Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben @reesewitherspoon @harlancoben @harlancoben.bsky.social @hachetteaudio @hachetteaudio.bsky.social #GoneBeforeGoodbye

the setup…
Maggie McCabe, a former combat and humanitarian surgeon, is highly skilled and was equally regarded until she lost her license because of a tragic accident. Now she and her genius sister Sharon are drowning in debt and a financially crippling lawsuit…until she’s offered a lifeline from an old mentor. It’s shrouded in secrecy and she can’t tell anyone about the details, which aren’t even shared with her. Maggie’s off to a secret location to operate on an anonymous client that will result in a financial windfall. But things get dicey and suddenly she’s on the run for her life and doesn’t know why, traversing the globe from Russia, to Dubai and the French Bordeaux region. Maggie’s past rises up and has her questioning everything she believed about the humanitarian work she did with her husband, Marc.

the heart of the story…
Maggie’s odyssey had trouble written all over it from the onset and even though she thought she was ready, nothing could have prepared her for everything that came next. Russian oligarchs, opulent lifestyles, duplicitous new “friends,” lots of misdirection and a handy seasoned biker father-in-law called Porkchop kept the story moving in whiplash fashion. I didn’t know who to trust and neither did she.

the narration…
The full cast was ideal, including the duet narration style. Reese Witherspoon is the voice of Maggie and carries the point of view. Her acting skills made such a difference and the other performers were on par. I loved the storytelling.

the bottom line…
Both Witherspoon and Coben are excellent storytellers and I experienced their separate influences. I’ve read most of Coben’s work and this has his tightly scripted plotting and fast pace signature. Witherspoon’s touch was definitely at play in the well developed Maggie. The ending was only underwhelming because there were some highly important unanswered issues so I feel a second book coming…as well as a screen adaptation. Bring it!

Book Info

• • Release Date: October 14, 2025
  • Narrators:
    – Reese Witherspoon – Maggie
    – Chris Pine – Marc
    –  Kiff VandenHeuvel – Porkchop
    –  Suehyla El-Attar Young – Nadia
    –  Peter Ganim – Barlow, Brovsky, Ragorovich
    –  Saskia Maarleveld – Sharon
    –  James Fouhey – Trace, Lockwood
  • Audio Length: 10 hours, 34 minutes
  • Publisher: Hachette Audio

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