Review: Gone Before Goodbye - Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben
I'll be honest with you—when I first heard about this collaboration, I raised an eyebrow. I'm a die-hard Harlan Coben fan, and the thought of him co-writing with Reese Witherspoon had me a little worried. Would it still have that signature Coben punch? Would it feel diluted? Friends, I'm thrilled to report that this book absolutely blew my expectations out of the water.
From the very first page, I was completely hooked. If you took Ruth Ware's Zero Days, threw in the adrenaline-pumping action of The Bourne Identity, and sprinkled in some Mission Impossible impossibly high stakes, you'd get Gone Before Goodbye. It's that addictive.
Our protagonist, Maggie McCabe, is the kind of character you instantly root for. She's a brilliant Army combat surgeon who's always thrived in high-pressure situations , the kind of person who runs toward danger while everyone else is running away. But when a series of devastating tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, her entire world crumbles. Just when she's at rock bottom, a former colleague offers her a lifeline: a secretive job working for an elite plastic surgeon whose ultra-wealthy clients demand absolute discretion.
This is where things get wild. Maggie finds herself halfway across the world, surrounded by unimaginable luxury and cutting-edge technology, caring for one of the world's most mysterious patients. But when he vanishes while still under her care, Maggie becomes a fugitive. The twists and turns that follow had me reading well past my bedtime, frantically turning pages to find out what happens next.
And that ending? Oh. My. God. I literally gasped out loud. I won't spoil it, but just know that you'll be sitting there thinking "WOAH" and immediately wanting to text someone about it.
This is the kind of thriller that reminds you why you love reading. It's smart, fast-paced, and utterly unputdownable. Whether you're a Coben completist like me or just looking for your next can't-put-down read, Gone Before Goodbye delivers in spades.
Final verdict: A brilliant, pulse-pounding thriller that proves sometimes collaborations really do bring out the best in everyone involved. This one's going straight to my favorites shelf.
I devour every book and show by Harlan, but they're all British, did they keep that Brit feel or did it have more American drama?
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