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The Returned

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Two years ago my wife disappeared. No note, no lead-up. I headed off to work in the morning, leaving her cozy and warm in our bed and came back to nothing. The cops had one suspect, me. When that theory didn’t pan out they moved on to the next best thing for their caseload. She’d run away with her lover. I knew better though. I knew there was no way the woman who’d vowed to spend her life with me, who’d only just told me she couldn’t wait to have our first child, could ever just walk away. For two years I never stopped looking, hoping. Then just as I told myself I had to move on, she returned with no memory of where she’d been or how she got there. Getting her back was just the beginning, now I was in a race against the clock to find out who, and why before the enemy struck again.

450 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2018

185 people are currently reading
158 people want to read

About the author

Jordan Silver

231 books3,539 followers
Jordan Silver is the author of more than 150 steamy romance novels and novellas featuring over the top alpha males and the women who love them.


http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00C65VXJY



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5 stars
330 (44%)
4 stars
182 (24%)
3 stars
143 (19%)
2 stars
54 (7%)
1 star
28 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
Profile Image for Fre06 Begum.
1,260 reviews205 followers
December 8, 2018
This is the kind of book that shows how much he loved his woman. No other women in two years, he was repulsed by other women and stayed “limp” around them. He felt she was still alive and even though he got rail roaded to get engaged to ow due to pressure in the end he couldn’t go through with it because just the thought of touching her repulsed him! I forgave him for that one minor mistake as he really was out of it and not feeling anything but dead inside that he just wanted everyone to stop going on at him about moving on. He didn’t sleep with her or touch her in any way and that made me forgive him easily. This man showed genuine love for his missing wife unlike the book I read by Daya Daniels where according to “hero” the way to deal with missing wife is to sleep with lots of other women including prostitutes and have a year long sexual relationship with another woman! Words can’t express how I could not work out the logic in that book.....anyway I enjoyed this book for all the reasons I stated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for *CJ*.
5,113 reviews630 followers
January 21, 2022
"The Returned" tells the story of Zandi and Cade.

The hero is very much in love with his wife who disappeared two years ago. Even as his family wants, he cannot move on. When he realizes she was kidnapped, and is returned to him emaciated, we see them reconnecting and trying to find his missing pieces of heart.

The good: both stayed loyal, hero was obsessed
The weird: Him kidnapping the evil OW and torturing her?
The bad: too much monologue

It was good one time read!

Safe
3/5
Profile Image for Miki’s⚠️ Safety Reviews & Rants⚠️.
736 reviews962 followers
April 16, 2025
Classic JS
4 stars cause H was celibate during the 2 years his wife was missing… authors should learn from this.

This was way to long but I still liked it
H was playboy extreme before the h
Virgin h
Both celibate during separation
H did get engaged to OW but felt pressured by his mom and called it off. Never touched her ♥️
Not even a kiss.

Told from H POV
Profile Image for Jac K.
2,527 reviews497 followers
November 21, 2025
The blurb sets this one up. Cade was happily married to Zandi when she disappeared. He’s still very much in love with her and struggling to move on when she returns with little memory of what happened while she was away.

I’ve read a lot from this author, and her stuff is typically very trashy with an OTT alpha-cavemen packing 12 inches of man meat having crude sex. I really have to be in a specific mood… like the kind that finds American Pie or Sausage Party funny to partake in her stuff. (usually when I'm super stressed)

But this was nothing like that. It actually reminded me of THIS quite a bit. My only complaints were that I thought it ran way too long for the plot, and I thought the mystery/twist was obvious.

Bottom Line- Other than dragging at parts, this was pretty good. My friend recommended it, and I would’ve never believed it was a J.S. book. There still are the usual wonky formatting and editing issues though.

Safety-
Profile Image for Zubee.
668 reviews32 followers
December 9, 2018
I have this feeling that says if this author had a backup team of editors, proof readers and a major publishing house, she would be unstoppable. What she has achieved so far is admirable.
The story was interesting; h goes missing one day and comes home years later with very little memory of where she was and what she was up to although its obvious she was kept somewhere and abused. All this time H was celibate although he was guilted / pushed into engagement (he didn't even buy a ring) to OW through the combined efforts of his mother and OW. He broke it off before the h comes back (no kissing even)
I think the H's reaction when h came back was spot on; he rushed to help her but wanted answers, often feeling frustrated but was able to work through his feelings quickly to be there for her.
h on the other hand has a strange reaction; she doesn't require therapy as she claims that in her captivity she had time and only time on her hands to think about what she would do if she ever got free.
I loved the h's reaction when the OW comes to their house one day - she doesn't hesitate to tell the H off for always defending OW. And that is perhaps my pet peeve; H seems to wear blinders where OW's intentions are concerned.
At the end, when h finds out who had her abducted ( we all know who - right from the beginning), she beats the villian up.
H devices a very, classic Jordan Silver revenge
The story was interesting although it had some errors, but not too glaring. The first few chapters, H's feelings ramble on a bit but the story picks up quickly, we have the trademark JS sex scenes and overall, the book is quite good and worth a read ...
Profile Image for Bibi.
1,287 reviews140 followers
December 10, 2018
The premise was quite interesting but I ended up skimming and skipping pages and pages of the same inner monologue.
Profile Image for Eunoia.
206 reviews55 followers
Read
May 28, 2025
i am at chapter 2 and mmc is asking om his inner monologue why he feels sick when ow is talking to him about their upcoming marriage. Like??? are you a fool or what? man, you're still married to your missing wife like make it make sense. IDIOTA. I hate how overly emotional he was towards ow bc she is his friend and idk.. i find it weird also he describe her body ew. ugh.

dnf. i've no time to deal with mmcs who i think are fools like? 😭 insaneeeee. apparently he remained celibate during the two years but bro is on the verge of forgetting her wife so if fmc didn't appear faster, i doubt he would live as a monk lol. he was a complete manho before her soo.

idk maybe i happen to be in a slump atm, and or not in the mood, i find him annoying right in the bat at chapter two.
Profile Image for Raine.
2,463 reviews53 followers
December 11, 2018
Not one of her better books

I think I was especially disappointed with this book because I had been waiting for so long for a new book by Ms. Jordan. There was just too much redundant introspective from Cade and this whole book was from his POV. I also didn't like the flashback to the past. It was too confusing. There were many parts that I skimmed through. Very disappointed with this one. Hopefully her next book will be better.
Profile Image for Debbie DiFiore.
2,745 reviews317 followers
January 7, 2019
Strange read

This book was weird. I had to skip over the sex scenes too because they were raunchy not romantic but the basic story was good. Wife disappears for two years and then she comes back. She's been kept prisoner in a box. You knew who did it all along. The Taker chapters gave it away pretty much. I did read the whole book and I was going to give it four stars except the whole ending was messed up. I couldn't believe he did what he did. That was just disappointing to me. I know it was supposed to be a twist but it would have been better without it. Still have it three stars for the effort. Probably should have been two but I did like the overall plot. It kept me engaged.
Profile Image for Jennifer McGurk Finn.
2,101 reviews53 followers
December 16, 2018
It’s been a while since Jordan released a book so I was excited to see this one. Cade McClintock and his wife Zandi were very happily married until one day Zandi vanished without a trace. The police suspected Cade and when that theory didn’t pan out they assumed Zandi ran off with her lover. Cade refused to believe that Zandi would willingly leave him but the private investigator he hired found nothing. After being gone for two years Cade comes home and finds Zandi frightened and cowering in the dark in their bedroom. Where has Zandi been for two years ? Why has she returned now ? This was enjoyable, very steamy with some mystery and even though it was predictable I still really liked it.
Profile Image for Vfc.
1,543 reviews
August 6, 2022
One star deducted for Cade being guileless and failing to heed his wife’s words of caution. Never dispel female intuition.

For two years he’s been a shell, not knowing what happened to his wife. Giving in to his mother and Mindy’s machinations, he’s persuaded to marry Mindy. Unfortunately he’s unable to go through with the arrangement. On his way home, he suspects he’s been drugged.

He instinctively knows Zandi’s out there somewhere, waiting for him to find her. He believes in his heart that he’d know if she was gone from this world. Something had happened to take her away and he’s determined to figure out what has happened to his wife. With renewed purpose, it had been a while since he felt this strongly. After hoping she was alive and not being sure, he’d had to let go for his own sanity.

After the first year without results he’d had no choice but to accept that she was gone without a trace. Everyone had been convinced that she was dead. That’s when they weren’t trying to convince him that she’d ran off with someone else.

He arrives home to find her cowering in fear. She’s been held prisoner and starved for two years. She’d also given birth.

It’s immediately apparent that ‘The Taker’ is Mindy and has held Zandi in captivity whilst working on seducing and marrying Cade. Ending their relationship, he broke the news to his family from his hospital bed (after being drugged) even though it wasn’t the time or place.

As expected his mum had freaked. Mindy was her best friend’s daughter. The girl she’d been trying to get him to marry since college. He’d seen the look on her face when he stated that there was no way he was ever going to marry the girl she’d chosen for him.

The captors kept her blindfolded the first few days so she never saw her abductors, only heard their voices.
‘They seemed to know about the baby. There were things already there, vitamins, health stuff. And they kept talking about someone else, someone was paying them. At night I was drugged and placed in a box and during the day there were chains on my hands and around my ankles.” Drugged every night for two years?
“I could walk around the small room and go as far as the bathroom but nowhere else. When I got too big to fit in the box I was allowed to sleep on the bed though they kept drugging me”.

The mastermind behind her abduction, Mindy, would’ve killed her long ago but she’d been worried about being seen buying baby formula. That was the only reason she’d kept her alive, for her milk. As soon as word that she was trying to become pregnant reached her ears she’d started plotting. She’d planned to seduce him with a drug she’d created as she has a degree in chemistry.

“What would’ve happened if I’d gone ahead and married you? What did you plan to do with my children?” Her blank stare sent shivers through him. How close had he come to causing the death of his wife and or children?
“Do you remember when she first left, the first time I invited you over”?
“I remember.” Not really, but anything to get the crazy train moving.
“I had planned to get you into bed that night. If things had gone to plan I would’ve presented you with a child. A bit premature, but it would’ve been ours.”
“Are you saying that you were planning to pass mine and Zandi’s child off as ours?”
“Actually I was working on getting rid of her. Then you announced your plans to get her pregnant and I had to come up with something else”.
Greasing some palms, and she knew down to the second when she found out she was pregnant.
“Who was the one you sent to my house to take her?”
“Why, what does it matter now? You have her back don’t you?” Her face twisted into an ugly mask that I did not recognize.
After she had no luck seducing him, she needed to keep Zandi alive longer. At least until they were married then she could spring the idea of adoption on him.

Maliciously taunting him that her daddy told her not to worry, she doesn’t expect to pay for her crimes. She expects her family’s money to save her like it had so many times in the past.
“You never did tell me what brought you here tonight. Tomorrow’s when I convince the court appointed psychiatrist that I’m not in my right mind.”
“You know, I came here wondering if you really do have a screw loose, but now I see that you’re just pure evil”.

Flinging her over his shoulder, ignoring the noises she made beneath the scarf stuffed and tied into her mouth. He bypassed the structure that was ten times better than the one she’d kept Zandi in, he headed for the underground bunker behind it.
He’d chosen a remote location, only someone who knew the underground structure was there would be able to find it. The old guy who’d built it had passed away and his offspring has no interest in living off the grid. It’s time for payback.

His twins:::
“They got to talking in their twin speak and I got the idea they were talking about their new brother. These two scare me just a little bit. Already they have this secret code that their mother and I have yet to crack. All I need is for them to mutiny against the new kid. Thankfully Cadyn, the leader of the pack, seemed to like her little brother and the adults in the room breathed a sigh of relief when she kissed his little head.
@#$& if she didn’t make me give him back to his mother so she could sit in my lap though. Damn kid thinks she owns me.”

Keeping her captive, both his brother and then his wife figures out his plan of revenge.
Planning to confess all, they sat in silence for the longest while as he tried to put the words together.
“Did you let her go?” Say what now?
“What did you say?” She turned in my arms and looked at me.
“Mindy, did you let her go?”
“How…. did Mike…” She shook her head.
“He didn’t, I figured it out on my own but when I confronted him he didn’t deny it. I asked him not to tell you that I knew. I knew you needed to do this.”
“How long have you known?”
“Long enough. Where do you think Mike got the pictures and the video?”
“You did that?” She nodded and turned back around.
“What made you think of that?”
“I’m a female. I know how that twit’s mind works. She held me captive for two years because she wanted you. I knew the best way to drive her insane was to show her what she could never have, what she fought so hard to destroy.”
“Babe, that’s some scary sh*t.”
“Oh, and you locking her in a bunker isn’t. Next time don’t leave me out of the loop, okay? And just in case she makes trouble for us. I’ve got a plan.”
I shiver to think what the hell that could be. I’m thinking from the look on her face that Mindy just might’ve been better off locked away in that bunker for the rest of her miserable life.

Low on angst, no cheating during their separation although she almost unmans him when she finds out about Mindy which he keeps secret from her.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Manda Jane.
238 reviews10 followers
December 12, 2018
Wow! I’m impressed with the emotion in this book. It really hit me hard. Can’t wait for more!
Profile Image for Neisha † The Poet †.
1,293 reviews36 followers
December 16, 2018
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I was bored... not just a little bored but bored to the point it took me 7 days to even finish it because I kept getting so uninterested. I can’t even remember the characters names.
Profile Image for Fabiola Cadet.
2,068 reviews7 followers
December 11, 2018
Wow!

I'm flabbergasted with this book, I mean Jordan Silver took this one in a whole another level! Let's be real, I cried like a baby reading it, the pain this man was going through makes me feel like I was right there with him, and Zandie? Wow she suffered alot, being kidnapped, drugged, and not to mention her babies was taken from her after birth, she didn't even get to hold them. They reunited and it was love all over again, Jordan Silver outdid yourself with this book, PHENOMENAL, 5 stars it's well deserved and much more⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Profile Image for BleuBelle.
668 reviews184 followers
December 9, 2018
It was only an ok read for me. The Hero was protective and loved the Heroine with all his heart. I loved that he was celibate and that he wouldn't even kiss another women.

The rest was ok. I just didn't like the story line. I found Heroines "recovery" a bit too easy, after being held captive and drugged for 2 years. She doesn't have nightmares or any reaction at all to being kidnapped an held captive. She just cried a lot.

I didn't like that the Hero could be swayed by his mother and his new "girlfriend". An alpha male wouldn't ever be told what to do and how to feel. He would tell them to get over themselves and to let him live his life as he wants it. Because he knew all along that she wasn't dead.
And he didn't clue in on his "girlfriend" as she was drugging him. Too naive!

And come on, both the hero and heroine didn't recognize the "villain" because she wore a wig?

The story was just too extreme and the reaction of the couple was too mild. And the POV of the Hero didn't make it any better. He rambled quite a bit, always asking himself questions and such. I skipped a lot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ♥.
7 reviews
December 10, 2018
Love!

This is now one of my favorite books by Jordan! I stopped what I was doing to read this novel and I can say that I want to go back and read it again! I loved Cade and how much he loved his woman, and Zandi for how strong she was. Definitely, a must read.
Profile Image for Melluvsbooks.
1,570 reviews
October 31, 2023
3.5 star - Now, I see you judging my 4 star rating. 👀. IN MY DEFENSE - this rating is based on a very precise Jordan Silver sliding scale. I am not comparing it to other books by other authors. I’m really not sure you can. But on a JS rating scale this was better than most. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤡

Profile Image for Nara.
409 reviews42 followers
December 11, 2018
It's the return of this author after absent for so long. I can say I was ecstatic at first. You know the way she wrote! *blush-blush*

Yes it was intense at the beginning. The bleeding heart of the hero. How he lost it. But for me, too many words without conversation is really hard to continue without skip the reading. That was the first 'uhm...' for me.

The whole plot seems to write all the hero's feeling. Yes it's really deep. Indeed. But the hell if I know what really happeedn but this book just didn't click with me. It's so predictable. I can even say who the villain from the first appearence, why the villain did it, until the last vengeance of the heroine and how will the heroine make the villain pay for the crime.

Yes. I can see it when she was calm and I think, if I were the heroine, looking the villain did so, what will I do to make the villain pay? I'm going to do this if I were the heroine. The villain must pay, and this is my vengeance. And yes. It totally is. Every single thing. Just like my imagination.

Yup. Not so original if I may say. I have seen it before. Maybe from this author or maybe from the other author.

It's a little disappointment come back. Next please.
Profile Image for Amanda Reardon.
60 reviews
December 10, 2018
Disappointing

This one was thoroughly predictable from the very beginning. From the very first chapter with the taker it was obvious who they were and what they were hiding. More of the same from every other book she has written. I skipped whole paragraphs and sometimes just skimmed whole pages because they just said and described the same thing over and over. The h suffers angry abusive intercourse because she cares to get mad and try to hold the H accountable for his actions. In the end he gets off scott free without any consequences or having to answer for his actions at all. Basically more typical Jordan Silver. She has written some great books. This just isn't one of them.
Profile Image for Mari.
1,539 reviews10 followers
December 27, 2018
2.5 - 3.0 ***

I was in the mood for an insta lust so I started read this with KU. Cade's wife disappeared 2 years ago. He did all he could to find her. This isn't a long book but most of it's Cade's internal pity party ramblings. When his wife does return and has a hate on for the almost other woman Mindy, Cade defends the woman. Then he can't understand why his wife is so hurt. Until he finds out that she was the mastermind behind his wife's disappearance. The whole thing was rather boring.
Profile Image for Gabriella.
499 reviews3 followers
April 1, 2022
👎👎👎👎👎

I'll refrain from writing all the things that are going through my head right now. I'm just left with so many questions the most important being: What the heck did I just read? and, Why did I finished it? Please save yourself some time and skip this unless you're really bored and want a good laugh. Just keep in mind that in order for this to make any sense think of it as a badly written, far fetched story a 10 year old would have concocted, except for the awful and crude sex scenes that weren't even appealing.
Profile Image for Eva M.
159 reviews1 follower
December 8, 2018
Freakin’ Amazing!

It is always worth the wait when it comes to a Jordan Silver book. You never know when they’re coming, but when they do, I drop everything to read it! Cade’s grief was so deep as was his love for his wife Zandi that even though she’s been missing for two years he cannot even think of moving on with anyone else.
This book had everything. Suspense, love, of course that Jordan Silver steam, and it had me in tears at times as well.
One of the best!
Profile Image for Tasha Cogan .
94 reviews
December 10, 2018
Absolutely beautiful and amazing

I just want to say thank you so much for being you Jordan sliver. I needed this book more then you well ever know. I just lost my mom on November 28th and I got to get lost in your book an all I felt for a little bit was happens. So thank you so very much for this. And don't ever forget we love you too
Profile Image for Claire Smalley.
75 reviews3 followers
December 10, 2018
Damn Good Read

I could not put this book down it drew me in from the first page and didn't let go until the last. Such a brilliant storyline i would say it's one of Jordan Silver's best ones yet and that's hard to say as I've loved every book I've read of hers. You will not be disappointed.
Profile Image for Maggie.
117 reviews3 followers
May 6, 2019
I usually like JS’s books but this one is just terrible. The dialogues just repeated itself again and again and again. I ended up skipping all the long winding inner thoughts and ended up DNF is. All through the first half of the book it’s just thoughts of the same issues, over and over just different wordings. This book is about 250 pages.
Profile Image for Alexandria.
15 reviews
December 9, 2018
Cade and Zani ❤️❤️

Wow Jordan Sliver you have hit me in my feels with this book. Cade my heart was breaking for in the beginning because I could feel the love he had for his wife Zandi and he wasn't ready to move on yet. Zandi this woman went through so much and together they were slowly able to put the pieces of their lives back together. I can't wait for Jordan next book.
Profile Image for TL Savage.
203 reviews7 followers
December 10, 2018
Best yet

I've read your entire catalogue under this pen name so of course I'm a fan... Your skill is crazy... Have you ever considered time travel, I'd love to see what you could do with a highlander.☺
15 reviews
December 8, 2018
Awesome read

I felt every emotion. Anger, laughter, and tears. Strong alpha male and no bullshit heroine. Another winner for Jordan. A must read.
3 reviews
December 9, 2018
Jordan out did herself

I think this is one of the best books Jordan Silver has written. After finishing my first read, I wanted to go back and start it again.
Profile Image for Shawyne.
7 reviews
December 11, 2018
I couldn't stop reading

I could feel the heart break. I could feel the love. I could feel the deep sorrow. Jordan silver does it again. With a couple you fall in love with and connect to with deep emotions
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews

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