Reviewed for Women Write About Comics 
 Earlier this summer, I started to see multiple rave reviews for this book. It was compared to all the recent best selling thrillers-Girl on the Train, All the Missing Girls, and of course, Gone Girl. I love a good thriller, but I find myself reading so many mediocre ones it can get frustrating. More often then not I find them filled with lacklustre female characters and predictable plots. So when I first started hearing good things about Good as Gone I was pretty excited to pick it up. 
 Unfortunately, it would not meet my high expectations. It started out strong; in the beginning a young girl, Julie, is kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night. Her younger sister, hiding in the closet, is the only witness. Many years later they've all but given up the search, only to have her show up on their doorstep alive. You're left wondering what happened to her? How did she escape? Who was the man that took her? 
 But as the story continued I found myself less and less intrigued. Partially because of Anna, Julie's mother. Half the novel is essentially told from her point of view as she adjusts to having her daughter back. Which, in theory, is a fine idea, but it practice she was just an awful character. She is the novel equivalent of an actor chewing the scenery. She was overly dramatic in scenes where it felt out of place, and cold in scenes which called for emotional outpourings. 
 Overall, the novel felt rough and a little lazy. The premise was excellent, but the execution left out important details and I found myself with more questions than answers the further I got into it. For example, there was next to no police presence after Julie returned home. Would they not want to continue to try and find the man who took her? It was as if she came back home and they closed the case file and moved on. I can only hope I have better luck with the next thriller I'm recommended.