Then She Was Gone: From the number one bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

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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. Laurel and Floyd go out on a couple of dates and are soon smitten with each other, and before long she sleeps over at his house. The next morning, they are awakened in bed by young Poppy—who looks almost exactly like Ellie did at the same age. Poppy is smart, charming, precocious, and enthusiastic about Floyd and Laurel’s budding relationship. Poppy and Laurel eagerly go shopping for clothing together, and bond in friendly fashion. For Laurel it is almost like having her own beloved daughter alive again. Symbolic of the desire to move on once closure has been reached, Part Two opens with Laurel encountering, apparently by accident, an attractive eligible bachelor in a neighborhood café. He is American-born anglophile Floyd Dunn, a moderately successful author of scientific books. The two strangers exchange personal information during a leisurely conversation. Floyd is separated from his wife and is the father of two daughters. The older of the two, Sara-Jade, known as “SJ,” is a product of his marriage, and usually lives with her mother. The younger child, Poppy, just nine, is the result of an extended but long-past affair. Poppy was left with Floyd—who is ecstatic to have her—when she was four years old, after which time her mother took off for parts unknown. And Hanna, girl, really?! Now what was the point of that honestly? I'm so annoyed and weirded out by that tbh. Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. Her multilayered characters are sheer perfection, and even the most astute thriller reader won’t see where everything is going until the final threads are unknotted.”— Booklist, starred review

Throughout the novel, Laurel has moments in which she feels something is not quite right, but often writes it off as paranoia as a result of losing her daughter. Have you ever written off your own concerns? How can you distinguish between when you are being pessimistic, and when you should trust your intuition? Is it not more believable than a regular person saying she didn't like Floyd because he gave her the heebie-jeebies?Thank you to NetGalley, Ariele Friedman, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Then She Was Gone references in an excerpt from Ellie’s diary, Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones, another story about a young teenager who goes missing and the fallout of her unsolved disappearance on her family. Consider making The Lovely Bones your next book club read and discussing what parallels you find between the two novels, and what distinguishes them. There will be tendencies to compare this book to The Girl On The Train and its various imitators, but don’t be fooled: This is better than those. Jewell’s forte is the good old-fashioned novel of psychological suspense, the kind that keeps you reading deep into the night. The Globe and Mail 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. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the ending was very touching and satisfying for me. Would recommend!

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. 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. 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? A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.And not only is he a teenager, but he's one of those "perfect" characters who does absolutely everything for everyone without asking for anything in return (unless, of course, he's badgering his former foster brother turned best friend into eating right and exercising even though we're given no reason to believe said friend had a problem in the first place). Laurel takes Poppy to meet Joshua and see her old house. Poppy is hesitant, but then eager to meet her relatives. However, she refuses to enter the basement, saying she was told never to go down there. Her mom had told her there was a monster there. Did you think Lisa Jewell’s portrayal of Laurel and her journey was realistic? Could you relate to the way she dealt with her grief, or did you find it alienating? And yet it's ALMOST convincing even so. The author is so brilliant at character creation, and so gifted with words, that the story grabs you and never lets go, even when the impossible plot is revealed.