Publisher: Bantam
Released: May 14, 2013
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: ★★★★

The Sunday morning starts like any other, aside from the slight hangover. Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat, a headache building behind her eyes from the wine she drank at a party the night before. But on this particular Sunday morning, she’s surprised to see that her husband, Ian, is not home. As the hours pass, Dani fills her day with small things. But still, Ian does not return. Irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic. And then, like a relentless blackness, the terrible realization hits Dani: He’s gone.

As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations—he’s hurt, he’s run off, he’s been killed—Dani searches frantically for a clue as to whether Ian is in fact dead or alive. And, slowly, she unpacks their relationship, holding each moment up to the light: from its intense, adulterous beginning, to the grandeur of their new love, to the difficulties of forever. She examines all the sins she can—and cannot—remember. As the days pass, Dani will plumb the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth—about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

HE’S GONE is the first book by Deb Caletti that I’ve read, and I greatly enjoyed it. I thought it was the perfect balance of suspense and women’s fiction, with an intriguing mystery and an emotional backstory to keep readers turning the pages. The story moves back and forth between the main character, Dani Keller, searching for clues to her husband’s whereabouts, and Dani’s introspective look at her life and what’s brought her to this point in time. I think Dani grew a lot and became a stronger person as this ordeal played out. The ending was fantastic. Loved it!

Part of this book I listened to on audio (borrowed from the library), mainly because one of my favorite narrators – Cassandra Campbell – gave the performance. She was perfect as Dani Keller, capturing her personality and predicament very well.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.