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Before She Disappeared

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'To read Lisa Gardner is to put yourself in the hands of a master storyteller. In BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED, she gives us a crackling mystery, gritty atmosphere and an unforgettable heroine.' RILEY SAGER, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark
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From the Sunday Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner, a gripping thriller featuring an ordinary woman who will stop at nothing to find the missing people that the rest of the world has forgotten.

Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman with more regrets than belongings who spends her life doing what no one else will: searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.

A new case brings Frankie to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier.

Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim's wary family tells Frankie she's on her own. And she soon learns she's asking questions someone doesn't want answered.

But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing will be her ...
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Readers love Lisa Gardner's latest brilliant thriller:

'A fabulous read with amazing, interesting, complex characters and I was absolutely hooked, from start to finish.'
'Once again Lisa Gardner delivers as one of my favourite crime thriller authors, she creates a complex and magnetic character in Frankie'
'Frankie is a wonderful character, full of grit and personality, and I love her inner monologues so much! I really hope we will get to see more of her in the future!'
'An entertaining and engaging thriller with a great central protagonist that I think many of Gardner's fans and other crime and thriller readers will love.'

© Lisa Gardner 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Crime Thrillers Mystery Private Investigators Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Boston

Critic reviews

In this rare standalone, the prolific Gardner has come up with one of the most original characters in recent crime fiction, a woman readers can care about even while not being entirely sure of what to make of her
It's hard to tag just one stand-out element here, between the multidimensional portrayal of Mattapan's Haitian expat community, Frankie's humanizing demons and straightforward investigative technique, and a page-turning plot with all its ends tucked in unpredictably tight. Tense and immersive, Gardner's latest...is a sure bet both for readers drawn to gritty gumshoe fiction and for the growing legion of true- crime podcast fans.
Fans of this incredible author, police procedurals, timely immigrant stories, strong determined women, and tales that are not tied up with a pretty bow at the end will not be able to get enough of this intense page-turner.
This book, the best-selling author's first stand-alone novel in 20-years, is a sharply-written, tension-filled yarn full of twists readers are unlikely to see coming. The most compelling element, however, is the character of Frankie, a recovering alcoholic whose obsession with the missing is a penance of sorts for the burden of guilt and grief she carries over a past trauma that took the life of a man she loves.
With a stunning sense of place, a complex mystery, and a well-rounded cast of supporting characters, Before She Disappeared is the definition of a page-turner.
Before She Disappeared introduces what may be the most powerful sleuth of the decade, an "ordinary" woman driven to uncover the truth at any personal cost. There's only one thing to ask for by the time the book ends: please, please, a sequel and a series.

The plot itself is intricate, beautifully sad, and totally outraging.
Lisa Gardner outdid herself with this superb piece of fiction that feels real enough to leave a lasting impact on you.?????
Wow-what a story, what a book! I knew that I would love it, I mean it is a Lisa Gardner book for starters, but she is prolific in sucking you into her world and feeling everything your characters feel
This story gripped me from the start with its rather intense opening. The ending was very clever and took me completely by surprise. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future
Before She Disappeared' is a well-paced mystery that really packs an emotional punch. This may have been the first Lisa Gardner book that I've read but it won't be my last
All stars
Most relevant
The narrator”s performance really brought this story to life for me.

Without giving too much away, I ‘believed’ that she had the life experiences of Frankie, the main character, brittle, searching for distraction from her own demons by trying to help other people.

The writer wasted no words in telling this story, which only enhanced it. There were places I could smell, feel and got the tension from. The despondency of people in these environments, just doing what they can to exist.

I really liked these components but I felt it was a good story rather than a great story but I have no idea why. Please don’t let this put you off. You will be entertained.

Good story, great performance.

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I have never heard of Lisa Gardner before, and I've since discovered she is prolific, with several different series to her name. So I was disappointed to discover that this is the first (and only?) book to feature the character of Frankie. I do hope she writes more, as Frankie is a very likeable character.

Part of what made this so good is the narrator. She was excellent. She was so easy to listen to - a warm friendly voice, and she slipped in accents effortlessly - just a joy to listen to.

The story is engrossing. You want to know more, you want Frankie to discover things, you want the police to share more -- you want to get to the bottom of it.

I had only two small niggles. One is Paul. I felt that backstory was unnecessary and, for me, it didn't add much to the character of Frankie. I also could have done without the romantic aspect (this makes it sound bigger than it actually is). It just got in the way. Apart from those two things, I thoroughly enjoyed this and hope that a sequel will come along sooner rather than later.

Ignore the naysayers. This is FANTASTIC.

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But it was awfully cliched. There wasn’t anything new, exciting or tense about it. It’s by one of my favourite authors and a favourite narrator and I think that’s the problem, my problem, not the books. Having read all of her books since the beginning and more recently, listened, I think I just need to stop my allegiance to my long time favourites because they’re bound to change over time or maybe it’s what I need from a book that has changed. I’m certain many will love it.

It wasn’t awful!

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As always i really enjoyed this book and hope there will be more books involving this character.

Another brilliant story from Lisa Gardner.

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One of those ‘don’t make me stop listening’ stories. An antihero you can really love

Compelling

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