And Now She’s Gone: Rachel Howzell Hall

Rachel Howzell Hall is a writer I introduced myself to last year. Featured on the crime writing website CrimeReads as an author to watch out for, in a genre typically dominated by white writers, and because I love a good series, I picked up the first novel in Rachel’s Detective Elouise (Lou) Horton’s quarter, Land of Shadows. Over the next year or so, I read all four and found myself a little in love with Horton’s voice and character. Possessing the traits a women needs to survive in the cut-throat world of policing, Lou Horton also carries with her a desire for justice, the love of family and friends, her own messy private life, and the pride of being a Black women in the streets of Los Angeles.

Four books in, with Rachel seemingly done with Lou for the time being, this talented writer wrote a stand-alone thriller in the vein of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, a beautifully paced and meticulous thriller called They All Fall Down. It was a change of scenery for Rachel, one I thoroughly enjoyed. She then followed it up with And Now She’s Gone.

Grayson Sykes works as a private investigator for Radar Consulting, and is charged with her first real case: find Isabel Lincoln, a woman with more secrets than an intelligence agency, a woman who very well might not want to be found. But Gray’s client is an acquaintance of her boss Nick, so she has to do her due diligence. Ian O”Donnell, Isabel’s not-so-distraught husband is more concerned about his missing dog than he is about his wife, leading Gray to think he’s hiding his own skeletons. A surprise meet-up with Isabel’s new best friend in a bar early in the story confirms Gray’s suspicions: Isabel is a victim of domestic abuse.

Running parallel to the main story is a subplot about a woman called Natalie Dixon, herself on the run from an abusive relationship. Although it doesn’t take long for the reader to conclude that Natalie and Grayson are one and the same person, the complexities that Gray’s background bring to the hunt for Isabel Lincoln aren’t that simple to work out. It doesn’t take long for Gray’s two worlds to collide.

This is a novel about survival, and I think Rachel Howzell Hall’s protagonists wear this mantle in all of her books. In fact, Grason Sykes and Lou Horton could very well be close friends if they were ever to meet. They both share elements in their histories that have led them to become the strong women they are. Their successes come at a cost, but never to their humanity – which is important. When they’re on your side, they will not rest until the case is closed and the truth has been delivered.

And Now She’s Gone never goes where you expect it. It’s a literal page-turner, filled with suspense and surprise, and when I finished the book I immediately went on Twitter and asked Rachel for more. You probably will, too. It’s that good.

And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall (Forge Books, $27.99 hardcover, 384p., 9781250753175, September 22, 2020)