Actress Reese Witherspoon has just published her very first novel — a gripping and promising thriller. Here’s the story behind it and the inspiration that shaped it.
Reese Witherspoon is adding yet another string to her bow. Best known for her roles in Legally Blonde and Big Little Lies, the actress is now turning to writing with her new — and debut — suspense novel, Gone Before Goodbye. A passionate lover of literature, she delivers here a thriller centred on an army surgeon, inspired by her own family history.
What is Reese Witherspoon’s novel about?
Gone Before Goodbye follows Maggie McCabe, a military surgeon haunted by several personal tragedies. As she attempts to rebuild her life, a former colleague offers her a secret assignment: to treat an anonymous billionaire patient in an ultra-luxurious setting on the other side of the world.
But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie’s life is turned upside down. Accused and hunted, she must now prove her innocence — or risk disappearing herself…
For her first novel, Reese Witherspoon teamed up with suspense master Harlan Coben, bestselling author of Tell No One and Fool Me Once. Together, they have created a gripping story that Coben himself describes as “the most surprising book you’ll read this year”.
A story inspired by her own experiences
If Reese Witherspoon chose a female surgeon as her heroine, it was no coincidence. The actress revealed that she drew inspiration from her own childhood: the daughter of a doctor and an army nurse, she spent her first five years living on a military base in Germany. 'For years, I dreamed of becoming a surgeon,' she explained during a conference in Los Angeles.
The novel also aims to encourage young women to pursue careers in science. 'My main goal is to inspire as many young girls as possible to become surgeons, just as Elle Woods inspired women to become lawyers,' she said.
Gone Before Goodbye is available on Penguin Books.
Are you looking for a new thriller? Find your next read in these articles:
- This American crime novel, set in Mississippi, blurs the boundaries between historical reality and fiction (Dua Lipa recommends it in her book club)
- ‘A brutal and gripping thriller’: Here are the 5 thrillers you’ll want to read this week (including the new Patricia Cornwell!)
- You won’t be able to put down this prosecutional debut thriller written by a real-life criminal attorney
