Good As Gone

Genre: Fiction

This is the story of Julie, Jane, Anna and Tom Whitaker. This family of four has suffered a major trauma. Julie has been kidnapped in the middle of the night by a stranger at knife point. We know this because her sister, Jane, saw this happen and only a few hours later, went and told her parents, Anna and Tom. Julie has been missing for years, when one day, she comes knocking on the front door. What happened to Julie? Can the family pick up where they left off? Who is Meghan? Why is a private investigator contacting Anna about Julie? All will be revealed in a slow unfolding of a complicated and mysterious life.

I really got into this story in the beginning when Anna talks about living in the dense fog after her daughter’s kidnapping and when Julie first returns to her family. I didn’t know exactly where it was all going to lead (although I had my ideas) but I was excited to find out. And then the story turned and changed paths completely into a whole other story. I’m not sure why I didn’t love it after that, because it really did deliver a good mystery and generally a good story. I think two things: first, it wasn’t the story I was promised in the first few chapters about a family. And second, the writing was choppy. The story is told from Anna’s and Julie’s perspectives. But, Julie’s story is told in increments and her chapters begin in the middle of the story and then loop back around to the beginning so, at times I felt like I was reading a whole other story. Nonetheless, if you’re a mystery hound, this might be just right for you.