What would you do if you woke up and found your spouse missing? When Rory Richards wakes up from a failed suicide attempt, he learns that his wife, Maggie, has vanished without a trace. All Rory can remember about the previous night is that the two had the fight of a lifetime. The dispute causes him to storm out of the house and steal prescription pills from his neighbors in an attempt to overdose. After that, everything is a blur. Now, he must retrace his steps to find out what happened to her. Was she kidnapped? Did she disappear on purpose? What happened to Maggie? Gone is a gripping psychological thriller that is filled with suspense. Recommended if you like Gillian Flynn, Mary Kubica, J.D. Barker, and Paula Hawkins.
This is the first book by this author that I have read/listened to. I’m hooked on the true crime shows that are on the television. Having that background helped me get involved in what the narrator is telling me. Both got me involved right from the start.
I couldn’t figure our main character out and part of that is due to Mr. Anderson taking on the part. He starts my mind going in one direction and then I start going in another and then back again. If you’ve watched enough crime shows, Rory would be at the center of the investigation as to what’s happened to his wife. We get to see inside the mind of what a husband may be feeling/thinking and what masks they may wear.
Rory is either a good actor or we just don’t understand what is really going on in his mind. It will take the whole story to get that figured out. This could be seen on any of the shows I currently watch. I could see our narrator playing the lead role. I had a chance to get out of my comfort zone of reading all things romance. If I hadn’t taken that chance, I might have missed out on a really good mystery/thriller.
Q&A with Author S.H. Love
- How did you select your narrator?
- I’d listened to about a dozen auditions, and one kept jumping out at me. I’d asked him to read a different part of the book, where there was dialog between the protagonist and other characters, and what I liked about him was that he didn’t try and create different voices for each character. Rather, he just subtly changed pitches and inflections, and it came out a lot better than the narrators who tried changing their voice. I really liked that he was telling the story from the main character’s POV, which is how it’s written.
- How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
- I didn’t work with him hardly at all, only giving some brief backstory on the MC’s mindset and motives. From there, he did his thing. He really got inside the MC’s head, and I loved that he took the time to invest in the story; rather than just trying to finish the recording.
- How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- I write in different genres. I like being able to get invested in different types of stories, so I avoid burnout by not writing the same story over and over but in a different way.
- Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
- Yes! I love how he conveys the inner dialog. It’s like you’re really hearing his thoughts, as opposed to reading them and determining how they should unfold.
- What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- I think people use whatever time they need to enjoy books. Whether that be audiobooks or not, so long as you’re “reading”, that’s all that matters. Criticizing a person on how they digest books isn’t something I like to get involved in.
- How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- I was actually in the middle of another book project, so really nothing.
- What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- Reading gets me out of writing slump. And writing gets me out of a reading slump. Doing both is what I strive for.
- In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?
- I’ve never written a series. I don’t particularly like series because I don’t want to spend too much time in a world. There are so many out there to get invested in, so I like to complete a story and then move on.
- What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Write what you want, and don’t write to trends. Publishing is such a long process, that by the time your book comes out, the subject may not be “in” anymore.
- What’s next for you?
- I have several writing projects under my real name, including a YA rom/com coming out in May 2022.
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