Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner

Before She Disappeared

by Lisa Gardner

Your Next Obsession . . . A gripping thriller featuring an ordinary woman who will stop at nothing to find the missing people that the rest of the world has forgotten.

* Sunday Times bestselling novel *
* Multi-million copy bestselling author *
* TV series optioned! Hilary Swank to star and co-produce *


'I just read Before She Disappeared in a day and a half. It was that gripping.' Shari Lapena
'Original, chilling and so gripping I had to remind myself to take a breath' Clare Mackintosh
'A first-class crime novel by a master of the thriller genre' David Baldacci
'Sharply-written, tension-filled yarn full of twists readers are unlikely to see coming.' Daily Mail
'This time [Lisa] truly hits it out of the park. ' Tess Gerritsen
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Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman with more regrets than belongings who spends her life doing what no one else will: searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.

A new case brings Frankie to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier.

Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim's wary family tells Frankie she's on her own. And she soon learns she's asking questions someone doesn't want answered.

But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing will be her ...
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Readers love Before She Disappeared . . .

***** 'I'm shaken, slowly crying, barely gathering right words to tell how I wholeheartedly loved this book and how deeply affected me with its resonating, realistic, deeply layered character portraits!'
***** 'I have always loved Lisa Gardner's books and her new Frankie Elkin series is just as intriguing and exciting as all the others I have read.'
***** 'This is yet another wonderful mystery/suspense novel from Lisa Gardner.'
***** 'An outstanding thriller.'
***** '
Loved it! It was an absolute page turner for me, I flew through it in one day.'
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'A rocket-fuel-propelled thriller that will leave you breathless' Gregg Hurwitz
'Tense and immersive' Booklist
'A crackling mystery, gritty atmosphere and an unforgettable heroine.' Riley Sager
'There's only one thing to ask for by the time the book ends: please, please, a sequel and a series!' New York Journal of Books
'A sharply written, tension-filled yarn full of twists readers are unlikely to see coming' Associated Press

Reviewed by zooloo1983 on

4 of 5 stars

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Wow-what a story, what a book! I knew that I would love it, I mean it is a Lisa Gardner book for starters, but she is prolific in sucking you into her world and feeling everything your characters feel. She has made me feel nervous, she has made me well up but mostly she has managed to turn my upside down and inside out trying to figure out who was behind everything especially when the answers are right in your face!

I never knew that were people in America, and no doubt in this country, work freelance, sometimes for food and board to find the missing people that other people forget about. I am in awe of these people, these people who have given up their lives to travel all over to get closure for these families. I mean hats off to these people. Just I have no words.

Back to the story though, Frankie is one of these people, she has nothing, all she wants is bed and board and the freedom to locate Angelique, the missing girl. She has a past that is slowly uncovered and as with most pasts it is a heartbreaking one and one you really wish wouldn’t be true. Frankie, is white and she is heading into a part of Boston where she is really not welcome, she is the minority. No one wants to help her, but she powers through, and she starts to cause ripples, these ripples do not make some people happy. She builds some friendships and I loved seeing these blossom, even if you know that they are short term.

I loved Frankie and I love her story, I know this is Ms Gardner’s first standalone novel in 10 years or so, but I would love Frankie to have her own series. I feel there is so much more with her. I want to know more about her past and what drove her to do what she does.

I really enjoyed this and I just want more. Frankie is raw, real and unapologetic about the way she is and why should she. She has her mission and she does not deter from that, she wants the closure one way or another. Just like us the reader.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 17 January, 2021: Finished reading
  • 17 January, 2021: Reviewed