melkirkman's review
5.0
And Then You Were Gone by R L Jacobs is a psychological thriller that takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey to the truth. Through the eyes (and bipolar mind) of Emily Firestone, we follow her as she trys to solve the mystery of her boyfriends disappearance.
Loved this book and especially loved the view into what it is like to be Bipolar. The internal monologue was fascinating!
Loved this book and especially loved the view into what it is like to be Bipolar. The internal monologue was fascinating!
kbranfield's review
4.0
And Then You Were Gone by R.J. Jacobs is a suspenseful mystery about a psychologist whose boyfriend goes missing during a weekend getaway.
Dr. Emily Firestone overcomes her fear of water in order to enjoy a sailing weekend with her boyfriend, Paolo Fererra. After a fun day on the lake, Emily awakens to next morning to find that Paolo has vanished. Her bipolar disorder immediately begins to spiral out of control due to her lack of sleep and extreme stress. Already convinced Paolo's death is from foul play, Emily's suspicions are confirmed when his lab coworker, Sandy Harrison, reaches out to her to investigate some irregularities she has uncovered. Before long, the police are taking a second look at Emily when people connected to her begin to die. Will Emily find out the truth about what happened to Paolo before it is too late?
Emily is a well-respected child psychologist whose bipolar II disorder has been well-controlled for quite some time. She relies on a strict medication regime to keep her bipolar disorder in check but her erratic behavior soon plunges her into a manic state. Soon after Paolo's disappearance, she makes a series of ill-advised decisions that jeopardize her mental health and her career. Emily is not able to distinguish between fact and fantasy as she begins experiencing paranoia as she skips her medicine and gives up sleep in order to find out what happened to Paolo.
Emily is already on the edge when Sandy brings her puzzling information she has unearthed at the lab where she and Paolo are working on a vaccine for a deadly virus. Emily's anxiety levels begin to spike as she impatiently waits for Sandy to retrieve proof they can take to the authorities. Fully immersed in a hypo-manic state, Emily races headlong into danger as she frantically attempts to understand what happened to Paolo and why. Even more troubling is the warning she receives from her best friend that Emily is becoming more than just a person of interest in the events swirling around Paolo's disappearance.
And Then You Were Gone is a fast-paced and compelling mystery starring an increasingly unreliable narrator. Emily's need for answers is understandable but her refusal to take her medication becomes a bit tedious. With plenty of tension, a few red herrings and some shocking twists, R.J. Jacobs brings this perplexing mystery to an action-packed conclusion. An excellent mystery that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
Dr. Emily Firestone overcomes her fear of water in order to enjoy a sailing weekend with her boyfriend, Paolo Fererra. After a fun day on the lake, Emily awakens to next morning to find that Paolo has vanished. Her bipolar disorder immediately begins to spiral out of control due to her lack of sleep and extreme stress. Already convinced Paolo's death is from foul play, Emily's suspicions are confirmed when his lab coworker, Sandy Harrison, reaches out to her to investigate some irregularities she has uncovered. Before long, the police are taking a second look at Emily when people connected to her begin to die. Will Emily find out the truth about what happened to Paolo before it is too late?
Emily is a well-respected child psychologist whose bipolar II disorder has been well-controlled for quite some time. She relies on a strict medication regime to keep her bipolar disorder in check but her erratic behavior soon plunges her into a manic state. Soon after Paolo's disappearance, she makes a series of ill-advised decisions that jeopardize her mental health and her career. Emily is not able to distinguish between fact and fantasy as she begins experiencing paranoia as she skips her medicine and gives up sleep in order to find out what happened to Paolo.
Emily is already on the edge when Sandy brings her puzzling information she has unearthed at the lab where she and Paolo are working on a vaccine for a deadly virus. Emily's anxiety levels begin to spike as she impatiently waits for Sandy to retrieve proof they can take to the authorities. Fully immersed in a hypo-manic state, Emily races headlong into danger as she frantically attempts to understand what happened to Paolo and why. Even more troubling is the warning she receives from her best friend that Emily is becoming more than just a person of interest in the events swirling around Paolo's disappearance.
And Then You Were Gone is a fast-paced and compelling mystery starring an increasingly unreliable narrator. Emily's need for answers is understandable but her refusal to take her medication becomes a bit tedious. With plenty of tension, a few red herrings and some shocking twists, R.J. Jacobs brings this perplexing mystery to an action-packed conclusion. An excellent mystery that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
stephuhl's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mrsking1990's review
5.0
This was the first book I've read from this author (not sure if he has more or not..I will research after I write my review) I am looking forward to reading his others
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
callikat's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nahyee's review against another edition
5.0
See my full review of this title on my blog: Books Under the Blanket (with a flashlight): https://booksundertheblanket.com/we-all-lose-our-minds-sometimes/
mila_k's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
rubygaudett's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
natnataly420's review
2.0
Massive eye roll. I’m actually really pissed that I spent so much time and energy reading this book and hoping for it to get better!! It was a massive snooze fest and the plot like was so stupid.
First of all- the fact that Paolo WAS ALIVE was pretty shocking, but then him showing up to save her at the very last second was so annoying especially when he quickly explained his whole life story (during the time the police took to get there which was a lot especially since the ambulance had been there for a while) and then just ran into the bushes and suddenly nobody could even find him? Are you kidding? How did nobody go after him or find him? And he was so emotionless telling her all of this which made no sense considering they were about to be engaged.
That being said CAL ENDING UP BEING THE LOVE INTEREST?? That was plain stupid. He came out of nowhere with his nosy ass daughter and Emily bothers the shit out of him only to end up together afterwards?? Like Paolo was “dead” and you’re searching for his killer to avenge his death but instead you find a lover COME ONNNNN and it’s all just thrown in the end like ok? Another thing that was just thrown in was her father- like ok? It was weird that he caught the disease and she falls for a man who’s making a vaccine for that disease- it was just unnecessary.
I felt like the author used her bipolar disorder as a personality trait- although in the about author - it states that he is a Psychologist and teaches abnormal psych and such but the way he presented bipolar disorder was only when it was convenient. She didn’t take her meds or sleep for like 3 days and she was fine in the end?? When I’m the beginning she said she would feel it if she took her meds an hour too late- like make up your mind.
Overall really slow and stupid book. Paolo is a little bitch and I feel bad that Emily got dragged for being bipolar but was right about the killer being in the lab in the end.
First of all- the fact that Paolo WAS ALIVE was pretty shocking, but then him showing up to save her at the very last second was so annoying especially when he quickly explained his whole life story (during the time the police took to get there which was a lot especially since the ambulance had been there for a while) and then just ran into the bushes and suddenly nobody could even find him? Are you kidding? How did nobody go after him or find him? And he was so emotionless telling her all of this which made no sense considering they were about to be engaged.
That being said CAL ENDING UP BEING THE LOVE INTEREST?? That was plain stupid. He came out of nowhere with his nosy ass daughter and Emily bothers the shit out of him only to end up together afterwards?? Like Paolo was “dead” and you’re searching for his killer to avenge his death but instead you find a lover COME ONNNNN and it’s all just thrown in the end like ok? Another thing that was just thrown in was her father- like ok? It was weird that he caught the disease and she falls for a man who’s making a vaccine for that disease- it was just unnecessary.
I felt like the author used her bipolar disorder as a personality trait- although in the about author - it states that he is a Psychologist and teaches abnormal psych and such but the way he presented bipolar disorder was only when it was convenient. She didn’t take her meds or sleep for like 3 days and she was fine in the end?? When I’m the beginning she said she would feel it if she took her meds an hour too late- like make up your mind.
Overall really slow and stupid book. Paolo is a little bitch and I feel bad that Emily got dragged for being bipolar but was right about the killer being in the lab in the end.