Laurel Mack has never gotten over the disappearance of her teenage daughter Ellie a decade earlier but finally the police have provided some closure and she's ready to live again. A chance encounter with a man in a bakery leads to a relationship but as Laurel gets to know Floyd's family she is disturbed by the resemblance of his young daughter to Ellie.

The book was riveting and enjoyable but I was unclear about why the author included chapters written from the perspective of Noelle, Ellie's kidnapper. They are enlightening for the reader, but wouldn't be accessible to the other characters in the book. Her motivations can be inferred from the plot, so those sections seemed unnecessary to me.

I've enjoyed Lisa Jewell's last few books and I look forward to promoting this one to fans of domestic thrillers.

This author has yet to let me down!

This was a well executed mystery, told from multiple POV's and spanning many years from past to present.

Laurel's daughter Ellie goes missing at the young age of 15. Years later, Laurel meets what could be her daughter's clone in the form of her new boyfriends child, Poppy. The similarities are uncanny, but Laurel can't help but be drawn to her daughter's mini-me.

The more time she spends with Poppy, the more Laurel can't help but revisit the past, and retrace the final steps that led to her daughters disappearance.

I loved how the story unfolded, the author offering up little crumbs here and there-just enough to keep me curious and confused. The pace was a bit too slow for my liking, but the ending made up for this as I thought it offered the perfect amount of closure all around.

I think this is one that will hit everyone's check list-highly recommend!

ARC provided by NetGalley

"Stories," she says, "are the only thing in this world that are real. Everything else is just a dream."

This isn't my first Lisa Jewell novel, and it won't be my last.

Ellie Mack was the 'golden' child in her Mother's eyes. Then one day Ellie disappears, on her way to the library. Her mother, Laurel, falls apart and never fully recovers. Her marriage suffers as well as the relationship her other children. Ten years later, she finds herself alone and at a standstill with her life. She finally allows herself to open her heart again to Floyd, after seeing him at a local coffee shop. Her life seems to coming back together, until she meets Floyd's youngest daughter Poppy, who has a striking resemblance to Ellie.

Then She Was Gone is slightly dark as it intertwines the lives of several characters. It's told from multiple POV's, which is necessary in order to get the entire story of 'What happened to Ellie Mack'. Lisa Jewell does this thing where she gives away little pieces of the story, but they don't spoil anything. The plot is unraveled slowly at first. There aren't exactly 'bread crumbs' left for you to make sense of, but much bigger pieces. Even when you start to figure out where the story is going, there are always hidden gems that you miss because you were focusing on the bigger picture. Somehow, Lisa brings everything together in the end and still shocks you. The characters are well developed... everyone is more than what they seem.

Was I able to figure out some of what happened to Ellie? Yes, but there was no way to guess all the details.

Thank you to the publisher who gave me an advanced copy via NetGalley.

Lisa Jewell has been on my list of authors to try for a while now, so I was really excited to get an ARC of her new book, coming out this April. Then She Was Gone had me spellbound for pretty much an entire day. I think I read like 60% of this book in one sitting.

I actually quite like mystery/thrillers. I don’t read them all that much, but I do get really into them when I finally pick one up. The only thing is that I can get pretty disturbed by mystery novels and I definitely got disturbed by this one.

Then She Was Gone tells the story of Ellie Mack, who walked out the house one day when she was 15 years old and was never seen again. Her mother is obviously devastated by the loss of her daughter; her marriage falls apart, her relationship with her other 2 children suffers, and for 10 years, she struggles to find any kind of closure and is unable to move on. Until she meets Floyd Dunn and his daughter Poppy and finally begins to reawaken and believe she might be able to start to piece her life back together.

The format of this story is fascinating. It has 5 parts and a lot of different narrators. It is predominantly narrated by Laurel Mack, Ellie’s mother, but it does alternate to several other perspectives throughout the novel. Most notable for me was that it’s partially narrated by Ellie herself in the first part and we learn almost immediately who our main suspect for her disappearance is. I was so surprised that we learned this information so early in the story and I felt like the first part (~15%) was almost a book in itself.

From there, Laurel meets Floyd and is transported to an entirely new life. I found this part of the story a little boring, but Jewell still did a good job at keeping me intrigued because I still wanted to know what actually happened. This part mostly just felt a little in contrast with the first part of the novel, which has a super strong start. It only took 1 chapter for me to get totally into this story.

It is a little predictable what happens, but it’s so freaking weird that when I was guessing at what might have happened I was like, “surely not” and tried to dismiss my prediction. Parts of the novel are definitely very disturbing and Jewell does create subtle atmospheric changes to her writing as the novel progresses. I actually really liked the end of this book. While I predicted some parts, the end did surprise me and while parts of it are heartbreaking, I appreciated Jewell ending her story this way.

I liked Laurel’s transformation throughout the course of the novel. I was frustrated with her at times and I have to admit, I did find some of her actions a little unbelievable and not to be in line with her character. Laurel lost her daughter and couldn’t move on for 10 years, so I found it really hard to suspend disbelief that she wouldn’t be incredibly suspicious of some of the weird coincidences of this book and that she didn’t always trust her instincts. Like I said though, this book had me totally spellbound and I would like to read some more of Jewell’s work!

For me, this wasn't a page turner in the "OMG I have to see what happens next!" way, but in a "I have to figure out what is going on" way. I read this book over a few days, to the point of feeling like an addict. Even if I got three sentences read while waiting in line, I read whenever, wherever. Very fresh ideas, the twists weren't predictable for me. I will be looking for more from this author!

Loved this book... really quick read, liked the alternating perspectives. Was tied up a little too neatly, however kept me reading chapter after chapter.

Of the three children, Ellie was the favorite. It was devastating to her family when she disappeared. None of them thought she ran away except the police. For ten years her mother, Laurel, hoped Ellie would come back. She was never spotted, none of her belongings had been found. And then, bones and a backpack were found. DNA testing showed these were Ellie’s. And then Laurel could move on. She had lost her family and pretty much her whole life as she knew it. But when she meets Floyd and his daughter it all becomes better. His daughter, Poppy loves Laurel and Floyd and Laurel become very close. He isn’t the man Laurel thinks he is and only one person knows this. Her son’s girlfriend gets a glimpse of his psyche. Laurel just can’t believe it.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader copy of Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell - all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is yet another, absolutely awesome book by Lisa Jewell. Lisa continues to be one of my favorite authors, who is somehow able to weave complex character drama with compelling mystery into a perfectly paced, and delicious read.

Then She Was Gone follows Laurel Mack, whose teenage daughter Ellie, went missing 10 years before. There are not many clues, and the police eventually mark it down as a runaway teen, although the family never quite reconcile that with the golden girl they loved. Laurel's life unraveled as the years passed, costing her her marriage and her relationships with her other two children.

As Laurel works to piece her life back together, she meets a seemingly wonderful man in a cafe, who gives her a sense of possibility of moving on with her life, and starting anew. Soon she is meeting his daughter, Poppy, a dead lookalike for her long missing daughter, and all of the unanswered questions from her past are stirred back up again. What actually happened to Ellie ten years ago?

I love that the story is told in from varying characters perspectives throughout - every new perspective lending a little more to unfolding the mystery piece by piece. I honestly thought I had a handle on what twists might be coming, but I truly never did figure it all out, right to the very end. The complexity of the characters and their intertwining dynamics were terrifically balanced, and it was so refreshing to read a story of a divorced couple who were not bitterly angry with one another.

Overall this was a fantastic mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat right through the final pages. This book is a perfect fit for book clubs everywhere!

This book will leave you feeling like you just got off an emotional roller-coaster. I read this late into the night before finding myself waking up early to finish it! Laurel is still hurting from her daughter Ellie disappearing 10 years earlier, when she meets a man who it turns out has a young daughter that looks just like Ellie did at the same age of 9.....you will have to read this to find out the twists and turns of this story and oh, what a story it turns out to be! Lisa Jewell does it once again with, Then She Was Gone. Thank you Lisa for another great read, and thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of Then She Was Gone and giving my honest opinion.

Lisa Jewell's latest will keep you guessing to the very end! When a bright, young, and happy teen goes missing, no-one really believes that she ran away - her life was just starting, so what really happened? When her Mom finally decides that its finally time to move on with her life, strange occurrences keep her questioning what really happened that day so long ago. #netgallley #thenshewasgone

That was how she once viewed her perfect life: as a series of bad smells and unfulfilled duties, petty worries and late bills.

And then one morning, her girl, her golden girl, her last born, her baby, her soul mate, her pride and her joy, had left the house and had not come back.

I read Lisa Jewell when I lived in England and always liked her, lately her writing has taken a darker turn, heavier subjects and I prefer this Jewell! Then She Was Gone introduces the reader to Laurel, a mother whose favorite child, Ellie, fails to come home. Her entire world goes from ‘perfect’ to ruinous. Her family is shattered, every relationship strained. Laurel longs for Ellie, because Hanna could never react to life in the sunny ways her sister would have. She refuses to let go of her hope, that she will find out what happened, that they will find Ellie. The crushing weight of the mystery of Ellie’s disappearance has become wound in Laurel’s heart that has infected her other children. She stopped being a wife, a mother… the routines that once carried her no longer seemed important. Laurel is consumed by the loss, the remains of her life, including her husband and children slip through her fingers. Everything she once did to nurture her family meant nothing in the end, it all becomes pointless. Naturally her other daughter feels her sister’s absense like a curse, a blackhole between she and her mother, one she can never hope to cross. She knows her mother would give anything, even her, to have Ellie back.

Many years pass and then Laurel meets a man, Floyd whose little girl Poppy reminds her too much of the daughter who disappeared so long ago. She is finally moving on, but with Poppy now in her life it is dredging up unanswered questions about the past, pulling her back into the mystery of what really happened.

The novel goes between Then and Now, then- Ellie becomes close to her tutor who is quite an interesting character. Ellie tells us her story, step by step, every mistake that led to her disappearance. Reading the novel, you want to step in and save Ellie from what is about to befall her. At times it seems removed from reality, but then I think about true crime stories that are shockingly similar which makes it less fictional. What could be scarier? How easily we open the door to our own nightmares. Mothers, even the best of us, are often blind to the small sufferings of our children. We are trained to look for the big stuff, hence missing the tiny details, for me that is the ache in the novel. It is the truest pain, that no matter how perceptive we are as parents, how attuned to our children, we still miss so much.

When she begins to be a part of Floyd’s life, her past is threaded through his. Has fate brought them together for a reason beyond love and healing?

I figured this one out early on, but it didn’t take away from the tragic turns. It’s strangely disturbing. I can’t talk about the twists in this review, it would give away everything. A child disappearing is as heart wrenching as the death of the love a mother should have for those who remain. It’s hard to blame Laurel, because this is every mother’s worse fear, but there are still other children too. I remember looking at my own grandmother who had suffered so much loss in her lifetime and being in awe of her; the ability to still give so much of herself, to love, to continue on… to still be kind, that life didn’t sour her, giving her it’s worse really. When asked “how did you move on”, always “I had other children to raise”, yet there is no answer that can encompass the pain of the years that she knew would follow. My own grandmother couldn’t even have a picture of her child around decades after tragedy, so reading a fictional account of a mother who closes up left me feeling compassion, while others will only see a selfishness in sinking into sorrow. I’m thinking I’d be more destroyed, like Laurel. On the one hand you hate her for closing up, on the other, can you blame her? Understanding what people need from us, doesn’t always mean we can give it, even when we should. In Laurel’s case, something died inside of her the day her girl vanished. When the truth is discovered, it only makes the lost years that much harder to take.

Publication Date: April 24, 2018

Atria Books

Another great book from Lisa Jewell! This book grabbed me from the beginning, and did not disappoint all the way through. I liked the way she filled in the blanks with hearing from all the characters at different points through out the story. As a parent of 4 girls, this was a heart wrenching story to read, but i liked the way Lisa brings it all around in the end. I would highly recommend this book and cannot wait for more from Lisa Jewell!!

This novel is hauntingly reminiscent of how quickly life can change. Laurel will always wonder what happened to her Ellie, but after years of accepting the loss, it is unnerving that she can still maintain the hope that she is alive.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Laurel Mack's daughter has been missing for ten years. Ellie was the perfect daughter—beloved by her family, friends, teachers, and boyfriend. She was fifteen when she disappeared, just days before school let out for summer. The case had gone cold, the police believed that Ellie ran away, that is until new evidence surfaces.

Not only did Laurel lose her daughter, but her marriage did not survive. She also has strained relationships with her two other children. To stay close to her other daughter, Hannah, she cleans her flat, and she he barely sees her son, Jake, who lives with his girlfriend in another town.

To her surprise and delight, Laurel meets a charming man in a cafe. What starts out as flirtation quickly turns into something more meaningful. Floyd is a single father of two, and before she knows it, Laurel is being introduced to his daughters. When Laurel meets Poppy, his youngest, she is stunned. Poppy looks exactly like Ellie. All of the questions Laurel has pushed down for years come bubbling to the surface. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away? And why does this little girl resemble her missing daughter?

Told through multiple points of view, and alternating from past to present, Jewell pens some interesting and engaging characters with enough backstory to keep the reader vested and engaged. There is one minor plot flaw, but if you can suspend your disbelief, you may not be bothered.

With an incredible hook, this is Lisa Jewell's best book yet. Predictable? A little. Heartbreaking? Yes. Dark and twisty? Check and check! Although there was nothing new here, I would recommend this book for those looking for a page-turning, thrilling read.

See link to goodreads review

This was a very entertaining and engaging mystery/thriller. I will say that while some of the story was quite predictable other parts have left me guessing and scratching my head.

I am never disappointed with a Lisa Jewell book. Many thanks to netgalley and Atria books for this advanced readers copy.

Lisa Jewell's THEN SHE WAS GONE is a brilliantly fast-paced addition to the domestic thriller genre. Some reviewers mention that the mystery is fairly easy to deduce, but this in no way takes away from the story. The plot zips right along and while it may lack some of the high-octane twists we often see in these types of stories, it's 100% entertaining and a perfect choice for readers looking for a bit of creepy escapism. Highly recommended.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting psychological thriller. At first, I was all in. What happened to Ellie? Was she just a runaway? The build to this story was great. The last part was a little too crazy and far fetched for me, but that is usually the case for these type of thrillers. Overall very enjoyable.

4.5 stars

Ellie Mack was 15 years old when she went missing. She was the youngest of three children who left the house one day to go to the library and never returned. Her Mother, Laurel Mack, fell apart after her daughter's disappearance, as most parents would. Her daughter's disappearance forever altered her life. Her marriage fell apart, her other daughter, Hanna became distant and withdrawn from her Mother,her son moved away. Throughout it all she never gave up hope on finding her daughter. Was Ellie a runaway as the police suggested? Was she kidnapped? Was there an accident? So many questions without answers can wear a person down, can leave a hole, and can prevent a person from fully moving on with one's life.

Then ten years after her daughter's disappearance, she goes into a bakery after getting her hair cut, and meets a man named Floyd. He compliments her hair and offers her a bite of his carrot cake. Laurel usually doesn't take chances, but after the last clue in Ellie's case was discovered, Laurel is ready to put her life back on track.

Soon Laurel and Floyd are a couple and she has met his two daughters. She is shocked to see that his youngest daughter, Poppy has a strong resemblance to her daughter, Ellie. As Laurel gets to know the entire family, she begins to learn about coincidences, there is a certain individual who ties both of their lives together.

I read this book in one day. I literally could not put this book down. Lisa Jewell has written a very good psychological thriller/mystery. I enjoyed all the characters even the bad ones. The bad ones were good characters in so much that they were creepy and sinister while at the same time being damaged. This book was a very well thought out and developed plot. The story moves at a very good pace. There were no dull moments. There were moments when I wanted to yell at Laurel "Ask more questions!" and "come on, put it together". Is the book a little predictable? Yes, yes, it is a little predictable. I figured the "mystery" out but that did not spoil the book for me, as I kept turning the pages to see who else was going to figure the book out. The suspense builds as some questions get answered. Do you need to suspend some disbelief? Sure, a little...but that didn't affect my enjoyment of this book at all.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'd say this book is more mystery than thriller, but a very good page turning mystery. I couldn't put it down until the end. I was page turning when I should have been doing other things. This is my first Lisa Jewel novel. I,m happy to have found a new author. I,m starting a new Lisa Jewel now that seems like I'm in for more good reading ( I Found You ).