What do you think?
Rate this book
Already Gone: A Miranda Jack Novella
Two months has passed since Miranda Jack’s husband was killed in a hit-and-run and she is no closer to understanding why. The police have stopped taking her calls so Jax has gone back to the street where Nick was found in search of her own answers.
Eighty-five year old Irene Newton has been haunted by the death of a man on the road beyond her fence two months ago. The appearance of his wife at her door reawakens painful memories of the daughter she lost and the questions she was told to forget.
Jax is horrified Irene has waited forty years for answers and frightened she could face the same fate. When the questions surrounding Nick’s murder won’t let her rest, Jax reaches for Irene’s mystery – because finding any answers is better than finding none.
Until the questions become dangerous.
Eighty-five year old Irene Newton has been haunted by the death of a man on the road beyond her fence two months ago. The appearance of his wife at her door reawakens painful memories of the daughter she lost and the questions she was told to forget.
Jax is horrified Irene has waited forty years for answers and frightened she could face the same fate. When the questions surrounding Nick’s murder won’t let her rest, Jax reaches for Irene’s mystery – because finding any answers is better than finding none.
Until the questions become dangerous.
121 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2022
2 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Jaye Ford
11 books161 followersJaye is the award winning and bestselling Australian author of five psychological thrillers. Her first novel, Beyond Fear, was the highest selling debut crime novel in Australia in 2011 and won two Davitt Awards for Best Debut and Readers’ Choice. Her books have been translated into nine languages and are now available everywhere.
Jaye loves to thrust ordinary women into extraordinary circumstances and make them dig deep to survive. Her thrillers are set in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia, where she lives (and loves to turn into crime scenes).
When she’s not writing, she’s interviewing other authors in libraries and at writers festivals, running writing masterclasses and talking to readers. Occasionally she needs a break from the dark stuff and writes romantic comedy under the pen name Janette Paul.
Before turning to fiction, Jaye was news and sport journalist, becoming the first woman to host a live national sport show on Australian TV, and later ran her own PR consultancy.
Sign up to her newsletter for a free copy of her novella Already Gone, plus giveaways, author interviews and sneak peeks of upcoming releases. https://bit.ly/2R4SRPJ
Jaye loves to thrust ordinary women into extraordinary circumstances and make them dig deep to survive. Her thrillers are set in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia, where she lives (and loves to turn into crime scenes).
When she’s not writing, she’s interviewing other authors in libraries and at writers festivals, running writing masterclasses and talking to readers. Occasionally she needs a break from the dark stuff and writes romantic comedy under the pen name Janette Paul.
Before turning to fiction, Jaye was news and sport journalist, becoming the first woman to host a live national sport show on Australian TV, and later ran her own PR consultancy.
Sign up to her newsletter for a free copy of her novella Already Gone, plus giveaways, author interviews and sneak peeks of upcoming releases. https://bit.ly/2R4SRPJ
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 14, 2022
Miranda Jack was determined to discover why her husband had been killed, what he was doing while he was at the place he was found. The police were short with her, they wouldn’t tell her anything, so Jax was walking the streets around where the accident was, knocking on doors, continually searching. The day Jax went to Irene Newton’s house to ask the same questions was the day her direction changed. Irene had lost a daughter, Lucy, forty years prior. She’d died over a simple tonsillectomy and Irene was never told why.
Irene’s gentle nature and delicious home-made cakes, plus her need for company saw Jax return time and again, occasionally with her five-year-old daughter Zoe. Gradually Jax unearthed clues for Irene, all the while annoying everyone she was pestering. Would she get answers for eighty-five year old Irene? And would she get any answers for herself?
Already Gone is a prequel novella to Already Dead by Aussie author Jaye Ford and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I read Already Dead in 2014 and can still remember the horrors of that incredible read, so Already Gone is a special treat. Highly recommended.
With thanks to the author for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Irene’s gentle nature and delicious home-made cakes, plus her need for company saw Jax return time and again, occasionally with her five-year-old daughter Zoe. Gradually Jax unearthed clues for Irene, all the while annoying everyone she was pestering. Would she get answers for eighty-five year old Irene? And would she get any answers for herself?
Already Gone is a prequel novella to Already Dead by Aussie author Jaye Ford and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I read Already Dead in 2014 and can still remember the horrors of that incredible read, so Already Gone is a special treat. Highly recommended.
With thanks to the author for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
February 21, 2022
First I would like to Thank Jaye Ford for a copy of her book,This book is follow up book to Already Dead.This book is a short story.Miranda Jack a journalist is trying to find out what happened to her husband Nick he was killed,making enquiries she came across a lovely elderly lady irene a lonely woman needing company they become friendly,she tells her about her daughter who died after a routine operation and she never knew why.Will Miranda find her the answers.good read a 3.5 rating as wanted it to be a longer story.
February 20, 2022
Already Gone is the 5th book I have read by award winning and best selling Australian author Jaye Ford. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every book!
The author writes about ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances and their will to survive.
Already Gone is a prequel novella to her upcoming novel Already Dead.
Miranda Jack's husband was killed in a hit and run 2 months earlier. Frustrated with the lack of progress the police have made she sets out to find the answers herself.
In her search she befriends an 85 yr old woman who is also haunted by the death of her daughter many years earlier and still there are unanswered questions.
Thank you to author Jaye Ford for a copy of this novella in exchange for my honest review.
The author writes about ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances and their will to survive.
Already Gone is a prequel novella to her upcoming novel Already Dead.
Miranda Jack's husband was killed in a hit and run 2 months earlier. Frustrated with the lack of progress the police have made she sets out to find the answers herself.
In her search she befriends an 85 yr old woman who is also haunted by the death of her daughter many years earlier and still there are unanswered questions.
Thank you to author Jaye Ford for a copy of this novella in exchange for my honest review.
March 7, 2022
Already Gone is a prequel novella for Already Dead, by Australian journalist and author, Jaye Ford. Two months after investigative reporter Nick Westing was killed by a hit-and-run driver, his widow, Miranda Jack is haunted by the circumstances: Nick was in his running gear in a suburb forty minutes from home, having left no clue as to why he was there.
Now Miranda haunts the street and the suburb where he was killed, door-knocking, talking to everyone she can in the hope someone will have seen something, know something, that will help her understand.
Eighty-five-year-old Irene Newton didn’t see the hit, only the aftermath, but her empathy is genuine: she, too, has lost someone and still doesn’t know why. Lucy Newton died in very different circumstances, at eleven years old, during or after a routine tonsillectomy. No-one could (or would) tell her why.
Frustrated with her lack of progress in learning about Nick’s murder, Jax turns to something she believes she can solve. But Irene’s daughter died forty years earlier, meaning that many who might have known why are dead or demented. Jax is tenacious, but her enquiries are clearly causing ripples: she is warned off by three different people. The idea of four decades of not knowing spurs her on…
Ford writes characters with depth and a wholly credible plot: readers who enjoyed the earlier-published Already Dead will lap up this extra dose of that book’s gutsy protagonist. Gripping Aussie crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by the author.
Now Miranda haunts the street and the suburb where he was killed, door-knocking, talking to everyone she can in the hope someone will have seen something, know something, that will help her understand.
Eighty-five-year-old Irene Newton didn’t see the hit, only the aftermath, but her empathy is genuine: she, too, has lost someone and still doesn’t know why. Lucy Newton died in very different circumstances, at eleven years old, during or after a routine tonsillectomy. No-one could (or would) tell her why.
Frustrated with her lack of progress in learning about Nick’s murder, Jax turns to something she believes she can solve. But Irene’s daughter died forty years earlier, meaning that many who might have known why are dead or demented. Jax is tenacious, but her enquiries are clearly causing ripples: she is warned off by three different people. The idea of four decades of not knowing spurs her on…
Ford writes characters with depth and a wholly credible plot: readers who enjoyed the earlier-published Already Dead will lap up this extra dose of that book’s gutsy protagonist. Gripping Aussie crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by the author.
December 20, 2021
Australian thriller writer, Jaye Ford, has written a prequel novella to her upcoming book Already Dead, which is set for release beyond Aussie shores on 20 January, 2022. This story features Miranda Jack, known as Jax, a journalist whose husband has been brutally murdered and left for dead on the street. Jax has all kinds of questions and, frustrated by the lack of progress the police seem to be making after two months, she hits the neighborhood streets herself to see if she can find answers.
One person she meets as she goes door to door is a lovely older woman named Irene Newton. As she listens to Irene's own story of sorrow, she begins to wonder whether she might be able to find answers for the dear woman in this 40-year-old-case. But who knew her inquiries would upset so many people? Just who is behind this conspiracy of silence?
I enjoyed these characters very much and look forward to reading more in Jax's pursuit of answers. Thank you to Jaye Ford for providing a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review. Hope there's a series in the making, Jaye!
One person she meets as she goes door to door is a lovely older woman named Irene Newton. As she listens to Irene's own story of sorrow, she begins to wonder whether she might be able to find answers for the dear woman in this 40-year-old-case. But who knew her inquiries would upset so many people? Just who is behind this conspiracy of silence?
I enjoyed these characters very much and look forward to reading more in Jax's pursuit of answers. Thank you to Jaye Ford for providing a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review. Hope there's a series in the making, Jaye!
December 28, 2021
3.75 stars Thanks to Jaye Ford, author, for sending me this prequel to her book Already Dead - which makes it American debut in January 2022.
This little novella did exactly what it aimed to do. It introduced new characters and started answering questions to two separate issues that I am sure will continue in the book Already Dead, which hits the US in January 2022.
I admire the writing of Jaye Ford. She is an excellent author. Her mystery suspense is exactly that - suspenseful. Her books are never dull. Once you open a book it carries you away into a world she has created, with all their twists and turns, characters that you can relate to and stories that you can sink right into.
I am looking forward to Already Dead and Already Gone was just a tantalizing taste of what is to come.
This little novella did exactly what it aimed to do. It introduced new characters and started answering questions to two separate issues that I am sure will continue in the book Already Dead, which hits the US in January 2022.
I admire the writing of Jaye Ford. She is an excellent author. Her mystery suspense is exactly that - suspenseful. Her books are never dull. Once you open a book it carries you away into a world she has created, with all their twists and turns, characters that you can relate to and stories that you can sink right into.
I am looking forward to Already Dead and Already Gone was just a tantalizing taste of what is to come.
February 20, 2022
A determined woman on a crusade to closure: unstoppable👍
I liked it; lead character Jax is single-minded in her pursuit of answers to her husband's unexpected death, but she's ready to help a mother who has lived with her own unexplained loss for forty years. So she's sympathetic yet brash and brazen when needed to accomplish her goal. The fact that Jax is a resourceful journalist by trade presents advantages and obstacles that I found totally realistic.
My take on the plot: it's brief but still compelling and a really good storyline:
Take one determined recent widow who's tired of uncommunicative police. Give her some scraps of leads to follow. Add in a kind, elderly lady who requests help with her own unresolved life's tragedy. The result: a good tale of investigation constantly meeting walls of secrecy and somehow scrambling over them to get at the truth. One mystery has closure, the other remains frustratingly open, to be continued after this prequel ends.
Australian author Jaye Ford is up there on my list of favorite mystery thriller writers. This prequel has less adrenaline-pumping action than her longer works but it's good nonetheless.😊
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.
I liked it; lead character Jax is single-minded in her pursuit of answers to her husband's unexpected death, but she's ready to help a mother who has lived with her own unexplained loss for forty years. So she's sympathetic yet brash and brazen when needed to accomplish her goal. The fact that Jax is a resourceful journalist by trade presents advantages and obstacles that I found totally realistic.
My take on the plot: it's brief but still compelling and a really good storyline:
Take one determined recent widow who's tired of uncommunicative police. Give her some scraps of leads to follow. Add in a kind, elderly lady who requests help with her own unresolved life's tragedy. The result: a good tale of investigation constantly meeting walls of secrecy and somehow scrambling over them to get at the truth. One mystery has closure, the other remains frustratingly open, to be continued after this prequel ends.
Australian author Jaye Ford is up there on my list of favorite mystery thriller writers. This prequel has less adrenaline-pumping action than her longer works but it's good nonetheless.😊
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.
February 2, 2022
Jax is battling to understand what happened the day her husband died victim of a hit and run. Why was he running in that particular area and who did he try to contact just before he died? She has many questions but no replies and the police are not being helpful. In one of her searches for answers, she meets an elderly lady who lost her daughter in a routine surgery more than 30 years prior. She is relentless in her search for answers for this new friend and she does succeed, although for her own answers she has not managed to obtain any answers.
Great plot, well-written story, very entertaining!
Great plot, well-written story, very entertaining!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews