#Blogtour After You Were Gone by Vikki Wakefield

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour After You Were Gone by Vikki Wakefield.

About the Author

Vikki Wakefield writes fiction for young adults and adults. Her books explore family, class and relationships in a contemporary setting. Her novels All I Ever Wanted, Friday Brown, Inbetween Days and Ballad for a Mad Girl have been shortlisted for numerous awards. This Is How We Change The Ending won Book of the Year: Older Readers, Children’s Book Council Awards, 2020. After You Were Gone, a psychological thriller, is her first novel for adults. She is working on her second one. Follow @VikkiWakefield on Twitter

About the book

What happens to a family when a child goes missing? - In a busy street market, Abbie lets go of six-year-old Sarah’s hand. She isn’t a bad mother, just exhausted. When she turns around, her daughter isn’t there.

Six years later, Abbie is in love and getting married. But her fragile peace is constantly threatened: not knowing what happened to Sarah is like living with a curse. Then she receives a phone call from an unknown number. A man claims to know what happened to Sarah, but if Abbie tells anyone or fails to follow his instructions, she’ll never find out the truth.

After You Were Gone is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that poses the question: How far would you go to find your child?

Review

Abbie is exhausted when Sarah disappears, but she also doesn't expect a very short moment of not paying attention will lead to the permanent loss of her precious child. Without a trace and without an explanation, just gone. No wonder she jumps at the chance when a mysterious phone call could mean the end of her misery.

There are right fighters and there are people who will do anything to hurt you, even if it means taking the one thing that means the most to you. To destroy, to sever, even to kill. What kind of cruel intention must live on the shoulder of the kind of person who thinks nothing of committing the most nefarious crime against another human being.

It's a driven piece of work, where emotions live constantly on the cusp of causing an implosion or the complete shutdown. What strength and determination must it take to swim through the devastation of a loss for which you will always blame yourself. The kind of loss that will forever leave a gaping hole.

I found the last few chapters especially poignant, perhaps because it pulls on the invisible threads that bind, especially across the generations. The acknowledgement of past mistakes and the willingness to ensure the generational trauma doesn't carry on - well at least to try.

Buy After You Were Gone at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎No Exit Press; pub date 6 July 2023. Buy at Amazon com.