Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Nov 2020
0 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
Two women's husbands are murdered on the same night in the same way--and their investigation uncovers a terrifying connection.
Two men from vastly different backgrounds are murdered one after another on the same night, in the same fashion with two bullet wounds: one in the head, another in the heart. The two slayings sends their wives on a desperate search for answers--and a desperate attempt to save their families' lives.
Grief takes a heavy toll on northern Virginia freelance editor Deb Linh Thomas when she learns of her husband's murder. And utter dismay sets in when, just a week after the funeral, she discovers that he had been the subject of an FBI investigation after withdrawing a large sum of money from their shared accounts.
Elsewhere, Baltimore bartender Cessy Castillo is less bereft when her abusive husband, ex-cop Hector Ramirez, is killed. But it turns out that he was deep in hock--and now Cessy's expected to pay up.
Deb and the FBI agent assigned to her case start digging into her husband's murder and learn that he had been the target of criminals. As Deb and Cessy join forces to learn the truth, their investigation reveals an ever-darker web of clues, but if they're not careful, they may just end up like their husbands.
"Barres stands out from the pack with his unusually sensitive handling of racial and sexual identities...and his ruthless efficiency in sweeping supporting characters from the board the minute they've lost their ability to support anyone. Smartly plotted, violent, and utterly absorbing." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The fully fleshed out leads compensate for some clichéd characters and stock action scenes. This women-fight-back thriller will please those looking to vicariously smack down a few hulking villains." - Publishers Weekly
"A stunning, dark, evocative thriller." - Jennifer Hillier, award-winning author of Jar of Hearts and Little Secrets
"They're Gone is a powerful, gritty mystery that firmly establishes E.A. Barres as a voice to be reckoned with in the genre. Barres deftly weaves two very different stories together to create one compulsively readable and defiantly of-the-moment whodunit that lingers with you long after you've read the last page." - Alex Segura, acclaimed author of the Pete Fernandez series
"E.A. Barres strikes criminal gold once more with his latest...Possibly one of the crime thrillers of the year." - Vincent Zandri, New York Times bestselling author of The Remains and The Girl Who Wasn't There
"Perfect pacing and imperfect heroes make this book a hard one to put down!" - Susan Crawford, bestselling author of The Pocket Wife and The Other Widow
This information about They're Gone was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
E.A. Barres' most recent thriller, The Unrepentant, was published in 2019 by Down and Out Books (written under E. A. Aymar). His other thrillers include the anthologies The Swamp Killers (March 2020) and The Night of the Flood (March 2018); in both anthologies, he served as co-editor and contributor. His column, "Decisions and Revisions," appears monthly in the Washington Independent Review of Books, and he is also the managing editor of The Thrill Begins, ITW's online resource for aspiring and debut thriller writers; he also serves on the Board of ITW as the Vice President of Author Programs. In addition to ITW, he is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, and SinC. Barres also runs the Noir at the Bar series for Washington, D.C. He was born in Panama and now lives and writes in the D.C./MD/VA triangle.
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
