The premise is what drew me i, and kept me reading, but I felt I had to suspend entirely too much belief to get to the end.

Honestly, this book didn't really pick up for me until three-fourths of the way in. I feel like too much time was spent on reveling in Hannah's day-to-day activities which was definitely a snooze-fest. The ending was good, which is why I can justify giving this book three stars, but I wish we didn't have to experience all the monotony to get to it.

Personally this book just was not for me. I love twists and turns but this one read roughly for me. I couldn't relate to the characters or get into the story.

The writing was pretty good. The story behind it was a little slow. (Amazon reviewed).

A brilliantly-written excursion through the mind of an obsessive psychopath. From start to finish the style of writing provides an easy-to-read collection of mental images. Sadly, the story does not become engrossing or entertaining as Hannah watches her life disintegrate while she searches for her missing boyfriend. The books improves toward the end, but doesn't justify the lengthy ranting of the initial presentation.

After a successful day at work, Hannah returns home to share exciting news with her boyfriend, but finds he is gone. His belongings have also disappeared, and she wonders why he left without any warning. How is it possible that a person can disappear without leaving a trace behind? Did he ever exist in the first place?
When I read the premise of Gone Without a Trace, I was curious to know if Matt had left willingly or if he was in sudden danger. As Hannah’s obsession with finding Matt progressed, I felt like I was starting to feel her madness as well.
Though I was originally intrigued by the premise, the story went in a completely different direction than it began in. Without giving too much away, I will admit that I felt like the second half of the book was a different story all together.

The beginning of the book was great and had a great build-up of suspense, but then things started getting pretty predictable, which really slowed the story down.

Summary from Goodreads:

"Hannah Monroe's boyfriend, Matt, is gone. His belongings have disappeared from their house. Every call she ever made to him, every text she ever sent, every photo of him and any sign of him on social media have vanished. It's as though their last four years together never happened.

As Hannah struggles to get through the next few days, with humiliation and recriminations whirring through her head, she knows that she'll do whatever it takes to find him again and get answers. But as soon as her search starts, she realizes she is being led into a maze of madness and obsession. Step by suspenseful step, Hannah discovers her only way out is to come face to face with the shocking truth..."

My Thoughts:

This book was completely not what I expected it to be. It is funny when you go into a book knowing next to nothing but still "think" that you have an idea of what is going to happen. Obviously that isn't what happened here at all! I don't know what I was really expecting other than a thriller. What I got was a thriller but also an intense psychological reading experience. There was always this feeling while I was reading this book that everything wasn't as it seemed. As the reader, you don't know who or what you can trust. That helped to make the book quite a page-turner for me! I'm going to get into slightly spoiler-ly ground here so stop reading if you don't like possible spoilers and skip ahead to the next paragraph. I found about halfway through the book that I didn't trust Hannah either. I also didn't quite care for her either. I don't think that we are really supposed to do either though. That is the point of the book- that we don't know or what to believe when it comes to Hannah's missing boyfriend. I would say that I figured out some of the mystery about 3/4ths of the way through the book. Not everything though which is why I was unable to set the book down until the very end. I cannot wait to see what other readers think about that ending. It is one to discuss, that's for sure! Actually, I think that there are a lot of different things that you could discuss about this book. The author isn't afraid to make really unexpected choices when it comes to the story line. It gives readers a lot of things to mull over and talk about!

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this book as it was a unique reading experience. It was different than many of the other thrillers I've read so far this year and I appreciated that. I still stick with my statement previously that I'm a bit over all of these unlikeable main characters. Ha! I can't really complain much as this was too compelling of a read. I love how willing this author was to take chances with this book. I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next! I can easily recommend this one but especially to those readers who love suspenseful and thrilling reads. A solid four star read for me (if I actually gave star ratings that is).

Bottom Line: A thriller that kept me on my toes as I didn't know what to expect!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

It started off great, but after a while it just kept dragging on and not much was happening. Not until page 200 did it start getting good and even then once the big reveal came, and we find out that the main character is actually the antagonist it slowed again. I wanted to like it but during the first part I just kept thinking how unrealistic the woman's reactions were. It really took me out of the story.

'Gone Without a Trace' is another great addition to the mystery/thriller genre, and is definitely one fans are going to want to read. The main theme is one that almost everyone can identify with, and that's one of the major selling points - among several others. Overall, I'd definitely recommend it to readers who like suspense, mysteries, and thrillers. Here are my pros and cons after finishing:

Pros:
- First person point of view. This is such an important detail for me that I'm listing it right at the beginning. I truly believe that the story wouldn't have had the impact it did for me if it had been written in a different style. The fact that it's told from the first person - from Hannah's perspective - was one of my top positives for the novel.

- Fantastic attention to detail and lots of vivid imagery that brings the story to life for the reader.

- A tightly wound mystery with lots of twists and turns that you don't really see coming. I always try to figure out what's really happening before the author reveals it, but this book had me stumped for most of the story.

- The fact that this could potentially happen to someone in real life made it seriously creepy and made me stop and think about what I would do if I found myself in Hannah's shoes.

- Hannah is a wonderful main character and I identified with her right away. It's a huge plus for me that the book is told from her perspective, and the fact that I could see inside her head made it all the better.

Cons:
- Some parts of the story seemed to be redundant. It felt like some points were repeated again and again to the point of almost being annoying - but then again, I haven't been in Hannah's position and I don't know how I would think or react. But I thought it was worth a mention.

A woman comes home with good news only to discover her boyfriend isn’t home. Her life begins to revolve around finding out what happened to him and why he left. As she tries to solve the mystery, she’ll uncover secrets that she thought were long buried. Author Mary Torjussen leads readers through the world of an unreliable narrator in the somewhat satisfying psychological thriller Gone Without A Trace.

Hannah Monroe is on her way home to her London suburb with the best news of her life. After a fantastic presentation, she’s all but guaranteed a promotion to a significant position in her company. With a lovely home and a great boyfriend, Matt, Hannah feels the final pieces of her life falling into place. She couldn’t ask for anything more, and she can’t wait to share with Matt the news of the positive reviews of her work.

When Hannah comes home, though, Matt isn’t there. Even more mysterious, all of his belongings have disappeared. All of his pictures, his vinyl records, the large-screen TV—everything is gone. Hannah’s things have returned to their original positions, where they used to be four years ago before Matt moved in. She pulls out her phone to text him, but all of their messages and emails to one another have disappeared too. Even her pictures of him on her mobile devices have been erased.

It’s almost like Matt never existed.

Hannah is furious. After everything they’ve been through, how can Matt just pick up and leave without an explanation? How can he take away her memories of him? At the very least, he should have left her a picture or two.

She refuses to let him have the last word, however, and she begins an intense search to track him down. Her best friend, Katie, pleads with her to let Matt go and get on with her life, but Hannah can’t let Matt have that satisfaction. Compelled by the need for answers, she starts spending time at the office as well at home trying to figure out what happened. Eventually, though, she can’t keep up with both, and all the effort and energy she put into reaching the next major milestone in her career start to wane.

Hannah doesn’t care. All that matters is finding Matt and making him answer for his actions. Her persistence pays off, and she finds answers. Every answer brings with it another question, though, and Hannah starts to wonder if she’s slowly losing her mind. As she gets closer to Matt and his whereabouts, Hannah is forced to face the fact that some of the answers she seeks are closer to her than she originally realized.

Author Mary Torjussen has crafted a book that will keep readers going as they try to keep pace with Hannah. The questions of “who” and “what” slowly morph into “why,” and Torjussen does an adequate job of keeping the truth just out of Hannah’s reach. Every time Hannah thinks she’s found Matt, another obstacle thwarts her progress.

Unfortunately, Torjussen leaves several minor holes open in the story, just enough for readers to lose their footing time and again as they ask their own questions—namely, why Hannah pursues certain choices when clearly most people would go in a different direction. Some of those choices feel contrived, as if Torjussen needs Hannah to make them so the story can move forward. In essence, Torjussen’s efforts at creating the unreliable narrator come across as clumsy at some points.

Hannah’s best friend, Katie, reads as nonchalant and not quite “best friend” material. At some point readers may start to wonder just why Hannah continues her friendship with Katie. The two seem to bicker more than anything else, and Hannah’s continual frustration with Katie is just as off-putting as the friendship itself.

The biggest drawback comes in Torjussen’s choice of point of view, in this case first person. Readers hear everything from Hannah’s point of view and no one else’s, which causes the climax to ring a little melodramatic. Multiple points of view in third person would probably have strengthened the story and carried it to the end.

Torjussen doesn’t shy away from a strong ending, however. Other writers might have elected to follow the tropes of the genre, but Torjussen refuses to tread that path. Instead, she takes her readers on a different journey. Such a shame that readers have to wade through silliness to get there.

I recommend readers Borrow Gone Without A Trace by Mary Torjussen.

Hannah is bursting with excitement after hearing that she’s headed for a big promotion at her job. She’s worked hard for it and she’s ready to celebrate. But when she comes home from her business trip, she’s astonished to see that her live-in boyfriend Matt has taken each of his possessions and is gone. Not only are his belongings gone but all photos and texts from her phone are missing and he’s disappeared from social media. She’s completely at a loss as things had been going so well for the two of them. She just can’t understand why he would leave and knows she has to get to the bottom of what’s happened.

Thus starts Hannah’s descent into obsession. She starts getting strange texts and phone calls and sees signs that someone has been in the house when she’s not there. She’s sure that Matt’s trying to contact her. Is she mad or is there someone watching her?

It was quite sad to watch Hannah’s deterioration as she struggles to come to terms with Matt’s apparent abandonment of her. I could definitely empathize with her as she went over and over in her mind everything that Matt said and did in the days and weeks before his disappearance, trying to work it all out. She longs for closure but can’t stop thinking about Matt. She has a friend, Katie, but their relationship has always been a competitive one and Katie isn’t always as supportive as Hannah needs.

I didn’t see the plot twist coming though in looking back, I realize there were clues so others may guess. The twist touches on something that not many authors write about. All in all, this is a rip-the-pages-turning-them-so-fast book that is recommended.

Gone Without a Trace has such an interesting and unique/bizarre concept. The fact that every single trace of Hannah's boyfriend, Matt, was gone from her house when she returned from an important work conference left me absolutely stumped and seemed nearly impossible....I mean, how would someone remove every trace of themselves, not only from the home they had lived in for four years but completely from online, in such a short span of time? And why? So many ideas bounced through my head regarding what could have happened. Was he abducted by aliens? Was he part of the witness protection program? Was he all in Hannah's head? I could never have guessed what the big revelation ended up being and, after all the build up to get there, I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed.

So much of the story is spent with Hannah trying to find Matt and grappling with why he would leave her like he did and, if he did leave her, why she keeps getting strange texts, calls, and letters that seem to be from Matt. I couldn't help but get somewhat annoyed with Hannah after a while as she kept letting everything else in her life slide into destruction as she single-mindedly persued Matt. The author made such a big deal about the fact that Hannah was ultra competitive and had put her career above everything else for years with the plan to become management and make her disapproving father proud. It didn't then make sense for her to miss work, come in late, not turn in assignments on time, etc. She even comments numerous times that she needs to buckle down at work and get caught up and then instantly turns back to searching online for Matt. For me this just seemed odd.

I can't honestly think of one character that I liked in Gone Without a Trace either, however in this particular situation I think that helped my overall enjoyment of the story. Having everyone be so unlikable made it hard to figure out if any of them was somehow involved in Matt's disappearance as they all seemed like they could have motive for either getting rid of him or ruining Hannah's life. Hannah's erratic actions even made her seem suspect and I honestly had no idea where everything would end up. Then all the pieces fell into place and it felt like a total curveball was thrown into the end of the story, one that was barely hinted at before. The reasons for Matt's disappearance really did seem strange and overdramatic, however the way the story finally ended made it seem more plausible and necessary. It's very hard to say anymore about this without giving anything away, but I'd be curious to read what others thought about the ending of the novel.

Gone Without a Trace, while not, in my opinion, the "jaw-dropping novel of psychological suspense" the synopsis leads you to believe, does have a very interesting concept and an ending that would be hard to predict. I might have preferred a little quicker lead up to the big reveal and a little less whininess by Hannah, but I still did enjoy the story. It's definitely worth a read for those that enjoy unique mysteries and unreliable narratives.

How would you feel if your partner of many years turns up missing... without a trace? Hannah finds herself in this situation and you'll follow in her gripping journey of what happened to Matt. Enjoyable read but I can only give it 3 stars.

While not particularly fast-paced, the tension is high and it's hard to put this book down! I drove myself crazy trying to figure out the twists throughout the book, but I was still surprised by the resolution.

After four years of living together, Hannah returns home from work one evening to find her significant other, Matt, has taken all his belongings and has disappeared. There is no trace of him: their entire call history deleted, all photos vanished, his social media profiles gone. What happened to Matt?
The book follows Hannah's first person point of view throughout as she becomes obsessed with finding Matt to the detriment of her job and personal life.
I was initially really gripped by this. The premise was very interesting and the first few chapters strong. But once the author started providing background information on the characters, I thought the story became predictable and the twists weren't exactly surprising. It's very difficult to go into any details without giving the entire story away. Reviews of this differ wildly and I seem to be totally in the minority with my opinion that the revelations were easy to anticipate.
I would have preferred if the author had kept the main character's mental state more consistent. Again, difficult to explain without spoiling the plot. I really loved the ending though.
There were some nice unsettling and creepy bits and overall, it kept me entertained. Not always for the right reasons though. I listened to the audiobook narration and found it really amusing how the narrator used a posh Southern accent when Hannah was on her own and then switched to a really strong Liverpool accent for direct speech. What was the reasoning behind that? With a first person POV, it certainly didn't make the character very credible. Apart from that the narration was actually well done.

Wow! I know reviewers say things like "I read it in one sitting!"
But people.... I really did!

I was riveted from the beginning!

Hannah and Matt share a house across the Mersey River from Liverpool. Both are in their early thirties and are successful in their careers. They are in love, and she assumes that one day they will marry.

Ready to celebrate a very successful work conference, Hannah arrives home with a bottle of champagne to share with him. She finds all traces of Matt gone. Really gone. No trace of him left, not even in the trash cans! Photos of him with her, gone. Everything he had brought to their home - his television, his clothes, his extensive record collection - GONE. Right down to the mugs in the kitchen and his favourite marmite and ketchup from the fridge. All the messages in her email account and all the texts they exchanged have been wiped from her phone. When she calls his number she gets a 'recording'. When she calls his work she is told that no one by that name works there...

At first she is spooked. Then comes the anger. How dare he leave her without a word! Was it something she did? Then... inconsolable, she begins to question the forensic nature of his disappearance. Surely everything wouldn't be gone? Strangely, the possessions she had before he moved in had been put back as they were before he lived with her. Her books are back on the shelves that he had commandeered for his record collection. The blank spaces where his photos stood are not visible because her other photos have been rearranged to fill the gaps...

Hannah's confusion, panic, and stress are palpable. I found my heartbeat speeding up as she goes from room to room.

"Creepiness overload!"

Hannah begins to get anonymous text messages. Then, she is sure that someone has been in her house while she was at work. She left a vase of blowsy, dying, purple tulips on the table and when she returned home there were fresh purple tulip buds in their place...

She receives a video on her phone. Someone has filmed her when she went out for a morning run... Who would do such a thing?

Hannah has a very small support system with few people to turn to in her time of need. She has a very unhealthy relationship with her parents and wouldn't dream of bringing her troubles to their door. One wonders what kind of childhood she had. She has a 'best' friend, Katie, whom she has known since childhood. However the reader gets the impression that theirs is a sort of love/hate relationship with jealousy and competition playing major factors. Hannah confides in Sam, one of her coworkers, but again the reader wonders if he has an ulterior motive for being her confidant.

As the messages, phone calls and house invasions escalate, Hannah's life begins to unravel. She can no longer pay attention to her work and misses important deadlines. She doesn't even pay attention to her own personal hygiene and her house shows signs of squalor. She loses weight and is agitated and sleepless. She becomes obsessed with finding Matt.

Themes of loss and betrayal run throughout this fast-paced thriller.

With every component that makes for a FAB psychological thriller, "Gone without a trace" ticked all the boxes for me! It was a very easy read with short chapters and even short sentences. Not literary by any means, but compelling. The structure drives the reader into reading faster and faster. With a few requisite plot twists and an ending that can only be described as 'chilling', this novel will be relished by thriller lovers.

*Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book*

This book went on way too long. I thought the situation was implausible from the start, when there was no trace of Matt. That's just hard for me to believe. Then the fact that a professional, successful, strong woman would completely fall apart the way she did was unreasonable to me. And here again is the unreliable narrator, which I am so tired of. I just didn't find the plot believable and really didn't like the characters. Looking at the reviews, obviously a lot of people did, so I would still tell a reader to go ahead and try it!

Hannah Monroe is riding high. She has just been to a very successful conference at which her supervisors have made it clear to her that she is on the road to promotions and further success at her company. She can't wait to get home and share the news with her boyfriend, Matt. She is so excited she stops to get some champagne to celebrate but when she pulls into her driveway, the house is dark. Disappointed that she has beaten Matt home, she opens the door and all normalcy goes out as she goes in.

Inside, something is wrong. The first thing she notices is that the big pictures that hung in the entryway are missing. As she goes further in, she sees that the big-screen tv which was Matt's pride and joy is missing as well, although oddly, the old tv it replaced is back there. As she looks around, she sees other things missing and she starts to realise that only Matt's things are gone. Unable to understand at first, she looks further and further and finally the truth sinks in. Matt is gone. He has left her without a word of explanation. Frantically, she looks through her phone only to see that all her pictures of Matt and her messages to him are gone. The same is true on her computer. No pictures, no emails. He has wiped himself from her life.

Hannah's world falls apart. She tells her best friend, Katie, but Katie is absorbed in her own life with her own boyfriend and career. Hannah doesn't tell her family at first as her parents have a troubled marriage and she tries to avoid saying anything personal around them. She tries to find Matt. As she does so, the realization that this was a fully planned operation becomes apparent. He has quit his job. Even his mother has moved away with no forwarding address.

Soon Hannah's days become chaotic as she determines to find Matt, no matter what. She is sure that if she can only talk to him, she can figure out how to get him back. Her work begins to suffer as she spends her days worried less about her accounts and more about chasing down any clue she has. Her health and appearance suffer as she skips most meals and drinks herself to sleep on the nights she even does sleep. Soon her whole life is in jeopardy. Will she give up the search or find a way to rescue Matt from wherever he has disappeared to?

Mary Torjussen has written a suspense novel that will ring true to Type A personalities and to those who have gone through the heartbreak of someone loved who decides unexpectedly to break things off. There is the realization, the slow acceptance that nothing will ever be the same again. For most people that is followed by a rebuilding of one's life, but for Hannah and those like her, it becomes an obsession that they can't let go. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: As soon as I read the premise of this book, I knew I had to read it...it just seemed like my type of read - and it so was! I devoured this book and haven't stopped thinking of it since!!!

I loved the premise of this book - so unique! Can you imagine living with your significant other and then one day coming home and not only are they not there, but there is no trace of them ever being there? Nothing! And, as if that's not enough, they go as far as to erase all pictures, texts, and emails from your phone, computer, Facebook, etc. It's as if he didn't exist! Well, consider me hooked!

This book had me completely engaged, wondering what was going on, questioning every character that was introduced, everyone's motives. And then's there's our narrator, Hannah - she's a deeply flawed character who now becomes completely obsessed with finding Matt, to the detriment of everything else in her life. Did I love her? Did I connect with her? Not really, but there was something about her that kept me reading - I had to find out just how far she was going to go to find him, because it seemed like she wasn't going to stop until she did. And let me tell you - things definitely weren't as they appeared to be!

This book takes you on quite a ride and will have you coming up with all sorts of possible guesses as to what is really going on. I definitely did not see the ending coming at all - that was brilliantly done! I will say the book starts off a bit slow, but then it rachets up and doesn't let go. This is one of those reads that you will either love it or not, and I for one loved it! I cannot wait to see what comes next from this author - she is one to keep an eye on, for sure!