In Sara Foster’s latest psychological thriller, WHEN SHE WAS GONE, readers get to explore what is essentially every parent's worst nightmare.

Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for nearly 10 years. Lou is now residing in Australia working as a nanny when a tragic event occurs that causes her disappearance. Despite being physically and emotionally distant from her daughter, Rose’s motherly and police instincts immediately kick in.

"WHEN SHE WAS GONE is a hard exploration into the negative fallout from male toxicity and misogyny. Sara Foster pulls no punches with these issues, resulting in a page-turning thriller that will have readers pondering all that is uncovered within."

We witness a case in 2002 that went terribly wrong, which somewhat explains the allusions to alcohol abuse, as well as the family distance that Rose has maintained in the years since. She hears about Lou from her ex-husband, Henry, who is unable to fly to Australia due to responsibilities with his new family. He admits to Rose that all the letters she sent to Lou over the years had been ripped up by her evil stepmother and were never delivered. Rose finds out that Lou initially stayed with her Uncle Charlie upon arriving in Australia before becoming a nanny.

Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, which helps build the tension. Lou was working for the wealthy Fisher family; the parents, Kyle and Frannie, are quite a difficult pair to deal with. This is evident in the chapters where we meet DSS Mal Blackwood, who has drawn the case, which will be the last of his illustrious career. The Fishers indicate that Lou and their two small children were last seen on the beach. Not long after taking command, Blackwood’s team finds a boat left nearby that contains a substantial amount of blood.

Rose flies out to Australia and is met by both local investigators and Charlie, who guides them to the spot where Lou was last seen. Rose is brought up to speed and immediately is vetted to assist in the case. Stella, who is close to the Fisher family, shares with Rose that Lou would never kidnap the children in her charge, though she was extremely concerned about how they were being raised. Deeper digging from Rose will unearth more facts showing bad behavior, mostly from the Fisher men, that may have led to these disappearances.

Meanwhile, Blackwood and his team turn up the body of a young man who is later identified as Lou’s boyfriend, Fabien. It appears that the boat with all the blood in it was his, signifying that he may have been the getaway driver when they were attacked by whomever took Lou and the kids. Blackwood is not at all pleased to be sharing any part of the investigation with Rose, but he is more concerned about getting the truth out of the Fishers that might lead to solving this perplexing crime.

WHEN SHE WAS GONE is a hard exploration into the negative fallout from male toxicity and misogyny. Sara Foster pulls no punches with these issues, resulting in a page-turning thriller that will have readers pondering all that is uncovered within.