ARC Review: Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen

Gone Without a Trace
Author: Mary Torjussen
Publication: Berkley (April 18, 2017)

Description: A jaw-dropping novel of psychological suspense that asks, If the love of your life disappeared without a trace, how far would you go to find out why?  

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: GONE WITHOUT A TRACE was a very unexpected read for me. It wasn't at all what I was thinking it would be.

The story begins with Hannah's live-in boyfriend Matt disappearing along with all his stuff while she was at a day long training. She comes home excited to tell him about the glowing comments her boss made about her to find him and all of this things gone. She can't understand why as all of her memories are of things going well and the two of them being happy.

She determines to find him and her obsessive search causes her to pay less attention at her job and to neglect her personal appearance. She has a best friend Katie who is possibly the most toxic best friend in the history of fiction. Katie's live-in boyfriend is a former boyfriend of Hannah's who she had lost track of for a number of years. Hannah's parents are dysfunctional. Her father has anger issues and abuses his wife who refuses to leave him. Hannah seldom sees them and when she does hear from her father it is mostly when he is angry at her.

I don't think that there was an admirable character in the whole book. Hannah's friend at work is having an affair with her assistant who is busy sabotaging Hannah's career - not that Hannah isn't doing a good job of that herself.

Without spoilers, I will say that the ending was both expected and unexpected. Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy this one.

Favorite Quote:

I started to cry, then, at the thought of that. We'd been together for four years -- how could he just walk out without an explanation? And to put all my things back in their old places; it was as though he'd never been here!

I got this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.