The Return of Ellie Black
A Novel
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4.2 • 309 Ratings
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
A USA TODAY Bestseller | An NPR Best Book of 2024 | A Goodreads Best Thriller of 2024
In this “page-turning suspense novel, shrewd character study, and captivating mystery” (Stephen King) Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call that Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but her reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.
It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.
Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington state.
But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.
The “haunting and evocative” debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a “gripping psychological thriller” (The Seattle Times) that will shock you right up until the final page.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
YA bestseller Jean (Tokyo Ever After) makes a smooth transition to adult fiction with this atmospheric and surprise-packed thriller. Missing and presumed dead for two years, Washington State teenager Ellie Black is discovered alive one night, wandering out of the forest near the small town of Coldwell Beach. Det. Chelsey Calhoun is assigned to the case, and has the dazed, underweight Ellie admitted to the hospital while she convenes with the traumatized girl's family. At first, the news thrills Ellie's parents. Soon, however, Ellie starts behaving strangely; without warning, she stops cooperating with the investigation, refusing to answer Chelsey's questions about where she's been. When Chelsey has the bloody sweatshirt Ellie was wearing when was found analyzed, the DNA turns out to match a different missing person. All the while, Chelsey muses on how Ellie's case might be linked to her own sister's decades-old disappearance. Is there something sinister lurking in the woods outside of Coldwell Beach? Jean deftly alternates Chelsey and Ellie's perspectives from one cliffhanger to the next, keeping the pages flying. With shocking twists and style to spare, this confirms Jean as a writer worth seeking out.
Customer Reviews
Missing girl returns
Ellie Black returns after 2 years missing and we learn she’s been kept in an encampment in the woods with other girls under a cult like leader. Can she help Det. Calhoun solve this mystery or is she part of the problem? Fun and good twisty ending. 4/5⭐️
Read in 24 hours!
This book was nonstop paced, focused on missing girls, trauma and how it affects not just the missing. I literally did nothing until this book was finished, no regrets!! I appreciated also the subtle words of society needing to focus more on safety for girls, innocence is lost when trauma happens to our girls, even with a positive ending. 5+ stars!!
Not what I expected
I don’t think the description of this book was accurate. However, once you start reading you kind of want to keep going to see what really happens. Unfortunately, I didn’t expect or like the ending.