“The Return of Ellie Black is a page-turning suspense novel, a shrewd character study, and a captivating mystery, all at the same time. The last 50 pages are magnetic. I couldn’t put it down until I’d experienced every last twist and turn.”
— STEPHEN KING

“Emiko Jean has penned an irresistibly suspenseful novel—one that also brims with heart and empathy. The Return of Ellie Black is an intelligent exploration of trauma and its devastating aftermath. It kept me hooked until the very end.”
— CLÉMENCE MICHALLON, internationally bestselling author of The Quiet Tenant

“An emotional gut punch of a thriller, Emiko Jean had me enthralled with her pitch-perfect pacing, elegant prose, and twists I never saw coming. I was glued to this book until the last page.”
— SAMANTHA DOWNING, bestselling author of My Lovely Wife

“Pulse-pounding and exquisitely written, The Return of Ellie Black delves deep into how the world treats, and sometimes discards, its girls and women. Emiko Jean investigates the aftermath of trauma and the long reach of the past with empathy and sensitivity, balancing a propulsive plot with the complex, multilayered inner lives of her characters. At once a powerful, nuanced social commentary and a jaw-dropping thriller with twists you won’t see coming. This story, and the girls at its core, will stay with readers for a very long time.”
— LAURIE ELIZABETH FLYNN, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here

“Suspenseful and scary, The Return of Ellie Black is both a twisty, one-more-chapter-before-bed psychological thriller, and a haunting portrait of women fighting for justice, survival, and one another.”
— FLYNN BERRY, author of New York Times bestseller Northern Spy

“Dark, twisted, elegantly plotted, and beautifully written, Jean's debut kept me up late at night racing through chapter after thrilling chapter. But The Return of Ellie Black is so much more than just a page-turner; it's also a thoughtful exploration of trauma, female rage, the violence women face, and the roles we're allowed to play. I loved it.”
— ANDREA BARTZ, New York Times bestselling author of The Spare Room

"The Return of Ellie Black features one of my all-time favorite characters: an unreliable narrator who evokes both sympathy and suspicion as the mystery continues to deepen. I stayed up late into the night turning the pages until I learned the truth of what happened to Ellie on the day she went missing—and I audibly gasped when Jean delivered a truly jaw dropping twist."
— JESSICA KNOLL, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive and Bright Young Women

“YA bestseller Jean makes a smooth transition to adult fiction with this atmospheric and surprise-packed thriller. . . Jean deftly alternates Chelsey and Ellie’s perspectives from one cliffhanger to the next, keeping the pages flying. With shocking twists and style to spare, this confirms Jean as a writer worth seeking out.”
— Publishers Weekly

“The complex plot and well-drawn characters will keep readers engaged until they arrive at the surprising conclusion. Jean successfully pivots from romantic-relationship fiction (Mika in Real Life, 2022) to crime thriller here.”
— Booklist

“Like Jessica Knoll, whose crime novels also revolve around missing girls, Jean focuses less on sensationalizing predators and more on the tragedy of a ‘frenzy of missing girls. They do not give answers. They do not speak of what has come to pass. They whisper: Find us. Please.’ Jean has written an impressive crime novel here. . . .An unexpected ending and a cadre of heroic female characters make Jean a crime writer to watch.”
— Kirkus