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

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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. Hanna pays Laurel to clean her apartment, so Laurel knows that Hanna has not been sleeping at home. Hanna claims she's out partying, but that's not really her personality. Laurel finds some flowers given to Hanna by someone named "T". Laurel also visits her elderly mom who had a stroke many years ago. Her mother Ruby is old, but seems to be holding on hoping for Ellie to be found. Ellie was fifteen eager to take her exams. Now that she had been tutored in math she was sure she would do well. On her way to the library one evening, she disappears. Her disappearance takes a huge toll on the family, a family that breaks apart as many families in this type of situations often do. Now ten years later, Laurel is willing to take a shot at having a life and love again a series of events will send her reeling. Would she finally find out what happened to her daughter? For this review and our full Traveling Sister review please visit Brenda and Norma’s fabulous blog: Gang, this one is more than just a a beautiful shell of a cover. But that cover IS stunning, amiright? You definitely want to add this to your reading schedule ASAP, especially if you're looking for a read that is so gripping you'll fly right through it. To say I'm waiting with bated breath for Lisa's next novel would be an understatement, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. <3

the mystery/thriller stories i have read lately have been really predicable, so im starting a new game with myself where i predict what will happen before i read it, based solely on the synopsis. heres what i think for this one: floyd was involved in ellies disappearance (i dont think it will be a kidnapping, but maybe manipulated to run away?) and poppy is ellies daughter. i also dont think ellie will be dead. i still havent figured out how im going to reward myself for a correct prediction - the game is a work in progress - so suggestions are welcome. lol. Floyd is the second loser in this lovely cast; when he discovers the true origins of his daughter, Poppy, he stalks Laurel, engineers a meeting with her and eventually falls for her. What are the odds of that? 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. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. 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.

Epilogue

As Laurel continued to dig more, she will reach to a dangerous point of no return and she’ll wish to stop before taking more steps. I found it a suspenseful story, but too predictable. I certainly wasn’t bored reading it, but the twists and turns weren’t twisty enough for my liking.

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. But I couldn’t see how the book could end any other way? How could I send this story out into the world without a happy ending? It would be far too depressing. Far too bleak. As Laurel slowly finds closure, she begins to rebuild her life. She starts dating and it seems as if she has found love again with a single father named Floyd. But something isn’t quite right about Floyd, especially his relationship with his nine-year-old daughter, Polly. The more and more Laurel spends time with Floyd and Polly, she comes to realize that what happened to Ellie was not at all what it seemed. In the original version of this book, the one I delivered to my editor in December 2016, Floyd discovers Ellie in Noelle’s basement when he goes to her house to collect Poppy’s things after killing Noelle in his kitchen. Ellie is close to death but instead of calling an ambulance, Floyd takes her home. He has a dead body in his house. He cannot afford to get the emergency services involved. For a few days he keeps her in his study. He feeds her good food and runs her hot baths and introduces her to Poppy as a niece of his. All the while Floyd is planning to return Ellie to her family. But he needs to be sure first that the police are not looking for Noelle and that no one suspects that he had anything to do with her disappearance. Then finally, after a few days, he agrees to take Ellie home. This is what Floyd (talking to Noelle) describes happening next:The police thought Ellie might have run away. But Laurel knew that wasn’t possible. The years went by and although Laurel kept pushing the police to do more…there was only so much they could or would do. I don't know whether I can call this book a thriller. There are not many unexpected twists in this story. So can I call it a book coming under the gentle of "acutely observed family drama"? I think that it is a mixture of both genres. The vacillating between the past and the present is done perfectly by the author. The mendacious mercurial nature of some characters in this book will rattle you to the extent of even making you nihilistic. The way it was written wasn't meant for me. It was dull, lifeless and slow paced. The characters didn't appeal to me. The way they expressed themselves was just so monotonous. There was no emotion to them, despite being in such an emotional situation. In the alternate ending, Ellie doesn't die, instead Floyd finds Ellie in the basement after he kills Noelle. He's scared of losing Poppy, so he keeps her alive in his basement. After he kills himself, Laurel and Ellie are reunited.

If you loved “Girls in the Garden” and “I Found You” you will definitely love this book. For me this one was a little difficult to read because the behavior of this probable psychopath was just so twisted and ugly. After starting this novel I couldn’t quit, her writing is just so compelling, those of the words I would use to describe it! The interesting fact is the way of disappearance of Noelle reminds of her the way of disappearance of her own daughter. Lisa Jewell knows how to take a classic storyline and make it her own. Most of her plots are traditional tales that have been told before in some form, but the difference is that she knows how to take something that could be predictable and put her own spin on it. The atmosphere, characterization, and raw emotion that is infused into each of her novels elevates their status to something that few suspense novelists have attained. The blending of multiple genres in each of her books really creates a unique reading experience; readers of every gender and walk of life have been able to connect with her writing and I feel that's a sure sign of the highest quality of writing. 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.

Part Two

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. 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. 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. Because, Noelle, I don’t think you ever really understood how much I loved Poppy. It was more than love, it was blood and bone, fibre and matter, the beginning and the end. Poppy was my creation, my muse, my angel, my universe. I couldn’t, I simply, simply could not live without her. Besides the suspense — the characters hearts are tender - I felt what they did — none were offensive.

It's the people who seem weak who are always suprisingly strong, and the ones who seem strong who are unexpectledly weak.” Even though most parts and big twist are predictable, it was well written, breathtaking, fast pacing, captivating reading which ended in 5 hours. My heart truly hurt for ... yes the readers know which character I’m talking about. That character’s heart wrenching story will haunt me for a long time.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.