• Gone

  • Kick Lannigan, Book 1
  • By: Chelsea Cain
  • Narrated by: Heather Lind
  • Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (483 ratings)

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Gone  By  cover art

Gone

By: Chelsea Cain
Narrated by: Heather Lind
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Publisher's summary

Now a TV series starring Leven Rambin, Chris Noth, and Danny Pino, premiering on February 27th on WGN America!

From the critically acclaimed author of the Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series, an “utterly exhilarating and emotionally rich” thriller that will have “your heart in your throat” (Megan Abbott, best-selling author of Dare Me).

Twenty-one-year-old Kick Lannigan is a survivor.

She can pick any lock, fire any weapon, throw any knife, and aim a punch at her opponent’s trachea. And when the enigmatic John Bishop shows up asking her to help him rescue missing kids, Kick has every reason to be wary. He appears to have access to limitless money, high-level contacts, and details of Kick’s background long kept sealed by the court. Yet everything he tells her about himself seems to be a lie.

Headstrong by nature, suspicious by circumstance, and a smart-ass by self-determination, Kick can’t help but see the writing on the wall: together, she and Bishop could make an unstoppable team, willing to do whatever it takes to see justice served…if they don’t kill each other first. For Kick, whose interest in child abduction is deeply personal, it’s a gamble worth taking.

Critically acclaimed as “excruciating…compelling” (Booklist, starred review) and “propulsive” (People), Gone is a high-octane and hard-hitting thriller you won’t be able to put down.

*Originally published as One Kick (Simon & Schuster, 2014).

©2014 Chelsea Cain (P)2014 Simon & Schuster Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Deeply intelligent and grippingly suspenseful…a wickedly brilliant masterpiece.” (Cheryl Strayed, author of number-one New York Times best seller Wild)

What listeners say about Gone

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

Good book. I hope the series gets better.

The premise, the story, and the characters were all good. Kick, the main character, is a great herione, and the potential of where this series can go is very intriguing. But there were some flaws in the development.

The character development was odd to me. There's a difference between giving the character some depth and history and making the character someone the reader cares about and believes in. There was a lot of energy and detail around Kick. She has a lot of history, and a lot of emotions that go into her solving mysteries--all of that was really interesting. But there were some contradictions in her development that I had a hard time with, so I was taken out of just enjoying the story by stopping and thinking "hmmm, that didn't make sense."

Kick's relationships with the other characters weren't developed very well. I didn't buy the relationship with the other action hero Bishop, or her friend James, or the man from her past, Mel. She liked them then hated them, then trusted them, then pointed her gun at them, then cried over them, then cared more about her dog then she did her friends, it was just too contradictory to be real.

With all that said, I WILL read the next one, with hope that the bumpy writing smooths out. The potential is that good.

The narrator was great, she was perfectly invisible, I didn't notice her and could just concentrate on the story.

I recommend this book, but would say keep expectations low. Think of it like watching the pilot of a show that could be really great, once the kinks are worked out.

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32 people found this helpful

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

What a horrible book...

I found myself about two thirds of the way through reading this book wanting to quit reading so much that it took everything I could to keep going to the end. I don't like reviews that say, "i couldn't make it through the book but here is my opinion"...blah blah blah. I've read books that the final 1/3 actually justify the difficult first parts of the book, but such is not the case with this extremely annoying book.

First off, many would have issue with the subject matter, but that isn't what was so bad about this book. Taking something as horrible as child abduction and sex slavery and putting it into a story can work, but obviously it needs to be done well. Here, sadly, it isn't. I honestly couldn't stand every person in the book, Kit (Kick) included. There wasn't a single person worth my time, but to have to listen to Kit make the absolute DUMBEST decisions in the world, when she is supposed to be "trained" in how to do extreme self-defense she fails in almost every situation. Are you kidding me??? The books climax was completely frustrating and i found myself actually yelling out, "are you kidding me????" to nobody in particular because i couldn't believe i'd wasted so many hours on this horrible book. I will be getting a refund pronto and hopefully helping others to not read this crap...

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15 people found this helpful

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

I honestly could not stop listening to this.

Would you consider the audio edition of One Kick to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version but the narration is superb.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the characters from the beginning and cared what happened to them. The psychological narration and dramatizations were dead on accurate. I'm a psychotherapist and work with traumatized people. I usually dislike fictionalized descriptions of psychological reactions; most authors get it wrong. This one does not.

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

I have not; this is my first. But I plan to listen to more.

Who was the most memorable character of One Kick and why?

Aside from Kick Lannigan, I sort of fell in love with John Bishop. :-)

Any additional comments?

I loved this book. I'm sorry this is the first one because I want to listen to more of them right now!

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13 people found this helpful

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

Kick this one to the curb!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Tremendously disappointed in this book. I've read & enjoyed Chelsea Cains' Sheridan/Lowell series and thought this newest book would rise to the same standard. Boring and simplistic.... not one compelling character, childish dialogue and less than compelling plot.... blah! Too much torment, too many second thoughts, and oddly, not enough action.

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10 people found this helpful

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

So Disappointing

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

A better developed heroine, to start.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The book had an interesting premise, but never lived up to the publisher's summary. Or, the opening quote from which I assume the title was derived.

Any additional comments?

It was as if the author had an idea of what a strong, tough, damaged heroine should be, but never figured out how to bring her to life. Also, the sensitive subject matter was poorly handled.

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6 people found this helpful

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

Gross and Indulgent

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

I don't like this question. You could not turn this book into a 4 or 5 star experience without completely rewriting the story and giving it a contiguous plot rather than a string of contrived sexual and action scenes.

Has One Kick turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. It just taught me to avoid works from Ms. Cain.

What does Heather Lind bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Heather Lind does an excellent job of expressing the mind of Kick. I truly believed I was listening to Kick's voice. I am sorry she is tied to this particular work.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

This story was good in concept. A sexually-abused girl that was rescued from the world of kiddie-porn has a chance to fight back at the community of sickos that wronged her, as well as save others trapped by the villains. However, the execution is poor, with a thin story line that hops from one shock scene to the other. The author seems to revel in Kick's psychosis, exposing a sexually abused girl to odd reader voyeurism with the shower scene and the sex scene with Bishop. Cain takes gratuitous advantage of the victims of kiddie-porn with no understanding of the real psychological damage they have suffered. Sadly, I'm sure the literary community will call this "ground breaking."

Any additional comments?

Kick's litany of "skills" and the twisted manner in which she supposedly acquired them is just plain silly.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Fast paced action, interesting characters

If you could sum up One Kick in three words, what would they be?

Probably something like "Fast and Furious". This is a sure page turner and the type of book you want to listen to/read in one sitting. The author has the writing skills to keep the listener, reader, guessing. She is so good at "hooking" the reader that we tend to overlook the gaps in the plot and the somewhat choppy flow.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kick/Beth is pivotal to the entire book. This is a very damaged heroine and a proven, tough as nails survivor. The author makes Kick extremely believable so that we forget that some of what happens around her in this novel may not be as believable.

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

I have listened to works by this narrator before. Her work for this book was probably better. By subtly inhabiting Kick, who keeps the book together, she managed to stay out of the way.

Any additional comments?

Supremely entertaining...although the plot may not withstand close examination, the heroine is charismatic against her own will. If the author makes a series out of this, I am in for more. I think she has a chance to develop Kick into a real interesting sleuth (of sorts)...I hope the author moves away from the less believable aspects of this plot such as the "Trident Corporation", Bishop's mansion, etc.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Ms. Cain does it again!

Chelsea Cain can tell a great story. I'm looking forward to more Kick stories. She starts out slowly, then everything starts heating up and her ending are satisfying. I am hooked on Ms. Cain! BRAVA!

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2 people found this helpful

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

We don't need any such ideas

This is the kind of book people do not need in order to get morbid & horrific ideas in order to act out devious acts of horror.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Cain's ONE KICK Is Addictive!

Where does One Kick rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One Kick is one of the top five audiobooks I have listened to.

What other book might you compare One Kick to and why?

MEAN STREAK, because both kept me guessing and were filled with well developed, fascinating characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

Without spoiling for others, near the end when Kick is surprised in her apartment.

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

The description of Kick going to see her kidnapper on his death bed.

Any additional comments?

It keeps you turning pages and now we must wait for the next Kick thriller!

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1 person found this helpful