3.5 STARS - Lisa Jewell is back with a slow-burn domestic mystery about a teenage mom and her boyfriend who go missing without a trace. Told using multiple POVs, including teenage Tallulah, her mom Kim and Sophie, a mystery writer, the story also jumps between three timelines which are close together - 2016, 2017 when Tallulah went missing and two years later when Tallulah's mom Kim, now raising her toddler grandson, is still trying to find out what happened to her daughter.

The story gets full marks for creepy atmosphere - I particularly liked the eerie old home, hidden spaces, and secrets, but I was surprised that the tension takes awhile to begin and remains low key throughout. Readers are given a few red herrings to keep them wondering what exactly happened to Tallulah and I appreciated how Jewell included a look at domestic issues from a teen mom's POV.

The first half of the book focuses on a lot of backstories of the characters resulting in a story that was less suspenseful than I had expected. But it was the chilling atmosphere and the need to know what happened to Tallulah that kept me reading. Unfortunately, I found the ending rushed, underwhelming and a bit unbelievable. Simply put, the story had good bones, but I wish it had gone darker and put me on the edge of my seat.

This isn't a twisty thriller but a slow burn mystery and while The Night She Disappeared isn't my favourite Lisa Jewell book, she remains an auto-read author for me, and I eagerly look forward to her next book.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Atria Books for my advanced copy provided in exchange for my honest review.

Lisa Jewell's newest book is one of her best in recent years. She masterfully rotates between three timelines and a multitude of perspectives without tying the reader up on knots. The pacing is perfect, and manages to keep you on your toes and wanting to turn the page. The plot surprises the reader without becoming outlandish or contrived--a perfect mystery!

"How can two people go to the pub on a Friday night and never come back and nobody know what happened to them? The mystery consumes her, whole."

Phenomenal!! My heart is still pounding. Lisa Jewel’s best book ever!!

First of all, once I started reading this book, I went back and really examined the cover. Perfection! I appreciate when thought and care is taken with a book's cover.

This absolute gem of a thriller is divided into five parts and the story is told from several different points of view. They are all very distinct voices and are all vital to the plot. Right from the beginning I was mesmerized by Kim Murray's story, the mother of Tallulah, the missing girl. Tallulah's point of view is also absolutely riveting, as a teenage mother to a young child who is trying to get her university degree.

Added into the mix is Sophie Beck who is a writer of detective books and who has recently moved to the small village where the main characters live. Sophie is struggling with having made the decision to leave London to live with her partner, who has taken a job as head of school. To Lisa Jewell's credit she ties in all these seemingly disparate characters and makes the reader really care about their fates.

The book begins with the night when Tallulah and her boyfriend disappear into thin air. They had been at a late-night pool party at the home of Tallulah's school friend but she seems clueless about Tallulah's whereabouts. Kim knows that Tallulah would never just abandon her beloved son Noah, who had been left in Kim's care that night. Not only has Kim been on a mission to find her daughter ever since, Kim fights her rising panic that no one else is treating this like a missing person's case.

Sophie becomes involved in the now year-old mystery when she and boyfriend move into the school residence Maypole House. She befriends Kim, who is now raising her grandson on her own. No one has seen or heard from Tallulah or her boyfriend Zach since the night they disappeared. Sophie becomes caught up in solving the mystery and within a short period of time, uncovers crucial information and provides it to the local inspector assigned to the case.

I have already given more detail than I intended with this review! What happened to Tallulah and Zach that night? Did the local police ignore obvious clues? Was Zach somehow involved in Tallulah's disappearance? I ADORE all of Lisa Jewell's books but if you start with just one, read this one! The complex characters, the surprising plot twists, and the heartbreaking search of a mother for her missing child against all odds make this a must-read, and one of my favorite thrillers of the year. Bravo to the author (and dare I say I would read more books featuring Sophie Beck?) Happy reading!

(Thanks to the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.)

This was my first Lisa Jewell, so I'm a little late to the party, but boy did I love this. This was a great mash up of domestic psychological thriller with some dark academia vibes. Her characters were so interesting, and she has a way of getting to the heart of people with deceptive simplicity (ala Agatha Christie), you get an immediate feel for her characters even as she later presents things that begin to alter that picture. **Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!**

The lowdown: A teen couple (and parents of a 1 yo son) disappears after attending a party at a friends house, a mystery that stretches out for a year with nothing being discovered, no bodies, no hints of the missing couple or what could have happened to them. The story follows 3 major time lines. One starts around 2 years prior and follows teenage Tallulah through her life in the lead up to the night her and her boyfriend (and baby daddy disappear). The second, is that of Tallulah's mother starting from the night the two teens disappear and into the aftermath as she, the town, and the police try to make sense of their mysterious disappearance. The third, follows Sophie (who happens to be a mystery writer) as she moves into an on campus cottage with her boyfriend (who is the new boarding school headmaster) and finds herself engaged as a tool to bring what really happened that night to light at last.

Jewell does a great job of building plenty of psychological suspense as she begins cracking the door open further and further into these characters lives, providing plenty of twists and turns along the way. You've got the rich kids and kids from the wrong side of the tracks colliding, as well as young people struggling to find themselves under conflicting circumstances (like Scarlet the rich and magnetic hot mess who slowly draws Talullah into her inner circle). Plus a hodge podge of a massive country house, dubbed "Dark Place", and home to hundred year old secrets, and the expansive woods that lay between the massive house and the boarding school/cottage where Sophie lives - and the potential location of the teens disappearance.

I really couldn't put this one down, and was equally engaged in all three time lines (which for me almost never happens, there's always at least one I care considerably less about), and she does a great job of blending the lead ups of all three to an integrated climax. You've got plenty of suspects and suppositions of what could have happened (and by not revealing what the actual crime was until the end, she keeps even the crime itself shrouded in mystery), and the tension really builds to that reveal. And for a mystery without a major "twist" in it (not in the sense of a "turn the whole story on its head" sort of way anyway), its still super suspenseful and thrilling as you experience everything leading up to the eventuality of "what really happened that night" and the equally mysterious "what the hell happened afterwards".

I actually cared about several of the characters in this one, which in today's publishing climate is a rarity (there are a whole lot of unlikable and unreliable narrators out there right now, which while providing excellent tricky mystery/thrillers, do not endear themselves to me). And because of this I had a lot more invested in how this turned out then I typically do with this type of novel. So most importantly: I was really satisfied with the ending in this one (and that epilogue gave it just that little bit more of an edge and extra dose of satisfaction).

After a very disappointing psychological thriller read (Paula Hawkin's most recent, Slow Fire Burning) this was the perfect antidote - Do yourself a favor and read this instead!

This would make a great Netflix limited series ala the Harlen Coben's they've done. Also if you read this and liked it try Tana French's The Secret Place which is another psychological thriller with some Dark Academia overtones.

Come find me on #bookstagram @museignitedreads

The kind of book that leaves you on the edge of your seat. It’d be hard not to read it in one sitting!

Lisa Jewell did a perfect job of keeping the reader in suspense, and on the edge of their seat.

As timelines and points of view alternate effectively, we learn about the Dark Place and why two young parents-Tallulah and Zach- were last seen there.

Their disappearance becomes a cold case, but Kim (Tallulah’s mom) never gives up.

Sophie, a detective novelist comes across some new information/leads that opens the case back up. With Kim’s help, Sophie much like the characters she writes about is determined to crack this case.

With an eerie setting, characters with motive and mysterious secrets, readers of Lisa Jewell’s newest book will be eager to know why Tallulah and Zach disappeared!

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell is a slow burning mystery/thriller read. This story is told in three different timelines with one in 2016, one in 2017 and then again in 2018. During these different times in the story there is also changes in the point of view.

In June of 2017, Kim is babysitting her grandson as her teenage daughter and her boyfriend are having a date night. Kim knows that raising a baby is tough enough but with her daughter doing it at such a young age she wants her to have a little time out. However, the next day Kim finds that her daughter and her boyfriend never returned from their night out.

In August of 2018, Sophie is just moving into the cottage that came with her boyfriend’s new job at the local school. As Sophie gets moved in she comes across a real life mystery that reminds her of those in her books when she reads the story of the young couple that disappeared the year before. What Sophie never expected though after hearing the story was finding a clue in her own backyard to the disappearance.

Despite this book having so many different times and POVs to follow Lisa Jewell showed why she’s such a popular author making the story very easy to follow and understand. Each of the characters were distinct so I knew exactly which viewpoint and period in time each time they changed. And also, being someone that usually gets a little bored with slow moving stories I never found that happening and flew right through the book. The book is also divided into sections which I thought of a bit like markers for each layer of the story that got peeled back and discovered along the way and was completely engrossed in finding out what happened right up to the final twist at the end.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell is a very highly recommended suspenseful thriller.

Tallulah Murray, her partner, Zach, (both 19) and their infant son Noah are living with Tallulah's mother, Kim. Between caring for their son, Tallulah's class schedule, and Zach's job, the two have been busy and have had a hard year. One summer night the two ask Kim to watch Noah so they can have a date night at a local pub. Kim receives a text later saying they have been invited by a college friend of Tallulah's to a house party at her families country estate, Dark Place, and will be home later than expected. This is the last time anyone hears from Tallulah and Zach. It is proposed that the two simply ran away, but Kim knows that they were both too devoted to Noah to leave him. After a search and investigation, no trace of the two were found.

A year later Sophie Beck moves into a cottage near Dark Place with her partner, Shaun Gray. Shaun has just accepted the position of head teacher at a prestigious school and asked Sophie, a writer of cozy mysteries, to move there with him. As they are settling in, Sophie comes upon a piece of cardboard with hand lettered writing saying "Dig Here" with an arrow pointing down. When she does just that, Sophie discovers a box with what appears to be an engagement ring inside. After learning about the mysterious disappearance of the two teens the year before, Sophie thinks this is tied into the case and she begins to investigate.

The plot unfolds through the narratives in three timelines: Kim's point-of-view starting in 2017; Sophie's starting in 2018; and Tallulah's in 2016. The three don't coalesce until the end and serve to keep the intrigue and tension building throughout the story. There are secrets and events from the past that are unknown until Tallulah's story begins to incrementally reveal them. This plot structure using the three narrative threads works extremely well in The Night She Disappeared and each new revelation adds a new complexity to the plot. This is a novel that you may try to predict what is happening, but you will be surprised with yet another twist. It is a perfectly presented accomplished work of suspense that will hold your attention from start to finish.

The characters are all wonderfully realized and developed with individual personalities. Tallulah is depicted believably as a teenage mother, doing her best. Kim and Sophie are presented as realistic characters - women you could know. The supporting characters also are believable and feel like distinctive characters. The development of the characters and the clever plot structure helps propel The Night She Disappeared to one of the best.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

The Night She Disappeared is a slow burn domestic mystery/thriller that I enjoyed. It is 2017 and Talullah and her boyfriend go out for a nice evening. Her mother, Kim, looks after their young son and wakes up the next morning realizing they did not come home. Neither of them are answering their phone. What happened to them? Did they run off together, wanting freedom from raising a child when they were so young, or did something nefarious happen. Fast forward to 2019. A new headmaster for an exclusive boarding school and his author girlfriend have moved into a cottage on the grounds. While exploring the property, Sophie finds a sign on the gate saying, "Dig Here." This reopens the case of the missing teens. Her experience at writing mysteries makes Sophie throw herself into discovering what happened to them. She teams up with Kim to try and find out if Tallulah is still alive and if not, what happened to her and Zach.

As usual, I always enjoy one timeline more than the other and that is the case here. I really liked all that was happening in 2019, but the story of Lula and Scarlett meeting in 2017 was not as relatable to me. However, it was essential to the story to learn what happened before. The friendship Lula had gotten involved in with Scarlett is very important to finding out what happened to the teens. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, some I loved, some not so much. There were times I love Tallulah and other times I wanted to shake her, but that is to be expected with teenagers. I think I felt for Kim the most. She wants to know what happened to her daughter, and is now raising her grandson which is not the easiest for her. This was a great mystery and domestic thriller that I enjoyed. The final twists were amazing and and had me shaking my head, that Lisa Jewell had taken me there and not suspecting it. The ending was great and I enjoyed the epilogue that tied everything up for me. I will say this was not my favourite Lisa Jewell novel, but definitely one I recommend.

The Night She Disappeared, at just over 400 pages, is a slow burn story told from three different points of view - Tallulah, Kim (her mother), and Sophie. The story switches between each of these characters and their space in the overall timeline. The jumps in timeline, between characters, can become incredibly distracting for me; but Lisa Jewell (and B.A. Paris) really handle this writing technique very well, in my opinion.

Jewell is one of my favorite authors. I really enjoy the wonderful twists and turns in her stories. But I will reiterate that this book has a much slower pace than some of her previous work. As always, Jewell creates complex characters that readers will find unreliable in their story and suspect until the very end.

LJ is an auto read author for me and anytime I get my hands on her books I drop everything to read it. This was more of a slow burn than some of her previous books but I was still hooked right away. You have two timelines that are actually only about a year and a half apart. In 2017 Tallulah goes out for a night with some friends and her boyfriend and never returns. Her mom Kim, knows her daughter wouldn’t leave her baby but she seems to be one of the few people concerned for her safety. Then in 2019 Sophie moves to the area and sees a sign that says dig here on a tree near her home. This one felt ominous and had a great atmosphere, a very strong sense of place and a complex plot. Overall another solid thriller from the author and one that I can definitely recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks @atriabooks for my copy!

Solid mystery told from multiple points of view and timelines that eventually merge to give the complete story. The book was over 400 pages and I felt the story dragged on a bit because of that. The first three quarters of the book was a slow build and it got more exciting towards the last 25% for me when everything started to come together. Most of the story was written from a young adult perspective and I can't say I liked the majority of the characters. There weren't many surprises or twists, but I enjoyed it overall and would recommend it.

Jewell is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is my third book of hers and I just love her writing more and more with each one. She really had me guessing the whole time. One of the characters, Sophie, is a detective novelist trying to solve the real life mystery of what happened the night Tallulah and her boyfriend disappeared. Between the present day investigation and the flashbacks from that night, I felt like a detective right there with her trying to piece it all together. With short chapters and fresh clues around every corner, you won’t want to put this one down. Whether you’re a long time Lisa Jewell fan or new to her books entirely, you will not be disappointed.

I enjoyed this thriller! I thought it was a slow burn and I was hoping for more of a twist at the end, but it definitely was a page turner for me. The Night She Disappeared will definitely be one to read this fall!

3.5 rounded up to 4

Lisa Jewell is one of my go to authors, The Night She Disappeared releases in just a few short days. Some of her books have been fast paced, unputdownable and others have a slower pace. This one fits the latter.

Told from 3 different POVs, Tallulah (teen mom), her mom Kim and unrelated Sophie. I enjoyed hearing from Tallulah and Kim, for some reason I wasn't a fan of Sophie (no idea why really). Tallulah was a good teen mom, juggling school, friends and doting on her son. So when she disappeared one night we know something is up.

The book jumps between the characters and back in time (with back story) at times it felt long and distracted me from the disappearance. A lot of teen drama that gave this book a YA feel. I like YA so no big deal for me. Eventually it does reveal what happens that night.

The Night She Disappeared is a slow paced mystery with a creepy house, surrounding woods and unreliable (and unlikable) characters. A number of red herrings left me guessing but it was the ending that kinda fell a little flat for me. For me this didn't have the emotional impact I am used to with a Lisa Jewell book but still an intricately woven mystery.

My thanks to Atria Books for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*3.5 stars rounded up.

It takes awhile to warm up to this mystery and its complicated plot. I think it's because of the alternating timelines but eventually that starts working for the mystery and draws the reader in.

The plot: Sophie, a cozy crime novelist, arrives at Maypole House with her boyfriend, Shaun, who is the new head teacher at the school. Outside their garden gate she sees a sign that reads 'Dig Here' with an arrow pointing down. And of course Sophie does dig there...and what she disc0vers puts her on the trail of a local cold case from 15 months earlier that involves the disappearance of two teens, Jack Allister and Tallulah Murray.

The other timelines tell the story of Tallulah and Jack and what led to their disappearance. It does jump around a bit so buckle in for a bumpy ride. They have a baby and live with her mother, Kim, who is a real sweetie. Jack wants to get married and get a place of their own but Tallulah has different ideas and her own desires. (I loved her strength of character!) On the night Jack plans to propose, they go out for a night on the town, but meet up with friends at the pub and follow them to Dark Place for a party...and afterwards they are never seen again.

This is a character-driven plot. Most of these people are likable and easy to relate to, especially Kim and Sophie. But there is one who, though quite charismatic, is self-centered and manipulative, rather like a spider in the center of a web. And poor Tallulah suffers from arachnophobia...

I received an arc of this new thriller by Lisa Jewell from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED By Lisa Jewell
Thriller fiction
416 pages

In 2017 Tallulah is planning a date night out with her boyfriend Josh leaving her baby with her mom. They enjoy a fun night out but the next morning they are nowhere to be found. Her mom Kim never stops wondering where is her babygirl?? Until the day when Sophie, a new resident and novelist moves into the village with her boyfriend and finds a wooden sigh on her property saying "dig here". Very ominous words to find. Together Kim and Sophie team up to find out what happened to Tallulah and Josh.

OMG What did I just read???!!!!!!! This is in my opinion Lisa Jewell’s best book!!!!!! The twists and manipulation in this book will astonish readers but they will be begging for more. I could not put this one down. I had a few theories about how this one ends up but none of my theories even came close. Lisa Jewell is definitely one of the queens of suspense thriller in my opinion. I highly recommend this amazing book!!!!!!

Why did I not start reading books by Lisa Jewell sooner? This is my third book by this author and she is now one of my favorites!

I could not put this book down and finished it in about two days. I love a mysterious book with plot twists, that have me trying to figure out what happens next. I did figure out some parts of this book, but then something completely unexpected would happen and I would think, “wow!” how does she come up with this? It also involves a creepy house, which is always a plus for me!

The story takes place in three different time frames. I know some readers don't enjoy books that go back and forth to different time periods, but this book is well written, so the different time frames were easy to follow and it really added to the suspense in trying to figure out what happened and help develop the characters.

I definitely recommend this book and I can't wait to read more of this author's book. #TheNightSheDisappeared #NetGalley

"How can two people go to the pub on a Friday night and never come back and nobody know what happened to them?"

The Night She Disappeared is a slow-burning mystery about a pair of teen parents who vanish without a trace, leaving their infant son behind, and the people who refuse to give up the search, despite having few clues to lead them anywhere.

"How could there be no evidence? That’s what’s always confused me. They were there, and then they weren’t. Not a drop of blood, not a sniff of death. Two whole people, just gone. It doesn’t make any sense. Does it?"

The story's pacing was very slow initially, and I struggled to stay interested for the first third of the book. The narrative's timeline jumps around frequently, from present to past and back again, and that added a layer of confusion that just made it all the more difficult for me to stay focused.

"There are no answers to anything, anywhere…"

But I'm glad I powered through, because once I could see how the story was going to start coming together, I suddenly became very interested in how the conflicts would be resolved! Lisa Jewell created a tense scenario where many possible outcomes would have been believable - the parents could have been found dead, alive, in hiding, guilty of a crime, victims of something worse, and she kept me guessing until the end!

"I might do some terrible things."

I loved the ending and how everything tied together, and all of the tangential characters along the way who, as it turned out, had significant connections to the outcome of the story. These masterfully-woven details redeemed the slow start for me, and made the book absolutely worth the read!

"This is someone who has known something all along whilst remaining in the shadows. Someone who knows what happened to Tallulah and Zach. And for whatever reason they’ve grown bored of the silence."

——

A huge thank you to Lisa Jewell, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell is a thriller surrounding many secrets. 19 year old Tallulah has a baby that she is raising while living at home with her mother. Her mom watches the baby while Tallulah and her boyfriend go out one night, but they never return. Tallulah would never have left her baby this way and her mom just knows something ain’t right. Secrets are exposed when someone finds a note taped to a tree that “dig here”.

This was a fairly average mystery/thriller. Not a bad read, but no big surprises. A couple of mild surprises, but only that.