Lisa Jewell | THEN SHE WAS GONE

Plot (via Amazon):

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?

Review:

Last spring, I was given a copy of I FOUND YOU by Lisa Jewell and was mesmerized within the story and her writing. A year later and Atria provided me with a galley of THEN SHE WAS GONE and let me just say, Lisa Jewell has not lost her touch. 

The plot to this novel, like IFY is dazzling and weaves together a domestic suspense with multiple perspectives and timelines. This way of writing her novels is so effective, because Jewell takes care of her character development, allowing these spectacular new people to ease their way into your life. I often found myself not wondering just what would happen with the multiple stories, but catching myself feeling what they felt and caring about what would happen to them. 

While this novel was a little slower paced than her previous one, I still loved the small, dark breadcrumbs of suspense and mystery Jewell would throw in right around the time I started to let my guard down. I was quickly riveted and eating up the pages as around the mid-mark this novel transitioned from a domestic drama to a straight up thriller that was leaving me guessing, failing at guessing, and then shocked with what was to come. I could not get enough of this novel and Jewell's writing. I not only look forward to her next novel, but am eager to go into her back catalog and see what else I can find!

Special thanks to Atria Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5