Gone by Ruby Speechley
Genre: Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 21st February 2023
Published: 21st February 2023
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
My son is missing, and everyone is lying to me.
Last night my son, Shay, sneaked out of the house and didn’t come home. He promised not to go to the illegal party in the woods. But someone’s been attacked and Shay has gone missing. The police want to know if he saw what happened. I’m worried he could be involved.
After all the trouble he’s been in lately, mixing with the wrong crowd, coming home beaten up and scared, I thought we’d put it all behind us. Trouble is, Shay resents me moving my new boyfriend into the family home. I found all sorts on his laptop, including a half-written email warning me not to trust David. What does he know that I don’t?
I’m beginning to fear for his safety. What is David hiding from me? Who have I let into our lives?
I don’t know who I can trust. Will I ever see my son alive again?
MY THOUGHTS:
My son is missing...and everyone is lying to me...
I thought I had read Ruby Speechley before but I was surprised to discover that I haven't. I think I probably requested one of her books on Netgalley...and it's still sitting there waiting to be read (along with a zillion others...lol) I knew she was a domestic thriller writer so I was eager to jump right in and I wasn't disappointed...but I was surprised. GONE was not at all what I expected. And from what I've read of others' opinions, it is a departure from her usual style. But I certainly wasn't disappointed.
Rachel is a thirtysomething life coach and mum separated from her husband Mick and father of her two sons Shay (16) and Josh (13). Still living in the family home (until Josh is eighteen), she has been seeing a new man David for several months and when his own home burns down, Rachel, eager to help asks him to move in. Her eldest son Shay is not thrilled by this change in events with the boys naturally hoping their parents would make it up and get back together. He begins acting out and Rachel puts his behaviour down to his refusal to accept David.
When Shay receives an invite to an illegal party taking place in the woods, Rachel puts her foot down and refuses to allow him to attend because his recent behaviour has seen him grounded. The following morning, she opens the door to her son' musty room to discover his bed has not been slept in and the window unlatched. A search of the house and surrounds reveal Shay is nowhere to be found. Countless attempts to reach him on his mobile prove fruitless and messages to him go unread. Where is he?
Then Rachel discovers Shay was at the party in the woods but no one seems to know what happened to him or where he went afterwards. When it is revealed that a girl was attacked and that Shay was seen with her, Rachel can't believe her son has anything to do with harming her. Shay couldn't harm anyone. And yet he seems to have fled so she is unable to find out what he knows. It is looking increasingly like Shay has become a suspect in this girl's attack...until another teen goes missing. One who was friends with Shay. This cannot be a coincidence.
But the further Rachel digs to find out what could possibly have happened to Shay the further down the rabbit hole she is taken into a seedy, dark and disturbing world she had no idea existed. What in the world has happened to her son? And will she ever see him again?
This story is just wow! It is an intense and compelling read throughout that you just don't want to put it down. You just want to keep reading and find out what happened to Shay. The plot is tight and complex yet without being confusing. I like that it isn't a police procedural and more of a domestic thriller, though the police do linger in the background doing their stuff and popping up when needed. But the story focuses solely on Rachel and everything unfolds through her perspective, flowing seamlessly, making it easy to follow and yet the pace is fast.
I felt no one in Rachel's life could be trusted, apart from Josh who was so desperate to have his big brother back and maybe her ex Mick, who seemed a damn sight more worried than David appeared to be. This added to the tension and ramped up the pace even more leaving readers questioning just who could Rachel trust? If anyone? The moment she goes to confide in someone I'm screaming "NOOOOOO!! Don't!!" because I didn't trust that person not to be involved or know something. It seemed everyone was keeping secrets from her making it is even harder to know just who to trust.
The mystery of Shay's disappearance and all he was involved in prior to him going missing throws another aspect into the story. Does whatever Shay was involved in have anything to do with his disappearance? And will Rachel ever see her son alive again? The mystery surrounding his disappearance and its aftermath had me utterly gripped and reading into the wee hours of the morning.
I love a good missing child trope but this is on a whole other scale that not even the most seasoned fan could imagine where it will lead. It is surprising, shocking, twisty and disturbing. It, is in, places a dark read. And in the end, I found it a very sad one and was in tears. Or maybe that's just me just now.
There are a couple of niggles that I felt weren't addressed by the story's end...aside from the fact the cover has nothing at all to do with the story, leading one to believe it is a small child that goes missing instead of a teenager, it is totally off track to what it's all about. There were unsent/unfinished emails in Shay's drafts folder that were unexplained. What was that all about? And who were the teens Rachel saw knocking on Shay's window? Though assumptions were made, that also wasn't made clear. Apart from that, this was a 5 star read.
My first my Ruby Speechley, this won't be my last. I loved every minute of this thrill ride and look forward to seeking out more by this author.
GONE is a well written, well plotted tale that was unpredictable with many twists to keep you guessing. If you are a fan of domestic thrillers, then I'm sure you will enjoy this one.
I would like to thank #RubySpeechley, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #Gone in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Ruby is a mum of three was born in Lisbon, Portugal at the time of the first earthquake there in 200 years! She has been a journalist and worked in PR.
Ruby’s debut novel Someone Else’s Baby, a chilling psychological thriller, follows a young woman, Charlotte who has always dreamed of becoming a surrogate. When she and her partner Steve, choose Malcolm and Brenda, a middle-aged couple who they find on a surrogacy forum to become the intended parents, Charlotte believes she is about to fulfil her dream of helping a loving couple finally become a family, only to find that her act of kindness comes with devastating consequences.
Ruby’s debut was published by Hera in ebook in July 2019, and following a fantastic digital run, was published in paperback in January 2020. She now publishes with Boldwood Books.
Ruby’s second novel, Every Little Secret, was published in April 2020. Her next novel, A Mother Like You, published in November 2020. Ruby’s fourth novel, The Face at the Window was published in July 2021! Her most recent book, Gone, was published in February 2023.
Ruby lives in Cheshire with her husband and two of her three children and two Springer spaniels. She has an older son and two grandsons.
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