Gone for a Soldier

How do I go about reviewing this without giving too much away? That’s the conundrum. This had me gripped and feverishly turning the pages. It was fairly obvious that something was amiss from the get-go. And there were times when I just wanted to shake Maddie and say wake up! Stop! But we wouldn’t have a story if she done that! It’s a marvelous, protracted, exercise in showing vulnerability and deception. And within the narrative the author has created this incredible sense of unease and everything being a little off-center.
And if I wanted to give Maddie a good slap every now and then I wanted to give Pip a great big hug. He was my favorite character. I did feel compassion for Maddie, because she seemed caught up in a situation show more that she simply couldn’t extricate herself from. We, the readers, could see she needed to get out, but she couldn’t see it herself. I found the conclusion a little unsatisfactory if I’m honest. But I’m not sure what I was expecting. Or, perhaps it was a case of being dissatisfied, that I finished the book! Because it really kept me riveted. show less

Gone For A Soldier is the fourth novel by London born Melissa Jones.

One of the first releases from The Authors’ Collective, a new UK based cooperative of authors which launched in March 2026. My thanks to the author & the publisher for a copy of this novel.

Maddy, a former writer, having left her husband finds herself in reduced financial circumstances teaching English at a sixth-form college, while bringing up Pip, her troubled 14 year old son. Through online dating she meets Rob, a soldier and the book is Maddy's retelling of how their complicated relationship led to her confessing to his murder.
After their initially awkward dates they grow closer but Rob is secretive and evasive about his life in the army, while hinting at past show more trauma. He seems to have a need to control everything while his moods change from one meeting to the next.
Maddy, who has her own health issues and is facing a distressing situation at college, increasingly believes Rob is lying to her but is unable or unwilling to end the relationship.

This is a fairly gripping psychological mystery which has you believing first one person then the other. With a compelling ending which answers the major questions while leaving you to ponder many others. show less