The Next Time You See Me

by Holly Goddard Jones

Thirteen-year-old Emily Houchens doesn't have many friends. She spends her time alone in the woods near her house - her safe place, until she finds the body of a young woman.
Susanna Mitchell is searching for her sister, Ronnie, who vanished after leaving a late-night bar. The more she discovers about Ronnie's life, the more she realises that her sister began to disappear long before she went missing.
The Next Time You See Me explores the fault-lines of a small community - their hidden desires and their other, secret selves.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Contemporary

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Holly Goddard Jones's newest novel, THE SALT LINE, will be published by Putnam in September 2017.

Reviews

[Delee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME- and I almost passed it by because of the cover- Is that shallow???? Probably. Because so very often, I find if a book is not going to look pretty on my bookshelves- I pass it by...and this one is not goooood...(I finally bought it in e-book form where it doesn't matter quite so much).

...The moral of this story is?? Don't be shallow like me!!! This is one of those "don't judge a book by it's cover" situations. What is on the inside is much better. Really!

Roma, Kentucky- October 28th, 1993



Troubled and unpopular 13-year-old Emily Houchens, makes a horrifying discovery in the local woods- which she keeps it to herself.



Responsible wife, mother and teacher- Susanna Mitchell's- not so responsible sister Ronnie is missing- and Susanna can't seem to get anyone to take her disappearance seriously.



Loner Wyatt Powell- an aging factory worker- teased by his co-workers- lives day to day with his dog Boss. He thinks his life can't get any worse- but he is wrong.



Three lonely people- three heartbreaking stories- three lives intertwined. One suspenseful mystery- I highly recommend!

[Shanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was recommended to me because I enjoyed Gone Girl, and all of Gillian Flynn's novels.... This book started out well, a couple good subplots that were all coming together nicely, however I feel like the author got about 3/4 of the way through and maybe just got tired of writing. The author literally TELLS you who the killer is (which I expected to change as some nice twist....so I kept reading) about 3/4 of the way through, but with no real explanation as to WHY they killed the person. The subplots however are dragged out longer and to no real conclusion. It was almost as if the author just gave up and wanted to finish writing it or wasn't sure how to make a good enough plot twist. The book overall was OK but I was hoping for more of a "WOW" moment or major twist and this one was more of just what it seemed on the surface. Bummer.

[stefano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poggiate il libro che state leggendo e andate a comprare questo. Ne vale la pena, davvero. Io di libri tristi ne ho letti tanti, e questo qua se la gioca alla pari con i miei cavalli di battaglia della tristezza. Uno per tutti: Le ceneri di Angela.
Holly Goddard Jones è bravissima a raccontare la tristezza dell'esistenza di tutti i giorni, il grigiore di vite che sembrano banali e banali non sono. Perché sono tristi. Non sono vite inutili, né noiose o sprecate: no, sono tristi. Fanno arrabbiare da quanto sono tristi. Conoscerete Emily, Susanna, Wyatt, Christopher, Dale, Sarah e non se ne salverà uno, dalla tristezza.

Resta poi il fatto che io non sono capace a parlare bene di un libro, e quella frase su Twin Peaks, in copertina, ci sta a fare poco. Leggetelo, però, perché ne vale davvero la pena.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well now. The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones is like stepping into a mansion of many rooms. Each room becomes more intricate and more detailed as you enter into this grand abode. And the corridors are like winding tributaries from one character to the next.

And this is what sets Jones' book in a whole different category. She has an uncanny talent for crystalizing the human element into her characterizations. You actually recognize flawed threads in these people that you, yourself, may have encountered along your own life journey. Some filter through with light and some remain obscured in the darkness.

Although this book is a mystery/thriller, it speaks to the label of who and what deserves value in our lives. Do we determine that on a personal level or do we allow others to distribute their predetermined value card into our outstretched hand?

A women is missing in the small southern town of Roma. Her sister, Susanna, appears to be the only one willing to walk those corridors for answers. Jones takes you through the web in which people's lives are far more interconnected than they ever realized. And you will find yourself lighting your own candle to see your way to the final corridor.

This was a finely tuned example of the willingness of individuals who have the desire to look the other way. Well done, Holly Goddard Jones.

[Ruth Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books, so beautifully written that you don't need to concentrate on the writing itself, if that makes any sense. I had no need to scroll back a few paragraphs or re-read sentences to clarify what I'd just read. I just fell head long into the story and there I stayed.

The book is more character driven than plot driven, which I like, and they were all interesting, although some weren't particularly likable.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I got to the last page and it was like someone threw a bucket of cold water over me. I wanted more. It felt a little rushed, and left me with unanswered questions.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book after I read "The Burgess Boys" by Elizabeth Strout. As a result, I am probably more critical than I normally would be. This is an interesting story, taking place in a small (population 10,000) town in the south. It's a murder mystery. At first, I thought I really didn't like it and was going to not keep reading, but I got it as a gift and soldiered through it. That said, I really got into it and read it in two days. I can't say the writing is superb (after reading Strout, who's would be?). Yet, the story was engaging and I wanted to keep reading. It's a story of a woman of questionable character who is missing. Her sister, who is a middle school teacher in her mid-twenties and married with a child, is the one who notices that her sister is missing. It's not out of character for her sister to just "disappear" for a week at a time, yet the school teacher realizes she hasn't spoken to her in 2 weeks which is unusual. Next, we learn of one of her students who is very very odd, and I didn't find her likable. In fact, this little girl really creeped me out. It's this little girl who goes off into the woods behind her house, finds a dead body and it becomes her "friend". I think Jones wanted us to like her, and feel sorry for her, but she was just really bizarre and creepy. The next main character is a sad 55 year old man who works at a factory and is the subject of bullying and abuse. And lastly, the detective is an old crush of the school teacher who happens to be black and a failed major league baseball player. It's a story about bullying, racism, social status, and small town people. I liked it since I did get into it and wanted to know how it ended. And a point about the ending: that was an odd way to end the book. It's a beach read or an airplane read.

[Ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads (and it was the first ARC I've received as a hardcover, which I appreciate!). Although I hadn't heard of Holly Goddard Jones before, I was drawn in by the Gillian Flynn recommendation--if this book was anything like Gone Girl, I wanted to read it.

While shelved as a mystery novel, and involving the resolution of a murder, The Next Time You See Me is about as much of a mystery as a book like Stephen King's Under the Dome, which is to say, something happened that is unexplained, but that explanation is secondary to the exploration of the characters that populate a small town. I mean the comparison between Jones and King favorably, and it came to mind as a more apt comparison than Flynn, whose novel worked so well by subverting readers' expectations. Jones doesn't particularly want to subvert our expectations; she shows us the body of the missing woman from the start, and leads us to only one possible suspect, who is in fact the killer. Jones is more interested in the psychology of small-town citizens, and like King, relishes in exposing the evil and vindictiveness within the drunk young man, the municipal cop, or the disenchanted housewife. She also shares with King an interest in the pathology of the antisocial pre-teen, and some of the most interesting characters in this novel are middle-schoolers.

While not formulaic, The Next Time You See Me was rarely surprising. One instance that stood out for me, though, deserves praise for promoting responsible behavior that can be rare in this genre--upon deciding, while driving to his house, that her new boyfriend might actually have murdered a woman, one sensible character turns right around and avoids him until the end. I'm quite a fan of that decision, and glad Jones made that choice for her character.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Meh." That was my final thought upon reading -well, skimming- the last sentence of this book. I was expecting a suspenseful, entertaining read (a'la Mary Higgins Clark or Catherine Coulter) and in the end was extremely underwhelmed.

The characters were fairly well-written but did not particularly stand out. The character I connected most with was Emily Houchens, an odd little girl who is bullied endlessly in school, and whose behavior eventually went on to thoroughly creep me out. The other characters seemed, to me, to have so much more potential and I feel there was a bit of a disservice done to them. I can see how many women would easily connect with Susanna, especially in regards to her unhappiness with her marriage. There were a few interesting "aha!" revelations that broke though her otherwise monotonous thoughts.

The plot was meandering and, while it showed hints of promise, rather boring. The "mystery" of who happened to Ronnie was predictable, but I continued to read to find out why, which was probably the most interesting part of the book.

My least favorite part of this book was the last chapter. It is written in a completely different point-of-view from the rest of the book and is a bit too stream-of-consciousness for me. I am not sure what Holly Goddard Jones was trying to achieve by writing it in this manner, but it resulted in me being frustrated and rather annoyed at the end.

My book reviews are usually pretty in-depth, but in this case, the book was so one-note for me, that I really do not feel I have much to comment on. I see that many people have rated this book highly, so perhaps I was just in a different state of mind while reading this book; perhaps I just don't appreciate the point Holly Goddard Jones was trying to make.

As always, I recommend that you read this book for yourself if the subject interests you. It wasn't for me, but many other readers enjoyed it, and so you might, too!

*A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

---------------------------

This review was originally posted on BlookGirl.com.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had it not been for the Goodreads FirstReads program, I would likely not have been aware of this gem of a book. So first, a big thanks to Goodreads.

When did I surrender to this book? Perhaps it was when Emily, a socially awkward and unpopular middle school student with a crush on the most charismatic boy in the class, is pelted with food during a cruel cafeteria food fight…reminiscent, in certain ways, of Stephen King’s Carrie. Or maybe it was when Wyatt, an overweight and equally out-of-touch aging factory worker and the butt of his co-workers jokes, is taken over the state line, plied with drinks, and then left behind, incapacitated and left holding the bill.

My point is this: The Next Time You See Me is not your typical mystery, not really. At its core, there IS a mystery: Ronnie Eastman, an unconventional “party girl” in a small Southern town goes missing, setting alarm bells ringing for no one but her more traditional sister, a teacher named Susanna. Susanna and a man she once liked but felt forced to reject – a black detective named Tony – battle their own demons as they strive to find out what happened.

Most mystery readers will know early on “who dunnit”, and the psychologically astute will also glean the motivation. So for those who are seeking a mystery with a wallop at the end or a feel-good book need to know: this isn’t the book.

This IS, however, the book for those who enjoy a character-driven analysis of how life can get off track in a small town. It has a lot to say about “pack mentality”, about bullying, about how one feels to not be “normal” in an environment that thrives on “doing the right thing” and “not rocking the boat.”

In many ways, Emily and Wyatt are mirror images of each other. She is a young girl who still may have a chance and he is an older man whose chances have long come and gone. Both are pathetically and poignantly seeking love and human connection. As the lives of these two – and indeed, the other characters – begin to connect, Ms. Goddard paints a palette of the selves we keep secret and how one life can impact many others.

I thought this book lived up to Gillian Flynn’s blurb of being “simply mesmerizing.” Once I got started, I couldn’t stop. I’m giving it 5 stars and my rating is based on an “apples to apples” comparison of The Next Time You See Me with other books in the mystery/suspense category.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following several interconnected characters in a small town, The Next Time You See Me is an absolutely heart-wrenching novel about the interior lives of ordinary people. Perhaps most impressive is the compassion she shows for these small town lives. In lesser hands, some of these characters might come across as unlikeable, but Jones imbues each one with eerily familiar mannerisms and frailties that remind us of ourselves, at our best and worst. There are no protagonists and antagonists here, just people drawn in sharp relief against a dark and foreboding landscape, a world where life is wounded and sometimes doesn't get better, a world where the bleak sameness of the factory workday is mirrored by the desperation of middle school, and escape is a flickering dream, clenched to death in a grime-covered fist.

Each character in this remarkable debut yearns for change, to become who they are fully and without restraint, and because Jones inhabits her characters so completely, we yearn for it too, and it’s only upon closing the book that we wake up and realize we have our own lives to lead, and hopefully we can do a little better than we did before we started.

The plot revolves around a missing woman named Ronnie. It's fascinating to see how many lives Ronnie's disappearance has touched, and how these lives are all connected. How, in a way, they are all complicit in what happened. Told in alternating scenes between the present and what happened on the night she disappeared, I was reminded a little of Tom Franklin’s Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, which also grew out of a single incident and affected an entire town. But while Franklin's tale took place over decades, Jones spins her equally powerful story out over the course of a few weeks.

The book doesn’t come out until February (I lucked into an ARC), but do yourself a favor and go ahead and preoreder it. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.

[Zoeytron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have a care as to when you start reading this book because you may not want to do anything else until you finish it. My interest did not flag for a moment. You might very well run the risk of leaving chores undone, delaying errands, and ignoring email.

Character development is superior, major and minor alike, with just the right touches of detail to make them real. The connections between the characters are believable, nothing forced. The story was good and the pacing was just as it needed to be to carry this to its end without a wobble. There are some fine reviews out there already that will give you a better idea of the storyline, I see no need to rehash them just for the sake of doing so.

Everybody has a story, everyone has things going on in his or her life of which none of us are aware . . . just a point to ponder the next time someone looks right at you without seeing you at all.

This book was loaned to me by a Goodreads buddy who won it in a first-reads giveaway, thank you.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am nearly finished recording this book for Blackstone Audio and I have to say, I am mesmerized by it. The writing is really strong, the characters so vivid and the story keeps you suspended and racing to the finish. A good one for sure!!!

[Arwen56 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo romanzo mi è stato consigliato da Stefano, che ringrazio, perché mi è piaciuto parecchio. E’ una storia triste, come dice lui. Amara è forse il termine più adatto per definirla, come spesso è la vita. E qui è come se i personaggi fossero tutti destinati a perdere la propria occasione per tentare di essere non dico felici, ma almeno un po’ più sereni.

All’inizio, debbo confessare, non è che l’abbia gradito più di tanto. Temevo si trattasse solamente delle solite “beghe” fra adolescenti. Invece, poco a poco, il racconto cresce, si evolve, mette a contatto le persone tra loro, le spinge a interrogarsi e a comportarsi diversamente, creando uno spaccato di vita di provincia interessante e ben tratteggiato.

Non un capolavoro, ma un romanzo scritto bene sì.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were multiple instance while reading The Next Time You See Me that I had to pause and glance at the cover again to make sure I wasn't reading the latest offering from Elizabeth George or Laura Lippman.

Like George and Lippman, Holly Goddard Jones isn't only interested in solving the crime at the core of her debut novel but she's also interested in the impact the crime has on the characters and community before and after the event occurs. In this case, the central mystery centers around the disappearance of Veronica "Ronnie" Eastman. Ronnie is considered a black sheep of her small Kentucky town and her family, but that doesn't mean she's quite the pariah that local gossip makes her out to be.

Jones weaves the story of how Ronnie impacted various members of the community throughout the novel. And while the reader may suspect that they know what's happened to Ronnie long before the reality sets in for various characters, Jones takes time to explore the events preceding and proceeding from her disappearance.

Chapters center on her married sister, who is feeling unfulfilled in her role as mother, teacher and wife to a devoted high school band director who neglects her during band season. We also get a glimpse of the awkward teenage girl who is confused by the world and a popular teenage boy who treats her at times with tenderness and at others with disdain. There's also the older, lonely guy who makes the mistake of going to a local dive bar with some of the younger guys from the office one Friday evening.

All of these various threads intersect with Ronnie and we get various views of her and her fate. The Next Time You See Me isn't just interested in how Ronnie met her fate but also as to why she met it and how it impacts her friends, family and the members of the town. Some of them are direct, while others are not. The novel sets up a nice romance between the older gentlemen from the plant and his nurse (they met on the night at the bar in question), giving hope to both before it's torn away in the novel's final chapters. And I'll give Jones a lot of credit for not allowing her characters to do cliched things in the interest of the plot.

All in all, this is a satisfying, emotionally rich novel. It was over far too soon and it leaves me wondering what Jones has up her sleeve for her next book.

[BookLover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book overall. The writing was fantastic. This story unfolded through multiple points of view and the catalyst for the story beginning was the discovery of a dead body. It was a real page turner.

It would have been a 4 or 5 star read for me except for the fact that the book was a bit of a downer. There wasn’t one positive or happy thing that came out of the story. Unhappy endings for all. It brought my enjoyment down slightly.

Despite that, I would definitely read more from this author.

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh! So this is what happens when I download a book from the bestseller list. Every six months or so I forget and I download a book that I don't know anything about and EVERY TIME its bites me in the rear!

This book is full of sex, profanity, affairs and dysfunctional people. Not to mention the bullying and altogether deplorable behavior of the high school students in the story. AND, the plot isn't that interesting! The killer is exactly who you think it is!!!

[Catherine McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that I'd recommend to lovers of thrillers, suspense and just good books in general.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So... I usually don't write reviews but today I am because I received this book through goodreads giveaway! So let me explain why I personally rated this book at four stars. I only give fives to books that completely blew me out of the water, and although The Next Time You See Me was a wonderful book with engaging characters, I feel like I must explain what its missing. First, lets go with the characters. Yes, they were well thought out except for the fact that Susanna, the 8th grade teacher in rural Kentucky, teaches her students Oedipus Rex and The Death of a Salesman, both prominently displayed in my 12th grade AP Literature and Composition textbook. I know most people would not care about this, but I read for details and personally enjoy when things makes sense. This is a personal opinion, but if a book must have fantastical elements, then bravo and the whole thing can be admired for its imaginary world. However, in a realistic fiction, I feel the author should take the utmost care in trying to make the readers believe the story is real. Now plot wise, again beautifully scripted and well thought-out. Even though the story jumped timelines, as a reader I was still able to track the events. As a first novel project, this was a daring attempt, and I congratulate Holly for pulling this off. Next the ending- it pains me to say there were too many loose ends- a few are fine but I think there was too many. Does Wyatt live? Does Sam live? If they do, does Wyatt get convicted? What about Emily, is she confined to a mental hospital or convicted as an accomplice for hiding evidence? Really the only thing we do know is that Wyatt did kill Ronnie and that Susanna will be divorcing her husband, Dale. It doesn't have t be a happy ending, but we need to know something. Overall, I tip my hat to you Holly for a job well done, and I thank whoever chose me for this giveaway as I will surely pass the book on to all my reading friends. Thank you!

[Pattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Next Time You See Me is really a character study of different people in a small town whose lives cross over one another due to the disappearance of one of the female locals of dubious moral character. The reader knows immediately that she has been murdered as a 13 year old girl comes across the body half buried in the woods and decides to keep it her little secret for awhile. I wouldn't classify this as a murder mystery, however, but rather fiction/literature. It is well-constructed, and the chapters shift to the points of view of the different characters, some more interesting than others. While well-written, there is a gloom to the entire book and a depression that doesn't shake off, even at the end. No one is satisfied in their lives, whether they are a teenager, late 20's early 30's with job and/or family or later in life and career. Whether it be the small town mentality or just this sad sack group of people, they have, on the surface, accepted their roles in life with not much expectation for more, but with a growing resentment right beneath the surface. The reveal of who actually murdered the local woman is not much of a surprise, but rather another sad indicator of a life beaten down in this sad, lonely town. It was hard to come away feeling upbeat about any of their prospects at the end. It ended more with a heavy sigh and a resignation, than with any kind of triumph.

The novel moves along rather slowly but pieces, for the most part, fall together in a nice pattern. The novelist has been likened to Kate Atkinson, but I don't think this work is quite as sharp or moves along at quite the same crisp pace. Ms. Jones does, in my opinion, show a good deal of talent, however, and I will likely venture back to try another book by her in the future.

[Dustin]

So rich in character. I loved the subtlety and complexity of Wyatt and Sarah, and of course, Susanna, the whole thing woven deftly together with a light hand. An immensely satisfying and skillful debut novel.”

-Kate Atkinson, author of Case Histories


Holly Goddard Jones' debut novel, The Next Time You See Me, is the recipient of rave reviews, including the above blurb, and sounds like a truly incredible narrative of her characters secrets, and the havoc they play in their lives.
Having said, I can't help but remain skeptical of its literary merits, simply because of Atkinson's quote. I mean no disrespect, it's just that I had an awful experience with Atkinson's Case Histories, and her very positive blurb does nothing for me. I haven't, however, entirely given up on the author. I'm interested in some of her other work.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've mentioned before (in my review of Jones' short story collection Girl Trouble) that I've got several connections to the people and places that Jones writes about: she taught at Murray State University for several years, which is where I went to college, where I live, and where my husband and I both work. I also worked with her high school, Russellville High School, for 6 years as part of my GEAR UP grant.

As a result, the people and places in Jones' new novel are more than just settings and characters to me -- they live and breathe for me. Jones skillfully brings to life small-town western KY -- and not just her home town of Russellville, which provides the skeleton for the book's fictional town of Roma. This town could be the town in which I grew up, too, because once you get past the surface of things, so much is the same. I eventually moved away from that town, and I wonder sometimes if the people I graduated with, who either never left or went to college and then ended back up there -- I wonder if they feel trapped by their choices, like many of the characters in Jones' novel express.

The character development here is incredible; Jones has skillfully captured such a range of ages, from middle school to old age, and none of them feel like a cliche or a stock character. These are characters that are born out of this town, this time period, these social class standings. They are very organic, very authentic. My only complaint was that I felt the story arc that focused on Tony and Susanna felt a little forced -- it didn't feel as natural as the rest of the character encounters. Part of that might be because I think Tony was developed a little less clearly than some of the other characters; part of it is probably because Susanna is the character I liked least of all the characters in the novel.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this novel reads like a literary thriller, and the mystery at the center of the novel kept me turning pages, even though there were a lot of things that I had figured out from the very start. But I don't think it's Jones' intent to keep us from knowing where things are going to end up -- what kept me as a reader involved the whole way was seeing what effect this journey was going to have on these characters. Would they find a way to make their lives happier through their choices, or would those choices keep them where they were (and perhaps, where they would always be, no matter what they tried...)

Thanks so much to Meredith Vilarello at Touchstone for the ARC.

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly Goddard Jones has written a character driven novel which centres on the disappearance of Ronnie Eastman. The search for Ronnie is what propels this story forward but the writing is what captured my attention right from the beginning.

The book starts with Emily, a slightly overweight, friendless thirteen year old girl sat in a classroom doing an English exercise. The writing immediately transported me to that classroom where the oh so cool and attractive Christopher Shelton was intent on needling the teacher, poor Emily taking the brunt of his annoyance when the teacher Susanna Mitchell reacted. Mrs Mitchell is the younger sister of the good-time girl Ronnie and she is beginning to worry about her.

The whole book involves characters who are connected in some way to Ronnie in the small town of Roma. There is an underlying longing in all those we meet for a change; from the aging factory worker Wyatt, the school girl Emily, the arrogant smart Christopher, Susanna whose husband Dale takes her for granted and the policeman Tony and at the centre is the `party girl' Ronnie who has a reputation amongst her fellow inhabitants of this classic small town.

The pages are full of domestic details, the petty annoyances of a stale marriage, the casual spoiling of a niece all add a richness to the characters, all of whom are so vivid I felt as if I knew them. This is a book to savour, to get to know the people and understand their motivations rather than a conventional crime novel and I loved it all the more for this.

I received my copy of this book from Amazon Vine in return for my unbiased opinion.

[Lynn Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars. It is obvious that Jones is a talented writer. The story-line is interesting from the start. You quickly realize who has been killed and who is the killer, which seems to be Jones's intent, but the story continues to be compelling as you find yourself learning about the events & its effects on different characters in the story, who are all connected to each other in a six-degrees-of-separation sort of way. Jones gets 4 stars for creative ideas and writing.
The story's ending fell short of 4 stars for me. ***SPOILER!*** Rather than taking a look back at Ronnie's perspective of her life, I would rather have had a few loose ends tied up. Did investigation continue so that further evidence could be considered to legally establish Wyatt as the killer? Did they ever find the weapon used to dismember Ronnie? Or was the case simply closed at that point? Did Susanna learn of Wyatt's involvement? How did Tony feel about the outcome? How does Emily's life move on from this point? I didn't need everything tied up neatly with a bow but I would have preferred a bit more direction at the end of the story. That said, I look forward to reading more from Jones!

[Marianne Haddad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gillian Flynn called this novel 'astoundingly good' and that was enough for me! Ordered from my library today.

I listened to the audio version (I saw the narrator's comment here on Goodreads that said she was enthralled with this novel) and I was not disappointed. By the way, the narrator, Cassandra Campbell, was just terrific! The only reason I'm going to still check out the library copy I've ordered is so I can reread (and write down) some of the language that I bookmarked on the audio version - this girl can write !!!!! 4&1/2 stars or maybe I will change it to 5... I liked the way she interconnected the characters and told the story from so many different characters' perspectives. AND, wow, sometimes she was able to use words so that you found yourself thinking (or saying aloud :-) YES!!!! (fist in air!). A stunner of a debut that I cant wait to pass on to the Readers at the library where I work .... and, finally, I can't wait for her next novel.

[Alecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with the rating on this book. While I found Holly Goddard Jones's writing to be very good, there was something about the book as a whole that kept me from giving it four stars, a rating that writing like this should receive. I will round it up to a 3.5.

This is a dark book, with two well- fleshed-out characters who are social oddities and the objects of bullying. One is Emily, a socially awkward 13 year old, the other is Wyatt, an overweight factory worker who finds a glimmer of love in these pages.

These characters and others are connected as the stories converge to solve the mystery of what happened to Ronnie, a hard-drinking woman who is the sister of another character in this book. Early on the reader learns of Ronnie's fate, but the mystery, such as it is, is to find out why. The character studies are very well drawn, but this book fell just short of a really great read for me.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there is a murder to solve in this novel, it is more character-driven than a mystery in the traditional sense. For me, that made the story more interesting. Initially, I read it because of its comparison to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. It’s similar in some ways…it’s well-written, compelling and dark. In addition, most of the main characters are not very likable…even a couple individuals that deserved sympathy because they were so unbearably bullied by their peers. Thirteen-year-old Emily, for instance, was so peculiar but inexplicably enamored with Christopher, the main source of most of her harassment. I was always wishing and hoping that she would finally stand up to that little jerk. I enjoy and I read several mysteries and…honestly, many are similar and often forgettable. This story was powerful and memorable.

[Ffiamma · Rating 3 out of 5]

una delle protagoniste del romanzo di esordio di holly goddard jones (successivo alla raccolta di racconti "questa america") è la città di roma, kentucky, che fa da sfondo a una storia in apparenza piuttosto semplice, ma i cui sviluppi si riveleranno intensamente complessi. più che la soluzione dell'omicidio, ho apprezzato la descrizione dei personaggi, delle loro solitudini desolanti, della mancanza di coraggio che conduce a una vita piatta e asfittica senza via di fuga, dei drammi minuscoli eppure enormi del quotidiano, dell'anonimato di luoghi lontani dalla fama. non è un romanzo del tutto riuscito, alcune parti (soprattutto dalla metà in poi) non hanno lo stesso mordente e ci sono potenzialità non ben sfruttate- tuttavia l'ultimo capitolo riscatta tutto e rende il romanzo una buona lettura.

[Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

La comunità di un piccolo paesino del Kentucky viene scossa dalla scomparsa di una donna. Un ottimo romanzo di una tristezza abissale, specialmente quando alla fine si comprende il significato del titolo. Seguite anche voi il consiglio di Stefano, non ve ne pentirete.

Preferiva sempre andarsene che arrivare, viaggiare che giungere a destinazione; viveva meglio in quegli intervalli di quando era costretta a restare ferma e seduta. Ed era per questo che non compariva mai in nessuna foto. Aveva guardato nell’obiettivo della fotocamera e aveva visto non la sua famiglia, ma la propria assenza; e per un attimo le era parso di essere un fantasma, una persona che in realtà non esisteva davvero, e che nessuno avrebbe rimpianto.

[Mike Croley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really elegant portrayal of a small Kentucky town that revolves around the plot of a missing woman. The book has such a beautiful allegiance to place, such a fine understanding of the moves and gestures of small town life that I was drawn to that more than the mystery at the book's core, but important questions are raised about the way we view folks from the outside, the pasts we can't outrun and the desires that drive us and that we decide to either let live or keep inside for all our days. Holly Goddard Jones is a stunningly beautiful, powerful writer.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery was more a psychological study within a Kentucky town. Social psychology and individual adolescent psychology both.

I found it far more original and deeper than the usual who-dun-it. Intrigue and interest on high right off the bat too- had to keep turning those pages right now.

The placement /location /culture context too- was fab.

What a beginning! I have her down on my to read list for the next one.

It's a solid 3.5 star, but I gave it a 4 for the superb Roma connection. Placement mood was nailed.