Title: Then She Was Gone
Author: Lisa Jewell
Publication: April 17, 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Pages: 369
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
THEN
She was fifteen, her mother’s
golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.
NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie
disappeared, but Laurel has never given up
hope of finding her daughter.
And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.
Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.
Poppy is precocious and pretty – and meeting her completely takes Laurel’s breath away.
Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age.
And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.
What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?
Who still has secrets to hide?
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
A truly chilling tale that Lisa Jewell takes you on as she weaves through heartbreak, love, fear, and so many more emotions in between.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell jumps between a few different perspectives, but overall follows the story of Ellie Mack who disappeared one day without a trace and very little evidence of what happen to her. Ten years after her mother and father and siblings finally get closure and her mother, Laurel, starts to move on… finally. In comes Floyd, father of two girls. One a sharp tongued young woman, SJ, and a beautiful, intelligent nine-year-old girl, Poppy, who looks eerily like her daughter Ellie. As Laurel gets to know Floyd and his family, she cannot help shake an odd gut instinct feeling that something just isn’t sitting right and strange coincidences from her past keep appearing.
Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite writers for women’s fiction, only because she writes it in a way I have never seen someone write before. Women’s fiction can instantly sound like another lovey story, or family focused book about whatever, but Jewell writes it in a way that is so intriguing and keeps you on your toes. Then She Was Gone is women’s fiction, with all that great family flair and drama, yet an epic mystery/suspense twist. As a fan of mystery thrillers, this book was completely up my alley.
This story continuously threw one dark and disturbing twist after another and always when you thought you had figure it all out. I felt like I was Laurel at times when she would question herself on what she was feeling. Did I really trust Floyd? Was there something sketchy? And then come up with a completely plausible explanation and think I’m just making myself crazy. Then it would start again. I was completely enthralled from the first chapter to the very end. I even teared up a few times!
This book is for everyone. It has a little of everything and a huge emotional punch to the gut and heart right at the end to wrap it all up. Pick it up. You will not regret it.
STAR RATING: 5/5
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell is available now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as well as your local bookstores. Make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave your feedback for author, Lisa Jewell, when you are finished reading. Lisa Jewell has a line of other novels available on all the same outlets. You can see them all HERE! You can check out review of one of Jewell’s previous books, The Girls in the Garden and then pick up a copy as well.
