The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean 🔖🔖🔖

First published May 7, 2024

__________

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. (Source: goodreads)

__________

Another outlier review. I had high hopes for this one based on previous reviews from other readers. I wanted to love it more than I did. 

I did finish, and wanted to, as the mystery aspect grabbed my attention. Even so, it was sort of slow moving and there was almost zero character development. There was a surprise ending, which was cool, yet the discovery of who was behind the gross crimes was not that much of a shock and felt flat. 

There are some disturbing aspects to the crimes in the story, so be warned. Sinister crimes, young girls missing or murdered ... you can guess what you'll find therein.