A Different Kind of Gone: A Novel

Written by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrated by Patricia Shade

The truth behind a teenage girl’s disappearance becomes something to conceal in a gripping novel about justice, lies, and impossible choices by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.

When nineteen-year-old Jill Moss goes missing near the Utah-Arizona border, everyone has an opinion. Only Norma Gallagher, a search and rescue volunteer, knows the real story.

Norma’s already found Jill, huddled in a cave and terrified that her abusive boyfriend, Jake, will kill her. If he ever sees her again. To protect Jill from a dangerous man, Norma quietly delivers the girl to her grateful parents in California, even though she’s conflicted. Keeping Jill safe and hidden from Jake, the press, and the public will be their secret. But secrets can’t last forever.

Five years later, the disappearance stirs a new media frenzy when Jake is arrested for the murder of Jill Moss—and Norma knows he didn’t kill her. As Jake is about to stand trial, lust for retribution inflames public opinion and Jill’s family refuses to come forward, forcing Norma to make a life-changing decision.

What are the consequences if she stays silent? And what are the risks if she dares to finally tell the truth?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798400148385

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of twenty-five books, which include Where We Belong, When You Were Older, Walk Me Home, When I Found You, Don’t Let Me Go, The Language of Hoofbeats, and Take Me With You, among others. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in various literary magazines. Following the success of Pay It Forward, Catherine founded the Pay It Forward Foundation and served as president until 2009. She lives in California with her dog, Ella, and their cat, Jordan. To learn more about the foundation and other forthcoming books, visit CatherineRyanHyde.com.

Reviews for A Different Kind of Gone

[nyiper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once again, no surpirse....Hyde has written all the way around a topic, covering in detail every aspect of the issue, from at least three points of view that are closely connected but then we also have what happens to the other people , in widening circles, who are also affected by the situations these three woman experienced. Norma is a gem of a character and as usual, I picture Catherine Ryan Hyde right inside her, directing everythinig that happens....she IS Norma, in a sense..Where does Hyde's own remarkable ability to write, always, about how we WISH the world would work, with common sense and just letting people live their lives without the burdens of cruelty and just plain meanness. There is comfort, always, in reading a Catherinie Ryan Hyde book.

[cathygeha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Different Kind of Gone by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Thought provoking look at the way life can change by making one choice versus another.

What I liked:
* Norma: bar tender, divorced, mother of two sons, volunteers for search and rescue, has a horse and two hounds, gruff, quiet, a bit of a loner, wise, cares more than she seems to, has secrets, in her fifties when the story begins
* Betty: tends bar with Norma, outgoing, warm hearted, open, the opposite of Norma, good friend, similar in age to Norma
* Jill and Wanda: both suffered abuse at the hands of the same man, managed to escape, benefited from knowing Norma, and matured quite a bit in the book
* Norma’s backstory that comes out and helps explain why she makes the choices she does related to Jill and Wanda
* The search and rescue component of the story, Norma’s horse Fred and her hounds Lonny and Gracie, and the close bond between animals and human that are seen throughout the book
* The way abuse was handled, how it impacted more than one character in the story, its ripple effect, and the mention of why some who go missing get more airtime than others
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* That it made me think, feel, and care about the outcome
* Reading a new to me author I will read again
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about abuse and the impact it has

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake union Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

[lorikboyd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The one thing about Catherine Ryan Howard’s books, they will make you think about a moral dilemma. What WOULD you do?

Domestic violence is front and center in this book. A young woman is missing in the mountains, a suspected victim of domestic violence. A mature woman, with secrets of her own, is on the search and rescue team. What happens next will have you thinking about how you would handle things. A beautifully written book about women helping women, the cycle of abuse and having the courage to do the right thing. But, as we all know, doing the right thing is not always easy or popular. Characters are relatable, hard working, every day people just trying to get by. Situations brought forth are unfortunately too common. You just never know what secrets your neighbor is hiding. I thoroughly enjoyed this thought provoking, fast read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

[kimkimkim-7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Catherine Ryan Hyde really tackled multiple issues in “A Different Kind of Gone” and the problem is that one spiraled into another and then each had to be parsed, examined, explored and explained. I admit to typecasting the protagonist Norma Gallagher. Hyde has so exquisitely imbued Gallagher with such quiet intelligence that I had to rethink the stereotype I planted on her. But Hyde is a master of expounding on the everyday profound. I really like her and the character that she has created. Gallagher’s thoughts are so basic, so real, so conflicted:

“This is the problem with being an adult…… You’re always having to make a decision that someone will like and someone else will hate. You’re always having to betray someone. Decide one thing, betray one party. Turn around and decide the other thing, and get ready to be told you just burned the people on the other side. Because people’s needs are always in conflict. There’s no such thing as everybody happy all at once.”

I think this is the gist and premise circling at all times in this book. A parent realizes their child may be in life threatening danger - what happens next? How far do you live the truth? How far do you live a lie? Can you live with the consequences? Can you live with not righting the wrong? Ends / means who and what justifies each? So many questions, so many scenarios, and Catherine Ryan Hyde doesn’t back away from anything. A very deep, disquieting story that had me thinking long after I turned the last page and pondered the book club questions. Great writing, important issues and maybe just a slight tilt at a not so old major news story that gripped us in the news and papers for weeks.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for a copy.

[sdbookhound · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My sincere thanks to Lake Union and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read A Different Kind of Gone and give my opinion of it in the following review.

It has been a while since I've read a Catherine Ryan Hyde book, but I have enjoyed many in the past. This one sounded interesting so was excited to give it a try. In this book, Norma is a lady who likes to speak her mind and has been through quite a bit in her lifetime. She helps with search and rescue and is called to help look for a young woman who has disappeared. She finds the girl, but is begged to not tell anyone and help her get to her parents. She fears her boyfriend will kill her if he finds her. Norma has a big decision to make, will she go along with this? What happens when the search is continued and no one else knows that the girl is safe? What happens with the boyfriend? These are all questions that find answers as this book twists and turns along. I found myself wondering what I would do in the same situation. The choices made in this book are not easy. The relationships Norma forms and the way she deals with her feelings about how she has handled things are deep and raw. It was kind of an intense book, but I was drawn in by it. The author handles serious ethical issues with care. I highly recommend.

[grandmacootie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can I say about author Catherine Ryan Hyde? I have read a large number of her books and they have all been unique and different. But what they have in common is excellence: excellent writing and word building, excellent plots, an excellent reading experience. Hyde tackles difficult subjects head-on, but a little bit from the side as well. She doesn’t preach and doesn’t hit you over the head with it, but rather while still keeping it in focus populates the story with characters that are so compelling, so non-perfect, so human you simply can’t put the book down until you’ve reached The End.

A Different Kind of Gone begins with a search for nineteen-year-old Jill Moss who has gone missing near the Utah-Arizona border, presumably to escape an abusive boyfriend – and then presumed dead. But there’s so much more to the story. Norma Gallagher is one of the search and rescue volunteers. Norma is very private, a loner, almost a recluse with a history she shares with no one. Norma makes a very difficult decision where Jill Moss is concerned knowing full well, from personal experience, that actions have consequences and that this action she is taking today will result in a heavy price to be paid in the future. But her moral compass is strong and it tells her this is the right thing to do.

This book is just so compelling, so full of fascinating characters with backstories and side stories and motivations of their own. You don’t always understand what the characters do and you often don’t agree with them, but Hyde takes you through their logic and reasoning and you can see why things might have happened that way. There are no easy answers or quick solutions, and actions always, always have consequences, but you have the sense of sincere people doing their absolute best.

Things really take off when the future is now and that price needs to be paid. You can’t always tell who is guilty and who is innocent, who wants to do what’s right and who just wants to do what’s easy. You don’t know how things will turn out until the end, don’t know if hope is justified and if the desire for these characters you have come to love will find peace.

Thanks to the author and publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of A Different Kind of Gone via NetGalley READ NOW. Another wonderful Catherine Ryan Hyde story to add to my collection. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

[fredreeca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jill is missing on the Utah-Arizona border. This creates a huge stir. Dogs, horses, law enforcement are all involved in trying to find her. But, there are some extenuating circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Her boyfriend was seen abusing her. So, did he murder her? Only Norma really knows. Norma is part of the rescue team and she found Jill. But it is not all cut and dried as everyone who is searching for Jill thinks.

Now this is not my favorite by this author, but it is still a dad blame good read! This author always creates conflicting emotions. And this book is no different. What would I have done? This is always a question when reading her books. And I am going to try and not give anything away…but yes! I would have done this. Or, I would have like to THINK I would have done. I am a bit of a rule follower. But the quandary is what makes Hyde’s books so good.

You will need to read this to find out the seriousness of Jill’s decision…and yes it is a huge decision with big ramifications to stay lost!

Need a story with special consequences and considerations and big emotions…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.