| Title | : | Then She Was Gone |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1501154648 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781501154645 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 359 |
| Publication | : | First published July 27, 2017 |
| Awards | : | Goodreads Choice Award Mystery & Thriller (2018) |
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?
Then She Was Gone Reviews
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4.5 STARS
"If she could unwind the timeline, untwist it and roll it back the other way like a ball of wool, she'd see the knots in the yarn, the warning signs. Looking at it backward it was obvious all along. But back then, when she knew nothing about anything, she had not seen it coming. She had walked straight into it with her eyes open."
Lisa Jewell has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and for good reason. Her writing is addictive and appeals to a wide variety of readers; not too light, not too dark, but just right. Her characters are full bodied and bloom like a spring flower by the end of her stories. Also, who doesn't like to read books by genuinely nice people? If you've been active in the book community at all this month then you're sure to have noticed that Then She Was Gone is an April Pick by Book Of The Month, so naturally this is one that's being hyped for a reason-it's just that good! If you haven't managed to get your hands on a copy yet, then you'll want to make it a priority and here's why...
Lisa Jewell knows how to take a classic storyline and make it her own. Most of her plots are traditional tales that have been told before in some form, but the difference is that she knows how to take something that could be predictable and put her own spin on it. The atmosphere, characterization, and raw emotion that is infused into each of her novels elevates their status to something that few suspense novelists have attained. The blending of multiple genres in each of her books really creates a unique reading experience; readers of every gender and walk of life have been able to connect with her writing and I feel that's a sure sign of the highest quality of writing.
I'm positive you've noticed that I haven't mentioned the plot yet, and that's for good reason. You really truly want to go as blind into this one as you can. I'm going to avoid any details here, as I want you to have the most fabulous reading experience with this one possible, so I'll stick to describing it with some buzz words. Breathtaking. Compulsive. Suspenseful. Poetic. <--- But Chelsea, how can you describe something thrilling as poetic? Trust me, once you experience Jewell's writing, you'll understand.
Gang, this one is more than just a a beautiful shell of a cover. But that cover IS stunning, amiright? You definitely want to add this to your reading schedule ASAP, especially if you're looking for a read that is so gripping you'll fly right through it. To say I'm waiting with bated breath for Lisa's next novel would be an understatement, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. <3
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
Apologies for republishing this, but apparently some haters thought it would be funny to report my review and get it taken down because they have nothing better to do. -
This was a fairly average experience for me. It's a very quick read - I read it in a single day - and it goes down smoothly and easily, but it is so easy to predict everything that will happen. I was always several chapters ahead of the characters and it sapped a lot of tension out of the story.
I can see why, with a better plot, Jewell is a great writer. The relationships and characters were fleshed out and interesting. Laurel’s pain over her missing daughter is palpable and realistic. The loss of Ellie felt like a real thing, not something that exists only inside a book. It's a shame, though, that we know a major aspect of Ellie's fate almost immediately, seeing as this is probably what I would have cared about most.
In the wake of Ellie's disappearance ten years ago, her mother and father have split and the family has been torn apart by losing its "golden child". Laurel, Ellie's mother, is struggling to get her life back on track and save her relationships with her two remaining children. A new romance with a guy called Floyd makes her think that she may finally be moving on, until she meets his youngest daughter, Poppy, who looks shockingly like Ellie.
It sort of feels like I've read a hundred different variations of the missing daughter/grieving mother plot, and
Then She Was Gone doesn't really do anything new with it. The writing is strong, but it's disappointing when you figure out all the major reveals in the first few chapters and even get the reasons behind them. As soon as certain characters are introduced, I was thinking “ah, got it” and, unfortunately, I was right. I kept hoping something exciting would happen to prove me wrong, but it really is as obvious as it seems.
I'm also not totally convinced about the biological possibility of one plot point.
Then She Was Gone was fine as an undemanding beach thriller, but I wouldn't recommend it for readers looking for something new and innovative.
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4.5
Edgy, Dark and Addictive
This turned out to be quite a stunner. I’ve read lots of psychological thrillers and this one caught me off guard. Much more than your typical missing daughter plot. Scattered with hints of some shocking revelations to come.
This is my fourth Lisa Jewell novel and I’m a huge fan. I love her writing style and how she keeps me totally absorbed in the story line. The more I read, the more invested I became and started to care about some of the key characters. Told in multiple POVs we get to learn about their motivations as secrets come out. Somewhere around seventy percent, it became unputdownable as so many shockers were thrown at me. I’m pretty sure I was talking to myself about what was happening!
Laurel’s teenage daughter, Ellie goes missing, she is a smart and clever girl. In time, Laurel meets a charming man who she is very attracted to. When she meets his teenage daughter, she can’t shake the feeling of how much she reminds her of her beloved Ellie. Well, what the heck is going on here? You’ll have to read it to find out!
There is an emotional punch as the tension builds towards the dramatic end.
Thanks to Atria for my ARC.Review will also post on my blog
https://dressedtoread.com/ -
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell is a 2018 Atria Books publication.
Well, this was certainly different!
Missing persons tropes are common in mysteries and thrillers, and the theme has been written and explored in many predictable ways, but also in many clever, even shocking ways. But, no matter how it is presented, it is a scenario that never fails to draw me in. But, I must say, this novel puts an entirely new and fresh spin on the missing persons mystery-
The story begins like so many others-
Ellie, a conscientious teenager, and the apple of her mother's eye, left to visit the library and was never seen or heard from again. Laurel, Ellie's mother, couldn’t understand how her other children and her husband were able to move on with their lives without knowing what happened to Ellie. Laurel's life stalled, her marriage fell apart and the relationship with her two remaining children is strained.
But, finally, after years of just going through the motions of life, Laurel meets Floyd, a single dad with a young daughter named Poppy. The connection between Laurel and Floyd is immediate and heady. But, when Laurel finally gets to meet Poppy, she is unnerved by the uncanny resemblance to her daughter, Ellie. She even smells like Ellie, which kicks Laurel's natural maternal instincts into high gear. This and another small coincidence, puts new thoughts into Laurel’s head, prompting her to do a little amateur sleuthing.
She never in a million years could have predicted the shocking revelations her inquiries would uncover or the personal epiphanies that would change Laurel's life forevermore. Is it possible that Laurel could, at long last, find all the answers about her daughter’s disappearance?
This story was very dark, gloomy, and creepy, but also quite emotional and poignant. Laurel's voice is so realististic, raw, and sympathetic, she nearly had me believing she was a real person and that this was a true story. Her emergence from a tortuous state of limbo and her fierce determination to get to the truth, and begin truly living life again was an amazing transformation.
I think Lisa Jewell has written a chilling novel of suspense, but it is also a book about the power of maternal love, forgiveness and healing and never giving up.
This could be Jewel’s first tentatives steps towards advancing up to the literary thriller category. I was impressed with this novel as it held my rapt attention from start to finish. It gave me goosebumps in more ways than one.
4.5 stars -
Missing with a twist - this is quite a popular book genre right now. I feel like saying it has a "twist" is no longer a spoiler. It reminds me of when M. Night Shamalan first made movies and everyone was surprised by the shocking twist. Now, when you see one, you are sitting there not wondering if there will be a twist, but when.
So, yes,
Gone Girl-ers, this is another book for you!
Now, this doesn't tend to be a favorite genre of mine. Because of this, it has to be creative and well written to keep me interested. If the author leans on hateable characters (like
The Girl on the Train) or other thriller tropes (alcoholism, mental illness, etc.) I tend to find my focus drifting. If the author can find just the right combination of these things, then I will be right there ready to throw more stars their way.
Happily I can report that Then She Was Gone is a successful member of this genre. I have seen some mentions that the outcome was predictable, but I found it to be unique, suspenseful, and surprising in the end. My wife read this about a month before I did and I looked forward to our nightly rehash sessions of the section I read that day. Even now, after finishing, there are still some questions I have floating around in my head about the events of the novel and the outcome. Because of all this, I am thinking this would be a great book to read with a group of friends or a book club (and, it does just so happens to be one of my book club picks this month)
Much like the other book I just read from this genre (
What Happened to Michael), I can safely recommend this to "missing person with a twist" thriller fans. Wait!? Two from this genre in a row that I am giving high marks!? Maybe I am turning over a new leaf! -
Summary
A fifteen-year-old girl, Ellie, went missing when she was going to the library with her books. Later a thief enters her house and steals some of Ellie's personal things. After ten long years, her mother, Laurel Mack, finds her new love, Floyd, after divorcing her first husband. Later she finds out that Floyd's nine-year-old daughter has striking similarities to her daughter Ellie. What happened to Ellie, and is there any connection between Floyd’s and Laurel's family? This novel tries to give us the answers to these questions.
I don't know whether I can call this book a thriller. There are not many unexpected twists in this story. So can I call it a book coming under the gentle of "acutely observed family drama"? I think that it is a mixture of both genres. The vacillating between the past and the present is done perfectly by the author. The mendacious mercurial nature of some characters in this book will rattle you to the extent of even making you nihilistic.
Ellie is not a character headed for oblivion. She will definitely stay in our hearts for a long time. The author created her character flawlessly, and the amount of hardships she had to suffer makes our hearts numb for some time. The amount of courage and character she showed during the challenging experiences will make us love her more.
This is not a cliched version of fiction with a bunch of peripatetic perfunctory characters with a mandatory twist at the end to consider it as a thriller. I was able to predict the ending by around 30% in the book. This book is the tragic life story of Ellie, which will bring tears to your eyes if you are a compassionate human being.
What I learned from this book
1) Parents guilt-tripping their children
This is something most parents do, and most of their children dislike. Laurel, in this novel, decided in the earlier part of her life to never do it to her children. A guilt trip is a type of emotional manipulation to make others think or do certain things in a particular way. Many of us might have involuntarily done this in our life. Lisa Jewell points it out very clearly in this book." 'Yes, well, if you ever answered your phone,' Laurel told her daughter, Hanna.
Hanna sighs, Laurel sighs too, realizing she has just done the thing she always promised herself she would never do. When the children were small, Laurel's mother would occasionally make small, raw observations about gaps between phone calls and visits that would tear tiny, painful strips off Laurel's conscience. 'I will never guilt-trip my children when they are adults,' she'd vowed. 'I will never expect more than they are able to give.'"
2) Toxic culture of not valuing other peoples emotions
We live in a society where many people lacking empathy and manipulative are handling key roles. They consider people as tools for making money and personal gains. This book shows us how far they will go for getting personal benefits
"Her role was simply to be a human-sounding board."
3) Men and love
Blue tells a critical statement related to men and their concept of love in this book. This shows the importance of mutual love. Love is about putting equal effort into relationships. If a person who beholds the concept of unconditional love falls in love with a Narcissist, then the first person's life will be totally destroyed. Even though unconditional love is one of the ideal forms of love, it will be practical only with ideal individuals. Otherwise, we will be able to love unconditionally while others are only ready to accept that love and not to give anything in return. It will turn into a toxic parasitic relationship in no time."A man who can't love but desperately needs to be loved is a dangerous thing indeed."
How can we understand that our partner is an ideal candidate for providing mutual love or unconditional love? If you are always loyal, honest, and supportive with each other and never complain about each other to other people, there is a high probability that you are ideal candidates for mutual or unconditional love. This book shows us the importance of mutual love in our life.
My favourite three lines from this book"You know, how you get to forty and you suddenly stop giving a sh** about all the stupid things you worried about your whole life. Well, nine year old Poppy is already there."
“Caring and being interested are two very different things.”
“Stories are the only things in this world that are real. Everything else is just a dream”
What I didn’t like in this book
I'm afraid I have to disagree with one character telling that our decision-making capabilities aren't fully developed until we are twenty-five years old. I think the author got the information from the Medical study conducted by the University of Rochester. In it, the final conclusion was around 25 years age and not at 25 years. Multiple other studies show different results with people's rational brain fully developed before or after this age. Even if this is a work of fiction, you should not give false Scientific information just based on an incorrect interpretation of Google's initial search results. Even though it might look like a minor mistake, it should not have appeared in this book as age and maturity are among the book's central theme. Moreover, this book deals with a character, Poppy, who is showing maturity way beyond her age.
The absence of twists might irritate some of the readers. But the author's writing skills, narrative style, and the way Ellie was crafted will compensate for it easily.
Rating
4/5This is a must-read book if you like family dramas intermixed with few thriller elements. There is an alternate ending for this novel available on the internet, which the author initially wrote and changed to the current conclusion based on the author's literary agents' advice. (Thanks to my friend Makrand for mentioning to me about the alternate ending). I found both conclusions interesting even though the published version was more realistic. The horror of what happened to poor Ellie will haunt you for many days after finishing this book. -
Gripping psychological thriller about the disappearance of 15-year-old Ellie Mack. Then She was Gone is not about what happened to Ellie, it’s more about the how and the why she disappeared, as well as the after-effects of her disappearance on her family.
One morning, Ellie Mack heads to the library. At 10:43 am, she was never to be seen again. The police’s investigation never turned up any clues to what happened to her, but believe she ran away. Her mother, Laurel, believes otherwise. After 10 years have passed, the family finally gets some answers--what they don’t realize is how close they were to knowing the truth all along.
As Laurel slowly finds closure, she begins to rebuild her life. She starts dating and it seems as if she has found love again with a single father named Floyd. But something isn’t quite right about Floyd, especially his relationship with his nine-year-old daughter, Polly. The more and more Laurel spends time with Floyd and Polly, she comes to realize that what happened to Ellie was not at all what it seemed.
The reasons behind Ellie’s disappearance come to light through Ellie’s POV. Her mother, Laurel, also has a main voice in the story.
There are several things I loved about this book. While it’s obvious what happened to Ellie, what is not are the reasons why. Jewell has a way of writing that is just completely enthralling. I always get sucked into her books, and one of the reasons why is her strong characterization. By the end of this, I really felt like I knew Laurel Mack.
Although parts of the story are a little bizarre (Jewell says this herself in the Acknowledgements), she makes it work. This is a fast-paced, dark read with some interesting twists and some well-written psychopaths! I highly recommend! -
Totally enjoyable .....
As a couple of friends said - (Diane & Esil) - they were pretty sure ‘what’ happened to Ellie who had gone missing early in their reading — me too - but I didn’t know ‘why’.
All I knew was that Ellie was a bright girl - an excellent student - and that her mother - Laurel had a ‘special’ love for her ( in ways she definitely didn’t her other two children) —
Much about this story felt real.
While on the way to the library— a child is never to be seen again. It gives me chills thinking of the missing children I still remember from years ago. Right here in the Bay Area.
Besides the suspense — the characters hearts are tender - I felt what they did — none were offensive.
The more I read - the more I wanted to keep reading. Lisa Jewel wrote a ‘jewel’ of a great suspenseful- book with terrific fantastic characters.
The epilogue — I’ll just say WOW! An ending - and book I’m likely NOT to forget. -
This is the third Lisa Jewell thriller that I have read and she has penned another winner! After finishing this book I really had to wait a few days to sort of “SETTLE ME DOWN” as this mystery touched some very delicate feelings in me, more so than her first two books. Call me a snob but in my experience with thrillers, it has been hard to find many with the combination of great writing, past and present POV’s that flow seamlessly together, and create emotions that well up inside of you and really stay with you.
The main character in this novel is Laurel who has three children, two of whom are daughters whom she adores and they have great family dynamics. On a seemingly “normal” day, her youngest daughter Ellie leaves for the library and never returns. There are no clues or hints to explain her disappearance and the police keep coming up empty handed. Laurel however still feels that her daughter is alive even though many years go by. It is hard to read the despair and feelings of inadequacies that the family members encounter and at one point it was a little hard for me to continue. Not because the plot was stagnant but quite the opposite, it was speeding along so fast and with an outcome that seemed too terrible that I just had to stop, just until the next day when I furiously turned the pages to find out the mystery.
I won’t go over the plot, I rarely do that, you all read the blurbs on the books I know you do! This is a true thriller to me as it contains an extremely deviant sociopath who is so mentally ill that it’s painful to read her thoughts. You know where it’s going but you just can’t stop it.
I love strongly character driven novels, including thrillers and that is what Ms. Jewell does so so well. I became invested in the feelings of Eliie’s mother, and as a mother of four daughters, I wanted so badly for things to somehow turn out that this poor woman didn’t have to continue without knowing what happened to her missing beautiful, intelligent, golden girl!
If you loved “Girls in the Garden” and “I Found You” you will definitely love this book. For me this one was a little difficult to read because the behavior of this probable psychopath was just so twisted and ugly. After starting this novel I couldn’t quit, her writing is just so compelling, those of the words I would use to describe it!
I received a ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss, thank you, will post to public media upon publication. -
I read a
Lisa Jewell novel last year and connected immediately with her writing style, tone, and voice. When
Then She Was Gone showed up on NetGalley last month, I immediately requested it and added it to my reading queue for April. I really find myself enamored with Jewell's characters, plots, and settings, so much that I've added ten of her other books to my TBR and hope to read a few more later this year.
Domestic drama is the best sub-genre to describe this book. A 15-year-old girl goes missing, resulting in her family falling apart. Ten years later, her mother finds new love (divorced her ex-husband though they still remain friends) and slowly learns of connections to her missing child who was feared dead. The description in the Goodreads or Amazon summary says it all, so I don't need to add to it here. The book alternates between "Then" and "Now" to tell the story of what happened to Ellie, who kidnapped and hurt her, what the new love interest for Ellie's mother, Laurel, has to say transpired over all the years, and where things really fell apart.
This book read itself. I intended to spend 90 minutes reading on a weekend afternoon to have a relaxing break from some outside chores. Three (3) hours later, I'd finished it. The book was so good that I lost track of time and read so quickly, everything just disappeared, but I was absolutely connected and attached to every part of the story and characters. Jewell clearly knows how to lead readers on a path where investment is deep and shock is wide. I'm sure a few readers will sideways glance at a couple of plot twists, and I can understand it. You have to suspend a tiny bit of your disbelief or questions as to how the kidnapping was truly pulled off. But it's fiction and it's part of a story and that's why it worked -- the writing supports it and carries you off into a world you cannot leave.
I normally figure out what's really going on. But Jewell uses some clever disguises regarding timing that make it complicated, and when you do figure it out about 2/3 of the way thru, you have to stop for a few minutes and think about all the repercussions, Then, it all adds up. How did I miss it??? But for me, that's what makes an incredibly gifted writer. One who transports you into the story that you forget to try to solve it because you're just so stunned by its beauty. I can't wait to pick up another Jewell book this summer. So many to choose from! But this one gets at least 4.5 stars. -
4.5 stars
Ellie Mack was 15 years old when she went missing. She was the youngest of three children who left the house one day to go to the library and never returned. Her Mother, Laurel Mack, fell apart after her daughter's disappearance, as most parents would. Her daughter's disappearance forever altered her life. Her marriage fell apart, her other daughter, Hanna became distant and withdrawn from her Mother,her son moved away. Throughout it all she never gave up hope on finding her daughter. Was Ellie a runaway as the police suggested? Was she kidnapped? Was there an accident? So many questions without answers can wear a person down, can leave a hole, and can prevent a person from fully moving on with one's life.
Then ten years after her daughter's disappearance, she goes into a bakery after getting her hair cut, and meets a man named Floyd. He compliments her hair and offers her a bite of his carrot cake. Laurel usually doesn't take chances, but after the last clue in Ellie's case was discovered, Laurel is ready to put her life back on track.
Soon Laurel and Floyd are a couple and she has met his two daughters. She is shocked to see that his youngest daughter, Poppy has a strong resemblance to her daughter, Ellie. As Laurel gets to know the entire family, she begins to learn about coincidences, there is a certain individual who ties both of their lives together.
I read this book in one day. I literally could not put this book down. Lisa Jewell has written a very good psychological thriller/mystery. I enjoyed all the characters even the bad ones. The bad ones were good characters in so much that they were creepy and sinister while at the same time being damaged. This book was a very well thought out and developed plot. The story moves at a very good pace. There were no dull moments. There were moments when I wanted to yell at Laurel "Ask more questions!" and "come on, put it together". Is the book a little predictable? Yes, yes, it is a little predictable. I figured the "mystery" out but that did not spoil the book for me, as I kept turning the pages to see who else was going to figure the book out. The suspense builds as some questions get answered. Do you need to suspend some disbelief? Sure, a little...but that didn't affect my enjoyment of this book at all.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
See more of my reviews at
www.openbookpost.com -
wow. okay. maybe i wont be playing the whole ‘predict what happens based on the synopsis only’ game because it turns out i only got 1 out of 4 guesses right and its not a good look for my ego. lol.
also, i was super into the version of the story i had imagined before reading this and what actually happened feels… disappointing? i dunno how to describe it. everything just fell flat for me about 100 pages in. even though my original guesses were wrong, its VERY obvious what will happen early on in the story, and so it just started to feel drawn out by the halfway point. its much more of a contemporary/drama fiction vibe than a mystery/thriller.
still, not the worst book out there. i definitely would have loved this more if my predictions had been right, but thats completely my own fault.
_________________________
the mystery/thriller stories i have read lately have been really predicable, so im starting a new game with myself where i predict what will happen before i read it, based solely on the synopsis. heres what i think for this one:floyd was involved in ellies disappearance (i dont think it will be a kidnapping, but maybe manipulated to run away?) and poppy is ellies daughter. i also dont think ellie will be dead.
i still havent figured out how im going to reward myself for a correct prediction - the game is a work in progress - so suggestions are welcome. lol.
↠ 3 stars -
Ellie was fifteen eager to take her exams. Now that she had been tutored in math she was sure she would do well. On her way to the library one evening, she disappears. Her disappearance takes a huge toll on the family, a family that breaks apart as many families in this type of situations often do. Now ten years later, Laurel is willing to take a shot at having a life and love again a series of events will send her reeling. Would she finally find out what happened to her daughter?
A very suspenseful story, with an underlying sense of creepiness, and a novel way of telling a story. As a reader I pretty guessed what had happened to Ellie, in fact the sisters I was reading this with also had the same thoughts. This happened in the first third of the book but...there was still much to discover. The author kept my interest by some very good storytelling, and by the way it was structured. Changing tenses and changing narators the fast pace continued, new discoveries, and the insidious darkness beneath, kept me turning pages.
I have now read the last few books by this author and look forward to reading many more. To prove a point of mine, it is possible to write a good and suspenseful story without blood, excess gore and constant action. This is the kind of psychological thriller I actually enjoy.
ARC from Edelweiss. -
4.5*
Brilliant! I completely lost myself in this book from beginning to end!
Laurel is doing her best to move on with her life. Her teenage daughter went missing years ago, triggering an avalanche of misfortune. The family splintered. Laurel and Paul divorcing. And now, their two remaining children are leaving home at the first chance they get - anxious to live their own lives, away from the oppressive tension within their home.
When laurel meets Floyd she’s quickly swept off her feet. She’s finally ready to live and love again. But too many things just aren’t adding up. What do they say about coincidences? Could Floyd be too good to be true? Why do the doors to the past keep opening?
What a breath of fresh air this book was for me. I‘ve had trouble loosing myself in a good book lately. And isn’t that what we all hope for?
Well, this was the refreshing change I’d been looking for! Though some give-away clues are revealed early on, you’re still taken on a journey that will most definitely pull your heart in many directions.
A wonderful Traveling Sister read 🌸
Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
For this review and our full Traveling Sister review please visit Brenda and Norma’s fabulous blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/ -
4.25 Stars (rounded down)
Spellbinding and Completely Irresistible.
Ellie Mack went missing 10 years ago. Her mother, Laurel has never given up hope of finding her. Ellie was fifteen years old, full of life. The world was, in fact, her oyster. No one knew what happened to Ellie. The police have never found a trace of her. My interest was piqued from the very beginning. My breath caught in my throat - nerves jangled.
Now, Laurel Mack’s life is very different: her marriage fell apart years ago and her relationship with her remaining children is tenuous. Somehow, she meets Floyd - a devastatingly handsome man and she is immediately swept off her feet. Then Laurel is introduced to his little girl: Poppy, and she is dumbfounded to discover that Poppy bears a striking resemblance to Ellie, her Ellie. Of course, this isn’t possible - it’s a coincidence, right? And if it’s not, what ever does it mean? Laurel begins questioning everything and those questions take her on a dangerous path, one she never envisioned.
Can you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up? Mine did. What unfolds thereafter is brilliant, stunning and packs one heck of an emotional punch. Lisa Jewell’s “Then She Was Gone” is a phenomenal psychological thriller that kept me enthralled throughout. Though I knew where it was going early on, I still truly enjoyed it and simply could not put it down! The character development was stellar and the writing was spot on. This is the second Lisa Jewell novel I’ve read (I Found You, being the first) and I can’t wait to read more of Ms. Jewell’s novels.
This was a Traveling Sister Read, which we all really liked. For full Traveling Sister Group reviews, please see Brenda and Norma’s blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
Thank you to NetGalley, Ariele Friedman, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on NetGalley, Goodreads and Twitter on 4.15.18.
*Will be published on Amazon on 4.17.18. -
A golden girl, favorite daughter with a brilliant future ahead of her: Ellie tells her mother save the last piece of lasagna for her and she is going to the library but it will not take long for her to come back. BUT SHE NEVER COMES BACK!
Laurel is adamant to bring her daughter back. She never gives her hopes up and fixated to find her in expanse of tearing up her own family, parting her ways with her husband, estranging with her two other kids. But ten years later she finally stops because her daughter is finally found. Let’s rephrase: parts of her daughter are finally found.
As you may imagine Laurel is devastated, barely holding up but one day she meets Floyd at a cafe, sharing a carrot cake and the charming, mysterious, charismatic mathematician blows her mind. And another surprising thing about this man is her 9 years old daughter named Poppy who lives with her, has great resemblance with her deceased daughter.
As soon as their relationship become serious and she forms true bounding with Poppy, she surprisingly finds out the birth mother Noelle of Poppy who left her is the same woman who has tutored her daughter Ellie. And Ellie wrote at her diary that woman gave her creeps and she didn’t want her tutoring anymore.
The interesting fact is the way of disappearance of Noelle reminds of her the way of disappearance of her own daughter.
As Laurel continued to dig more, she will reach to a dangerous point of no return and she’ll wish to stop before taking more steps.
Even though most parts and big twist are predictable, it was well written, breathtaking, fast pacing, captivating reading which ended in 5 hours. My heart truly hurt for ... yes the readers know which character I’m talking about. That character’s heart wrenching story will haunt me for a long time.
I love this author’s works and this book was at my longtime tbr list. I knew Lisa Jewell will never disappoint me and I’m happy to finally read this moving, exciting, riveting page turner. -
My reviews can also be seen at:
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A terrific read from Lisa Jewell!
I have read and listened to a few of Lisa Jewell’s books and I have enjoyed them all. This one kept me gripped and I finished it in just a couple of sittings.
Ellie Mack was fifteen when she went missing over ten years ago. Ellie was a very smart, lovely girl whose disappearance left a hole in the lives of those who loved her. Ellie’s mother, Laurel Mack has never given up hope of finding her daughter.
The book opens from Ellie’s point of view ten years earlier. Life is going great for Ellie. She’s doing well in school and the boy she’s had her eye on seems to like her too. Her future is bright.
Then she leaves home one morning to go to the library and doesn’t return.
The police thought Ellie might have run away. But Laurel knew that wasn’t possible. The years went by and although Laurel kept pushing the police to do more…there was only so much they could or would do.
Ten years later, Laurel is still struggling. She doesn’t socialize. She just works and visits her mother once a week. Though it seems everyone else has moved on, Laurel feels stuck in place. But then, she meets someone new. Suddenly, all of those thoughts and questions come rushing back with a vengeance.
What happened to Ellie Mack? Will her mother ever learn the whole truth?
Once again, I am impressed with Lisa Jewell’s storytelling. I thought this was a terrific story. Told from multiple points of view, alternating between ‘then’ and ‘now’, I was enthralled as everything was revealed.
Populated with fantastic characters, this was a fascinating and moving story about obsession, loss, and family. Some suspension of disbelief may be necessary, but it didn’t really bother me, I just enjoyed what I found to be a unique and absorbing story.
Gripping and heartbreaking, I shed more than a few tears as the book came to an end with a gut-wrenching epilogue.
As you can tell, I loved this novel. I can’t wait to read more of Lisa Jewell’s previous novels and of course, I'm looking forward to reading what she writes next. -
👩👧Then She Was Gone was dark, gripping and absolutely addictive! 💔
Ellie Mack was vibrant, happy, smart, in love and only fifteen when she disappeared without a trace. Authorities ruled her a runaway but her mother, Laurel Mack, could never fully accept that. There were too many unanswered questions and she just knew that Ellie wouldn't simply walk away from the life she loved.
Laurel's life is put on hold with the disappearance of her daughter. She is simply stuck, unable to move on with life without knowing what happened to her daughter. As the years pass her family crumbles around her and she finds herself alone. Laurel's grief has left her devoid of any real connection with her remaining children. Happiness is not something Laurel expects for herself. Until the day she meets Floyd and everything changes.
Lisa Jewell deftly crafted this story, slowly doling out tantalizing bits of the story. It was never boring and I found myself unable to break away from it for long. I was fully invested in this story and was heartbroken for Ellie's family. This was an emotional thriller that was as addictive as it was creepy. -
At the end of the book, the author mentions that her agent had an audacious and shocking idea for Then She Was Gone which the author championed.
Its quite obvious the UK standards of shocking differ extremely wildly from American standards.
I saw the twist coming a mile away because I recall a similar plot on an old Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode nearly a decade ago.
And the episode was way more believable than what I read.
** Spoilers ahead **
When teenage Ellie Mack does not return home from the library, her mother Laurel is convinced something terrible has happened, even though the authorities have written her off as a runaway.
When her daughter's bones are discovered years later, Laurel feels she can finally move on with her life. She meets a man at a cafe not long after the burial of her favorite child.
Floyd is kind and sensitive and has a young daughter named Poppy, who looks inexplicably like Ellie.
Who is Floyd? Just as importantly, who is Poppy?
As Laurel unravels the horrors of Poppy's origins and Floyd's true intentions, she comes to terms with the loss of her daughter and reconciling with the children she still has.
Let's get to know these hard-to-suspend-disbelief-for cast of characters:
1. Noelle, the pathetic sad sack of a math tutor who gloms onto a man for self worth and validation.
When he clearly does not want her, she pursues a despicable path that includes kidnapping a teenage girl to put her dastardly plan into place in order to secure this man's love.
Sigh. Another woman who needs a man to live in this world. How original.
2. Floyd is the second loser in this lovely cast; when he discovers the true origins of his daughter, Poppy, he stalks Laurel, engineers a meeting with her and eventually falls for her. What are the odds of that?
My bullshit meter is so far to the right, it has almost fallen off.
His constant praise of how gorgeous and stunning and amazing Laurel is is nearly just as creepy as him keeping silent about Poppy.
He makes mention about what a schlub he is and how incredible Laurel is just for giving him the time of day.
What's with all the appearance shaming? He does it. Noelle does it. Is this really necessary?
Unless its to show readers that the both of them are both nutters and deserve each other? Okay, then. Stop beating a dead horse and let's move on.
3. Laurel's daughter in law, Blue, spouts New Age mumbo jumbo about how she didn't like Floyd when she met him because he has a bad aura or some crap like that.
Why is a character like this necessary?
I believe in bad vibes and listening to your instincts but why include a stereotypical hippie dippy character to warn Laurel?
Is it not more believable than a regular person saying she didn't like Floyd because he gave her the heebie-jeebies?
I would listen to a friend's concerns, regardless if she believed in Mother Nature or the Great Pumpkin.
4. Laurel is your standard grieving mother. I neither liked nor disliked her. In fact, I found her kind of annoying.
In fact, I've never liked any of the characters in any books by this author.
5. Poppy is shockingly self contained for a young girl. She's the only one I can sorta, kinda believe because children are amazingly resilient and her biology may have something to do with it.
This was a quick read but unlikable and ridiculous, hard to believe characters made it difficult for me to believe a word.
I do highly recommend Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Now in its 19th season! -
Maybe I’m getting bored by psychological thrillers. Maybe the narrator’s voice just irritated me, especially when she was channeling Poppy’s voice or when her attempt at Floyd’s voice changed with each chapter. Or maybe I could see where it was going way too early in the book. Or maybe I’m just jaundiced by the idea of a perfect man showing up at the table next to an older divorced woman. Regardless, I wasn’t as enthralled with this one as the majority. Don’t get me wrong, it was okay. I just didn’t love it. I think this is one of those books that I had such high hopes for that I let myself expect too much.
The book lacks any real sense of suspense. The big secrets were pretty obvious and it soon became only a question of how the characters would figure it out.
I enjoyed Watching You so I will definitely give Jewell another chance. -
5.0 stars — This is my third Lisa Jewell book and by far the best of them all. In fact I would rank “Then She Was Gone” as one of the top 5 thrillers I’ve ever read. Sometimes a certain book will speak to you and affect you in ways even you can’t explain. This was one of those books. I caught myself several times on the verge of getting emotional when reading the story of Laurel, whose daughter, Ellie, was kidnapped at age 15 and later found dead. The book alternates between the present day life of Laurel (whose entire life was destroyed as a consequence of her daughter’s kidnapping) and the circumstances of Ellie’s kidnapping. How the author balances both stories and interweaves them into an amazingly realistic and beautiful conclusion can only be described in a word as brilliant. In fact, I almost want to go back and read the book again knowing the conclusion and be more aware of the plot points I missed the first time around. The realness of the emotions of all of the characters was so realistic and insightful it truly felt like I was experiencing the revealing of the mystery of what happened to her daughter with Laurel. I just discovered Ms. Jewell’s books last year and to say I’m now a fan would be as big of an understatement as ever written. Do yourself a favor and give this one a chance. It was a beautiful story that really touched me, and I can’t recommend it enough.
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Another winner from Lisa Jewell!
Laurel Mack’s smart and beautiful teenage daughter Ellie disappeared 10 years ago. Now divorced and distant from her other two children, Laurel is attempting to move on and begins dating a handsome and kind man. Then unusual coincidences related to Laurel’s new boyfriend and also to Ellie begin occurring and things start to get unsettling for Laurel. I don’t want to say more because part of the excitement of the book is discovering how the various plot lines intertwine and how the mysteries are resolved. Lisa Jewell is a brilliant storyteller and I will be recommending this book for an emotional, suspenseful, and captivating read. -
My first book by Lisa Jewell, although a sad and intriguing story, it simply failed to impress me.
The way it was written wasn't meant for me. It was dull, lifeless and slow paced. The characters didn't appeal to me. The way they expressed themselves was just so monotonous. There was no emotion to them, despite being in such an emotional situation.
The whole mystery was quite predictable. But it was still sad. I had sympathy for the main characters- Ellie and Laurel. But overall, I just wanted the book to be over. -
THEN SHE WAS GONE by LISA JEWELL is a breathtaking, thrilling, unputdownable, and suspenseful psychological thriller novel that had me totally engrossed and interested right from the very first page. I was so intrigued in finding out what happened to Ellie Mack that I was racing through those pages as fast as I could!
LISA JEWELL delivers a well-written story here with flawed, believable, and compelling characters that was told in alternating points of view and short chapters to make this a quick and easy read. Upon finishing one chapter it was easy to read the next and then just one more chapter and before I knew it I was finished!
I absolutely love LISA JEWELL’S writing style as she writes with passion and feeling and I couldn’t help but feel for so many of these characters. Also, I really enjoyed how she leaves us with little snippets of clues along the way for us readers to pick up on right away and start questioning and guessing how they fit into the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the ending was very touching and satisfying for me. Would recommend!
Publishing Date: April 17, 2018
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Review written and posted on our themed book blog:
Two Sisters Lost In A Coulee Reading
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com -
EXCERPT: She had no one to call, no one to ask 'Have you seen Hanna? Do you know where she is?' Her life simply didn't work like that. There were no connections anywhere. Just little islands of life dotted here and there.
It was possible, she thought, that Hanna had met a man, but unlikely. Hannah hadn't had a boyfriend, not one, ever. Someone once mooted the theory that Hanna felt too guilty to have a boyfriend because her little sister would never have one. The same theory could also be applied to her miserable flat and her nonexistent social life.
Laurel knew simultaneously that she was overreacting and also that she was not overreacting. When you are the parent of a child who walked out of the house one morning with a rucksack full of books to study at a library a fifteen minute walk away and then never came home again, then there is no such thing as overreacting. The fact that she was standing in her adult daughter’s kitchen picturing her dead in a ditch because she hadn't left a cereal bowl in the sink was perfectly sane and reasonable in the context of her own experience.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: 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?
MY THOUGHTS: I loved this book. I love Lisa Jewell's writing. I love her characters. I wanted, so badly, to know what happened, but I wanted the book never to end. I think I am addicted. I have started another of this author's books straight away. And I seldom, if ever, do that.
The characters are very ordinary people. They are not rich, nor particularly successful. They don't marry millionaires and live happily ever after. They are ordinary people with ordinary worries who have ordinary awful things happen, and who react like I imagine that I, or any of my friends, would react should a child of mine go missing. And in this very 'ordinaryness' Jewell creates compelling characters that we come to love and empathise with, and addictive reads.
A jewel. A treasure. And even though I had an inkling about where this was going, it didn't diminish my pleasure in this read at all.
Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone Arrow for providing a digital ARC of Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.
This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... -
3, I’ve binge read too many of these types of novels at this moment in time but I still really enjoyed this stars!!!
Full review featured on my blog
Recipe & a Read!
So I want to start this off by saying that my feelings about this novel are in large part due to the sheer number of missing children books I’ve read over the past year. I’ve talked to some of my fellow Traveling Sisters about how it seems when one type of trope becomes popular you’re bound to see and read six million more of the same. I’ve read numerous thriller/mystery books this year about missing persons, but especially about missing children.
If she could rewind the timeline, untwist it and roll it back the other way like a ball of wool, she’d see the knots in the yarn, the warning signs. Looking at it backward it was obvious all along.
Ellie Mack was a bright, beautiful, 15-year-old girl. She was her mothers “golden girl” and on an innocuous walk to the library, she vanished without a trace. There were little to no leads, no clues, and no indication of where she went or why. While the police believed she may have run away her mother, Laurel knew in her heart that her golden girl didn’t leave of her own volition. Ellie was the youngest of 3 children, she lived in a happy and healthy home with a mother who cooked every night and a doting father. After her disappearance, her family fractured and fell apart.
The blame game could make you lose your mind … all the infinitesimal outcomes, each path breaking up into a million other paths every time you heedlessly chose one, taking you on a journey that you’d never find your way back from.
Laurel’s life feels empty and directionless, she moves through the motions but isn’t living anymore. This is when she meets Floyd. Floyd is a very regular, run of the mill nice man but he ignites in Laurel a new passion and zest for life. As things progress quickly Laurel meets his young daughter Poppy. As Laurel gets to know Poppy she finds the similarities between her and her lost daughter Ellie uncanny. She can’t help but feel a connection to Poppy but this connection opens old wounds and needs within Laurel to understand what happened to Ellie.
This is told in multiple POVs of which I won’t fully explain as that might give away some of the twists. We are, however, predominately given Laurels POV and experiences throughout this read. This is told in a typical thriller flashback format between “now” (10 years after Ellie’s disappearance) and “then” the days before Ellie disappeared. Personally this year, I had a new found love for this format. When done correctly, as it was done here, it adds a layer of suspense that propels me to continue reading because I want to know what happens in both timelines.
People try and make out there’s a greater purpose, a secret meaning, that it all means something. And it doesn’t.
Jewell does a truly exceptional job of teasing out suspense with a solid and compelling pace. I really enjoyed her writing style and I’ll be looking forward to picking up more works by her in the future. However, for me Then She Was Gone was a fairly predictable read for me. Most mysteries aren’t going to completely throw you for a loop and you’ll be able to guess tidbits here and there. However, I didn’t find nearly any aspect of the twists of this one to be surprising. I’d guessed the ending to this one fairly early on and when the conclusion rolled around I wasn’t surprised by the way it tied up.
As I mentioned when I started this review this could absolutely be me and not the book because I know many people really loved this one. While this was a fairly quick read I found myself wanting things to move along a bit more. It’s a fairly minor issue but so much of the dialogue was one character repeating the exact phrase of the previous character. For example, Laurel would ask her daughter “Hanna, are you ok?” and Hanna would respond “Am I ok? Yes, I am ok”. This played out in nearly every conversation in the book and it made it a bit stagnant and redundant. All in all, I really enjoy Jewell’s style but this one wasn’t it for me personally. However, I do think if it’s on your TBR it’s well worth picking up. -
I'm about 3.5 stars here.
"When her children were small they'd sometimes say, 'What would you do if I died?' And she would reply, 'I would die too, because I could not live without you.' And then her child had died and she had found out that somehow, incredibly, she could live without her, that she had woken every morning for a hundred days, a thousand days, three thousand days and she had lived without her."
Ellie Mack was a golden child—beautiful, smart, popular. At 15, she was the apple of her family's eye, well-liked by all, with a handsome boyfriend and a life full of possibility waiting for her. Then one day, Ellie was supposed to go to the library and be home by lunchtime, but she never made it there, and she never returned.
For 10 years, Ellie's mother Laurel has held out a small sliver of hope that Ellie might have simply run away for some reason and she might come back, even though in her heart she knows her daughter is probably dead. This combination of despair and irrational hope has left Laurel's life a shambles, leading to the end of her marriage and straining her relationship with her two older children.
But when a discovery helps provide some answers, Laurel decides it is time to get her life back. She meets a handsome man, Floyd Dunn, in a neighborhood cafe, and for the first time in 10 years, she realizes she can live for herself. She is surprised at how quickly she and Floyd fall for each other, and how quickly their connection deepens into a real relationship, and before she knows it, she is even meeting his daughters and spending weekends at his home.
Laurel is immediately taken with Floyd's youngest daughter, Poppy, who is beautiful and wise beyond her years, truly an old soul. But Laurel cannot shake just how similar Poppy looks to Ellie, and how at times, when Poppy speaks, it is like she's in the same room with her daughter. As questions start to form in her mind about Floyd and what secrets he might be hiding, more and more her questions about Ellie's disappearance begin surfacing again. Did Ellie run away, or did she run into danger somehow? And why do Poppy and Ellie seem so similar?
I'll admit, I figured out the plot of Then She Was Gone fairly soon into the book. While it did detract a bit from my enjoyment of the book as the story continued to unfold, I was still captivated by the way Lisa Jewell teased out the suspense, making you wonder what surprises might pop up. Having never read any of Jewell's books before, I worried she might throw in some outrageous or melodramatic plot elements, and I was pleased that she didn't do that.
Jewell is a terrific storyteller, and I raced through this entire book on a flight. While I certainly would have loved a little more surprise, I still thought this was a captivating and compelling read, and if you like thrillers, you may very well enjoy this one.
See all of my reviews at
itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at
https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html. -
first lisa jewell book ooooooo weeeeeeee
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This novel is creepy—in a good way. Fifteen-year-old Ellie disappears on her way to the library one day. Ultimately, since police can’t find anything, they suspect she’s a runaway despite the fact she had a boyfriend she loved and was looking forward to taking the exams she’d been studying hard for.
When we meet up with her mother Laurel ten years later, Laurel’s relationships with her other daughter, her son, and her now-ex-husband have all suffered greatly because they’d never found a body or any evidence of where Ellie may have gone. The not knowing if Ellie is alive or dead has made it impossible for Laurel to move on.
New evidence comes to light at the same time Laurel falls for Floyd, her first relationship with a man since she and her husband separated seven years earlier. At first, the romance is dizzyingly exciting. Then, certain things that Lloyd does start to niggle at Laurel. Something doesn’t seem quite right.
This was not my favorite suspense novel that I’ve read recently, so if you’re strapped for time, I might go with another book. It’s good, but not great, in part because you can guess at a huge part of the mystery (and be right) well before everything is revealed.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this mystery, which will be published in the States on April 17, 2018.
For more reviews, please visit:
http://www.theresaalan.net/blog -
4 stars! This was a spine-tingling and addictive story!
This novel follows Laurel whose teenage daughter, Ellie, went missing ten years ago. Laurel has been battling her grief since the day Ellie disappeared with the hope that she may one day come home. After Ellie’s disappearance, being swallowed up in her sadness and grief, Laurel’s marriage falls apart and she loses her connection with her two other children.
The story is narrated by various characters in Laurel’s life through a Now and Then perspective, each character adding a new layer of suspense and appeal as the novel brilliantly unfolds.
The author, Lisa Jewell, has a fantastic ability to pull you in right from the start. Her writing is strong, compelling and addictive. I look forward to reading more from her!
This was a Traveling Sister read that we all enjoyed! To find this review, along with the other Traveling Sister reviews, please visit Brenda and Norma’s fabulous blog at:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/2...
A big thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Lisa Jewell for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
