As an author, Gretchen Waters knows what it takes to craft a compelling story. Her highly popular memoir Tammyland chronicles the lives of her favorite country stars Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn. A honky-tonk tribute to these trailblazing women, Gretchen regales the woes of her own divorce and personal issues as she pays homage to these legendary figures in Southern history.

Reminiscent of her iconic heroes, Gretchen meets misfortune when she plunges to her death at a library event promoting her latest release. Her tragic accident is met with much grief by her fans, family, and especially close friends such as Jamie Madden. A college best friend, Jamie has a hard time accepting that Gretchen is really gone. When Gretchen's mother asks Jamie to become her literary executor, Jamie readily accepts the challenge in order to hold on a little longer to her departed friend.

As Jamie begins to delve into Gretchen's unfinished work, she finds herself drawn to Emerson, NH to explore Gretchen's roots. What starts out as a kind gesture for a cherished friend turns into a full-blown investigation into an author's questionable death. From taped voice recordings to missing notebooks, Jamie can not help but dig deeper into the mysterious life of a woman she thought she knew. As the stakes get higher, Jamie puts her own marriage on the line to find the truth.

MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE is the third novel by the New York Times notable author Emily Arsenault. Her story within a story framework captures your attention making the plot truly unpredictable with lots of twists and turns. Her country music vignettes intertwined within the body of the mystery are the glue that hold glue that holds MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE together. Well-written with accents of humor, raw emotion, and pure joy, I certainly will miss these characters long after they are gone

Book Summary

Emily Arsenault’s first two novels, Broken Teaglass (“a beautifully written, engaging mystery” —Dorothy Allison) and In Search of the Rose Notes, received resounding critical acclaim. With her third, Miss Me When I’m Gone, she firmly re-establishes her standing among Laura Lippman, Tana French, Jennifer McMahon, Megan Abbot, and the other major players in the literary mystery game. Arsenault enthralls with this story of what ensues in the shocking aftermath of the sudden, violent death of the successful author of a “honky-tonk Eat, Pray, Love,” when an old college friend of the murdered woman comes across an unpublished manuscript—one which could possibly lead to the writer’s killer. A former lexicographer, English teacher, children’s librarian, and Peace Corps volunteer, Emily Arsenault has found her true calling as an author of twisting, intelligent, emotional, and exceptionally compelling mystery fiction.