Book Review: When She Was Gone by Sara Foster
Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote Western Australian beach, and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care, Rose is asked to help bring Lou home. The police think Rose’s insights will lead them to Lou, but they don’t realise that Rose hardly knows her daughter anymore.
This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood’s illustrious career, and there’s a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and as their multimillionaire grandfather breathes down Blackwood’s neck for results, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn’t know who he can trust.
Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter’s innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she’s no longer part of Lou’s life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a much darker turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers and Rose, and soon it’s clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?
Published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia
Released April 2025
My Thoughts:When She Was Gone is the latest from Sara Foster. I really enjoyed Hush, and I suppose it has set the bar for me now with this author. While I didn’t mind this one, it was by no means inhabiting the same orbit as Hush.
This story was a classic crime fiction. Nanny goes missing with her two charges. Did she abscond with them, or were they kidnapped? Is the family she worked for above board or as shonky as they come?
Underneath the narrative was a theme of domestic violence, not woven into the plot as such, but almost as an instructional manual on recognising the signs, statistics and facts, all delivered via Rose’s perspective, who had made it her life’s work. I found this a bit of a barrier to connecting with Rose, to be honest, as though she was not a real character, but merely a vessel by which to convey an important message about a crisis within our society.
The story was well paced throughout, but nearing the end, everything seemed to happen so fast, all loose threads being tied neatly, issues resolved, baddies disposed of, in the blink of an eye.
Crime fiction fans will no doubt love this. I listened to it on audiobook, and it was an entertaining read, but ultimately, not a memorable one.
Thanks to @harpercollinsaustralia for initially providing a review copy via #netgalley.
