Ten years after the disappearance of her beloved daughter, Ellie, Laurel
finally begins to move on with her life after she is charmed by a man she meets in a coffee shop. Laurel is taken aback when she is introduced to this man’s nine year old daughter, who is the image of Ellie and, in time, this ideal romance becomes more and more unsettling.

Told from various points of view of the main characters, it is a good story. When I read a book, I do not try to figure out whatever mystery there may be; yet I found this one to be predictable barely a third into it. Despite that, I still found the story compelling and couldn’t wait to finish this psychological thriller.

Disjointed structure, predictable mystery, plodding pace

This book gripped me right from the beginning-it was fantastic! I want to read more by this author!
Laurel Mack's daughter, Ellie, disappeared 10 years ago. Even though they have been looking for her, no clue has turned up in all this time. The only thing that happened during this time was a break-in at the Mack's house with a few items taken. The family just has no idea of what happened to their beloved daughter. Laurel and her husband Paul have divorced, and Laurel is starting a new relationship with a man named Floyd. When she meets Floyd's daughter, Polly, she bears a strange resemblance to Ellie. So begins Laurel's heartbreaking search to find out what really happened to Ellie.
I HIGHLY recommend this book! It is heartbreaking and a story you will not soon forget!

This novel is creepy—in a good way. Fifteen-year-old Ellie disappears on her way to the library one day. Ultimately, since police can’t find anything, they suspect she’s a runaway despite the fact she had a boyfriend she loved and was looking forward to taking the exams she’d been studying hard for.

When we meet up with her mother Laurel ten years later, Laurel’s relationships with her other daughter, her son, and her now-ex-husband have all suffered greatly because they’d never found a body or any evidence of where Ellie may have gone. The not knowing if Ellie is alive or dead has made it impossible for Laurel to move on.

New evidence comes to light at the same time Laurel falls for Floyd, her first relationship with a man since she and her husband separated seven years earlier. At first, the romance is dizzyingly exciting. Then, certain things that Lloyd does start to niggle at Laurel. Something doesn’t seem quite right.

This was not my favorite suspense novel that I’ve read recently, so if you’re strapped for time, I might go with another book. It’s good, but not great, in part because you can guess at a huge part of the mystery (and be right) well before everything is revealed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this mystery, which will be published in the States on April 17, 2018.

Lisa Jewell knows how to build realistic characters from everyday lives and pull you into their stories so that by the end you feel you know them and have lived to tell about it. You realize as the plot thickens that no one is ordinary and everyday lives can hold many secrets. In her newest novel coming out this month Jewell weaves a page turning suspense emotionally narrated from different viewpoints bringing the past and present together to an explosive ending!
A teenage girl goes missing, jump forward 10 years and the family has fallen apart with no answers to what happened to Ellie Mack. Her mother Laurel has had the hardest time moving on till now. She finally has met a wonderful man raising 2 daughters himself. She is especially enamored with young Poppy who reminds her so much of Ellie. So much that she sometimes wonders..........

I've read a lot of psychological thrillers over the years, so it's hard to catch me off guard. It's hard to surprise me. But I'm happy to say this one threw me for a loop! Every time I THOUGHT I knew what was going on, I was wrong. Every time I smugly thought to myself "This is what's going to happen next" the author went in a completely different direction. By the time I figured out what ACTUALLY happened, I was beyond wrong (not to mention horrified...). I love it when a book can take me down a crazy unexpected road. Great read!

A 15 year old girl named Ellie went missing on her way to the local library one day in May back in 2005. Her mother Laurel was so stricken with grief that she started withdrawlingfrom her husband and two other kids. Which ruins her marriage.
Fast forward Laurel runs into a girl that is a spitting image of Ellie! Bom Bom Bom......sorry that was my sad excuse of some drama music
Lisa Jewell is one of my go to writers so I was excited to read Then She was Gone! The writing was really good and Lisa did an amazing job giving many different POVs and jumping from past to present. I look forward to read more from Lisa!

Then She Was Gone is a steady stream of suspense from the very first page. I was intrigued by the title and sold on the blurb. I am a huge fan of books about disappearances as I am always eager to solve a good puzzle. This book gave me everything I wanted.

The story follows Laurel, a grieving mother of three who is living the worst parents’ nightmare. Her fifteen-year-old daughter Ellie has disappeared without a trace. Ellie, a bright teenager has everything she could ask for: great notes, a handsome boyfriend and a good life at home with loving parents.

When Ellie disappears, Laurel is left to grief a daughter who may or may not be dead. Not only has she lost her daughter but in the midst of her grief, Laurel loses her husband as well. With her children grown and in the aftermath of a divorce, Laurel attempts to make a new life. She meets Floyd in a coffee shop and soon a romance emerges. Laurel knows it’s time to move past the grief.

Lisa Jewell’s voice is refreshing and her character development outstanding. She will keep you guessing throughout and when you think you have it all figured out, she will take you in a completely different direction.

I was really excited to read this book however sadly I wasn't happy with the payout. I felt the characters weren't connecting with me and I felt the main character was kind of boring. I wish it was more of what I was looking for because I am a fan of Lisa Jewell but this one wasnt one of my favorites from her.

Then She Was Gone is a riveting, spellbinding, emotional thriller that I couldn't put down. The story touched my heart and sent chills down my spine. Every parent's nightmare is a missing child, especially one that vanishes without a trace like a ghost in the wind. The worry, stress, despair, helplessness, hopelessness, blame/guilt, and heartache are devastating, often destroying families - just as it shatters missing fifteen-year-old Ellie's family. Not ever knowing the reason for Ellie's disappearance, if she's alive or dead, still haunts her mother, Lauren, ten years later. And then she meets a nice man, Floyd, and his lovely, brilliant, precocious nine-year-old daughter, Poppy. Finally, Lauren begins to embrace and reconnect to life again . . . and yet, she senses that something is "off", something she can't quite put her finger on. As the story and their relationship progresses, odd coincidences begin to surface. And once again, Lauren's world is thrown off-kilter. I won't discuss details and suggest readers avoid spoilers and experience this first-hand.

Through multiple points of view and switching between past and present, this heart-breaking, sinister story unfolds. While I saw where the story was headed early, it in no way lessened my reading experience, and I soon discovered unforeseen twists. Held captive in the dark, atmospheric setting by an ominous premonition and presence, I experienced goosebumps and was forced to absorb blow after blow just as the characters do. Jewell sets a dire tone early, maintaining it throughout with chilling scenes and characters - each building upon the last until they all collide, and the truth is revealed. Tears were streaming down my face as I read the last page. Then She Was Gone is brilliantly written and delivered piece by agonizing piece. I'll be seeking out more of this author's work. A Must Read!

Ellie, 15 was walking to the library when she went missing one day in may, 2005. Laurel, Ellie's mother was torn to pieces, withdrew from her other 2 children, and husband, putting their marriage in shambles.
Years later, dating a man named Floyd, Laurel runs into what possibly could be Ellie's clone. Too many unusual coincidences related to Ellie new boyfriend also with Ellie start occurring, putting Laurel on edge.
Then She Was Gone was told from multiple points of view, spanning many years from past to present.

Edgy, Dark and Addictive

This turned out to be quite a stunner. I’ve read lots of psychological thrillers and this one caught me off guard. Much more than your typical missing daughter plot. Scattered with hints of some shocking revelations to come.

This is my fourth Lisa Jewell novel and I’m a huge fan. I love her writing style and how she keeps me totally absorbed in the story line. The more I read, the more invested I became and started to care about some of the key characters. Told in multiple POVs we get to learn about their motivations as secrets come out. Somewhere around seventy percent, it became unputdownable as so many shockers were thrown at me. I’m pretty sure I was talking to myself about what was happening!

Laurel’s teenage daughter, Ellie goes missing, she is a smart and clever girl. In time, Laurel meets a charming man who she is very attracted to. When she meets his teenage daughter, she can’t shake the feeling of how much she reminds her of her beloved Ellie. Well, what the heck is going on here? You’ll have to read it to find out!

There is an emotional punch as the tension builds towards the dramatic end.

Thanks to Atria for my ARC.Review will also post on my blog https://dressedtoread.com/
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Then She Was Gone is an amazing story. It is an intriguing and unique mystery. It is also full of love, tenderness, and the genuine feelings of a mother for her daughter.

A very enjoyable psychological suspense, told from 4 POVs and the author does it very well. A missing child, a grieving mother. A huge mystery. I stayed up all night reading. Well-done!

3.5 star read. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. The characters were well developed and the storytelling was what made this book great. However, maybe I'm being nitpicky, but I found it predictable and a bit unrealistic.

This book is definitely a page-turner of a thriller. Laurel's daughter Ellie went missing ten years ago, yet Laurel's new love interest has a young daughter who looks strikingly like Ellie. As Floyd becomes incorporated into Laurel's life, author Lisa Jewell creates a cast of quirky characters: Hanna, the daughter Laurel has a complicated and negative relationship with; Noelle, the weird math tutor; Paul, the ex-husband who Floyd seems freakishly copy; and Poppy, Floyd's young daughter, brilliant, socially over-mature, homeschooled, and a dead ringer for Ellie. Yet with all this mystery, the book ultimately was a bit predictable for me, with too pat of an ending. Read in one day, this is a vacation read that won't let you down, but not one that will linger long in my mind. Thanks to Net Galley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I finished this book with a big exhale and a tear in my eye. Then She Was Gone is an emotionally-charged read featuring damaged characters and a story that is as touching as it is chilling. While it’s touted as a psychological thriller, I found it to be more of a dissection of dysfunctional families set around the story of a missing teen.


The story is told by four characters in two different time frames and the switching back and forth was done fluidly with the various points of view adding to the characters' depth. The characters were a diverse bunch – they’re complicated, a few were unlikable and some even sinister. But Jewell shows readers where their damage stems from and while I still wasn't endeared to a few, I appreciated getting a glimpse into why they became that way.


Within the story, Jewell handles some big issues: mental illness, healing, family dysfunction and the struggle to persevere after great suffering. I especially liked the focus on the influence, positive and negative, that parents hold over their children's emotional, physical and mental well-being, and how disconnect of this bond, can influence a child, no matter their age.

As an avid reader of the suspense genre, I figured out the main twist early on, but it was Laurel's journey, and my hope that I was wrong, that kept me glued to the pages. Then She Was Gone is an engaging read with emotional scenes, diverse characters and some mystery, ending with an epilogue that will hit readers hard.

Disclaimer: This Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) was generously provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Exactly what I have come to expect from Jewell. Fast paced thrilling read that keeps readers on the edge of their seats! Bravo.

My biggest issue with this novel was its predictability. I was able to guess from early on where the plot was going to go, and where the twists would lead - and that took away from the suspense of my experience. I was never sitting on the edge of my seat, because it was an overall flat story. It is classified as a mystery and thriller, but I would consider it to be more of an adult fiction with dark themes. In my opinion, there was nothing mysterious or thrilling about it.

This novel did grip me in the beginning being told in the “before” and “after” of the kidnapping, and it was nice to get the perspective of Ellie in order to sympathize with what happens to her later. I felt sorry for Ellie and what she went through, but I could not have cared less about any of the other characters. They didn’t feel real, they felt like every generic family you would see on a talk show after one of the members goes missing.

Oh my gosh. I don't know where to begin. I loved this book.

The story may sound familiar--missing child, grieving mother, strange connections to another child years later. But it's the execution that makes all the difference here. Part of what makes a psychological thriller work, in my opinion, is that it must seem feasible for the main character to be making connections where connections don't exist. To be imagining things. Even as tiny clues start to stack up. And that is what's done so exceptionally well here.

Of course Laurel misses her daughter Ellie. It's natural to "see" her in other children. And Laurel is aware of that. Which, among many other things, makes Laurel so relatable. She reacts as I think most of us would in that situation.

There were also multiple twists that I did not see coming, which made it an exceptionally enjoyable read. I'll be recommending to fans of Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, B.A. Paris, and the like.