Web of Lies

Judging by vibes alone, one might conclude that Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben have little in common. Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media brand and Elle Woods style don’t immediately bring to mind the high-octane thrillers dreamed up by Coben. But between her wildly successful Reese’s Book Club and his many bestsellers, there is one thing they both know: what readers want. And now, with Gone Before Goodbye, they’ve combined forces to introduce readers to Maggie McCabe, a world-class reconstructive surgeon who finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue and lies, questioning everything she thought she knew.

A year after her husband Marc is killed during a humanitarian mission gone terribly wrong, McCabe is in a spiral, still struggling with his death. She’s also reeling from the loss of her medical license after the pills she took to cope with her grief led to a serious problem that found its way into her OR. Facing financial ruin, she accepts the lifeline her former mentor throws her: an illicit opportunity offered by a wealthy Russian oligarch known for his intense privacy. He wants some cosmetic surgery performed on himself and his much younger mistress, and discretion is of the utmost importance. With a state-of-the-art surgical theater installed in his estate, he just needs a surgeon, preferably one of the best. While Maggie has some reservations about the secrecy of it all, she agrees, telling herself: “In the end, this patient, like any other patient, is hiring her to perform specific services, and — not to toot her own horn — he can afford the best. It’s a win-win.”

Readers familiar with any good suspense thriller will immediately know that it is not exactly a win-win, and Maggie soon begins to question her decision. But once the layers start to peel away and Maggie realizes that Marc’s death may not have been merely the tragic result of working in a war zone, there’s no turning back. As the pain and fear and deception pile up, she tries to convince herself to leave, to return to her life, “and forget all about this.” But she can’t forget, of course: “Like it or not, there is no way she can walk away.”

An action-packed, propulsive page turner like Gone Before Goodbye has traditionally featured a male hero, a charming and intelligent guy who can wear the hell out of a tuxedo and win any fight. Coben and Witherspoon subvert that norm by giving the role of gritty hero to a woman. With her military training and combat experience, Maggie can jump off a roof and roll away from gunfire with the best of them, and she knows something about everything — Russia, art, medical technology. She also looks fantastic in a ball gown.

Throughout, Witherspoon and Coben showcase the way women look out for each other in uncertain situations. For example, when Maggie asks a young woman to borrow her phone, she immediately shows concern: “Alena puts her hand on Maggie’s arm. ‘Are you okay?’” While utterly familiar to most women, this small gesture is a welcome addition to the typical action-thriller fodder. Other aspects of Gone Before Goodbye will likely strain credulity, but the multiple twists and tension-building suspense will help readers set aside their disbelief and focus on answering the countless questions Maggie uncovers. By the time all the unknowns are resolved, readers will be left with just one question: How long until the movie version?