I have read and thoroughly enjoyed several of Ruby's books now. As soon as I know that she has released a new book, I grab a copy at the earliest opportunity and then read it just as soon as I possibly can. Ruby's latest book is called 'Gone' and it was released on 21st February 2023. 'Gone' is another cracker of a read, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading but more about that in a bit. I have to be honest and say that I didn't warm to any of the characters, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I just got the impression that they weren't who they were trying to be and that they were hiding a little secret. Of course, it could be that I have read far too much crime fiction and that I suspect everybody and believe nobody. The main character Rachel is the mother of Shay, who disappears. There was something about Rachel that I just didn't didn't take to. Her attitudes and her manipulative behaviour just set off little alarm bells for me. She is the sort of woman that I would cross the road to avoid. I was drawn to 'Gone' by the synopsis alone and the fact that I saw Ruby's name on the cover of a book that I knew I hadn't read yet. As soon as I started reading, I knew that I was onto a winner and that I would struggle to put this book to one side for very long. The disappearance of Shay and the events leading up to, during and after his disappearance intrigued me. I developed my own theories as to what was going to happen so of course I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had wandered off in the opposite direction. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. My Kindle was well travelled as it went everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss any of the story. All too quickly I reached the end of 'Gone'. I found 'Gone' to be a gritty, gripping, tense and dramatic read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. 'Gone' is superbly written but then that's what I think about Ruby's books in general. Ruby has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. Ruby certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. This was one of those books that made me change my mind on several occasions to who was doing what and why, so in that respect the story certainly kept me on my toes. Reading 'Gone' felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns to it than you would find on a 'Snakes & Ladders' board. I love the way in which Ruby makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Gone' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Ruby's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Last night my son, shay, sneaked out of the house and didn't come home. He promised not to go to the illegal party in the woods. But someone's been attacked, and Shay has gone missing. The police want to know if he saw what happened, I'm worried he could be involved. After all the trouble he's been in lately, mixing with the wrong crowd. coming home beaten up and scared, I thought we'd put it all behind us. Trouble is, Shay resents me moving my new boyfriend into the family home. I found all sorts on his laptop, including a half-written email warning me not to trust Daavid. What does he know that I don't? This is a well written, fast=paced domestic thriller. I was gripped instantly, needing to know what had happened, and how it was going to unfold.as more of Shay's friends disappeared. There were parts of the story where nothing really happened. There are also a few suspicious characters to pick and choose from. This is a very twisted read. The characters are well rounded. L liked the authors writing style. There was quite a lot going on in this book, but it wasn't confusing. I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #RubySpeechley for my ARC of #Gone in exchange for an honest review.

Your son is missing…What can a mother do?… Gone is quite the departure from the other stories I have read from Speechley and not at all what I was expecting. It has been written with so much heart, I wasn’t at all surprised reading in the acknowledgments that some of the story is personal to her family. It was an engrossing tale that instantly had me hooked and was different from others I have read with the missing child trope. I felt a range of emotions throughout from fear, anger, frustration, sadness and more. Speechley did a great job with the characters and whilst I found the actions of some strange, you remember that what you think you would do, may not actually be what you end up doing. Sometimes it is easy to judge when you haven’t walked in someone else’s shoes. This is a well written and executed piece of work that was unpredictable and with good plot twists. If you are a fan of domestic suspense stories, I happily recommend this one to you.

I thought this was a good book which grabbed my attention from the first page. It is written well and has an array of characters, some I liked and others I loathed. It's one of those reads where most of the characters had secrets and the tension and suspense the author creates certainly me keep guessing and turning the pages. The plot line is very current and all too believable although I felt the ending was in my opinion too rushed. Overall an enjoyable read which lacked the wow factor for me. 3.5 stars