GONE AGAIN

4 stars out of 5

Told mostly from the perspectives of sisters Celia and Genevieve and in two different time frames - when they were kids living with holy-rolling parents from hell and the present, 25 years later - the details on both ends of the quarter-century span are engrossing, but disturbing. Once out of high school, Celia finally escapes to build a life elsewhere - leaving her beloved younger sister Genevieve and even younger sister Celeste to the not-so-tender mercies of their father and mother.

Not too long ago, Celia and Genevieve reconnect; in fact, thanks to Celia's generosity, Genevieve and her husband relocate to be near Celia and her husband. Celia has just celebrated her 40th birthday with a big bash, many gifts and a card with a nasty message that rattles her brain. Who would hate her enough to spoil her birthday? Unable to sleep, Celia wanders off to clear her head and disappears off the face of the earth. The rest of the story centers on efforts to find Celia and flashbacks to the sisters' childhood secrets - including one that's a whopper. Of course, I must keep it all a secret as well so as not to spoil it for others.

Now that I've finished, though, I must say it's rare for me to advise an author to lengthen a book - more often than not, books tend to be padded with pages of trivial details that are marginally significant to the plot. In this case, however, there are holes are big enough to drive a snowplow through with room to spare. I won't dwell on them, but say only that many readers, including myself, will be left with some heavy-duty questions that another 50 or so pages could have answered without making this almost-too-short-to-be-a-book too long.

But despite my leftover questions, I enjoyed the reading experience - to the point that I held up starting to make dinner because I was too close to the end to put it down willingly. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Gone Again by Minka Kent (Thomas & Mercer, March 2023); 239 pp.