Gone by Ruby Speechley

Title: Gone

Author: Ruby Speechley
Genre: Suspense - Thriller - Mystery 
Publisher: Boldwood Books - Copyright 2023
Publication Date: February 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781837513765
Read: February 16-18, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advance reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: 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?

Review: As suspense thrillers go, Gone by Ruby Speechley is really good, but I have read better. There were some thing that seemed out of place or not fitting the to story Speechley is telling. First, the cover. Swing sets always make me thing of young children, but the kids in this story are teens so the swings on the cover are the first thing that seem out of place, even though it does make for a striking cover that draws your attention.

The second issue I had is with the third person point of view. Normally, this works very well in suspense books, but for some reason it doesn't seem to fit this story. I tried reading some of the story in first person, from Rachel's (the mother) point of view, and I honestly liked it a lot better. If Speechley had chosen to write from Rachel's POV in first person, the suspense, the motherly panic of wondering where her child is, and the suspicion of those around her would've all be heightened and given more insight into Rachel's character, which I had a hard time connecting to Rachel.

But, overall, these are minor issues. The plot is very well constructed and the characters are well-rounded. The story's pacing is good and the ending is worth the read. Speechley does a great job of laying out clues, building suspense and suspicion, but I wish I'd had more of an "edge of my seat" reaction to reading the book.