3.23.2021 | Tuesday

Then She Was Gone

Item: Then She Was Gone
Rating: 5
Author: Kim

category: Book Reviews
tag(s): young adult
0 Comments

title: Then She Was Gone
author: Lisa Jewell
published: 17 April 2018
publisher: Atria Books
genre(s): thrillers
pages: 356
source: Book of the Month
format: hardcover
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookBub | StoryGraph | Goodreads

rating:

the blurb

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 review

I love anything by Lisa Jewell, anything! And this book was no exception. There is a perfect balance of emotions, secrets, twists, and creepiness. Laurel’s family fell apart after her daughter Ellie disappeared without a trace. Her other daughter has become distant, and her ex-husband, although still her best friend, has found a new life without her. And Laurel is left drifting, unsure of how to move forward in her new reality. But then she meets a man, and she soon finds herself realizing that maybe there is something else out there for her.

I absolutely love Lisa Jewell’s writing. She pulls the reader into the story and keeps them there. The atmosphere that the author creates is dynamic. The characters are full bodied, interesting, and so diverse. And the twists and turns take the reader on a journey. The “missing girl” storyline isn’t a new one, but the author puts such a creative spin on it, one that descends into madness.

This will be a short review as I don’t want to spoil the plot in any way. This is one of those books a reader need to just dive into blindly, with no preconceived notions! If you love a thriller, this is a fantastic one to read!

About Lisa Jewell

Lisa was born in London in 1968. Her mother was a secretary and her father was a textile agent and she was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls’ Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication.

She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.

She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.

She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

reading challenges:

::spread the love::