Ponder: Gone Before Goodbye

Gone Before Goodbye ©2025 by Harlan Coben  and Reese Witherspoon  is a creative, engaging novel which intrigued me enough that I stayed up until 2:30 am one night to finish it. I was not familiar with Coben and this is Witherspoon's first novel, so my choice to read this was not author driven. The book starts out relaying the actions of three surgeons — Maggie, her husband Marc, and Trace — friends throughout med school and internship, who work in combat zones, neutrally attending to the injuries of whoever needs it, whatever side of the combat and whatever age. According to a loose quote from the novel, they aim to save all lives, good or evil, and let God sort it out in the end.

Maggie is approached to perform surgeries on undisclosed but extremely wealthy clients, for which she is promised to be handsomely rewarded. There is a strong emphasis on being discreet to a point that borders on cloak and dagger. Maggie is a well developed character; Marc and Trace not so much. Maggie's father-in-law, amusingly named Porkchop, leads a motorcycle gang and owns a restaurant for bikers. Belying the stereotypical biker persona, he is very level headed and capable and loves his daughter-in-law Maggie to the nth degree, being very protective of her as well.

The settings of the story are exotic and extreme from desolate war zones to luxurious towering skyscrapers. Here is the plot per the front flap

Maggie McCabe is teetering on the brink. A highly skilled and renowned Army combat surgeon, she has always lived life at the edge, where she could make the most impact. And it was all going to plan ... until it wasn’t. Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Maggie has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion. At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion.

Halfway across the globe, sequestered in the lap of luxury and cutting-edge technology, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance. Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfills her end of the agreement. But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself—or she will be the next one who is ... Gone Before Goodbye.

I felt the ending of this book was abrupt and did not tie up a few loose ends I would have liked addressed.  Maybe I rushed the dénouement, missing a few details I could go back and seek. Or perhaps, I was enjoying the read enough I wanted it to keep going. A reviewer on Amazon voiced this same concern that I did, so I think the claim of loose ends is valid. The approach may be intentional, keeping the reader wanting more. For this minor shortfall I rate Gone Before Goodbye four stars instead of five but still would encourage it as a worthy read.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

Niles Antique Browsing

Saturday, February 7th. Frank, Alex, and I went to the Niles District in Fremont to stroll along Niles Blvd and browse in and around the antique shops there. The shops had lots of bunny bowls, dishes, statues, and knick-knacks, it being so close to Easter in early May. Alex delighted in noting them and repeatedly declaring "Rah" for rabbit. 

I Googled what was of interest along Niles Blvd and came up with the following list of antique stores and their locations. The Train Depot museum was not open on the day we went but we made a mental note to come back some other time.

Besides antique stores, there were classic vehicles parked along the main street. There was a red flatbed tow truck with a crane dated 1910.

A Ford Model A, most likely from 1930 or 1931 was configured as a fire department chief's car and parked on the main street, Niles Blvd.

At the far west end of Niles Blvd was Skillet'z where we had lunch: a tuna melt for Frank, grilled ham n' cheese for Alex, and a patty melt for me. Frank also indulged in a chocolate milk shake served in a canning jar. The food was comfort food and all tasted great. We will keep this restaurant in mind the next time we visit the area.

Besides, the allure of the antique shops, there is also a definite train vibe to the area. The rest room signage caries out the railroad theme. We will most definitely go back when the Niles Depot Museum is open. I took a photo of the near upcoming dates to remind us.

We also noted there will be a model train event on March 8th. Frank will most likely aim to check in on that. We also learned that is it held quarterly, so if March 8th does not pan out, there will be other opportunities.

The afternoon was pleasant and low key. Another bonus was that we did not buy anything to add to our own "antique" possessions at home. I did not ride home with a Singer treadle table crammed across my lap — since it did not fit in the trunk — as I did one other time, several years ago, from a small town about two hours away. The old fashioned typewriter is also from another antique fair visit. So. Success in Niles. We enjoyed our outing, and there was no "new" item to contend with when we got back home!