Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Length: 320 pages
Audiobook Length: 9 hours and 30 minutes
First Published: 2024
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Rachael’s Review
Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace over two years ago, is shockingly found alive in the woods in Washington State. But Ellie isn’t talking about where she’s been. Detective Chelsey Calhoun thinks Ellie is protecting someone and is determined to find answers- not only in the unlikely hope that maybe Chelsey can find a clue to her own sister’s disappearance twenty years ago but also to prevent it from happening again to another girl.
The Return of Ellie Black is an extremely slow-paced thriller that lacks an emotional punch. Jean never lets you emotionally connect with either of the female protagonists. This is understandable with Ellie, whose experience leaves her with plenty of trauma when she returns but not as forgivable in Chelsey, who felt flat and one-dimensional. The story was dark and hard to read at time. Although it plods along for the most part, the ending had plenty of action and some unexpected twists.
Publisher’s Description
Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.
It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.
Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.
But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.
The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.
About Emiko Jean
Jean does not feel comfortable sharing details about her life. She is a New York Times bestselling author. She now lives in Washington State, USA with her husband and two children. Visit the author’s website →
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