THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER! Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. And then she was gone. Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back … Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters–and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.
Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?
“Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. Her multilayered characters are sheer perfection, and even the most astute thriller reader won’t see where everything is going until the final threads are unknotted.” —Booklist, starred review
“More than a whiff of The Lovely Bones wafts through this haunting domestic noir…Skillfully told by several narrators, Jewell’s gripping novel is an emotionally resonant story of loss, grief, and renewal.” —Publishers Weekly
“Sharply written with twists and turns, Jewell’s latest will please fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, or Luckiest Girl Alive.” —Library Journal
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Ten years after a 15 year old girl (Ellie) disappeared, new leads surface. Did Ellie really run away from home like the police suspected? Or was she the victim of something sinister?
Then She Was Gone follows Laurel, as she continues to recover from the disappearance of her 15 year old daughter, Ellie, ten years ago. Divorced for years from Ellie’s father, Paul, and finally feeling some closure, Laurel met Floyd, a promising new love interest, and was immediately intrigued by him and his 9 year old daughter, Poppy, because she bore an uncanny resemblance to Ellie.
I loved the unique format of this book which placed the reader one step ahead of the characters, so that the reader knew more about Ellie’s disappearance than Laurel. Until. All of a sudden, the format changed, and the revelations were a surprise to both the reader and Laurel. Even though I felt like I had it all figured out throughout the first half of the book, I was still desperate to keep reading to know if I was right.
Lisa Jewell has mastered the unreliable narrator, and I would highly recommend this one for fans of suspense!
Thank you to the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
Location: London, England
Then She was Gone is the first book I’ve read by Lisa Jewell – I am now a fan and will be reading all of her books. This was an intense and twisted Psychological Thriller that kept me guessing until the end. The plot was stellar and the characters were all fleshed-out and well-developed. I finished this book in less than 12 hours because once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down until I was done. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys suspense or thrillers.
½
Whoa! This book may have started out a bit slow but like all good roller coasters of the psychological thriller variety, it sky rocketed me into a mysterious family drama that ended up giving me whiplash with as many surprising revelations it held around every twist and turn. I hope with all my heart this situation is far fetched because I couldn’t cope if I thought the main jaw-drop of this book could actually happen. Then She Was Gone is a crazy train of fairly unlikable characters in my opinion. You just know there is something off about each of them and that is Lisa Jewell’s talent right there. Building these characters, allowing you to give each the benefit of the doubt, then finally turning them into someone redeemable or absolutely horrific. This book was mysterious, sad, crazy, but thoroughly engaging. If you are a fan of Lisa Jewell or if you have never heard of her before, Then She Was Gone needs to be on your list! Check it out!!
My favorite quote:
“I remember being twenty-one and thinking that my personality was a solid thing, that me was set in stone, that I would always feel what I felt and believe what I believed. But now I know that me is fluid and shape-changing. So whatever you’re feeling now, it’s temporary.”
Thank you to the following for permitting me access to an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Then She Was Gone: A Novel. This generosity did not impact my honesty when rating/reviewing.
Source: NetGalley
Author: Lisa Jewell
Publisher: Atria Books
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Pub Date: April 24, 2018
A perfect example of domestic suspense and a keenly observed story about the aftermath of grief and trauma. These characters are deeply flawed yet entirely relatable. I highly recommend this book!
So, we know the basics from the start: Ellie Mack, a 15-year-old golden girl (who happens to be brilliant, beautiful, and sweet) disappears one day right before taking her college tests. There is question about whether she ran away or was abducted. Her family falls apart. Rather quickly in the book we determine the truth of this, and what happened. But why? And as mom Laurel, ready to move on after many years, meets the man of her dreams, Floyd she realizes that his daughter, Poppy, bears a striking resemblance to Ellie. How can this be, and is Floyd the perfect man he seems to be? As the novel moves towards its close, the story takes twists and turns, being told though several perspectives. Nothing predictable about it, and the ending was also very good. Highly recommended.
Then She Was Gone is a dark psychological thriller that is told from several different perspectives and is told Then and Now timeline.
Ellie Mack goes missing ten years ago and she is never found. The effect that this has on her family, on Ellie as you learn her story.
Her mom’s struggle to cope after all these years but also is ready to move on.
Can’t say more than that or it will take away from such a great read.
The characters are strong, you love many and despise a few.
I am a big fan of Lisa Jewell and once again she has written a powerful book that you will think about long after the last page has turned.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
Wonderfully tense and absolutely riveting, Lisa Jewell knows how to tell a story like no one else! Sometimes chilling and other times emotional, this book took me on quite the roller coaster. Laurel’s voice is so struck by tragedy and grief, her determination to find the truth about Ellie’s disappearance so heroic. An absolutely breathtaking story I won’t soon forget!
This thriller reads like candy. I gobbled it up in just one day. It’s filled with memorable characters, lots of specific details, little mysteries tucked inside of bigger ones, and twists and turns that take the reader through the gamut of emotions in every chapter. I loved it, down to the book titles thrown in here and there. I’ve never read a book by Lisa Jewell before, but she’s on my list of favorites now.
If you’re looking for a good psychological thriller, this is a fast read. The reader knows what the secret is early on, but it’s impossible to guess how it happened. Entertaining and, like any good book of this genre, slightly creepy.
Are you freaking kidding me? Ho-oh-oh-oh-oh-ly shit.
I wasn’t sure I was going to love this because the pacing felt a little slow at the beginning but it blew me away. SOOOOO sinister!
Lisa Jewell hits it out of the park again and I was there for all of the dark, like dark as midnight, craziness.
As a mother, I could understand the desperate nature of the Mom’s inability to let go of her missing daughter and to connect with her remaining family! All is not what it seems when she meets a mysterious man and slowly starts to live again. Honestly, I never saw the ending coming! The ending was a million times better than I could have imagined! Pick this up TODAY!!
“Then She Was Gone” by Lisa Jewell explores a parent’s worst nightmare. Ellie, a teen with “it all together,” disappears without an obvious trace. The police investigation turns cold, and Ellie’s family crumbles into utter dysfunction. Ten years later, Ellie’s mom, Laurel, tries to restart her life. When she meets the daughter of her new gentleman caller, Laurel is stunned. This precocious youngster is the spitting image of her missing and mourned Ellie.
Lisa Jewell develops her characters well enough for them to be people readers might know IRL. That’s not to say all of the people met in this book are likable. No, no,no! However, they’re all well-drawn and described. Laurel is a particularly rounded character. The setting puts readers on the streets, searching the haunts of the lost girl, living through her experiences and those of her grieving mother. The Point of View switches from past to present, but it is easy to follow, and for a longer book (about 350 pages), this page-turner grips and reads quickly,
I loved this book!!
Paul and Laurel’s daughter, Ellie, goes missing one day at the age of 15. She just disappears. Years later the effect of her disappearance has taken a toll on the family. Laurel is divorced from Paul, and their two other children, Hannah and Jake, have moved on with their lives, trying to put the past behind them. Laurel works a job a few days a week, visits her elderly mum in a nursing home and exercises regularly in order to keep some semblance of normalcy to her life. But then more devastating news comes, and Laurel struggles to find a way to keep going.
Things start looking up when Laurel meets Floyd and they begin a relationship. Floyd has two girls of his own; Sara Jade, 21, and Poppy, 9. Poppy is a precocious child who Laurel feels drawn to because of her resemblance to Ellie. Laurel might be on her way to finally putting her life back together. But then she begins to have doubts about her relationship and the man she’s dating. She’s not sure if she can trust him. She’s finding out things about Floyd that cause her to feel suspicious about him. Is he the man she thinks he is? Is her life in danger?
Then She Was Gone is psychological suspense at its best!! This was my first Lisa Jewell book and it was phenomenal!! The build up was intense, and I was thoroughly engaged in the narration from beginning to end. The characters were all very well developed and there was an amazing twist I didn’t see coming.
Regarding Lisa Jewell, I finally know what all the hoopla is about. She is an excellent writer. I already started on another one of her books. Highly recommended.
I listened to this one via Audible on my daily walks. The writing is superb, the story riveting with characters you will love. This one will stay with me for a long time. Cannot wait to read more of her work.
Where have you been my whole life Lisa Jewell? How is it I only found you by getting a free giveaway book through Instagram? Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell was suspenseful, riveting and hauntingly sad at times.
When 15-year-old Ellie disappears without a trace, her mother Laurel has difficulties letting go of the thought she might not be alive. Ten years later, Laurel meets a new man named Floyd. Is it love at first sight? As she emerges back into the real world, and a new love life, Floyd introduces his daughter Poppy to her. She is nine years old and has a striking resemblance to Ellie when she was that age.
Just like that, old memories and new questions surrounding Ellie’s disappearance being to surface. Can Laurel piece together the past with her new future? Has her obsession with finding the answers about her daughter’s disappearance cloud her desire for a new future?
This story is told in both present day and flashbacks from multiple different points of view. Jewell lays out all the details and I thought I was certain I’d figure out what had happened. So, unbelievably wrong. The plot twist in this book stayed with me days after reading. I was not expecting this ending at all!
While I found some of the beginning of this to be rather slow, the other half certainly made up for it. Once it picked up, the plot twists, the character developments and even the back story left me stunned and captivated. The shock value alone is why you should get this book!
I am so unbelievably grateful I won this book in an Instagram giveaway. I have a new-found appreciation and love for Lisa Jewell! If you’re looking for a book that will stay with you for days and give you the shock value of a rollercoaster, look no further than Lisa Jewell’s book Then She Was Gone!
Read more of my review here: https://bit.ly/2Vt2mZc
Wow, I’ve just recently discovered this author, and her latest is beyond fabulous. Fasten your seat belts
I literally flew through this book. Wow! I loved it. It was witty, twisted and heartbreaking. Everything came together at the end. I simply loved Ms. jewell’s characters because they were so believable.
Summary
Every mother’s nightmare is to lose a precious child. That’s what happened to Laurel, whose favorite daughter, Ellie, suddenly goes missing. After long years of bearing with the torture of waiting, not knowing whether her 15-year-old girl ran away, or worst, met an unfortunate fate, she receives a grueling news about her. She finally starts to move on after 10 years and meets a man named Floyd whose daughter, Poppy, happens to have an uncanny resemblance to Ellie. What’s more mind-boggling is the fact that Poppy’s mother, Noelle, Floyd’s ex, used to be Ellie’s tutor. As suspicions arise, Laurel starts to dig into Floyd and Noelle’s past. Would she be able to uncover the mystery behind Ellie’s disappearance?
Review
Then She Was Gone is a mystery and psychological thriller by Lisa Jewell. I have no idea if this novel has a sequel or not, but either way, I loved it! This was certainly an unforgettable mystery book! I was four fifths through the story when I predicted the mystery and I’m proud to confirm that I was right when I finished it. This book kept me occupied after the typhoon because of the blackout. As I write this review, there is still no electricity and if it weren’t for this book, I would have gone insane from complete boredom.
I rarely see two points of view in a story and this one’s one of them. The author used third-person, then first-person point of view towards the end, which was through the eyes of the antagonist, making the story creepier. The story also has dual timeline. The author’s style of writing was certainly effective to keep me hooked from start to end.
Overall, I’m giving this 5 out of 5 stars. It’s a page-turner that kept me sane and entertained during these trying times. I love the characters, the plot, and the story’s mind-boggling twist. This is highly recommended to readers who love mystery and psychological thriller.
In my research of bestselling books, I’ve read And Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. It was good, if a bit predictable in many ways. It’s mostly from the point of view of Laurel, a married woman with three kids, two boys and a girl. Her middle child, the golden 15 year old named Ellie, disappears one day on her way to the library. Ten years later her body is found, apparently having been dead for about 9 of them. The characters feel very real, and the pages turn easily. There’s no huge twist at the end, however…by then you pretty much know what the story is.
Loved this book! Can’t wait to read more books from this author.