Rainie Conner has seen some of the worst things people can
do to each other, first as a deputy in a small town and
more recently working criminal investigations with her
husband Pierce Quincy, an ex-FBI profiler. But she's been
able to compartmentalize, to detach herself, until the
death of yet another innocent child at one more bloody
crime scene shatters something within her. Now Rainie is
trapped in a downward spiral, cutting herself off from
Pierce, drinking too much, obsessed with death and tragedy.
Then, one rainy night, she's abducted from her car by a
stranger, and the instinct to fight and survive takes over.
But her instincts may not be enough to keep her alive.
Pierce Quincy has watched Rainie drift away from him, torn
between shaking her out of her depression and giving her
space to work things out. Now she's missing and he's
overwhelmed with guilt and grief, but must pull himself
together to profile the kidnapper and solve this very
personal case. Working with local law enforcement, as well
as his daughter, Kimberly, and her friend Mac, both FBI
agents, Pierce races against time to save the stranger he
loves.
This is a grim, intense book. Rainie is battling serious
depression; Pierce is frustrated at his inability to help
her and then distraught when she disappears. Rainie's
kidnapper is physically violent with her (although not
sexually) and a young boy is also put in serious jeopardy.
I did not always enjoy reading this book, but I was
compelled to keep going. I cared about these characters and
what happened to them. The details about the investigative
procedure are also very interesting. I do recommend GONE,
particularly to Gardner fans and people who enjoy shows
like Without a Trace, but it will not appeal to more
sensitive readers.
When someone you love vanishes without a trace, how far
would you go to get them back? For ex-FBI profiler
Pierce Quincy, it’s the beginning of his worst nightmare: a
car abandoned on a desolate stretch of Oregon highway,
engine running, purse on the driver’s seat. And his
estranged wife, Rainie Conner, gone, leaving no clue
to her fate.
Did one of the ghosts from Rainie’s
troubled past finally catch up with her? Or could her
disappearance be the result of one of the cases they’d been
working–a particularly vicious double homicide or the
possible abuse of a deeply disturbed child Rainie took too
close to heart? Together with his daughter, FBI agent
Kimberly Quincy, Pierce is battling the local authorities,
racing against time, and frantically searching for answers
to all the questions he’s been afraid to ask.
One man
knows what happened that night. Adopting the alias of a
killer caught eighty years before, he has already contacted
the press. His terms are clear: he wants money, he wants
power, he wants celebrity. And if he doesn’t get what he
wants, Rainie will be gone for good.
Sometimes, no
matter how much you love someone, it’s still not
enough. As the clock winds down on a terrifying
deadline, Pierce plunges headlong into the most desperate
hunt of his life, into the shattering search for a killer, a
lethal truth, and for the love of his life, who may
forever be...gone.