And Then She Was Gone

Rating:
Summary: A MOTHER'S WORST NIGHTMARE
Review: AND SHE WAS GONE Susan McBride Mayhaven Publishing - 1999 ISBN: 1878044613 - Trade paperback Mystery/Police

The Spencers, Tom, Ellen, Jake and Carrie live in the small town of Litchfield, Texas, just a few miles north of Dallas. Crime is not supposed to happen in small towns, but Ellen finds out otherwise, when she takes her 4-year-old daughter, Carrie, to the park on a Saturday afternoon.

Ellen is sitting on a bench, speaking to her neighbor, Barb Vincente. When Ellen looks back a few minutes later, Carrie, is gone. Ellen is distraught she looks everywhere for her daughter. Ellen wonders how a child can disappear in broad daylight at a park filled with families, and soccer games going on.

Maggie Ryan and her partner John Phillips catch the case of the missing child. Maggie gets a visit from the sheriff of Pecan Creek, a small rural town about an hour away from Litchfield, that a 6-year-old blond haired, blue-eyed little boy went missing from his front yard. His name was Kenny Wayne. Could the cases be connected? There are many questions to answer. What is the reason for brother Jakes anger and lack of concern for his sister's disappearance?

Maggie Ryan is a very fascinating character. Susan McBride grabbed my attention in the first few sentences and kept me hanging on until the end. AND THEN SHE WAS GONE really tugs at your heartstrings.

The author is able to capture and express the feelings of helplessness and terror that a parent feels when a child goes missing, a terror that we all hope that we will never have to feel.

Kudos to Susan McBride

Rating:
Summary: A MOTHER'S WORST NIGHTMARE
Review: AND SHE WAS GONE Susan McBride Mayhaven Publishing - 1999 ISBN: 1878044613 - Trade paperback Mystery/Police

The Spencers, Tom, Ellen, Jake and Carrie live in the small town of Litchfield, Texas, just a few miles north of Dallas. Crime is not supposed to happen in small towns, but Ellen finds out otherwise, when she takes her 4-year-old daughter, Carrie, to the park on a Saturday afternoon.

Ellen is sitting on a bench, speaking to her neighbor, Barb Vincente. When Ellen looks back a few minutes later, Carrie, is gone. Ellen is distraught she looks everywhere for her daughter. Ellen wonders how a child can disappear in broad daylight at a park filled with families, and soccer games going on.

Maggie Ryan and her partner John Phillips catch the case of the missing child. Maggie gets a visit from the sheriff of Pecan Creek, a small rural town about an hour away from Litchfield, that a 6-year-old blond haired, blue-eyed little boy went missing from his front yard. His name was Kenny Wayne. Could the cases be connected? There are many questions to answer. What is the reason for brother Jakes anger and lack of concern for his sister's disappearance?

Maggie Ryan is a very fascinating character. Susan McBride grabbed my attention in the first few sentences and kept me hanging on until the end. AND THEN SHE WAS GONE really tugs at your heartstrings.

The author is able to capture and express the feelings of helplessness and terror that a parent feels when a child goes missing, a terror that we all hope that we will never have to feel.

Kudos to Susan McBride

Rating:
Summary: SPELLBINDING CANT WAIT FOR NEXT BOOK IN SERIES
Review: AND THEN SHE WAS GONE !! VERY GOOD BOOK. ALOT OF THOUGHT WENT INTO THIS AUTHORS WRITING. COULD NOT WAIT TO GET TO THE ENDING. AND I READ ABOUT 4-5 BOOKS A WEEK. EVEN PASSED ON TO MY TEENAGE DAUGHTERS. WHO ALSO HAVE TOLD FRIENDS AND TEACHERS HOW GOOD THE BOOK IS. KEEP THEM COMING CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TO MAGGIE.

Rating:
Summary: A Good First Effort
Review: Child molestation and child abduction are not subjects we like to think about. However, with a deft hand, Susan McBride has created a riveting mystery that must be read in one sitting. With red herrings everywhere, and with skeletons in many closets, the story is gripping. Ms. McBride shows how complex people are and how they may not be as they appear. We have a new and terrific protagonist to add to the list of female sleuths with Maggie Ryan. This is a first novel and I am eagerly awaiting the second.

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Book With a Difficult Topic
Review: Child molestation and child abduction are not subjects we like to think about. However, with a deft hand, Susan McBride has created a riveting mystery that must be read in one sitting. With red herrings everywhere, and with skeletons in many closets, the story is gripping. Ms. McBride shows how complex people are and how they may not be as they appear. We have a new and terrific protagonist to add to the list of female sleuths with Maggie Ryan. This is a first novel and I am eagerly awaiting the second.

Rating:
Summary: This is an Excellent Book!!
Review: I could not put this book down, nor did I really want to. AND THEN SHE WAS GONE is a fast paced, tightly written and thoroughly enjoyable book. There is a strong undercurrent of psychological tension that kept me guessing. While reading AND THEN SHE WAS GONE, I really appreciated the fact that when the mood was getting opressively heavy, it would be lightened just enough by an amusing comment or a offbeat incident. I was also enormously impressed with the way Susan McBride artfully dealt with a tragic reality that too many women know too much about. I can't wait for Susan McBride's next book. I think she is going to give established suspense/mystery authors, like Robin Cook and Mary Higgin's Clark, a run for their money.

Rating:
Summary: A Good First Effort
Review: I feel as though I'm not reviewing the same book as all but one of the other reviewers read. Or that I'm the other "none friend of Susan Mc Bride" who has written a review.

I applaud Mc Bride's first effort, I really do.

My first problem with the book came right away when the mother of the missing child is talking to her best friend. Suddenly, she realizes her child is missing. And through the description that follows as the mother frantically searches for her child, her best friend is nowhere to be found. I re-read the paragraphs to see if there had been an exit I missed. But there wasn't. I'm sorry, when I read a blow-by-blow, I expect details.

I must have no heart because there was nothing particularly riveting about the story. It was flat and reading it, I was reminded of a child telling a story "and then, and then, and then". Not nearly as gut wrenching as it should be. Telling me that someone wakes up sweating and feeling a tightness in her chest and feeling nauseated has been done again and again and again. How about a new way to describe someone's personal terror than one that has been overplayed? All we needed was that sound of the heartbeat thumping. I was always told, "don't tell, show", but I felt I was told more than shown as cliched references to waking up in terror does little to make me feel what I'm sure the author wanted me to feel. I rolled my eyes a lot instead. A previous reference to Lifetime movies hit the mark.

Also, it was difficult for me to be patient with a book that made me wait from page 102 when I knew whodunnit till page 222 when the detective did. No surprises whatsoever. Just a bunch of transparent red herrings. And perhaps a few too many of them as well. When you have that many suspicious characters, you just look for the only non-suspicious one.

And why a publisher would allow a line break up at a contraction, escapes me. That was pretty amateurish.

All that said, I would try Mc Bride's next book. Everyone has to start somewhere (I haven't even gotten as far as Mc Bride, getting published and all) and I'm sure she will improve with experience.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't want the story to end.
Review: I was hooked from the very first chapter. Maggie is a likeable and interesting character. I thought the book was well written and a real "page turner". When it ended I just wanted to read more. I can't wait for Susan McBride's next book!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent first novel! Gripping Story!
Review: I was unable to stop reading once I picked up this very well-written first novel. Susan McBride has created a multi-faceted book that hooks the reader from page one and doesn't let go until you've read the last page. I look forward to more books from this new author.

Rating:
Summary: The most exciting book I've read since the last Sue Grafton.
Review: Maggie Ryan is my new favorite detective. AND THEN SHE WAS GONE, kept me riveted from the first page. This is a great achievement, especially in a first novel. If this becomes a series, I'll be first in line waiting for the next one. Tightly written,fast-paced and very interesting characters. Not only are you rooting for Maggie Ryan to solve the case, but for her to vanquish her personal demons as well. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it ended.