Cover Image: Then She Was Gone

Then She Was Gone

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From the pen of established author Lisa Jewell comes another banger. I really enjoyed Then She Was Gone: unlike perhaps the rote thrillers that I’m sucking up like a hoover at the moment, this book’s quirky approach to sometimes-familiar subject matter and willingness to focus on the family rather more than the crime lent it a special, different tone that I loved.

The book is about the disappearance of a girl: Ellie Mack, her mother’s golden girl who goes missing mysteriously from sleepy suburbia, and leaves a trail of devastation in her wake. Ten years later, her mother Laurel still can’t cope with it, and has the broken marriage and empty life to prove it. But when she meets a handsome single man- and daughter, who looks shockingly like Ellie- she starts to suspect whether there’s more to her daughter’s case than she thought.

So, I loved Laurel as a character. Jewell writes her well, and her description of Laurel’s emptiness, unable to connect with either of her remaining children, and grieving her current daughter, tugs at the heartstrings- but also gives you a lot of sympathy for her strength, especially when she starts to move on. The presentation of grief here is very well written and makes you feel awful even as you read it: exploring the lives of people so long after a bereavement this way is really interesting stuff, possibly even more interesting (for me) than a murder mystery whodunnit. Jewell plunges us into the lives of her characters, so we get to root for more than Ellie’s killer being discovered: such as Laurel growing, reconnecting with her family, and trying to move on.

But we get the murder mystery too. One of the things I liked best about his book was the way it played with viewpoints and with timelines: the end result is a kind of patchwork of ideas that hangs together surprisingly well. We see Ellie’s disappearance from every viewpoint: Ellie’s own, narrated from beyond the grave; Laurel, ten years later; the maths tutor, and many more. I think that some people might find this pretty frustrating, but I was hooked. We get a real look into Ellie’s life from all angles, which makes her disappearance weigh much more heavily, and the mystery unfolds so slowly that fitting all the puzzle pieces together is really satisfying.

The only problem is the plotting. Though the book was great as a character study, it wasn’t as good as a thriller: I could spot the plot twists coming for miles off, and while it was still fun watching it unfold, it still took some of the excitement out of the story. It also unfolds quite slowly, so for people impatient for answers on what happened to Ellie, it might be frustratingly slow to read.

That said, Then She Was Gone is a complex, multilayered book that deals with everything from grief to madness to love. With interesting characters, a gripping plot and several different viewpoints to flick between, I loved it- and I’d definitely recommend it!

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An emotionally charged psychological thriller that is gripping but at same time disturbing. From the outset I was drawn into the mystery surrounding 'golden girl' Ellie Mack who at 15 years old just suddenly vanished without trace

The book is set some 10 years later with snippets from the past told by different characters involved. The storyline depicts with clarity how the unsolved disappearance affected and continues to affect her family and their difficulty with moving on.

Great characterisation and very well written. Late at night in bed I found myself reading into the small hours telling myself it would just be 'one more chapter'. Totally recommended

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Laurel is a mum of three but her daughter Ellie goes missing just before she is due to complete her GCSEs. She had maths tuition from a woman named Noelle who Ellie found very disturbing.
Laurel and her husband Paul's relationship ends after the heartbreak of loosing their daughter. She meets a man called Floyd who seems like a great guy but his life mixes with Laurels more than she anticipated.
Laurel tires to find out what happened to her daughter to her bring her family back together, bringing more family together than she thought she would have again

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A fantastic book that I read in a day. I just couldn't put it down, I even missed my TV soaps to read it.
Even though I predicted the ending , there were still so many shocks that I didn't see coming. Lisa Jewell is a legendary writer.

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I really enjoyed this book. It’s been a while since I flew threw a book with such pleasure and then gutted when it concluded. These books about people missing either physically or emotionally are so thought provoking. I enjoyed the character development and must say that Lisa Jewell is an author that I will be seeking out in future.

Thankyou for the enjoyment!!

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Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite new authors I have discovered and so was excited to read this book and see if the excellence of previous books had made it to her new novel.......I need not have worried.... Jewell’s new offering is a sublime masterpiece of intrigue, love/hate,shocking secrets, betrayal, heartache, twists, turns and then all that again and more
The book is based on a daughter who goes missing and what happens to those that are left and how a chance meeting unravels the mystery and what really happened that day
The cast of characters are wonderful, truly wonderful and addictive and the author paints such a picture with her descriptions you imagine them from the second they enter the story
The book kept me hooked all the way through and would make a superb film
Lisa Jewell is an outstanding author and this a book of brilliance and a definite must read
10/10 5 stars

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‘Then She Was Gone’ by Lisa Jewell is a delight, the page-turning story of a disappeared teenager whose experience was something I did not expect. An excellent un-thriller; that’s a phrase I use after giving it some thought. This is not a psychological thriller in that it is frightening. It didn’t make my pulse race with a sense of danger, but it did make me very curious.
Ellie Mack is fifteen the day she fails to come home from the library, she is due to take her GCSE examinations the following week. She is a clever student, a golden girl. But she disappears, never to be seen again. Life goes on. Except it doesn’t for her family, each being trapped in some way by Ellie’s absence. Until ten years later when Ellie’s mum Lauren, now divorced, meets a nice bloke in a café. Her ex, Paul, has a new partner and so do Ellie’s siblings. Laurel is the one who is really stuck, visiting her elderly mother bed-ridden after a stroke. Then she meets Floyd and his daughters Poppy and SJ, and she blossoms.
I would like to say from the beginning I had unsettling feelings of the ‘that’s not quite right’ variety, but I didn’t. Instead the doubts crept in stealthily until the full truth dawned on me at 72% on my Kindle. And then it hit with a sledgehammer.
This is a clever book written by an author who has matured enormously over the years in the subjects she tackles.
‘Then She Was Gone’ doesn’t set out to be frightening, at least I don’t think that is the author’s primary intent. I think she started with a ‘what if’ scenario and let it unfold from there. It is a puzzle involving characters so real you feel you know them, that it could be happening to you; and that’s what makes it so powerful.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

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For once the blurb on the front of a book is true... this really is an addictive read!

The plot follows Laurel whose daughter went missing 10 years ago - when Laurel meets a man in a coffee shop and starts a relationship with him she is astonished to find his daughter looks exactly like her missing daughter Ellie.

The story is told from 4 POV and switches from modern day to 10 years ago when Elli vanishes and beyond.

This is a truly fascinating read - a quick page turner which is hard to put down. From the start the reader becomes invested in Ellies story and events unfold at a perfect pace to keep the reader hooked.

Its hard to even discuss without giving any spoilers away so just go read this book NOW!

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I do not hesitate to give this book 5*. It is a book that I found hard to put down. Lisa Jewell's writing is riveting and captivating and leaves me wanting more from her.

Laurel's fifteen year old daughter, Ellie, disappears on the way home from the library one day leaving her mother bereft. Most of the book is told from Laurel's viewpoint and is very emotive and, at times, brought tears to my eyes.

I highly recommend this book because as much as I wanted to find out what happened; I also did not want it to end!

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When Ellie Mack disappeared it tore her family apart not knowing what had happened to her but the truth was far more frightening.as her mother Laurel eventually found out. A great read

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I’ve been a fan of Lisa Jewell ever since reading Ralph’s Party when it was first published and I love how her novels have become darker over the years. This book is my new favourite by her – I literally couldn’t put it down once I started it and read it in one sitting! The premise is that Laurel’s teenage daughter disappeared ten years ago and has never been found. Laurel is trying to make a life for herself and one day meets a new man and his young daughter Poppy. Laurel sees a lot of her missing daughter in the young Poppy and it stirs up her pain and her anguish at what might have happened to her own daughter. This is a book that was pretty much impossible to work out how it was going to end, and yet when the denouement came it felt believable and true to the story. This is a novel that has stayed with me since I finished it and it’s one I highly recommend!

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I raced through this in two sittings. It has a heartbreaking premise - a mother who cannot, quite understandably, can't get past the disappearance of a beloved daughter ten years earlier. Given what she has been through, we immediately want things to improve for Laurel - although quite what form any sort of improvement could take is hard to imagine. Then suddenly, an unexpected breakthrough in the case of her daughter's disappearance sets all sorts of dominoes tumbling. These are in turn slid all around the board by an author at the peak of her powers.

The story is told from the POV of a few expertly rendered narrators. I particularly liked the third voice, which appears near the middle of the book, and sends the whole thing spiralling in a truly macabre direction. Yet for all the darkness at this story's core, Ms Jewell nevertheless manages to deliver a deeply touching and insightful story about the nature of love. If like me, you enjoyed the Nicci French stand alones, or Colette McBeth, then I am quietly confident you will love Then She Was Gone.

With thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This is the first book I have read by Lisa Jewell. I just couldn’t put it down. It was such a gripping story. It was very well written and had me hooked from the first page.

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Wow, I loved this book, I just had to keep reading to find out the truth. Really intriguing storyline and great description of the characters, I loved how the characters developed the more you read. I look forward to reading mor from this author.

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Brilliant book. Read other books by this author and this is completely different style. Love the way the storylines all mingled together and their life's crossed.

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I would like to thank Netgalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone Arrow and Lisa Jewell for the copy of ‘Then She Was Gone’ in return for my honest review.

This is the first time I have read this author and will be seeking out more of her books after reading this.
Although the novel centres around Laurel and her sorrow, the narrative changes characters which gives a clever insight into the psyche of each of them. It has a dark, disturbing undercurrent with many twists and turns which kept me engrossed. The story leads the reader into each turn with the knowledge that there are more to come.

Engrossing read with an evil element. Recommended.

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Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell a thrilling five-star read. This story is like a beautiful rose, you peel each petal back to reveal more delicate and intricate detail. This was such a gripping story, the reality that was contained within the story just made it much deeper and more compelling read. Just like in reality your life will be going along all sunshine and rainbows until one event changes the course of your life, if you get lucky and I hope you are you may never have a Major event happen. Sadly, Laurel was just like that, everything golden until the Golden light in her eye disappears Fifteen-year-old Ellie. Laurel may never be the same again she is a broken woman and her other children and husband are left to watch the shell she has become. Life moves on with the spectre always in the shadows, relationships break down and people get on with life.
There are many, many plot lines running through this story and each one brings more questions but you do get answers but they may not be the ones you expect. Each piece of the puzzle has its own place and when you see the picture as a whole it will show you things you wouldn’t have seen unless you have a talent that lays way beyond me. This book blew me away, I can’t wait to read more from this author.

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I was fortunate to receive an ARC and this review is my own and honest

OMG. Just finished this and in less that a minute I’ve recommended it to friends. This is a brilliant book. How the author can get into the mind of her characters is frightening. I finished this in the hairdressers and they said it was as if I was watching a film as just had to keep coming up for air

A great psychological thriller which will keep the reader reading and reading

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Can’t go wrong with Lisa Jewell ,all her characters are so well drawn and the dynamics realistically portrayed ,the effect of this kind of loss is well written, the ramnifications of losing a child ,
The baddie was truly awfull ,frightening and also liked the change of it being not the norm standard hard to read , sex abuser in basement story ,was not too Gratuitous though was very creepy at times as we spend time with this unpredictable narssisitic sociopath of a personality and my heart went out to the girl and broke as we continued her story
Good Novel, good mystery and bought the characters together having been so split by their family memembers disspaerance ,moving read
Thanks netgalley for letting me read this and penguin publishers

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This was the first book I’ve read from Lisa Jewell and it was an emotional and suspenseful read. This story follows Laurel Mack whose daughter, Ellie, went missing 10 years ago. Ellie was never found, and no-one knows what happened to her and we start in the present tense, following Laurel and life 10 years after Ellie has gone. Laurel meets Floyd and they develop a relationship which leads Laurel to meet his daughter Poppy, who looks shockingly like her lost daughter Ellie and this causes her to start questioning Ellie’s disappearance and what happened to her.
This is told in both the present tense and the past tense and from several points of view although Laurels is the most prominent POV that we hear. I really enjoyed the POV of telling and the changing past/present tense as it helped really weave Laurel’ current situation together with what happened in the past to Ellie and it was especially heart-breaking to hear Ellie tell her story of what happened to her.
I felt unsure about Laurel at first, she just seemed very cold and uncaring, but you soon come to see that it’s caused by the loss of Ellie and everything that came with it – her other daughter Hanna is cold towards her and her marriage to her husband broke down. Despite the multiple POV telling, Laurel is the main character in this story and the way her character is developed really makes you feel for her. You feel annoyed and angry with her. You felt sympathetic and wanted to reach in and hug her which was strange because as said, I was really unsure of Laurel at first and I thought this was going to be another book where I really wasn’t sure if I liked the main character.
The writing was fantastic and really keeps you gripped and even when there didn’t seem to be much going on, I was still gripped and didn’t find myself getting bored with the story. I didn’t figure out exactly what had happened to Ellie – I had some idea of what have happened to her but the reality of it was quite twisted. Again, one of the things that made it so great was the realism and the reality that this could happen. I feel like one of the things that did slightly let this down was the lack of police investigation into the original disappearance, once you find out what actually happened it’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t have seen that lead, but I suppose that there wouldn’t be a story if Ellie had been found!
Overall I thought this was a great, twisted and suspenseful read and I would definitely recommend picking it up!

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