Then She Was Gone

Product Information

In Lisa Jewell’s thriller Then She Was Gone (2017), an ordinary London family is shattered by the mysterious disappearance of the youngest of three children, a bright, beautiful girl. Ten years later, new evidence is uncovered that the missing teenager was not simply a runaway as supposed, but a pawn in a disturbing plot. Principal characters 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.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. 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. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. 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.

Then She Was Gone is divided into six parts. Why do you think Lisa structured the book this way? How would you categorize each section—what makes it distinct from the other parts of the book?

Part One

Laurel was happy when she met Floyd, but when she met his nine-year-old daughter Poppy, she realized that Poppy looked exactly like her sister Ellie. Laurel healed from the past and found herself enjoying life again with Floyd. She forgave her ex-husband Paul, spent time with her elderly mother and started to build a relationship with Hanna. She realized that she had always seen Hanna as a consolation prize for not having Ellie in her life anymore instead of seeing Hanna as an amazing person in her own right. I’d be open to reading a different book of Jewell’s since I don’t think she’s a bad writer or anything, but the mystery in Then She Was Gone didn’t really do it for me. This ranks for me as a pretty average mystery novel, so I don’t know that I’d really recommend it. I’m open to reading a different book of hers in the future though! 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.