Going Dark

by Melissa de la Cruz

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This twisty, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller will stun readers long past the last page as they slowly uncover what happened to influencer Amelia Ashley following her sudden disappearance while on a European vacation with her boyfriend. Going Dark is a timely read perfect for fans of true crime podcasts or YA mysteries like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

“An intense rollercoaster of a thriller and a searing indictment of which victims get our attention and sympathy.”
–#1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu

In this ripped-from-the-headlines Gone Girl meets A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz weaves a white-knuckle YA thriller about a beautiful young influencer who vanishes after going on vacation with her boyfriend.

#WhereisAmeliaAshley

The Influencer
Amelia Ashley shares everything with her followers – her favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants, her best fashion tips, and her European trip-of-a-lifetime with her hot boyfriend.

The Boyfriend
Josh has no choice but to return home without Amelia after she abandons him in Rome. He has no clue where she went or how her blood got in his suitcase. Why won’t anyone believe him?

The Hacker
To Harper Delgado, Amelia Ashley is just another missing white girl whipping up a media frenzy. But with each digital knot she untangles about the influencer, Harper wonders: who is Amelia Ashley?

The Other Girl
Two years ago, another girl went missing, one who never made headlines or had a trending hashtag.

The Truth
Amelia’s disappearance has captured the world’s attention. What comes next? Watch this space…

Told through a mixture of social media posts, diary entries, and firsthand accounts, Going Dark is a gripping, suspenseful thriller about all the missing girls who fall off the radar, perfect for true crime fans and readers of One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454947646
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	01/31/2023
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	13,851
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Melissa de la Cruz is the #1 New York Times, #1 Publishers Weekly, and #1 IndieBound bestselling author of Isle of the Lost and Return to the Isle of the Lost, as well as many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for readers of all ages. Her books have also topped the USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists and have been published in more than twenty countries. Today she lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Editorial Reviews

12/19/2022

Amelia Ashley, a college student and social media influencer, goes mysteriously missing while on vacation in Italy with her photographer boyfriend Josh Reuter in this absorbing mystery by de la Cruz (the Blue Bloods series). After the two argued at the end of their trip, an angry Josh returned home to California without Amelia, only to be implicated when she was declared missing. Following a media frenzy—spearheaded by her 1.5 million Instagram followers making the hashtag #WhereIsAmeliaAshley go viral—one of Amelia’s friends hires hacker Harper Delgado to gain access to Amelia’s online information. Instead of clarity, however, Harper unearths more questions about Amelia’s everyday life and the reality of her relationship with Josh. Through social media posts, private diary entries, and firsthand accounts, Harper unravels the mystery while bringing to light a seemingly connected past disappearance. De la Cruz combines familiar thriller beats with a socially conscious narrative to deliver a breakneck story that outpaces its ripped-from-the-headlines influences to establish its own labyrinthine twists. This timely work gratifyingly interrogates the core question of what determines whose disappearance gets taken seriously and whose gets ignored. Amelia and Josh cue as white; Harper is brown-skinned. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

[T]he book will draw readers in through its engaging storytelling and compelling characters they can’t help but care about. The novel probes questions of the types of victims who garner public sympathy and those who are overlooked. An edge-of-your-seat thriller with a deeply satisfying ending and a message that lingers.” —Kirkus Reviews

“De la Cruz combines familiar thriller beats with a socially conscious narrative to deliver a breakneck story that outpaces its ripped-from-the-headlines influences to establish its own labyrinthine twists. This timely work gratifyingly interrogates the core question of what determines whose disappearance gets taken seriously and whose gets ignored.” —Publishers Weekly

“A mix of Gone Girl and true crime, this is a twisty plot that highlights the role race, media, and fame can play in solving a crime . . . . This is a clever take that will please fans of the genre and de la Cruz’s books.” —School Library Journal

“[T]he perfect blend of ripped-from-the-headlines drama and insightful writing.” —Forbes

“[S]et to be one of the buzziest YA thrillers of early 2023.” —Paste Magazine

“This fast-paced thriller has plenty of shocking reveals and shady characters, as we follow the story of a missing influencer who seems to embody the Missing White Woman scenario, but may have been more complex than the media is interested in portraying.” —Crimereads

“Fans of true crime will love this suspense-filled story.” —Daily Mom

“Going Dark is perfect for adding to your summer reads if you love to lose yourself in a young adult thriller . . . . Fans of true crime fiction will love the twists and turns of this perfect summer thriller.” —Daily Mom
 

“An intense roller coaster of a thriller and a searing indictment of which victims get our attention and sympathy. Melissa de la Cruz is a master of her craft—she cuts you to the quick and makes you love it.” –New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu
 

From the Publisher

02/01/2023

Gr 9 Up—Josh Rueter and his influencer girlfriend, Amelia Ashley, travel to Rome for vacation, but when only Josh returns home and Amelia's busy social media goes dark, he is the prime suspect in her disappearance. Matters only become worse when the police find blood in Josh's suitcase. Hacker Harper Delgado becomes involved, scouring the internet for digital breadcrumbs that might help solve the case. A mix of Gone Girl and true crime, this is a twisty plot that highlights the role race, media, and fame can play in solving a crime. Josh is white, but there are a number of characters of color. Chapters alternate among his perspective, Harper's, and Amelia's, while also jumping between past and present; even a ghost makes an appearance. The story is full of detail and nuance; however, the second half loses a bit of momentum as the mystery unravels. Despite this, there are creepy moments that will satisfy internet sleuths and thrill seekers. VERDICT Overall, this is a clever take that will please fans of the genre and de la Cruz's books.—Kaitlin Malixi

School Library Journal

2022-11-16
A gripping mystery that addresses deeper social issues.

American college students Josh Reuter and Amelia Ashley had a wonderful European adventure—or they should have, but they got in a fight, and at the end of the trip, Amelia never boarded the plane in Rome to head back to California. On top of his girlfriend’s abandonment, implied White Josh is dealing with lost baggage. Meanwhile, attractive blond foodie influencer Amelia’s nearly 1.5 million Instagram followers are saying that she’s missing, and the hashtags about her disappearance are going viral. With questions piling up, Josh becomes the prime suspect even in the eyes of his friends, and he must prove his innocence to the police as evidence against him starts appearing. One of Amelia’s friends asks Harper Delgado, a brown-skinned San Diego State sophomore and well-connected hacker, to search for Amelia in ways the police can’t. Harper scours Amelia’s online content for clues and finds a disturbing unlisted video that puts her on the right track for discovering the truth about the couple’s relationship. Playing with different points of view and narrative tools, including prose, descriptions of videos, blog posts, and diary entries, the book will draw readers in through its engaging storytelling and compelling characters they can’t help but care about. The novel probes questions of the types of victims who garner public sympathy and those who are overlooked.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller with a deeply satisfying ending and a message that lingers. (Mystery. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews