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

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I ran her a bath and let her sit at the mirror in my bedroom to arrange her hair. I found an old makeup bag of yours and she applied some mascara, rubbed some colour into her waxy cheeks. I believe in bad vibes and listening to your instincts but why include a stereotypical hippie dippy character to warn Laurel? Gripping and heartbreaking, I shed more than a few tears as the book came to an end with a gut-wrenching epilogue.

Is it not more believable than a regular person saying she didn't like Floyd because he gave her the heebie-jeebies? I'll admit, I figured out the plot of Then She Was Gone fairly soon into the book. While it did detract a bit from my enjoyment of the book as the story continued to unfold, I was still captivated by the way Lisa Jewell teased out the suspense, making you wonder what surprises might pop up. Having never read any of Jewell's books before, I worried she might throw in some outrageous or melodramatic plot elements, and I was pleased that she didn't do that. It sort of feels like I've read a hundred different variations of the missing daughter/grieving mother plot, and Then She Was Gone doesn't really do anything new with it. The writing is strong, but it's disappointing when you figure out all the major reveals in the first few chapters and even get the reasons behind them. As soon as certain characters are introduced, I was thinking “ah, got it” and, unfortunately, I was right. I kept hoping something exciting would happen to prove me wrong, but it really is as obvious as it seems.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in north London with her husband, two teenage daughters and the best dog in the world.

This came from her like a stream of consciousness. She clutched her knees as she spoke, her hazel eyes wide with intent, with honesty. I believed her. I absolutely believed her. I said, ‘good. That’s really good. I’ll take you tomorrow. When Poppy’s at school. I’ll take you home. To your mother.’ A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. Then She Was Gone was fine as an undemanding beach thriller, but I wouldn't recommend it for readers looking for something new and innovative. And within this stranger was the essence of everything that mattered to me and the potential to take a can of petrol to it, to blow it all to ash and rubble. Maybe I’m getting bored by psychological thrillers. Maybe the narrator’s voice just irritated me, especially when she was channeling Poppy’s voice or when her attempt at Floyd’s voice changed with each chapter. Or maybe I could see where it was going way too early in the book. Or maybe I’m just jaundiced by the idea of a perfect man showing up at the table next to an older divorced woman. Regardless, I wasn’t as enthralled with this one as the majority. Don’t get me wrong, it was okay. I just didn’t love it. I think this is one of those books that I had such high hopes for that I let myself expect too much.He makes mention about what a schlub he is and how incredible Laurel is just for giving him the time of day.

I won’t go over the plot, I rarely do that, you all read the blurbs on the books I know you do! This is a true thriller to me as it contains an extremely deviant sociopath who is so mentally ill that it’s painful to read her thoughts. You know where it’s going but you just can’t stop it.

Blue tells a critical statement related to men and their concept of love in this book. This shows the importance of mutual love. Love is about putting equal effort into relationships. If a person who beholds the concept of unconditional love falls in love with a Narcissist, then the first person's life will be totally destroyed. Even though unconditional love is one of the ideal forms of love, it will be practical only with ideal individuals. Otherwise, we will be able to love unconditionally while others are only ready to accept that love and not to give anything in return. It will turn into a toxic parasitic relationship in no time. 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. The more I read - the more I wanted to keep reading. Lisa Jewel wrote a ‘jewel’ of a great suspenseful- book with terrific fantastic characters.

Jewell is a terrific storyteller, and I raced through this entire book on a flight. While I certainly would have loved a little more surprise, I still thought this was a captivating and compelling read, and if you like thrillers, you may very well enjoy this one. Now, this doesn't tend to be a favorite genre of mine. Because of this, it has to be creative and well written to keep me interested. If the author leans on hateable characters (like The Girl on the Train) or other thriller tropes (alcoholism, mental illness, etc.) I tend to find my focus drifting. If the author can find just the right combination of these things, then I will be right there ready to throw more stars their way. Ten years after her teenage daughter went missing, a mother begins a new relationship only to discover she can't truly move on until she answers lingering questions about the past.Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. 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? From Laurel's perspective, in the present) Laurel calls Noelle's parents who report that they haven't seen her in decades. She was supposed to move and go live with them along with Poppy at one point, but it looks like she dropped off the baby with Floyd and disappeared instead. Floyd is kind and sensitive and has a young daughter named Poppy, who looks inexplicably like Ellie. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the ending was very touching and satisfying for me. Would recommend!