A real page turner, if you can get past the awfulness of the premise and suspend your disbelief. ( )

This book was quite harrowing, and had my nerves all over the place as I read it and became invested in the lives of all involved.
 
From the very beginning, I was scared for this family--the opening scene has Audra driving through arid desert with few inhabitants, looking over her shoulder at every turn. Surely enough, as we know it will, the worst happens. I couldn't put this one down--it sickened me and I was desperately anxious to reach the end and have good things happen to these characters.
 
This wasn't particularly a mystery novel as we knew throughout what had happened, how it had happened, and why. Nonetheless, I felt compelled to race through this book to find out what would ultimately occur.
 
Underneath the ultimate plot of kids disappearing, there were some interesting tropes. Abuse was handled well in this book, and Audra's background with her husband was sickening. A lady who she stays with plays a role I did not expect and had a fascinating personality.
 
I felt like Danny, the man mentioned in the blurb, was kind of unnecessary. I wish he hadn't existed or that he'd been better worked into the plot. Though this is not at all a romance, it felt very much like a knight-in-shining-armour trope. His background was interesting to read about though, and I would have enjoyed more of him instead of less.
 
There were two children who I felt received the unfortunate end of the stick and I would have liked to have seen this resolved; however, this might have been out of the scope of the book so I can understand why their ultimate fates weren't included.
 
Overall, this was a really engaging read that I recommend quite highly
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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I love books that get right into the action and this one definitely delivers. Within a few pages, we are off and running on this tense adventure of a mother who has her children taken from her after a fake arrest.

A woman is on the run from her abusive husband. At the beginning of the book, we do not know much except she is in the car with her children that she may not have custody for. She has a past history of drug abuse, but for the time being she needs gas in order to continue.

After seeing a police car when she stops, she is nervous until pulled over. The police search her car and she is arrested for possession of narcotics. Her children are removed from her sight as she is in jail.

When she asks about her children, the police officer replies- "what children?"

This is the beginning of the book! As the book progresses, we meet a man who becomes very concerned about the children as he has had a similar story. Both people must now try the best they can to save these children.

I found this book so quick moving and so tense. I will state that I get a bit icked out by pedophiles, so that could have added to the tension of the book for me. The "dark net" plays a role in this book.

The scenes play out so well and dark. You can feel the dank cell and the hopelessness of the situation. This is a rough, but good summer read.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

I want to thank BloggingforBooks for the copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I have to admit that the book turned out to be better than I had expected. I read a lot of thrillers and lately, I felt a too many of them have an unstable woman as the main character, either past traumas, addiction, psychological problems, etc. So, I was hoping that this book would turn out to be better than I had expected when I started to read the book.

Audra has left her abusive husband and travels to the country with her two young children. However, when she is stopped by a cop in a little town her whole life turns into an even worse hell than the one she left. At the police station, the cops claim that she had no children with her when they arrested her and suddenly she is suspected of having killed her own children. As the TV reports start to report this event a man watches the news, and for him is this a chock because five years earlier, his wife went through the same thing...

Here and Gone is a fabulous thriller about a desperate mother hunt to get her children back. First, one doesn't know why they were taken, but then you start to realize the chilling truth. They couldn't have picked a better victim than Audra with her past addiction problem that could be turned against her. Through flashbacks, we get to see how right from the start her husband took control of her life and how he together with his mother dominated her life. It took some serious willpower to break free from that life and now she sits in a hotel room, accused of murdering her own children.

The most chilling aspect of this book is the realization about what happened to the children, why they were taken. Through the older child's POV, do we get to know what happens when they were taken and that I think actually gave some home to know what's happening to them. I mean, just leaving out the children's part would probably have added more angst to the situation. To an already angst-ridden situation.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! ( )

I have to admit that the book turned out to be better than I had expected. I read a lot of thrillers and lately, I felt a too many of them have an unstable woman as the main character, either past traumas, addiction, psychological problems, etc. So, I was hoping that this book would turn out to be better than I had expected when I started to read the book.

Audra has left her abusive husband and travels to the country with her two young children. However, when she is stopped by a cop in a little town her whole life turns into an even worse hell than the one she left. At the police station, the cops claim that she had no children with her when they arrested her and suddenly she is suspected of having killed her own children. As the TV reports start to report this event a man watches the news, and for him is this a chock because five years earlier, his wife went through the same thing...

Here and Gone is a fabulous thriller about a desperate mother hunt to get her children back. First, one doesn't know why they were taken, but then you start to realize the chilling truth. They couldn't have picked a better victim than Audra with her past addiction problem that could be turned against her. Through flashbacks, we get to see how right from the start her husband took control of her life and how he together with his mother dominated her life. It took some serious willpower to break free from that life and now she sits in a hotel room, accused of murdering her own children.

The most chilling aspect of this book is the realization about what happened to the children, why they were taken. Through the older child's POV, do we get to know what happens when they were taken and that I think actually gave some home to know what's happening to them. I mean, just leaving out the children's part would probably have added more angst to the situation. To an already angst-ridden situation.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! ( )