Fast paced and intense!

Louisa is a nanny to the ultra rich Fisher family. Her charges are 3 years old and 11 months old and they are heirs to their family’s property empire. But when Lou and the two kids vanish from a remote Australian beach during a family vacation, everyone wants to know if she and the children were taken or did Lou run with them.

Rose Campbell, former UK law enforcement, is called by her ex husband, Henry, to go to Australia to find Lou. But Rose has been estranged from Lou for most of her young life so where does she start when she hardly knows her own daughter? DSS Mal Blackwood is recently released from medical leave and nurturing a fragile rekindled marriage when he is called in to work this complicated case. But as dark Fisher family secrets are unveiled, it’s a race against time to find Lou and the two babies before it’s too late.

This is a suspenseful read with short chapters and told in multiple POVs. I enjoyed the well constructed plot line and the character development. The side stories made it really interesting; propelling the story to a surprising ending.

Thank you Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on April 1, 2025

The book was an okay read with a cool mystery. Louisa, a nanny, goes missing at the beach along with the kids she watches. The different perspectives and timelines kept things interesting and I found myself hooked trying to figure out what really happened.

There were too many secondary characters and the parts with the police investigation felt slow. The ending wrapped things up, but the big reveal did not quite hit the mark.

Overall, it was engaging without being exceptional.
Thanks Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me to read the ARC of this book.

Sara Foster's When She Was Gone is a tense thriller about the abduction of a nanny and two young children in a remote vacation area near Perth,
Australia. We get a terrible hint of what is to come in the first pages, as well as a quick view of the nanny's estranged mother, a former BRitish detective and current activist against domestic violence. The parents of the abducted kids are rich and annoying, and the Aussie cop called back from a leave to take on the case is trying to temper his hyper-dedication to the job in order to save his marriage. kkkkThe complex scenario is handled ably by Foster, and the reader is swept along in the palpable tension of both the plot and the interpersonal relations. Highly recommended.

🌀 W H I R L W I N D W E D N E S D A Y review 🌀 featuring “When She Was Gone” by Sara Foster!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Rose Campbell is a former police officer and has been estranged from her daughter Lou for over a decade. Rose had to walk away from having a relationship with her daughter due to being in a very dark place in her life. She wrote hundreds of letters to Lou over the years and never received a response from her.

Now in current days, Lou is the nanny for 2 children from the prestigious and powerful Fisher family in Western Australia. What started out as a delightful beach picnic with the kids turns into something much more sinister. Lou and the kids DISAPPEAR and now the police are on the hunt to find them and they suspect a kidnapping!

Estranged or not, Rose is asked to fly across the world and help find Lou before it’s too late. She soon finds out that Rose’s father hid all the letters from Lou and Rose has no idea what she is working with: innocence, cruel intentions or being targeted. What really happened to Lou and the kids??

🚨 This is a fast paced police procedural that is high stakes and anxiety ridden! As the clock ticks and evidence and accusations start to collide, dark secrets start to unravel and the ugly truth starts to show its face!

Thank you kindly to @sarafosterauthor @blackstonepublishing @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on April 1, 2025!

Rose is a former police officer and hostage negotiator turned writer and consultant. She has little to no relationship with her young adult daughter due to a controlling and malicious ex-husband. When he calls in a panic and let’s her know that their daughter has gone missing along with the two small children she nannies for, Rose is suprised that he requests that she travel to Western Australia to represent the family while the police investigate. She agrees and becomes aware that the investigation has huge implications because the two young children are the grandchildren in a famous family publishing empire, helmed by the family patriarch, Jock Fisher.

The story is narrated by Rose and Detectives Blackwood, a soon to retire investigator who is in charge of the case. Occasionally other characters add their perspectives. The sordid affairs of the Fisher family complicate the case as the police, and Rose, race to find the truth.

This is a well crafted story of a kidnapping that I absolutely devoured in a day. The plot is taut thriller executed with aplomb by author Sara Foster who also delves into the complicated family dynamics of both the Fishers and Louisa’s mother and father with a deft hand. The characters are expertly crafted and believable and the twists in the story are fast paced and exciting. This is a phenomenon thriller that will have you staying up late to finish it. Five well deserved stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

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!