We chatted with Rachel about her inspiration, her newest thriller and her #TBR pile, so keep scrolling for your exclusive first look at her new cover and all the juicy details.

Pre-order And Now She’s Gone now!

Chatting with the author

Rachel Howzell Hall knows how to write a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you loved her 2019 thriller They All Fall Down, you’ll love her new release, And Now She’s Gone, available September 22, 2020. We asked Rachel about the stories behind her newest story.

Q: Tell us about your new book?

Put simply, AND NOW SHE’S GONE follows a new private investigator (Grayson Sykes) who gets her first big case: find Isabel Lincoln. Isabel may be missing but that doesn’t mean she wants to be found. Gray is also dealing with her own struggles—her past lives and loves as she travels from Los Angeles to Alabama to Oakland in search of this mysterious woman.

Q: What places or what other authors do you get inspiration from?

Los Angeles, my hometown and where I still live—this place inspires me. The city is such a contradiction. Folks from other places see it as this big place where everyone is locked away in their cars. Yes, it is big, and we’re all in cars, but for natives, it is an intimate place of friendships and neighborhood spots, that sky of many colors, the aromas of every kind of food you’d ever crave.

I am inspired by many writers. Attica Locke and her love of Texas, in particular, inspires me. In Heaven, My Home and Bluebird Bluebird, you can see how much she loves East Texas like I love L.A., and she describes the people and the environment and the food so beautifully. She balances love and loathing. I am inspired by Josh Malerman’s work—the way he captures breathlessness in Bird Box to wonderful weirdness of Inspection. 

Q: If your book were to be described as a mash up between two TV shows, what would it be?

Hmmm… Gone Girl meets Dirty John (doused in Colombo).

Q: What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

The best book… I’m finishing up Erik Larson’s newest, The Splendid and the Vile. Him and Jon Krakauer—I’ll read anything they write.

A first look at Rachel’s newest book

“Sharp, witty and perfectly paced, And Now She’s Gone is one hell of a read!” ―Wendy Walker, bestselling author of The Night Before

Isabel Lincoln is gone.

But is she missing?

It’s up to Grayson Sykes to find her. Although she is reluctant to track down a woman who may not want to be found, Gray’s search for Isabel Lincoln becomes more complicated and dangerous with every new revelation about the woman’s secrets and the truth she’s hidden from her friends and family.

Featuring two complicated women in a dangerous cat and mouse game, And Now She’s Gone explores the nature of secrets ― and how violence and fear can lead you to abandon everything in order to survive.

Pre-order And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall on Bookshop and support your local independent bookstore.

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