Breakaway Books

Authored by Emiko Jean; Published May 2024; Mystery

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️

I may have read one too many novels like The Return of Ellie Black. To me, there was nothing particularly shocking or remarkable in it–and in several ways, that’s actually a good thing. The writing didn’t get in the way, and I zoomed through the novel. I knew there would be a twist, but I guessed the wrong one.

Unfortunately, it also means that to me, it’s a relatively forgettable book. Maybe it was that I didn’t feel connected to the characters, or that it seems like the concept of the kidnapped girl trapped in Stockholm Syndrome has been done so many times before. Maybe I’m not exactly sold on the development of Chelsey, the primary detective who is tasked with interviewing the girl Ellie Black, who has just returned after two years of disappearance. I could see how the author was trying to show what a big impact Ellie’s return was having on Chelsey’s life, as well as the lingering effects of Chelsey’s sister’s death, but the way that Chelsey changed over the course of the novel didn’t feel quite real.

I wish there had just been more–more about the particularities of Ellie’s boyfriend and his deep love for the girl who disappeared two years ago, more about Chelsey’s strained relationship with her husband and how it ended up in the fragile state it was in. As it is, I would say the author told me a lot about how her characters were feeling and didn’t show me enough in the actual events of the novel. I read it, but I didn’t feel connected.

But, this is a beach read, not an in-depth psychological study of the ways that trauma can affect a person. But a little more depth would make the book stand out more to me. In an ocean of mysteries, this one didn’t float to the top for me.