Review by CJ

Page count:
255

Format:
eBook

ISBN:
978-1-68399-001-7

Jack Stratton is 17-year-old aspiring police officer with a troubled past. Raised by a prostitute mother who abandoned him, Jack now has two loving parents and an extended foster family. So when his former foster mother, Aunt Haddie, asks him to look into the disappearance of Stacy Shaw, Jack doesn’t hesitate.

The son of Aunt Haddie’s neighbour and friend has been collared in connection with Stacy’s disappearance, but this doesn’t sit well with Jack. Can Jack discover the truth or will he lose everything on a wild goose chase?

And Then She Was Gone is the sixth Detective Jack Stratton Mystery novel and first in the series chronology.

And Then She Was Gone is my first foray into the world of Jack Stratton and it did not disappoint.

The plot of And Then She Was Gone is a good modern murder mystery with plenty of red herrings. There are enough viable suspects that the further along in the novel I read, the faster I wanted to read it and the harder And Then She Was Gone was to put down.

As a character, Jack Stratton is well written in And Then She Was Gone. He is by no means perfect with a stubborn streak that gets him and those he cares about in trouble, a tendency to delve into self pity, and an act first, think later way of getting things done. Despite all of this, Jack is very likeable because he is written in such a way that the reader knows he is only doing these frustrating things because he cares and wants to do the right thing. I really enjoy heroic characters with deep flaws as, in my humble opinion, it makes their adventures far more interesting to read.

The rest of the characters in And Then She Was Gone are varied and written with enough depth to keep them interesting but not so much that their backstories bog down the action.

I highly recommend And Then She Was Gone to readers who enjoy crime, thriller or mystery novels. I’ve already grabbed the next few books and look forward to seeing what the future holds for Jack Stratton and his allies.

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