Tuma Book Rant: And Now She's Gone by Rachell Howzell Hall

It took me a while to get into this novel. There was Jennifer, a problematic white woman who thought she knew what it meant to be black by dating Black men. I didn't like Jennifer but don't think I'm meant to, so that's ok. Gray's character rubbed me wrong at first. Her fixation and attraction to Ian, a white man sprouting microaggressions made me uncomfortable. The writing style felt very prescriptive at first, overly description but not in a compelling way.

HOWEVER, the more I kept reading, the more intrigued I became. The case of a missing woman, who is black but labelled white and may/may not have ran away kidnapping her white Doctor boyfriend's dog was messy enough to keep me hooked. Gray came across as bumbling and judgmental, but her backstory fascinated me. I wanted to know more and that kept me reading.

Eventually, I ended up liking Gray a lot! And I didn't expect the story to go where it took me and I LOVED that! This must be why people read thrillers. I read the whole last 100 pages with my eyes and mouth both open wide, like 😲 no wayyyy?!

I'm having fun trying to read through my monthly book box titles, so I can better inform readers and make better recommendations. And Now She's Gone is definitely one I would recommend if you're looking for Black, female PI leads (which is rare) and love thrillers with surprising twists at the end.

Trigger Warnings: Domestic Violence/Marital Abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic Relationship, Stalking, Alcohol Abuse, Body Shaming (I might have missed some, so feel free to add in the comments and I'll update).

Have you read this one? What were your thoughts on it?