While You Were Gone

The reappearance of a local girl long ago declared dead threatens to disturb the buried secrets of a small town’s defining mystery in this pacy, atmospheric debut thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena, and Lisa Gardner.

It’s been thirteen years since Heather McAdams disappeared from her fifth birthday party in the small town of Poplar Falls, Oregon. Thirteen years since her Uncle Charlie was convicted of her molestation, since her parents’ marriage crumbled, since her older sister Kadie was first wracked with guilt. It’s been five years since Heather’s parents petitioned to have her declared dead and buried an empty coffin. The funeral felt more like mockery than closure and the whole town still carries the grief. It weighs on everyone like a dense, unrelenting fog, lingering in the quiet moments of early mornings and the eeriness of late-night drives.

When a traumatized young woman stumbles into the emergency room of the Poplar Falls hospital, Police Chief Mallory Bennett is skeptical of her story. She claims her name is Doe, that her older sisters Ruby and Ellie helped her escape their violent father, and that they left her here alone. As Mallory digs beneath the surface of her story, Doe’s identity is revealed, reopening old wounds and casting doubt on official stories. This new investigation will call into question the guilt of the convicted, the number of victims, and the credibility of the local police—but most of all, it will test the bonds of a family that has finally started to move on from unspeakable loss.

In this emotionally wrenching psychological thriller, alternating perspectives show a family at a crossroads and explore how a much longed-for homecoming will disturb the peace before the past can be put to rest.