Carlene Thompson has written another blockbuster thrill-ride of a novel. Mrs. Thompson is going out on a limb with this one. "Since You've Been Gone" deals with a woman, Rebecca Ryan, who has ESP psychological powers. Occasionally, Rebecca will get visions in her head of another person's feelings or events that are happening to this particular person. In the past, Rebecca has even helped the police solve a few crimes. Unfortunately, there was one case in particular that Rebecca could not solve- the disappearance and murder of her younger brother, Jonnie, ten or so years ago. The killer was never apprehended.
Rebecca is currently living in New Orleans and she gets a call from her cousin Molly saying that their Aunt Esther has cancer and requests for her presence in West Virginia, the Ryan family's hometown. Rebecca immediately travels up there and on the way, she gets an attack vision of a little boy being kidnapped and being held hostage in a dark, depressing room. He is sad and in mental pain. Rebecca crashes her car into a famous tree in front of a local restaurant. She wakes up later to see Dr. Clay, and old attractive friend back from high school. After Rebecca feels better, she receives news that her cousin Molly's son, Todd, has been kidnapped and that the boy in her vision was Todd. This novels heats up drastically when the kidnapper taunts Rebecca with notes and haunting music. As Rebecca, Molly, and Clay try to determine who kidnapped Todd and what happened to Jonnie, Rebecca has to deal with her drunken mother, Suzanne, and her stepfather, FRANK. This novel of paranormal suspense is right up there with Kay Hooper's psychic series. Carlene Thompson is most certainly one of the best.