Actress Reese Witherspoon’s debut novel, «Gone Before Goodbye» — co-written with bestselling crime author Harlan Coben — has already become a sensation in the U.S. Readers are talking not only about the «Legally Blonde» star’s literary debut, but also about the book’s surprising setting: nearly the entire story takes place in Russia, specifically Moscow’s wealthy Rublyovka district.
A thriller set in Russia’s elite circles
The novel follows Maggie McCabe, a military surgeon who loses both her husband and her medical license. Desperate, she accepts a risky job in Russia, where she is hired to perform plastic surgery on an oligarch’s mistress for $5 million. Once there, she becomes an unwitting participant in scandals, intrigue, and a series of unexpected twists.
Backlash in Ukraine
While the book has received positive reviews in the U.S., it sparked criticism in Ukraine. The publisher Vivat announced it would refuse to translate the novel, saying it did not want to publish a story centered on Russian oligarchs who support the war. It later emerged that the company had purchased the rights to the book before knowing its plot details — a decision that will now lead to financial losses.
