Then She Was Gone: A Novel

This author is not in need of yet another review. This novel has well over 122,000 of them, so I am well aware of the fact that one more will not make a difference—either good or bad—and normally I wouldn’t take the time to write a review for a book with this many reviews … but I was deeply affected by this novel, so I decided I needed to write some of my thoughts and feelings about it down. After going through and reading some of the reviews other readers left, I was spurred on even further to share my own. Then She Was Gone is the first novel I’ve read by Lisa Jewell. I am a fan of mysteries and thrillers, and this book was one that was recommended by Amazon because of other books in my Kindle library. It also happened to be on sale—just to be honest—and the synopsis grabbed me. It sounded interesting, so I bought it. I am much like other readers … I don’t always finish every book I pick up. I am a writer myself, so I do for other authors what I hope readers will do for me and push into a book as far as I can before I stop reading. Not every book is for every reader, but this novel by Lisa Jewell was one I found enormously gripping. This story was sad and uncomfortable. It was heartbreaking, and while it wasn’t what one might categorize a typical thriller as some other reviewers stated, it was definitely mysterious and twisty, and I was propelled through the story because I had to know all of the sordid details. To be fair, as I write this review, the categories this novel is listed in are Women’s New Adult & College Fiction, Women’s Divorce Fiction and Women’s Literary Fiction. It isn’t listed in Mystery, or Suspense, or Crime. Even People Magazine says it’s an “acutely observed family drama”. While maybe not a typical mystery novel, it was recommended to me because there are elements of suspense and yes, mystery. Truthfully, I felt that Ms. Jewell delivered a book that was described perfectly by the synopsis, and it was definitely one I had a hard time putting down. There’s no way around it. Then She Was Gone is creepy. It’s gloomy. There were so many things about many of these characters that I didn’t like, that made me angry. I believe that’s one of the many reasons I kept reading—because they were all human. They were real. They did things that were annoying. I questioned them. For instance, I struggled with Laurel because I, too, am a mom to more than one child and cannot fathom loving one of them more than the other. But I’ve known other mothers in real life that are very much like Laurel. None of us are one-dimensional, and Ms. Jewell’s characters certainly weren’t. I wanted to learn more about why they were the way they were or made the decisions that they made, and the story—which is told over a ten-year time span—takes the reader on a journey and shows how the characters change and develop over that time. I believe Ms. Jewell knew the story was an emotionally exhausting one, and I think she wrote it brilliantly. Then She Was Gone made me incredibly sad, as it was meant to. It was not a book that was easy to read. As I stated before, it was emotionally taxing. It was twisted and evil, and yet utterly captivating in ways that are difficult to describe. I am more than happy to rate this book all five stars and will definitely read more from this author—although I do believe I’ll need some time for this novel to settle before I am able to jump into another written by this talented author.

What a compelling and original story. Grabbed me from the start and I found myself carving out time to read every chance I could get. Very unusual story line. At first I was just trying to figure out what was going on and when I finally did, I couldn’t believe it. I like how she changed narrators throughout the book, giving us the different perspectives of the various characters. Anyway, give it a go. You’ll enjoy it.

Sixteen-year-old Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter, if a bit spoiled--for example, demanding a math tutor her family couldn't afford though she didn't need one. When she mysteriously disappears walking to the library, it puts an unfillable hole in her family. Instead of pulling together, they pull apart. It isn't long before Ellie's parents, Laurel and Paul, divorce, and older sister Hanna and Laurel become strangers to each other. Ten years later, Laurel finally tries to put her life back together and unexpectedly meets a handsome man in a cafe. Paul has moved on with his life, and when the man, Floyd, seems interested, she figures "why not?" Floyd seems to be just as perfect as Ellie was, but is he hiding something? Of course, he is, but Laurel doesn't see that. Laurel even wants to meet his two daughters, one from a previous marriage and one from a more recent relationship. Both are a bit odd, but the youngest, Poppy, is a total surprise. Dressed in clothes no ten-year-old would ever choose and kept at home by her father, she's haughty about her peers (they're so silly) and seems to be "on display" for her proud daddy. Even odder, she's almost the spitting image of Ellie. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The story is told mainly through the POVs of Ellie, Laurel, Floyd, and Noelle, the math tutor. Chapter by chapter, the true story of Ellie's disappearance comes out--and it's not what the police think--but no one has the complete picture--not even Ellie. We know almost immediately who the culprit is, and the major part of the plot is about the effects the abduction has on everyone concerned. A tale of desperation, obsession, psychological disorders, misplaced love, and heartbreak (Ellie's family walked by her "prison" countless times but never suspected a thing), the story kept me on the edge of my reading chair. It pivots around the typical teenage trait of sometimes not telling parents the whole truth--and it's a textbook example of trusting the wrong person. And then there's the hamsters.

I don’t know if this was supposed to be a suspense story or if it was supposed to be more straightforward? As it seemed very obvious to me from the beginning what happened - I wonder if that was the author’s intent? If it was supposed to be a suspense story, it really wasn’t. I thought it was very predictable. But if it wasn’t supposed to be a suspense story, it was a good read. It reads quickly, across split timelines and multiple povs. A bit heavy in portions with foul language but I solve that problem by changing it over in my mind to something far less crude. No reason to allow crass words to ruin a good story. The way this story is written keeps it quickly moving from beginning to end.

Not my favorite Lisa Jewel book but it was fine. Read it pretty quickly, had it all figured out pretty early on in the book but it was an okay read.

This book catch up out attention from beginning to the end. Awesome. I was just wondering a different endpoint but that was a incredible experience to read this book

Couldn’t be happier with the book! Even though you can predict the ending it is still a great book, very easy reading. Don’t doubt about buying it, trust me you’ll love it!

Shipping was fast and it was a good book. I’ve already rotated it and moved onto another one.

Totally epic and thrilling, you will love this book

Captivating story, it was difficult to put the book aside and continue following day. Recommend and surely I will see what are the other books from this author !