Reviews

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

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sparetimereader's review

5.0

Thank you Simon Audio and Simon and Schuster for a copy of this book! Pub date is May 7, 20204.

Short synopsis: Ellie Black is kidnapped, two years later she comes walking out of the woods.

My thoughts: Okay, this might just be my favorite thriller of the year so far! I’m going to keep my thoughts somewhat vague because I think that’s a great way of going into this story. So many unexpected twists had my head reeling, and that ending! I’m glad I did a buddy read of this to talk through the details at the end.

I loved the format of this with flashes into Ellie’s time in captivity. Those parts of the story were so hard to read, but added such a punch to the story to get inside her head and understand her experiences.

There are definitely some triggers in here: kidnapping, sexual/emotional/physical abuse, manipulation and gaslighting to name a few.

I did list of this on audio and would highly recommend. Full cast of narrators that help bring this story to life.

Read if you love:

True crime
Time flashes
Multiple POV
Abduction stories

read_watch_sarah's review

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medium-paced

5.0

jerseygirlreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ashleys_endless_tbrlist's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Pub date: 5/7/24

First off, thank you @simonbooks and @emikojeanbooks for this gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review. 🫶

I could not put this book down. Ellis is missing for two years when suddenly she reappears, seemingly unharmed physically. Now the question is, why is she back? How is she back? Who took her? What happened? Slowly uncovering the mysteries and twists that unfold as those questions are answered.

This book flips between present perspectives with a few different POVs to the past when Ellie was taken, her perspective at that time.

Well written and paced. Loved every second of this book. Eternally grateful that I was able to read an ARC of this.

Keep an eye out for when this is published. Preorder/order this and add it to your TBR immediately.

yetanothersusan's review

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4.75

Chelsey Calhoun is still traumatized by the death of her sister and brings the feeling of needing to compensate for that to every case she investigates. When a missing girl returns, Chelsey is first in line to determine what happened and find the person responsible for it. Little did she know how warped and twisted this case, and the others it is linked to will become. Multiple points of view and two timelines helped the reader converge on the present in a soooooo very close to unbelievable, but ultimately WHAT????, ending. And a few of the characters seemed a bit too good to be true but still fell just on the side of believable. I'd bring up plot points that I related to from several true crime stories to hook you in, but feel that might give too much away and ruin the story for other readers. Just keep turning the pages and enjoy!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

momadvice's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ellie Black, a typical teenage girl, is impatient to get a new phone when she hatches the perfect scheme to cover the expense. She will host a motel party complete with booze and charge her friends access to raise the funds for her purchase. But when the bathroom at the motel is indisposed, she decides to find a spot to relieve herself outside, and in the blink of an eye, she disappears for two years.

The story swiftly starts after Ellie's absence when Detective Chelsea Calhoun receives a call saying they believe Ellie Black is in custody. Covered in a dirty and bloodied sweatshirt, malnourished, and hollow-eyed, they began the process of data collection with Ellie, who refused to disclose what happened to her.

While her parents are relieved to have their girl finally home, they realize that this experience has changed Ellie in more ways than one. From refusing to be touched to her resistance to sleep in her bed to her insistence that her hair not be cut, they know it will take time before their girl will feel like herself again.

The detective assigned to the case is no stranger to missing girls, as her sister disappeared when she was young, so her mission feels twofold—to right the wrong against her family and Ellie.

But when forensics returns with a pivotal detail on the evidence collected, the reader embarks on a heart-stopping page-flipping ride to unlock the dark mystery behind these missing girls.

Emiko Jean has gained notoriety for her writing as a Reese Witherspoon pick for her young adult novels (Tokyo Dreaming & Tokyo Ever After), and her adult fiction debut, Mika in Real Life, which Good Morning Ameria selected for their book club.

But this unexpectedly dark debut thriller was nothing short of exceptional and one of my favorite thrillers of the year. Ellie and Chelsea both have compelling backstories, and both are deeply flawed. It is riveting and enthralling from a detective who pushes too hard to get answers to a girl who went to the brink psychologically in ways that forever alter her.

For the empathetic reader, this will be a challenging novel to get through. There is sexual abuse and trauma that are within these flashback scenes. Much like Room or The Child Finder, this does document Ellie's two years away from home in haunting detail.

I'm thrilled that Emiko will join Book Gang to discuss this book and request a spoiler-filled interview for patrons. We will want to discuss the savvy plot twists in this story and the inspiration behind the missing girls that inspired Jean to take on such an ambitious project. Reserve your copies now!

TAG: Serial Killer, Missing Girls, Crime Fiction, Dark Thriller, Plot-Twist

ryansometimesreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.25

whatsheread's review against another edition

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4.25

WOW! THE RETURN OF ELLIE BLACK by Emiko Jean is an intense thriller where you know from the start that what you see is not the whole truth but have no idea in which direction the story will go. The identity of the abductors took me by complete surprise, as did another reveal at the end. With Ellie’s story touching on not just abduction cases but also misogyny, racism, and the power of wealth in the justice system, it is as timely as it is enlightening. THE RETURN OF ELLIE BLACK is a welcome addition to the thriller genre, and I look forward to reading what Ms. Jean publishes next!

chenisejones's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

thrillofthepage's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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