by Sara Foster
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia, 2025
Review
by Erina Reddan
I am not surprised to see how assured When She Was Gone is, given it is best-selling West Australian Author, Sara Foster’s, fifth book. The characters are compelling and the pacing is masterful, with plenty of surprising twists thrown in.
When She Was Gone throws the reader straight into a world of mega wealth and power – think the Murdochs or local WA’s Kerry Stokes level of wealth. The two tiny children of the ne’er-do-well son of the wealthy Fisher family go missing on a remote Western Australian beach, along with their devoted Nanny, Lou. The question is, did she take the children to save them from their neglectful parents and drunken domestic hostility in the house or were they kidnapped?
Foster weaves a rich tapestry of characters who are brought in to solve the mystery. First Lou’s estranged mother, Rose, flies in from London. She is an ex- police officer and an expert in family violence who is herself, a victim. Her former husband has prevented her from seeing her daughter for ten years. The police hope her insights into her daughter may help the investigation, except she doesn’t have any – only her forensic expertise and desire to find her daughter. Then there’s DSS Mal Blackwood, on the brink of retirement and desperately trying to keep his marriage together after a career of neglecting his wife. With the Fisher patriarch throwing its power about in an unhelpful way, there is plenty of layered conflict.
There are many hidden set-ups early in the narrative which the reader only realises towards the end of the book, keeping the tension taut and the reader guessing. Not to mention there are quite a few red herrings. Some of the things I value the most about When She was Gone are the quiet thematic connections, such as the ripples of family violence in the Fisher family which we see in the power of the patriarch over his children, the overt hostility between the parents of the missing children before their children disappear, Rose’s own backstory, and, without giving anything away, in the final reveal.
I was hooked from the beginning and that only intensified as the story revealed itself, which made it a compelling read. When She was Gone is a gripping crime read, which often dips below the surface to reveal so much about power, love and revenge without hitting the reader over the head. There is plenty for thoughtful readers as well as those who want crime entertainment.
Publisher’s blurb
Was she taken … or did she run? The pulse-pounding new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of You Don’t Know Me
Rose was torn away from her daughter. Now, is she the only one who can save her?
Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote Western Australian beach, and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care, Rose is asked to help bring Lou home. The police think Rose’s insights will lead them to Lou, but they don’t realise that Rose hardly knows her daughter anymore.
This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood’s illustrious career, and there’s a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and as their multimillionaire grandfather breathes down Blackwood’s neck for results, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn’t know who he can trust.
Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter’s innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she’s no longer part of Lou’s life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a much darker turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers and Rose, and soon it’s clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?