She's Gone collects the true stories of five different women living in different decades who all have one thing in common: one moment they were busy living their lives and the next moment ... they were gone. From the 1910 disappearance of New York heiress Dorothy Arnold to the 1977 vanishing of teenager Simone Ridinger, author Brunelle details both famous and lesser-known cases that remain unsolved. Board a luxury liner with Agnes Tufverson as she embarks on a European honeymoon before her mysterious 1933 disappearance over the Atlantic; follow Jean Spangler to a famous 1940s Hollywood nightclub as she arrives for a clandestine meeting in a private booth. Due to a strong belief that good girls didn't disappear, when authorities and family members were presented with missing women in the twentieth century, it was often assumed that they had simply ran away. Most investigations were funded by family members, and when women were found to be the victims of violent crime, they were faulted for placing themselves in dangerous situations. On the rare occasions when authorities investigated cases, they relied on interviews and cash trails in combination with rudimentary forensics such as blood typing and fingerprinting to find missing persons. For those reasons, many of the real stories from this time period have yet to be told. Featuring never-before-seen letters and documents, personal interviews, and genealogical research alongside captivating storytelling, Brunelle delves deep into the lives of those who disappeared and the circumstances surrounding their disappearances.
Kathleen Brunelle is an English teacher and historian living Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. Brunelle is a regular speaker at festivals, libraries, and bookstores throughout Cape Cod and Massachusetts, and is the author of Bellamy's Bride: The Search for Maria Hallett of Cape Cod and Cape Cod's Highfield and Tanglewood: A Tale of Two Cottages. Her work has been featured on NPR, Spooky Southcoast, and Cape Cod View Magazine, and she has appeared on the television show Genealogy Roadshow. She lives with her husband, Robert, and their children, Baylen and Mariel.
"Prepare to read in one sitting - Kathleen Brunelle's detailed research involving five cold cases that still seek justice takes readers on an amazing journey." --Michael Bishop, author of A Murder in Music City: Corruption, Scandal, and the Framing of an Innocent Man Enthralling unsolved murder mysteries ripped from the high society pages of twentieth-century newspapers . . . it's Emily Post gone full blown true crime! --Bitty Martin, author of Snake Eyes: Murder in a Southern Town She's Gone is narrative nonfiction at its finest and most tragic. Brunelle, through first-rate research, tackles five major cases of women whom have gone missing - some you may have heard of, some you absolutely haven't - in a methodical, but supremely empathetic way that reveals, if we look hard enough, a narrow path through the darkness that shines towards justice and the hope of 'never again.' --Brad Ricca, Edgar-nominated author of Mrs. Sherlock Holmes
