He's Gone

He's Gone

Deb Caletti

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  “What do you think happened to your husband, Mrs. Keller?”

The Sunday morning starts like any other, aside from the slight hangover. Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat, a headache building behind her eyes from the wine she drank at a party the night before. But on this particular Sunday morning, she’s surprised to see that her husband, Ian, is not home. As the hours pass, Dani fills her day with small things. But still, Ian does not return. Irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic. And then, like a relentless blackness, the terrible realization hits Dani: He’s gone.

As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations—he’s hurt, he’s run off, he’s been killed—Dani searches frantically for a clue as to whether Ian is in fact dead or alive. And, slowly, she unpacks their relationship, holding each moment up to the light: from its intense, adulterous beginning, to the grandeur of their new love, to the difficulties of forever. She examines all the sins she can—and cannot—remember. As the days pass, Dani will plumb the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth—about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

Review: The back cover implied that this book was a mystery, but it was definitely more of an introspective relationship book.  Sure, there was a little bit of suspense about what had happened to the husband, but I predicted the ending from early on in the book, and there was really no drama or surprise or climax at all.  Most of the story is focused on Dani reminiscing about her relationships with her ex-husband and her current husband, and both men were clearly horrible people.  As for Dani, she made a lot of mistakes, which is certainly understandable, but she was a weak character who didn't show any growth and that made her unlikable also.  I was also insulted by the author's views of middle class suburban parents.  It was well-written and readable, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Rating: 2.5 stars