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About The Book

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 fifty pages are magnetic. I couldn’t put it down until I’d experienced every last twist and turn.” —STEPHEN KING

Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.

It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.

About The Author

Photograph © Katy Weaver Photography

Emiko Jean is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Tokyo Dreaming and Tokyo Ever After, a Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine pick, as well as the novel Mika in Real Life, which was a Good Morning America Book Club pick. She lives in Washington with her husband and two kids.

About The Readers

Mizuo Peck is a versatile actress and native New Yorker. She is internationally known for her role as Sacajawea in the 20th Century Fox movie, Night at the Museum, and its sequels. Her other film and television credits include Madam SecretaryA Case of YouAlmost in LoveLaw & Order: Criminal Intent; and All My Children. Her stage work includes 365 Days/365 Plays at the Public Theater and All’s Well That Ends Well as a company member of their exclusive Shakespeare Lab Program. Mizuo’s on camera commercial and voiceover work has been for many brands including Levi’s, Suave, Verizon, KitchenAid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Glade, and Oil of Olay. For photos, interviews, reels, and more please visit her website, MizuoPeck.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (May 7, 2024)
  • Runtime: 10 hours and 11 minutes
  • ISBN13: 9781797174662

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Raves and Reviews

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

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