Gone Before Goodbye
 First edition hardcover | |
| Author | Reese Witherspoon & Harlan Coben |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | Grand Central Publishing |
| Publication date | October 14, 2025 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 9781538774700 |
Gone Before Goodbye is a thriller novel by American authors Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben. It was published by Grand Central Publishing on October 14, 2025.[1] The novel centers a former army combat surgeon who finds herself drawn into a conspiracy related to a charity she set up with her late husband. It is Witherspoon's debut novel and Coben's debut collaborative novel. It became a New York Times number-one best-seller shortly after release.
Background
[edit]Witherspoon came up with the novel out of her desire for a thriller that centers on a woman with a unique skill set, rather than being about her sex appeal or violence.[2] She has described growing up watching James Bond movies and wondering why all the women were wearing bikinis. Her mother was a military nurse and her father was a military surgeon, and these lines of work helped inspire the characters.[3] Her father worked shortly after the Vietnam War, and would tell her stories about trauma surgeries. She reached out to Harlan Coben to help her write the novel.[4] It was Witherspoon's first novel and Coben's first book collaboration.[5] They communicated through emails and text messages, and would meet in person every two or three weeks at Coben's apartment to construct the novel.[6][3] Coben would then write and send Witherspoon chapters, and Witherspoon would give feedback. Coben plotted the key moments of the novel, while Witherspoon did much of the research.[7] Coben had originally written a different ending, but Witherspoon convinced him to change it.
Synopsis
[edit]Maggie McCabe is an army combat surgeon who had teamed up after college with her husband, Marc Adams, and her friend, Trace, to create WorldCures Alliance, a charity dedicated to providing medical services for the most impoverished. They created a prototype of an artificial heart called THUMPR7, which they were convinced would change the world by extending the lives of millions. Later, however, Marc was killed in a rebel attack on a refugee camp in Libya, Trace went missing alongside the prototype, and Maggie lost her medical license. She is now deep in debt and uses a chatbot to interact with her late husband. Her former professor Evan Barlow, who is now a celebrity plastic surgeon, approaches her with a job to perform plastic surgery for a Russian client willing to pay her millions. She finds herself performing an off-the-record breast augmentation in Rublevka on Nadia, the mistress of billionaire Oleg Ragoravich. From there, Maggie is drawn into a conspiracy related to WorldCures Alliance.
Reception
[edit]The novel reached the top spot of the New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Best-Seller List.[8] It spent seven weeks on the list.[9]
The novel won an Audie Award for Mystery.[10] It was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller.[11]
Kirkus Reviews called it "not the most thrilling thriller", but stated that the role of artificial intelligence in the novel gives it "pathos and interest".[12] Marc Weingarten of the Los Angeles Times called it a "fun ride" that "compels you and repels you in equal measure", but stated that "a few of its particulars are too far-fetched to swallow."[13]
References
[edit]- ^ "Gone Before Goodbye". Hachette Book Group. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ Nanji, Nor. "Reese Witherspoon on writing a thriller: 'What do girls in bikinis have to do with solving crime?'". BBC. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ a b Italie, Hillel. "A character wouldn't leave Reese Witherspoon alone. So she wrote her first novel". The Independent. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ Nicolaou, Elena. "Reese Witherspoon Convinced Harlan Coben to Change the Ending of Their Book: EXCLUSIVE". Today. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ Lester, Daisy. "Reese Witherspoon's first novel is about to be released". The Independent. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ Kelly, Mary Louise; Burnett, Elena; Handel, Sarah. "Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben on their new novel, 'Gone Before Goodbye'". NPR. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ Mulroy, Clare. "Reese Witherspoon wants her new character to be Elle Woods 'for the medical profession'". USA Today. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ "Combined Print & E-Book Fiction- November 02, 2025". New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ "Combined Print & E-Book Fiction- December 21, 2025". New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ "2026 Audie Awards® WINNERS". Audio Publishers Association. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ "Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller". Goodreads. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ^ "Gone Before Goodbye". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ^ Weingarten, Marc. "Reese Witherspoon's debut novel with Harlan Coben is a fun ride about the super-rich". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 18, 2026.