If You’re Gone

Brittany Goodwin

n/a

Release date : June 20th 2016

Rating : 4 Stars

If You’re Gone traces a trying summer for rising high school senior Lillian White as she struggles to cope with the sudden disappearance of her boyfriend, Brad Lee – reported missing the morning after his graduation ceremony. When law enforcement dismisses the case and classifies Brad as voluntarily missing, Lillian becomes desperate to prove that he couldn’t have just walked away. Not from his friends. Not from his family. Not from her.Launching her own investigation into the darker side of her small North Carolina town, Lillian begins to uncover secrets from Brad’s past that force her to question everything she thought she knew about him and their relationship.”Soul-stirring… Truly one of the most innovative voices to come along in a while. Goodwin has weaved an engaging web of deceit and intrigue that embodies not only her storytelling prowess but highlights her visionary filmmaking abilities in novel form.” (Justin Price, creator of ‘Future’ SVOD channel)If You’re Gone will be available June 20th, 2016 from Edge of 22 Publishing.

If You’re Gone by Brittany Goodwin weaves an intriguing and believable story around the disappearance of Brad.

For me the book was not so much about the relationship between Lillian and Brad. It was more about how within only a few months a complete life can gradually change. Not like those total life changing events that change your life from one moment to another but like one of those backstabbing diseases that creep into your life slowly changing everything and when you finally notice it is too late.

Accompanying Lillian on her journey the reader starts to wonder if you really ever get to know a person even when he obviously seems to love you.

The story is told so believable that it could have actually happened or could happen at any given time. So please do not expect a big BANG when you are getting near the end of the book. In fact it is more a silent ending. There will be closure so much I can say without giving spoilers.

The end is also the reason that the book did not get 5 stars. The author did such a great job creating this whole plotline that I was a bit – well not directly disappointed but frustrated that the explanation we got was the way it was ( I can not say more to avoid giving away to much).

I would have expected something “different” not more complicated but also not so simple and I really did not need the last “chapter” because that is the only thing that sounded fake in this book – a slight change of the events before and without THAT time gap and it would have been perfect.

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