Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
He's Gone  By  cover art

He's Gone

By: Deb Caletti
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Mystery, 2014

"What do you think happened to your husband, Mrs. Keller?"

The Sunday morning starts like any other, aside from the slight hangover. Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat, a headache building behind her eyes from the wine she drank at a party the night before. But on this particular Sunday morning, she's surprised to see that her husband, Ian, is not home. As the hours pass, Dani fills her day with small things. But still, Ian does not return. Irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic. And then, like a relentless blackness, the terrible realization hits Dani: He's gone.

As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations - he's hurt, he's run off, he's been killed - Dani searches frantically for a clue as to whether Ian is in fact dead or alive. And, slowly, she unpacks their relationship, holding each moment up to the light: from its intense, adulterous beginning, to the grandeur of their new love, to the difficulties of forever. She examines all the sins she can - and cannot - remember.

As the days pass, Dani will plumb the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth - about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

©2013 Deb Caletti (P)2013 Tantor

What listeners say about He's Gone

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    143
  • 4 Stars
    180
  • 3 Stars
    132
  • 2 Stars
    71
  • 1 Stars
    40
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    222
  • 4 Stars
    155
  • 3 Stars
    88
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    19
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    128
  • 4 Stars
    157
  • 3 Stars
    115
  • 2 Stars
    67
  • 1 Stars
    47

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Finished it, went back and listened to it again.

If you're single, you need to read this book. If you're thinking of getting married, then you really need to read it. In fact, if you ever think about getting divorced, you need to hear this story. And if you ever should consider marrying a previously-married spouse, then you really really need to read it. In fact, unless you're a nun, you really should read it -- and even if you are a nun, you'd probably still find it fascinating.

I had never heard of the book or the author, but wow -- I lucked out. This a blockbuster, un-put-down-able from the very first page. The premise is so exquisitely simple: Dani wakes up one morning after a party and finds that her husband is not in bed, not in the kitchen, not in the house. Where did he go? That's the whole issue, right there, but because life is so complicated, that's more than enough.

Both Dani and husband Ian had been married before, had cheated with each other, then finally broke away, married and moved to a houseboat in Seattle. There are children involved -- children old enough to know what was going on, but not old enough to be gone from the home. There is the lovable dog Pollux, quite a character by himself. But oy, the complications that arise when a spouse simply disappears...

One thing is for sure, Deb Caletti is not only a very wise woman but an awesomely sensitive observer of human nature. Time after time, I found myself smiling at some observation she made, some quirk of common conduct she mused over, some tidbit of wisdom she revealed. It's not just the story -- it's the writing, too. And the narration? Perfect.

Don't miss this one -- and don't compare it to "Gone Girl", either. I liked 'Gone Girl' -- but this books is ten times better than that one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Audible Book I've "Read"!

I've listened to hundreds of audiobooks over the years, and I've enjoyed most of them--probably because I read reviews carefully, and I have a pretty clear idea of what I'm going to like. I was torn about purchasing He's Gone for a couple of reasons, including Caletti's reputation as an author of novels primarily aimed at a young adult audience and Pegeen's foregoing "chick lit" and "soap opera" comments.

Ironically, what clinched it for me was Pegeen's impassioned call for less "self-introspection." Character-driven books are the ones I most enjoy, and I consider self-reflection a positive rather than a negative. In the case of He's Gone, I couldn't disagree more regarding the chick lit and soap opera judgments; Caletti is a superb observer of human nature and behavior, and on nearly every page I encountered something that resonated for me in my own life. I am hugely impressed at how Caletti was able to capture universal (and even commonplace) thoughts and emotions in original ways. I love this book so much that I ordered a hard copy from Amazon so that I can go back and highlight particular passages for re-reading and journaling later. "Chacun à son goȗt," as the French say.

Cassandra Campbell understands Dani Keller absolutely, and her narration (which is always good) is spot on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Every Partner's Worst Nightmare

Dani Keller wakes up to find her husband missing... Gone. As the story unravels, Dani goes through the history of their relationship from how it began with an affair to how it is no longer a story book romance. Her telling of their past corresponds to her emotions. She is frustrated and she tells of the small frustrations, she misses him and she tells about the good parts, she becomes afraid and she tells about the larger missing pieces of their relationship and eventually she comes to accept the reality. No matter how perfect their beginning, in the end, the Keller's became just like everyone else with the same fears and fights. All relationships are basically the same when you look at them closely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Could. Not. Put. This. One. Down!

Where does He's Gone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was gripped from the first few minutes!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

YES!

What about Cassandra Campbell’s performance did you like?

I felt like I was listening to the main character tell "her story".

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was moved into near-high blood pressure from the first chapter!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Who could blame him? I wanted to be gone too

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

less self introspection and sighing and guilt. Stop being so sorry about all the harm you keep doing and stop inspecting your sad self in excruciating detail -- change and forgive yourself and move on -- please!!! VERY good writing wasted on self indulgent self guilt ideas / philosophy drove me crazy. Soap opera -ish IMHO. .

Has He's Gone turned you off from other books in this genre?

yes -- but I did not know going in this was such a self-romance; chick lit at its worst. Not a fan of this type of story. That said -- this IS well-written.

What about Cassandra Campbell’s performance did you like?

satifactory

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from He's Gone?

almost all -- wanted more of a mystery or noir book.

Any additional comments?

not a mystery, the place he had gone to was obvious; if you like self examination and guilt driven relationships -- this is a well written book. maybe it is a Romance novel not a mystery? (I don't read Romance. )

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

Any additional comments?

I loved this book. It is well written, well paced and the mystery aspect intriguing. Narration good. I highly recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

So engrossing if you over look the bad language!

If you could sum up He's Gone in three words, what would they be?

I have never read a book quite like this before. In a mostly good way. Especially if you are interested in butterflies.

What other book might you compare He's Gone to and why?

After All These Years by Susan Isaacs. You think the main Character might have done it and they set out to prove they didn't. Although He's Gone has a moral of the story ending and After All These Years didn't.

Have you listened to any of Cassandra Campbell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, and she is wonderful. I would listen to her again if there is no bad language.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I kept trying to guess who done it and all of the particulars and I was totally wrong and that hardly ever happens. Surprising conclusion.

Any additional comments?

Although This book was hard to put down the bad language took away from it. There are so many words in the English language to describe subjects and situations why don't writers use those instead? I would have given it 5 stars otherwise!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Engrossing.

I really enjoyed this book, but sometimes felt I was being condescended to. Maybe it's because this is a YA fiction writer, and she feels the need to spell it out too much. Still, the atmosphere, with its combination of frustrated, historical longing, along with an undercurrent of "better off without him" was very compelling.

I felt that some characters were well-developed, and others were left without realizing their potential. The mother is good, the best friend is a face-less nonentity, for example.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not really a mystery

This is a quiet, slow moving mystery that felt like more of a deconstruction of a marriage than a mystery. I kept waiting for a Gone Girl Twist that never happened. After Dani’s husband goes missing she goes through every minute their relationship and realizes it wasn’t the great love story she thought it was. And honestly the more she reveals about who Ian is I can’t help thinking why the hell would you want him back anyway! Plus Dani’s self-deprecation and whining got on my nerves, she wasn’t a very likable character either.

I’m not sure I liked this book, but I didn’t hate it I just didn’t feel like it was a mystery. Yes there is the mystery of what happened to Ian but that feels almost secondary to Dani going through their entire relationship with a fine toothed comb.


Cassandra Campbell’s narration was really good, she had just the right amount of emotions in her voice and when Dani is feeling overwhelmed and frantic the narration conveys this superbly. As always Cassandra’s narration is very well done.

I’m sorry but this book was forgettable and the reveal of what happened to Ian felt rushed and didn’t have any impact on me at all. I wanted to be shocked or even the least bit interested and it just didn’t happen.

2 ½ star book
4 ½ star narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

This is such a disappointment!

When I read the review, I was so very excited! My audible experience had been "dry' for a long time, and I thought that this would be the end of the drought. At first, I thought that Dani's remarks about life & situations were interesting and much the way I would think about things. Little did I know, that the entire book would be full of these remarks. There was no build-up and certainly the end was just as blah! What a waste of time. I will definately not look for this author again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful