Listen free for 30 days

  • The Gone Dead

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Chanelle Benz
  • Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
  • Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

1 credit a month, good for any title to download and keep.
The Plus Catalogue—listen all you want to thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks.
$14.95 a month plus applicable taxes after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Gone Dead cover art

The Gone Dead

Written by: Chanelle Benz
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $35.73

Buy Now for $35.73

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Billie James' inheritance isn't much: a little money and a shack in the Mississippi Delta. The house once belonged to her father, a renowned black poet who died unexpectedly when Billie was four years old. Though Billie was there when the accident happened, she has no memory of that day - and she hasn't been back to the South since.

Thirty years later, Billie returns, but her father's home is unnervingly secluded: Her only neighbors are the McGees, the family whose history has been entangled with hers since the days of slavery. As Billie encounters the locals, she hears a strange rumor: that she herself went missing on the day her father died. As the mystery intensifies, she finds out that this forgotten piece of her past could put her in danger.

Inventive, gritty, and openhearted, The Gone Dead is an astonishing debut novel about race, justice, and memory that lays bare the long-concealed wounds of a family and a country.

©2019 Chanelle Benz (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Gone Dead

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

No reviews are available
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Nia Gaines
  • Nia Gaines
  • 2019-06-28

I HATED the ending.

When a book leaves me thinking about the story and character when I'm done, it's usually because I love the book. In this case, the ending seemed rushed and choppy. It left me with more questions than answers. There was so much potential for the story and the characters but the author seems to have wanted to end the story at s point where the reader finally feels like they may get some answers. Very unfulfilling.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for James
  • James
  • 2019-07-21

recommended by Jimmy Kimmel

seen this book recommended by Jimmy Kimmel and found was very good. Thanks to Jimmy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for RFB_Amazon
  • RFB_Amazon
  • 2019-07-30

The Gone Dead - Fabulous read!!

I see this book as a movie/Netflix series!

I finished this book in 2 days. The writing is incredible, so descriptive you felt you could be any one of the characters. It’s based in the Mississippi Delta and crosses between a mystery, realistic and historic fiction, so appeals to numerous audiences.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Dr. Chaddock
  • Dr. Chaddock
  • 2019-07-08

The Gone Dead Breathes And Exhales The Delta....

Chanelle Benz writes The Gone Dead in a way that takes you by the hand and walks you across the Mississippi Delta. I spent the whole time listening and feeling the hands, hearts, bodies, terrors and blood of black folks living in the place that birthed them and the klan. Benz gives us race at the gritty intersection of the most beautiful and terrifying possibility that is our countries racial history and racial present. A great protagonist and a better contextual landscape... I’ve walked these places and there was no lie ... there was only The Gone Dead!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Paula Myers
  • Paula Myers
  • 2019-10-31

Stagnant

The story just never took off
Characters weak qnd stereotype
Worst listen of the year

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anchell
  • Anchell
  • 2019-08-18

Intriguing and spellbinding.

A story that unravels like an onion. I eagerly anticipated each chapter and the dimension from each chapter as it explored a version of truth from different angles. Benz’s novel provides a critical and yet necessary glimpse into the African-American/Black experience once removed from the familiar roots of home. The story of Cliff James made me mindful that sometimes leaving home never to return again is the best treat you can give to yourself for survival sake. Amazing story teller.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Valerie D. Pegram
  • Valerie D. Pegram
  • 2020-03-03

The Gone Dead

Excellent read!!! Excellent narration!! Couldn't get enough! It flowed very nicely and keeps you wanting to hear more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for amanda
  • amanda
  • 2020-02-03

i was expecting more

for all the good reviews and being in Jimmy Fallon 2019 book list, i was expecting more out of the ending. Narrator was great, story was ok.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for javagirl7
  • javagirl7
  • 2019-10-24

Author paints stunning story with words

Loved this character driven, heartfelt, realistic novel. It was hard to listen to the part in the dogpark. Puecing together different relationships was like you, the reader, were part detective. Incredible story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Jennifer Seidman
  • Jennifer Seidman
  • 2019-09-06

Maybe this should have been a short story...

I had a hard time believing Billie’s naivete juxtaposed against her age and intelligence level. When the Professor calls her “arrested” it was dead on but I hated that part of her character - it was distracting.
For me, the book didn’t really turn on until the 2nd half.
Performance was good though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful