Emily, Gone by Bette Lee Crosby
Published by Lake Union Publishing on April 30, 2019
Genres: Domestic Thriller, Kidnapping Thrillers, Southern Fiction
Pages: 398
Format: Paperback
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A missing child sets the lives of three women on a collision course in this powerful and compelling novel by USA Today bestselling author Bette Lee Crosby.
1971.
When a music festival rolls through the sleepy town of Hesterville, Georgia, the Dixon family’s lives are forever changed. On the final night, a storm muffles the sound of the blaring music, and Rachel tucks her baby into bed before falling into a deep sleep. So deep, she doesn’t hear the kitchen door opening. When she and her husband wake up in the morning, the crib is empty. Emily is gone.
Vicki Robart is one of the thousands at the festival, but she’s not feeling the music. She’s feeling the emptiness over the loss of her own baby several months before. When she leaves the festival and is faced with an opportunity to fill that void, she is driven to an act of desperation that will forever bind the lives of three women.
When the truth of what actually happened that fateful night is finally exposed, shattering the lives they’ve built, will they be able to pick up the pieces to put their families back together again?
As soon as I saw fellow Floridian and amazing author, Bette Lee Crosby had a new book coming out, I pre-ordered it on Amazon back in early March. Then, I had a subarachnoid hemorrhage (brain aneurysm) in mid-March and reading wasn’t even an option. I was released from the hospital and began to pull myself together, returning to work approximately mid-April.
I was still struggling with reading, but one day a very kind get well gift arrived — an awesome nautical looking book bag and a copy of Emily Gone from none other than Ms. Crosby herself! It arrived and was perfectly timed to put a smile on my face!! Approximately two weeks later, my pre-ordered copy of Emily Gone arrived, but no worries, I’ll be sending that copy out to my mother for Mother’s Day!)
Okay, now onto the book…..Emily Gone starts in the small town of Hesterville, Georgia in 1971. Rachel and George Dixon put their baby girl, Emily, to bed for the night and then they went to bed like they always did. Rachel and George had been unable to sleep for a few nights thanks to a nearby music festival that was keeping them up at night. This night, however, they is a storm and they were able to sleep. What they found the next morning changed their lives forever.
Then there’s Vicki Robart, who is at the music festival doing her best at trying to numb herself from feeling her grief after losing her infant daughter months ago. She’s smoking some pot, She leaves the festival and there’s a terrible storm. She goes into a house hoping to find some food but instead finds what she thinks is the answer to her prayers – a way to make things right in her heart so she makes an instant decision that changes lives forever.
That’s all I can share right now. You can read Emily Gone and fill in the blanks. What I can tell you is that Ms. Crosby has written an exceptional book in Emily Gone with well written characters that make you feel like you know them. You will be fully absorbed in the story from the first page to the last.
Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I gave a book a 5 out of 5, but here it is, this book is 5. Emily Gone is well written, thought provoking, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Thank you, Ms. Crosby for another solid book. Warning readers: grab some tissues and dig in!
Bette Lee Crosby is the USA Today bestselling author of eighteen novels, including Spare Change and the Wyattsville series. She has been the recipient of the Royal Palm Literary Award, Reviewer’s Choice Award, FPA President’s Book Award, International Book Award, and Next Generation Indie Award, among many others. Her 2016 novel, Baby Girl, was named Best Chick Lit of the Year by Huffington Post. She laughingly admits to being a night owl and a workaholic, claiming that her guilty pleasure is late-night chats with fans and friends on Facebook and Goodreads.
“Storytelling is in my blood,” Crosby laughingly admits, “My mom was not a writer, but she was a captivating storyteller, so I find myself using bits and pieces of her voice in most everything I write.”
It is the wit and wisdom of that Southern Mama Crosby brings to her works of fiction; the result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky characters who will steal your heart away. Her work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. She has since gone on to win twenty awards for her work; these include: The Royal Palm Literary Award, the FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal, Reader’s Favorite Award Gold Medal, and the Reviewer’s Choice Award.
Crosby’s published works to date are: Blueberry Hill (2014), Previously Loved Treasures (2014), Jubilee’s Journey (2013), What Matters Most (2013), The Twelfth Child (2012), Life in the Land of IS (2012), Cracks in the Sidewalk (2011), Spare Change (2011). A Cupid inspired romance, Wishing for Wonderful, is scheduled for release in November 2014 and Book Three of The Wyattsville Series, Passing through Perfect, will be be available in January 2015.
Connect with Bette Lee Crosby ~~ Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
Thank you to Bette Lee Crosby!! A positive review wasn’t required but I am doing so because I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!
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