Last Wednesday evening, my brother, Matthew, and I attended the Gone Before Goodbye Book Tour stop at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. Harlan Coben is his favorite author, and I am a fan of both Coben and Reese Witherspoon. Ann Patchett, the bestselling author and owner of Parnassus Books, moderated the conversation. Her friendship with both Coben and Witherspoon made for an interesting peek behind the curtain of how they wrote the book.

Matthew Miller and Linda Sullivan

Witherspoon shared the origin story of the main character and how she was inspired by her own parents, who both are retired from the medical field. Despite her apprehension about pitching the idea of collaboration to Coben, he quickly became obsessed with the project, and they began writing a thriller set in the exclusive world of the global uberelite.

The two told entertaining stories about their process and how they pushed one another’s buttons as well as their creativity. Witherspoon said the greatest lesson she learned from Coben was that everything comes from character and how to hone character in a story. Coben insisted she taught him more about what and how women think. I expect he will write future female characters differently from now on.

The blurb and the authors’ descriptions of the characters have me moving the book to the top of my TBR list. Also, the audiobook has multiple narrators, including Witherspoon, Chris Pine, and five others.  Multicast audiobooks make for an enjoyable listening experience, so I plan to listen to this novel with my eyes or ears. Join me! Look for these recommendations and other books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.

Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to inspire you to become one, too. For more recommendations or to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.

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