Named One of the Best Books of 2020
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Smartly plotted, violent, and utterly absoring.”
Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review!)
“Solid… This women-fight-back thriller will please those looking to vicariously smack down a few hulking villains.”
Publishers Weekly
“Expertly plotted and action-packed, but it also features a diverse cast of characters — including two strong women of color as protagonists — and offers biting social commentary.”
Buzzfeed
“The author delivers a twisting plot that takes a sharp swerve anytime the reader thinks the solution is at hand, augmented by deep character studies.”
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Oline Cogdill)
13 Great Beach Reads for 2021
The Washingtonian
“This isn’t your typical mystery at all…It’s a fun read, fast-paced and perfect for a vacation or lazy Sunday morning in bed. But Aymar also tackles ideas that don’t often appear in this genre, such as definitions of cultural identity and the nuance of parent-child relationships.”
The Washington City Paper
SUMMARY
Two women’s husbands are murdered on the same night, in the same way–and their investigation uncovers a terrifying connection.
Two men from vastly different backgrounds are murdered one after another on the same night, in the same fashion with two bullet wounds: one in the head, another in the heart. The two slayings sends their wives on a desperate search for answers–and a desperate attempt to save their families’ lives.
Grief takes a heavy toll on northern Virginia freelance editor Deb Linh Thomas when she learns of her husband’s murder. And utter dismay sets in when, just a week after the funeral, she discovers that he had been the subject of an FBI investigation after withdrawing a large sum of money from their shared accounts.
Elsewhere, Baltimore bartender Cessy Castillo is less bereft when her abusive husband, ex-cop Hector Ramirez, is killed. But it turns out that he was deep in hock–and now Cessy’s expected to pay up. Deb and the FBI agent assigned to her case start digging into her husband’s murder and learn that he had been the target of criminals.
As Deb and Cessy join forces to learn the truth, their investigation reveals an ever-darker web of clues, but if they’re not careful, they may just end up like their husbands.
PRAISE
Reviews and Blurbs
“Smartly-plotted, violent, and utterly absorbing.”
– Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Solid… This women-fight-back thriller will please those looking to vicariously smack down a few hulking villains.”
Publishers Weekly
“E.A. Barres — a pen name of seasoned thriller writer E.A. Aymar — has written a hard-boiled crime thriller in which the women fight back. It’s expertly plotted and action-packed, but it also features a diverse cast of characters — including two strong women of color as protagonists — and offers biting social commentary.”
Buzzfeed
“This isn’t your typical mystery at all…It’s a fun read, fast-paced and perfect for a vacation or lazy Sunday morning in bed. But Aymar also tackles ideas that don’t often appear in this genre, such as definitions of cultural identity and the nuance of parent-child relationships.”
The Washington City Paper
“The author delivers a twisting plot that takes a sharp swerve anytime the reader thinks the solution is at hand, augmented by deep character studies.”
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Oline Cogdill)
“They’re Gone is a powerful, gritty mystery that firmly establishes E.A. Barres as a voice to be reckoned with in the genre. Barres deftly weaves two very different stories together to create one compulsively readable and defiantly of-the-moment whodunit that lingers with you long after you’ve read the last page.”
– Alex Segura, acclaimed author of the Pete Fernandez series
“They’re Gone is a relentless, pulse-pounding thriller that showcases E.A. Barres’s talent for injecting gritty crime stories with sympathetic, emotionally complex characters and sharp black humor. Barres skillfully combines a dark story about corruption, greed, and violence with an emotional arc about grief, resilience, and the lengths a person will go to protect their family—all while keeping the pace swift and the dialogue witty.”
– Kathleen Barber, author of Are You Sleeping and Follow Me“
“Boundaries fade and clay feet abound in this nail-biter of a thriller as E.A. Barres guides readers skillfully through the minds, hearts, and pasts of three women who have nothing in common until they have everything to lose. Perfect pacing and imperfect heroes make this book a hard one to put down!”
– Susan Crawford, bestselling author of The Pocket Wife and The Other Widow
“Intense, gritty and absolutely riveting, E.A. Barres’s perfectly constructed plot unfolds with the thoughtful precision and menace of a cat burglar. They’re Gone seamlessly blends heart-pounding action with searing social commentary. This thriller has a deliciously dark wit that makes for an unforgettable read.”
– Hilary Davidson, bestselling author of One Small Sacrifice
“E.A. Barres strikes criminal gold once more with his latest, They’re Gone. Just the title alone coated my brow with beads of sweat, but reading the novel in one very short but tense afternoon, left me breathless. Possibly one of the crime thrillers of the year.”
—Vincent Zandri, New York Times bestselling author of The Remains and The Girl Who Wasn’t There
“In his new novel, E.A. Barres masterfully weaves together the stories of two very different women and their burning desire to learn the truth about their murdered husbands. They’re Gone is about secrets and marriage, betrayal and grief, and will leave you questioning whether you can ever really know someone. A stunning, dark, evocative thriller.”
– Jennifer Hillier, award-winning author of Jar of Hearts and Little Secrets
For publicity information regarding They’re Gone, please contact
Ellen Whitfield at Books Forward
