The Return of Ellie Black

The Return of Ellie Black is a 2024 thriller by Emiko Jean. Jean writes thriller and coming-of-age novels for young adults and adults. The novel follows Detective Chelsey Calhoun as she investigates the reappearance of 19-year-old Ellie Black, who vanished two years prior. The novel, which alternates between third-person limited and first-person narration, explores themes of The Psychological Impact of Trauma, Identity and Transformation, and The Complexities of Home.

Other work by this author includes the novel, Tokyo Ever After.

This study guide refers to the Simon and Schuster 2024 print edition. When discussing characters with more than one name, this guide follows the novel’s conventions in the Chapter Summaries but defaults to the characters’ given names in all other sections.

Content Warning: This source material contains depictions of abuse, neglect, suicide, sexual violence, substance use disorders, and murder. Additionally, this source material discusses racism and sexism.

Plot Summary

Sergeant Abbott of Coldwell Beach, Washington, calls one of his employees, Detective Chelsey Calhoun, and tells her that hikers found a 19-year-old woman named Ellie Black wandering in the woods. Ellie had previously been missing for two years.