This was a wonderful suspenseful mystery! It is gripping from the very start with great twists.

Do you ever pick up a book with the intention of hating it? Or course not. What reasonable person does that? When I chose this book to read, I thought I would at least like it, if not love it. Then I read it, which was a test to my stamina and resilience, and I find I didn't like it even a little bit. I don't want to bash any book. Really. I want to say nice things. But, oh, I didn't like this book at all.

The story starts out with huge promise. As you know from the book's description, Hannah comes home to find that not only has her boyfriend left her, but all traces of him are erased from her life. The opening is eerie. All sorts of possibilities raced through my mind.

And then we get to know Hannah...

This woman is obnoxious. Seriously. She is an obsessive, childish, whiny, disaster. Her life is instantly consumed with finding Matt. I get that she wanted answers, but this woman couldn't even manage to wash her hair for days because she was too busy with Post-It notes tacked all over her kitchen. Every phone call she made and every detail she found or remembered went on a Post-It note, so she could spread them out, rearrange them, wallow over them, and rearrange them again. She goes from a high-powered position in accounting to a dribbling mess in no time at all. This goes on and on... and on. The first two-thirds or more of this book is Hannah obsessing and whining. Rinse. Repeat. She is so ridiculous that I couldn't manage a shred of sympathy for her.

Then we get to the twist, where something finally happens aside from Hannah's incessant whining. I won't give spoilers. If you make it this far in the book, you've earned the surprise. But I read this twist in which we learn what happened to Matt, and I said, "Are you kidding me?"

The last quarter or so of the book reads like Hannah is an entirely different character, though no more likable. Nothing about the Hannah we've come to know resembles the Hannah with whom we finish. Suddenly, when confronted with the truth, Hannah has a host of new and different memories. She even speaks differently. I suppose her character is meant to fit in with this new trend of 'unreliable narrators', though Hannah seems more deluded than unreliable.

I wish I could say something good, but, hey, this is only my opinion. Other readers have loved the story. The great thing is that you can always read it and decide for yourself.

Gone Without A Trace

By Mary Torjussen

Berkley

April 2017

Cover Art by TK

In Mary Torjussen’s thriller “Gone Without A Trace,” Hannah feels confident that her training course in Oxford will lead to a promotion. She’s currently a senior manager for a sizable accounting firm. While it may be too early to celebrate, she can’t wait to tell her boyfriend Matt the news.

After a 200-mile drive back to her home in northwest England, she is stunned to find not a single possession of his in the home they shared. There is no "I'm leaving you" note. There was no phone call detailing the reasons why he wanted to leave her. Nothing. The only thing she can do is find him. Find out if he had another life elsewhere. This is where her obsession evolves. She becomes hyperaware of every little clue and they are barely visible that even the reader begins to search the rooms with her. She knows a person can not simply disappear. Her obsession begins to alter her appearance, her ability to focus at work, take care of her home, and her health.

There are only a few people she dares tell what she's experiencing: her co-worker, Sam, her friend Katie and former lover, James, who is Katie's boyfriend. Their texts and phone calls make her feel like she's going crazy. That she should simply accept what happened and move on with her life. But she can't and everything she learns merely pushes her closer and closer to the edge.

GONE WITHOUT A TRACE is a psychological thriller that flows so well from chapter to chapter that you are compelled to read more. I found that you are trapped by Hannah's obsession. It drags you so completely into her POV. When things begin to take an intentional path. You begin to wonder who is after her and why. I was caught off guard by the "who" and shook my head at the end. Don't people learn their lesson? At the heart of it, that's the part that scares you.

five post-it notes out of five

Denise Fleischer

gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com

February 25, 2017

Gone Without A Trace by Mary Torjussen is one of those books that once you start reading it you won't be able to put it down until you've reached the very satisfying conclusion. Hannah comes home from work one day to discover that her boyfriend, Matt, has disappeared. She becomes consumed with finding out where he has gone to and this obsession leads to problems with her career, friends, and family. She just can't let Matt go without finding out why he so suddenly left her. This book leaves you in suspense the entire time you are reading it. A very thrilling read! Enjoy!

I had all sorts of theories going into this book, none of which were correct. I love a mystery that subverts my expectations and keeps me guessing, and this book certainly did its job. The first third of the book does lag quite a bit, but once you get through it to the meat of the story, the payoff is totally worth it.

The definition of a page-turning thriller.

I really enjoyed this book. There were parts at the beginning that seemed slow or drawn out, but the last half of the book was amazing, Completely worth the read!

I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars on this one (literally clicking the rating thing half a dozen times in my indecision). I mean, the concept was great, and the suspense is pretty subtle, because you start feeling stressed along with Hannah as everything seems to be conspiring against her in her personal and professional lives. The answer to the mystery of why Matt left is incredibly original and particularly well executed if you are a clever reader who can pick up on the understated clues. And I thought the subject was handled pretty well. The big caveat is that I just think too much other stuff was piled on top of Hannah's central problem. Despite the slow build, the ending was quite dramatic and satisfying overall. So if you can overlook Torjussen piling it on a bit thick, this is an entertaining read.

Great read! Suspenseful from the beginning with great plot twist at the end. Definitely recommend!

Surprising look at lasting effects from childhood trauma.

DNF at 80% I just could hang anymore.

Gone Without a Trace was very intriguing at first. How could you not be interested in a book with that suspenseful blurb!?! Unfortunately, this book fell very flat.

It started off very good. One day Hannah Moore, who is on top of the world in both her professional and personal life, comes home to find her boyfriend has disappeared. All of his stuff is gone, every last trace of him. Then, strange things start to happen. Someone is following her, entering her house when she isn’t there. Sending her notes and presents. She determines to find her missing boyfriend no matter the cost!

It started to drag on a bit, with very small things that would somewhat catch my interest and then die out with no information. I found myself getting frustrated, and just needing the book to come to some kind of end, or at the very least find the guy! Every scenario I could imagine as to why her boyfriend took off, and the way he did kept running through my head; it was pretty much what kept me going.

Finally, that moment came, and let me tell you! It threw me for a complete loop! Not in a good way. I still don’t understand exactly what happened or why for that matter. The author just took the whole first half of the book and basically threw it out the window! I was so frustrated with this twist and felt like the whole beginning and middle was pretty, much a waste of time.

I think it is a very interesting direction to take, however maybe a little more clues in the beginning to prepare ourselves not to trust the main characters side of things, would have made it easier to swallow.

I received this book through Netgalley and the author for free in exchange for a review for the Mystery Thriller Event. This in no way affects my opinions, they are my own.

Hannah Monroe comes home from work that not only is her boyfriend Matt gone, so are all of his belongings gone and her house put back like it was before she moved in. Not only that, all of his calls, texts have disappeared as well as anything she ever posted about him on social media. Her obsession with finding out what happened to him begins to endangers her health and her successfully position at work where she had been about to be promoted.

While I loved the premise of this book and was anxious to find out what happened to the boyfriend, the writing and story was pretty much the equivalent of a made-for-tv movie. This was yet another Gone Girl/Girl on the Train wannabe that doesn't measure up.

Gone Without a Trace is a compelling psychological thriller and a terrific read.
Gripping from the beginning, cleverly plotted & with lots of twists and turns, I finished it in three days as couldn't wait to find out what happened.
Highly recommended and I would read more by this author.

Thank you!

I enjoyed reading this book and was anxious to find out why Matt, the boyfriend of main character Hannah, had disappeared and seemingly removed all traces of his existence from Hannah's life. I did feel that the story went on a little too long at some points, but it generally kept my interest and was very well written and intriguing. However, when it took a dark turn, I found it a little too dark, although it certainly made sense in the flow of the plot. I also could have done without the final few sentences; seemed a bit tiresome to me. But all in all, I'm glad to have read it and would recommend it. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy.

This book was certainly jaw dropping as the blurb entices the reader to want to read this book. It kept my attention as I kept on wondering just what had happened to Matt, Hannah's boyfriend. All of the characters are intense and appealing. You cannot help but become fixated on each and every character. When the truth is revealed about where Matt is that's when everything goes topsy turvy. The reader is left with an unexpected twist. The twist and the flash backs are well timed in the story and the ending is just one that left me with that 'whoa' reaction. Makes me wonder if there's going to be a sequel. It was a fantastic read! I really enjoyed it.

What a bizarre book or maybe it was just my reaction to it. Hannah comes home from a conference and finds her boyfriend Matt has moved out. He not only moved out, he took everything that he had brought into the house and moved her stuff back to where it was.
Hannah freaks out. The effort that she made to find him was baffling to me. She let her entire life slip off a cliff to answer this question. Just let him go! But, weird things keep happening to her. Texts, someone taking pictures of her out running, letters in the mail. Is it Matt (Why would it be Matt?)
She leans on her friends Katie and James who often don't believe the weird things she says are being done.
At this point, I almost stopped reading because her obsessive desire to track Matt down was just too weird.
Then, about halfway through, we find out about her childhood. The interest went up again.
The book is well-written, easy to read and I would get home from work to read more. It's hard to explain my revulsion for the character but enjoying the plot.

This dramatic and emotionally intense story unfolds as details about a complex character and details of her life begin to slowly being to emerge as she searches for her boyfriend who has strangely and mysteriously disappeared.
Imagine that you’ve come home from a day-long business trip, expecting to see your romantic partner whom you’ve shared a home for the past four year. When you get there, you are shocked to discover that every last trace of them has disappeared, down to the ketchup bottle in the refrigerator!
Would you go about regular routine to try and get over it, or would you let it consume you, day after day, affecting your friendships and your work? In this slowing unfold story, which slowly intensifies, we meet Hannah, who is going through this situation with few friends and co-workers. As we read through her story, the details are finally thrown at us at a mind-boggling pace with a sobering ending, about domestic violence and the lingering effects on other beyond the victim themselves.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity.

I was really intrigued in the first few chapters when Matt completely vanishes but as the story went on, I got extremely bored with Hannah and her search for him. After months of her obsession, it was easy to feel for the few friends and coworkers who were trying to help her move on.

Towards the 2/3 mark, there is a pretty good twist but it didn't take long for me to lose interest with her once again. It actually made me like her even less and felt like it made her seem even more pathetic. I have to say, I definitely didn't see the ending coming.

Unbelievably fantastic. I never saw it coming. Torjuseen does for books what M. Night Shyamalan did for the "Sixth Sense." "Gone Without a Trace" is a phenomenal psychological thriller. Be prepared to be astonished. I normally see endings coming a mile away but this one had me on the edge of precipice until the big reveal and then I was hanging over the edge, heart beating waiting for it all to wrap up.

Hannah is successful and has just been told she will be up for promotion. She is hyped up on positive energy and excitement but it is all about to turn into a black sea of turmoil. She arrives home ready to celebrate, a bottle of wine in her hand when she notices that EVERY SINGLE THING that her boyfriend, Matt owns is gone. There is no trace of Matt or his belongs, furthermore all evidence of him is gone. There are no photos, his social media is wiped out and her home looks exactly the way it did before Matt moved in but where is Matt? There is no "Dear John" letter, he has vanished.

Hannah falls into despair and makes is her mission to locate, Matt. She becomes obsessive and creates her own circle of madness. Her work life begins to suffer and her relationship with others becomes further constricted Hannah's own personal health begins to suffer and her compulsiveness to locate Matt and get answers becomes unnerving. Her anguish and despair runs of the pages and it becomes evident that Hannah will do whatever it takes to find, Matt --- no matter the cost.

Hannah is an unreliable narrator, who keeps you guessing and pulls you into her world, making you empathetic and confused.

Expect a long day/night of reading because I couldn't put this book down until it concluded.

I really enjoyed this book since for once ( and very rare these days so it seems.....where the BOY is lost & NOT the girl. I believe for me, this was part of the major reason I enjoyed it!

It was a page turner for me with multiple twists & turns. It starts when Hannah realizes all her boyfriend's things are missing & their texts to each other are included!! She wasn't hearing or receiving texts from him, all pictures were gone....everything! As if he never existed

She starts searching for him but the journey isn't easy, she goes deeper & deeper & this is what turns into the "page turning, must find out why" parts, come in the book

Makes for a very good reading experience. D highly recommend this book esp. for those who like twists & turns in a mystery---this has many of those. Deeply layered I kept asking myself, while reading----would I honestly go this far? How far would I really go, before giving up, or hoping I'd be successful?

Many thanks to Berkeley publishers for allowing me this early release---much appreciated!