The Gone and the Forgotten

Written By Miriam Hanna

The Gone and the Forgotten by Clare Whitfield

Reviewed by Mimi
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Thank you @headofzeus for this copy!

Prue is a teenager well used to secrets and dealing with the issues of adults. At 16, her mother attempts to commit suicide so she moves to a remote island in The Shetlands with her Aunt and Uncle in order for her mother to recover. She becomes interested in the cold case of a missing girl only to find out that her Uncle was the leading suspect.

Prue is an interesting protagonist, she is so troubled and doesn't get looked after whilst staying with her family so this novel feels like you're watching her diminish even further. She has so much pain that she is carrying and that really comes through.

The rest of the novel I found to be a bit broken up. It didn't have that flow and pull that I think it needed given the mystery at the heart of it. It was certainly an interesting and original story and I wouldn't describe it as predictable but the tone of it fell a bit flat for my taste.

Miriam Hanna

Aka Mimi. I have known Linda for a very, very long time. We grew up together and you learn very quickly that when she gets an idea in her head, you would be an idiot not to back her to see it through. When the idea of the book club came up it was another lightbulb moment where I knew this wasn't only going to be a success but really fun.


I have always been a bookworm. Remember when you were little and you went shopping with your mum or dad and they gave you a toy or something to occupy yourself with whilst you were in the trolley? I used to get books to keep me quiet. They were and are my ultimate form of escapism and more and more they are about understanding who I am as a person. Books make me cry more than films and TV Shows. I can get lost for hours. I love historic fiction, political thrillers and gritty crime novels but also biographies and memoirs of people I find interesting like sportspeople. I was fortunate to be in the Harry Potter generation and if weren't for those books I don't know what I would have. Young literature was so poor at the point. To have a book that had me and my family queuing up at midnight to buy was seriously special.

Whether you listen to audio books, read off a kindle or stick to carrying around good old fashioned hard copies (that's me!) I truly believe reading is the best way to spend some time every day.


The books I would have with me on a desert island? 📚🏝Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Akzaban, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters, The Power by Naomi Alderman, Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou, Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

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