I like the 'then' and 'now' narrative and it worked well here. For me this read as a family drama with a side order of thriller. There were a few twists that I predicted but enough that I was unsure about to keep me reading. What I really didn't see coming was the epilogue, and it brought tears to my eyes.

Then She Was Gone

Ellie went missing when she was 15. It's been over ten years and her mum, Laurel, had never given up hope of finding her.

This is Lisa Jewell's fifteenth novel and in her own words, probably her darkest to date.

Told through multiple viewpoints, Then She Was Gone tells the tale of Ellie. Her mother's golden girl, at 15, she goes missing. Ten years later, her mum Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter. Then she meets Poppy...a young girl who is the spitting image of Ellie...

I sped through this novel and really enjoyed it, full of obsession, intrigue, secrets and lies. This mystery thriller drew me in and gripped me until the end. Four stars.

Quite a slow paced story but well told with a few twists. Well worth a read

"Then She Was Gone" tells the story of Laurel whose fifteen year old daughter, Ellie, disappeared ten years previously. Laurel has never discovered the truth about what happened to Ellie, until she begins a new relationship and she is introduced to her partner's nine year old daughter, who has a starling resemblance to Ellie. The story moves between the past and the present as Laurel seeks to find out the truth, and it is narrated from the perspectives of various different characters.
The storyline is original and drew me to keep reading more. I found the switching between timeframes and narrators was used effectively here in gradually unfolding the true story behind Ellie's disappearance. In some other books I have found this techniques confusing, but here it worked well.
Towards the end of the book though I struggled with two of the characters' behaviour. After a sudden and shocking revelation and disappearance of another character, they were able to brush it aside too quickly and head off to a party. I found this unrealistic, but other than this I really enjoyed the book and I would like to read more from this author.

I was given an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a honest and independent review.

Wow! This book is part family drama, part psychological thriller, and it's not a book I was expecting from Lisa Jewell! I had her down as more of a chick lit author, but if she writes more books like this, I will have discovered a new favourite author.

From the first page, I was hooked. In fact, I read 50% in one sitting, then had to force myself to slow down for my impending holiday. There were lots of twists and turns, lots of drama, but it was written in a way that at times you felt you could feel what was coming but not in the way the book was boring; Jewell was always one step ahead of the reader!

I want to read it again!

I couldn't read this book quick enough. Laurel's daughter Ellie went missing a few years earlier. Through characters we meet we learn the truth. A very unusual telling of the story, but immensely enjoyable.

Good book from start to finish.
A girl called Ellie a very bright girl but need extra help on her maths so her mother found her a private tutor to help her at home after a few weeks Ellie became more confident with her maths and she felt there was something very strange with the home tutor so asked her mother to stop the lessons.
Then Ellie goes missing and her mother has to move on without knowing what has happened to her daughter.
Her mother and father divorce with all the strain and years later her mother meets a new man and he has two daughter, it is strange that the youngest daughter looks so like her Ellie, and then things unfold and the story goes from the tutor to the new man and it turns out that tutor was in a relationship with Laurel new man and she kept ellie in her basement and she became pregnant and the tutor passed the baby of as Laurel's new man but he found out the truth and then gave his daughter back to her grandmother Laurel.

This has a much darker tone than Lisa Jewell's other novels. The suspense just keeps on building, keeping the reader gripped within the story. I couldn't put the book down! A teenager, Ellie, goes missing on the eve of her GCSEs. Did she run away, or has something worse befallen her? Her mother, Laurel, can never recover from losing her daughter, and the fallout affects the whole family. 10 years later and Laurel meets someone new, a new boyfriend, who has a daughter who looks remarkably similar to her missing daughter at that age. The story twists and turns, taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride. I was gripped from the start, desperate to find out how the story was going to end and what had happened to Ellie. This will be a great summer holiday read! Get your towel out, sunglasses on and enjoy!

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of this book in return for an honest review. I requested this because Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite authors She writes well and tells a good tale. Here, as in the past, “The House We Grew Up In”, she has woven a fictional story around a topical issue. In that previous book and in this, she takes a difficult subject and seemingly explores it, but lets the tale down in the end with a positive, happy ending which does no justice to the seriousness of the subject that she’s taken on. Previously in “The House We Grew Up In” she covered the issue of a very unhappy mother turning to extreme hoarding and the damage inflicted on her family. After the hoarder dies, the family all pulls together in an almost party atmosphere to clear and clean the house and bridges are built, past hurts reconciled and all ends on a generally positive note. Sadly I know from actual experience of the tragedy that this is not how it concludes and never can be.

In this book I asked myself if this could really have happened. A lot is highly improbable, although the basis of the idea is possible. But there are too many questionable happenings. I’d be happy to list them but they would mainly constitute spoilers., as would a precise of the story. Sufficient to say that it involves the disappearance of a very bright A grade teenage girl from her loving, stable home in London two years previously and the effect this has on her family. The mystery of her vanishing is slowly revealed. Despite what I’ve previously written I enjoyed most of the book with the exception of the chapters narrated by Noelle. These often verged on the silly and I skipped several bits here. The whole mess of this story was created by two very maladjusted human beings, damaged by their own upbringing. There are distressing and horrific episodes which I don’t think that the author explores in enough detail. They should have been described in all their blackness. To end on a great note of hope in a fictional world is lovely, but real life, which is the core inspiration of the story, is not so simple.. Another deeply traumatised person has been created and all the love and support in the world will not sort this, although it might help. Lisa Jewell has to decide if she is creating fiction in some cosy fairy dairy world, which is fine. . In which case she should not be tackling stories based on hard, real life or creating fiction based on a reality and giving them an unreal ending. If she believes that such happy conclusions are possible she needs to do a little more research.

Lisa Jewell will remain one of my favourite authors so long as she’s not exploiting serious real life issues and turning them into happy ever after stories. I urge anyone to read this book and see for themselves how they feel about it.

Mystery and suspense, a little different to the rest. Keeps you guessing as the story unravels and you might have the answer, but just not quite. Well worth a place on your bookshelf and a good one for a book club. First one I have read from this author but would certainly read more.

Having read several of Lisa Jewell's other books, I was looking forward to this one, and was definitely not disappointed.

The well drawn characters and a twisty-turny plot kept me engaged throughout. The subject matter reeled me in emotionally and tugged on my maternal heartstrings. I felt genuine empathy for Laurel, and sadness for some of the other characters - not least Ellie.

Five stars from me.

Thanks to Lisa Jewell for another fabulous read. And thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advance copy in return for my honest review.

When bright, clever, and beautiful Ellie goes to the Library to study for her GCSEs and doesn't come back, her whole family fall apart, especially her mother Laurel who idolised her youngest daughter.

Fast forward 10 years and after a reconstruction of events, Laurel meets a man in a café who she is immediately attracted to. This surprises her as she hasn't been attracted to anyone since Ellie's disappearance. What is more surprising is that he has a daughter who is remarkably like Ellie was at the same age.

This book was a real page turner, and I didn't want to put it down. It takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, so whilst you should get the tissues ready, you will smile too at different parts.

Very well written, and wonderful to read. An author to watch, I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.

Thank you to the publishers Random House UK and net galley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I raced through this gem of a book, it is so good. The writing is superb and I lost myself in a world of implausible events that were made real, such is the strength of Ms Jewell's story telling.

The book is the heartbreaking story of a missing 15 year old girl and the family that she left behind. The story focuses mainly on the mother, Laurel, as she makes her peace with the grief that she feels for the loss of her daughter and starts to build a new relationship with a new partner. Simultaneously the reader discovers the awful truth of what really happened to her daughter Ellie Mack.

The incredible emotions that the characters feel in the book ; isolation, grief, pain, fear, jealousy, hope, love and pride are all so well depicted and realistic. Laurel is so believable because she is not perfect, and has not always behaved well. She is so likeable because she admits this, and consciously tries to atone for her behaviour. For me, it is the tremendous characters that kept me turning the pages, but there are sufficient twists and turns in the plot that also kept me guessing.

The ending of the book is a big emotional sock to the jaw, and tears were shed.

Bravo Ms Jewell, this book is surely destined to be a top 10 bestseller in the UK.

I LOVED this. Around 80% into the book, I actually said 'Wow" This was actually my first Lisa Jewell read, but I've stock-piled some of them, and I'll be binging now.

Lisa Jewell amazes me with how she can come up with one thrilling book after another. This is a real tear-jerker page-turner that will keep you on your toes as you try to connect one coincidence after another. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I finished this book and said WOW!
I love Lisa Jewell books and this was no exception, it had my attention from the very first page to the last.
If you are looking for a CPID read then look no further!
I give this book 5 big fat shiny stars and totally recommend it!

Just finished this book in less than 24 hours. Loved it, easy but gripping reading. Although, some elements of the book are predictable. It does not in any way deter from the story or pleasure in reading. Loved how the story is told throughout from various key individuals. Gripped from start to finish. And a must read if you love psychological thrillers.

Will include in our Summer Boom Reading Recommendation blog.

Thank you Netgalley for advance copy of this excellent book. Laurel's 15year old daughter Ellie went missing 10 years ago and there has been no sightings or leads since. Laurel's happy family is now fractured leaving her divorced and with a strained relationship with her two remaining children.
What follows is the story of Laurel's new relationship with a handsome man Floyd who she meets by chance - or does she? - and the gradual unravelling of the mystery surrounding Ellie s disappearance.
An excellent read with good plot twists and well worth 5 stars! Full review left on Good reads with link below. Thank you.

First the good points: this is a beautifully written novel that quickly engages the reader and brings the characters and their settings to intimate life. There are no over-written efforts to impress with faux clever description or narrative, and the fluency of Ms Jewell's writing is exemplary. I truly found it hard to put down. The plot is clever and the the different individuals' perspectives and time periods are deployed to good effect without in any ways seeming artificial. So far, you would guess this is a 10+ out of 10 review and you would be correct. So what is it that detracted from my enjoyment? Put simply I think Ms Jewell herself sums it up by wondering aloud whether the work was brilliantly bizarre or just bizarre. Sadly, the plot's denouement - for me, at least - tipped it dangerously close to the bizarre category. The subject matter - a teenage girl who goes 'missing' - run away or abducted is not clear for quite some time - is always going to be distressing, given the well-publicised and tragic cases that we have seen reported all too often. Ms Jewell, throughout most of the book, was properly sensitive to this tragic dimension of her work. However - for me - the eventual unravelling of the mystery (no plot spoiler here) is simply too close to being macabre, and the consequences for the characters less than satisfying. Despite this, I rate this author highly. Her writing brought pleasure and engagement to my reading - thank you.

Scarily convincing and utterly gripping. Bravo!