A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
“So gripping you might start to question your own family’s past.” —Entertainment Weekly
“[One] of the most anticipated summer thrillers . . . Gentry’s novel isn’t primarily about the version of the self that comes from a name and a family of origin; instead, it draws our attention to the self that’s forged from sheer survival, and from the clarifying call to vengeance.” —New York Times Book Review
Anna’s daughter Julie was kidnapped from her own bedroom when she was thirteen years old, while Anna slept just downstairs, unaware that her daughter was being ripped away from her. For eight years, she has lived with the guilt and the void in her family, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night, the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is finally, miraculously, home safe. Anna and the rest of the family are thrilled, but soon Anna begins to see holes in Julie’s story. When she is contacted by a former detective turned private eye, she is forced to wonder if this young woman is even her daughter at all. And if she isn’t Julie, what is it that she wants?
“So much about this novel is fresh and insightful and decidedly not like every other thriller . . . Good as Gone ranks as an outstanding debut, well worth reading. This is no mere Gone Girl wannabe.” —Dallas Morning News
An Amazon Best Book of August 2016: The worst nightmare of every parent comes true for Anna and Tom when a stranger snatches their thirteen-year-old daughter, Julie, from her bedroom at knife point. No evidence has been found to prove her alive or dead, but Anna knows deep inside that Julie was murdered. Now, eight years later, a girl who looks like Julie shows up on their doorstep, similar in many ways to the daughter they loved and in other ways completely different. Is it really Julie? Amy Gentry doesn’t pull her emotional punches as the chapters oscillate between maybe-Julie and Anna, and it’s soon clear that the truth is not what it seems. But the truth might not be what you think it is either. This thriller pierces into the darkest corners of the heart where both love and fear reside, escalating the suspense to deliver a gut-plunging finale. –Adrian Liang, The Amazon Book Review