Andrea Boyle and her nephew, Spencer, move to Seattle to start a new life. Spencer is 17 and has spent the last five years institutionalized when he was found guilty of killing his parents. Nobody with the exception of his aunt cared that the authorities may have gotten it wrong. Needless to say, they have a very tight bond. So she takes him as far away from Washington, D.C. as she can.

"Clues and red herrings litter the pages, but are not helpful in solving this merry-go-round of a novel."

The atmosphere at Spencer's high school is gruesome. A few of the jocks seem to run the entire school. They are bullies and proud of it. The one pupil who gets the brunt of their machinations is Damon Shuler. The boys do everything they can think of to torment him. Until one day Damon has had enough; he sends out a podcast accusing everyone who vilified him or did not help him. At the end of the podcast, he blows himself and his mother up in their car. Nobody can believe what they have just witnessed.

The boys on the team feel no regrets about Damon and just need to find a new scapegoat. They, of course, choose the friendless Spencer, who has not yet had a chance to find his footing in the new high school.

Damon has played another role in Spencer's life beyond being a schoolmate. "Aunt Dee" is seeing his father, a playwright of some regard. Damon is jealous of Spencer and the attention his dad gives him. He stays away from home and gets mixed up with a psychopath...and that is when the killing begins. It starts with the jocks, and if their parents are near, they, too, are murdered. The bodies start piling up quickly, and the police are not able to get a handle on the perps.

Readers may start figuring out what is really going on here, but they will be stymied by the twists and turns that unfold as the narrative moves ahead at lightning speed. YOU'LL MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE has a fast-moving plot that helps maintain its high level of suspense and surprise. Clues and red herrings litter the pages, but are not helpful in solving this merry-go-round of a novel.