away from her daughter. Now she may be the only one who can save her. Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote beach in Western Australia and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care Rose is asked to help bring Lou home! Great read!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It had great suspense, intriguing, murder, mystery, kidnapping, a great who done it and a few wild twists and turns! The story was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This was just okay. I liked the main few characters and their unique dynamics, but there were so many secondary players in this story it got confusing and bogged down the plot IMO. It was very dialogue heavy between the police officers which I found boring, and there were a few places I ultimately skimmed and skipped over. The ending was satisfying and cleaned up all the loose ends nicely though which I appreciated.

Some unexpected depth to this book. I thought was going to be an "easy" book about missing girls and their nanny but it was well-paced and the family dynamics were nuanced. I felt like everyone was a real person, even the more minor characters. They might have been unlikable but they had feelings and motives that seemed realistic.

This book is told by multiple POV's . I loved the characters and felt a connection to them, and especially the short chapters. Add the setting of Australia and you have a winner for me.

A new favourite book from Sara Foster! What an addictive read When She Was Gone is. My biggest regret is not reading it when I had time to sit down and binge it in one go, I could very easily have done that. It is dark, full of despicable characters that you will love to hate, and full of heart ❤️

When a young nanny goes missing from the beach in front of her rich and famous employers holiday house it is a race to find her. Not only is Lou missing, but the 2 youngest children in her care. Did she take them and disappear or did someone take her. Her estranged mother flies over from the UK, a former police detective herself, and throws herself into finding her daughter, much to the displeasure of the local authorities.

The story is told from multiple points of view which keeps you hanging on each one until you return to them. It is suspenseful, it is emotional and it is fantastic!! Get this on your TBRs, out in April 1st.

Thanks so much to Blackstone Publishing for the advanced copy to read.

Sara Foster is an amazing author. This book had all the makings of an amazing thriller. Multiple POVs, gut wrenching twists, and dark family secrets. I really hope she rights more, and there's a part two.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I was so happy to see Sara Foster has a new book coming out. I really enjoy her writing and was thrilled to read When She Was Gone early. I was hooked from the beginning on this gripping story with nuanced characters.

Rose's daughter has gone missing and she wasn't alone. She's the nanny of two very young children in Australia. These children belong to a very rich high profile family so there's even more pressure to find them as soon as possible. Rose's ex husband wants her to go and represent their daughter since he can't. Besides, she can also lend her expertise as a former London police officer.

The only problem is that Rose and Lou are estranged. Thanks to the ex husband who is a real piece of work. But Rose decides she's not going to let that stop her from doing everything she can to help find her. Rose is the heart of this story, I really liked her. She didn't let anyone try to keep her from doing whatever it took to find them.

The detective on the case didn't appreciate her doing her own investigating. He's close to retirement and under a lot of pressure to solve this case quickly. The patriarch of the family is doing his own things that the police would rather he didn't. But he's the type of guy that does things his way and doesn't respond to the word no.

The entire family is unlikable and the parents seem very suspicious. It's quite possible that Lou might have run to save the children from them. It's also likely one of the family's many enemies has taken them for revenge and/or ransom. There is a lot going on and as new details emerged, I was thoroughly invested.

I recommend When She Was Gone to those who like emotional meaningful mysteries. There's also a police procedural aspect that doesn't get bogged down with the details that I appreciated.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

I have read several of Sara Foster’s books but I think this is the best so far. The climax was truly stomach churning with suspense and the plot was sophisticated. A very visual narrative with complex characters make this a great book for discussion. I could see a sequel from this. Looking forward to her next book!

This is my first Sara Foster thriller, and it certainly won’t be my last. I loved the excellent character development and the short, multi-character POV chapters—even more than the central mystery of what happened to the nanny and kids, or the dark secrets the Fisher family harbors, giving off Australian Corleone vibes!

From the blurb, I expected an eccentric, forced partnership between Rose Campbell, an estranged ex-police officer turned bestselling author and domestic abuse consultant, and Mal Blackwood, a sharp, workaholic detective taking his last case before retirement due to health issues. However, as I began reading, I realized they each conduct their own investigations, with Blackwood determined to keep Rose from crossing his authority. Still, their separate searches for the truth converge in unexpected ways, revealing secrets and well-executed twists.

Early on, we meet Lou, the nanny caring for the wealthy Australian couple Kyle and Frannie’s two children, Honey and Kai. She reflects on their escalating arguments and how their home has become far from peaceful. While at the remote beach by the Fisher’s house in Kardanup, Perth, West Australia, Lou sees something threatening on the rocks while searching for Honey’s toy. Soon after, both Lou and the children go missing, leaving the Fisher family devastated. The head of the family, Jock Fisher, takes control, organizing a press conference. DSS Mal Blackwood is called in, despite it being his anniversary, to work with his colleague Angie on the case. As he interviews the Fisher family, he quickly realizes they’re hiding many skeletons in their closets.

Adding to the intrigue, Lou’s father, Henry, contacts his ex-wife, Rose Campbell. Years ago, Henry had done everything in his power to drive a wedge between Lou and Rose, including taking custody while Rose recovered from a colleague’s shooting and hiding letters Rose sent to their daughter. With the help of his second wife, Henry fed Lou lies that estranged her from Rose. However, after his lies were exposed during his third marriage, Henry faced the consequences. Lou moved to Australia to live with her brother Charlie, found a babysitting job with a wealthy family, and cut ties with Henry. Now that she’s missing, possibly implicated in the children’s disappearance, Rose, with her law enforcement expertise, is the only one who can help.

Rose quickly flies to Australia to assist in the investigation, although she’s still unsure what kind of person her once-moody teenage daughter has become. Despite being kept in the dark by the authorities, Rose is determined to uncover the truth, even if it means crossing lines and conducting her own investigation.

Overall, the character development is fantastic, and all the pieces of the mystery fit together perfectly. The pacing is engaging and well-balanced. I’ll definitely be reading more of Sara Foster’s books, and I highly recommend this one to crime thriller lovers!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this riveting thriller in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The plot is around the main character - Louisa - who nannies for one of the wealthiest and one of the most influential families in Perth, Australia. One day, while playing with the kids at the beach, something happens and she goes missing along with the kids. Did she take the kids and run away with an ulterior motive or has something happened to her & the kids? What happened and how does it unfold forms the rest of the story.

What I really enjoyed about this book:
- multiple POVs
- multiple timelines which gives us an insight into how everything and everyone plays a part in the story
- the plot was intriguing and kept me guessing who done it and the motive

It is definitely a page turner! However, in the end when the suspense unfolded, it kinda fell flat for me and I felt like the police didn't do a good job but everyone else did a better investigation than the police force. But again, this is my personal opinion and maybe there was nothing else they could do?! The book is a page turner for sure and I will recommend it to all thriller lovers!