I usually like Lisa Jewell novels but this one was disappointing. The story is told from three different perspectives on three different timelines. The plot is convoluted, slow to build and the way it unfolded just wasn't very believable. I will continue to read Lisa Jewell novels but I can't recommend this one. .

I LOVED THIS BOOK. Lisa Jewell has a way with words that I will never tire of. Her red herrings send my brain spiraling in so many different directions yet the plot twists still surprise me every time.

The timelines were VERY confusing at first, and since I had an ebook copy, I had trouble flipping back to make sure I knew which timeline I was in. But that's my only complaint!

The characters were well developed, they felt so real. The annoying ones felt so grating, and the sweet ones seemed so lovely.

Overall this thriller/mystery had me guessing up until the last page! I highly recommend it!

Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite authors so I went into this with a lot of hype. She is still the master of suspense and manages so many POVs/characters better than anyone, but this book missed the mark a bit for me. I found it to be way too long and it drug out a bit and some of the characters seemed a bit pointless to the overall story. I also sadly guessed the ending twist. All that said, I enjoyed it because it's Lisa Jewell, it just isn't my favorite of hers. Big thanks to Atria for the ARC :)

I am a big fan of Lisa Jewell novels, so I was really excited to read this. And I think this is my new favorite of hers! It grabbed my attention right away and the short chapters made it impossible to put down. There were a lot of characters but it was written in a way that made it easy to follow and get to know everyone involved. There were three POVs, all somewhat on their own timeline, so it was a lot to keep up with. I read this in a span of two days, but I think if I had put any more time between when I picked up this book, it could have gotten a little confusing. For me though, I thought it was a really great thriller and i did not see that ending coming!!

A young teenaged couple, parents to a baby, disappear without a trace one night after visiting a friend's house late one evening.

And so the story unravels, in 3 different timeliness, which eventually converge, until the truth is finally revealed.

It took me a while to get into the story, as the 3 timelines really took some getting used to. Also, I really felt that major aspects were unrealistic, to the point that it at times took me out of the story. For example, the person who begins putting the pieces of the puzzle together is a crime novelist, and the ways she uncovers information is so rudimentary that it is difficult to believe that law enforcement wasn't able to do so as well.

I wasn't really surprised at the twist and the big reveal, so the end was pretty anti-climactic. However, the story kept my attention, and I found myself turning the pages to the conclusion.

Overall, it was an interesting mystery story, but I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters or the outcome, so not one I would consider thrilling or suspenseful.

This is going to be one of my favorite thrillers of the year. My favorite thing about Lisa Jewell's thrillers is her ability to write characters that you care about beyond the plot, while having crazy twists and turns. The multiple perspectives and timelines was executed perfectly, I was never only wanting to read one perspective and cared about each of the main characters. I love how the time lines intertwined at the end and reveal of the mystery was told from each perspective. This book kept me up and creeped me out in the best way and kept me guessing until the last chapter.

Whenever I want to pick up and book and know that I will be completely satisfied, I pick up Lisa Jewell. You just know that you will be fully invested in the story and reaching the end. You know that the road is going to be curving left and right and you might get a little lost but you will never be disappointed.

Two teens go missing a couple of years before Sophie and her head teacher boyfriend move into their cozy cottage on the school grounds. When a sign shows up in their yard, dig here, Sophie uncovers an engagement ring and she becomes involved in the mystery. It helps that she is a cozy mystery writer. The book gives us the backstory of the missing teens, young parents. It also gives us Tallulah's mother who is raising their young son and has never given up on finding what happened to them after a party at the Dark Place.

I love how the story was intertwined with Tallulah, Scarlett, Kim and Sophie. I loved the little twist with Liam at the ending. I had no idea where things were going and I enjoyed that very much. I felt like all of the characters, main and side, were so well fleshed out that I knew all of them very well. I would love to see more of Sophie.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for an advance copy of this book.

Teenage parents Tallulah and Zach disappear one night after going to a pool party at Tallulah's enigmatic college friend's, Scarlett Jacques', manor house. A week or so later, the entire Jacques family mysteriously ups and leaves. One year later, a writer moves into a nearby cottage. On her way back home, she spots a cardboard arrow saying "dig here", and with it she dredges up the past.

Lisa Jewell is just really good at crafting thrillers/mysteries. The twist wasn't all that shocking or surprising, but the story was so well executed that it didn't matter. From the two Jewell books that I've read, I can see that she is good at writing characters - characters that make you want to punch them. I guess the winner of that prize in The Night She Disappeared went to Zach, a controlling, manipulative, red-flag-inducing, sorry excuse of a scum of a man. Basically - great story, great execution, good characterisation, good book.

4.5 stars.

The novel is set in the countryside of England in a hamlet known as Waverly and revolves around a prep school there as well as a nearby college. The main characters are an unmarried couple who had a child together when they were still 17 and who went missing a year and a half later.

The other characters in the book are various parents, school officials, law enforcement and a group of completely mixed up teens. What families are depicted are totally dysfunctional. The law enforcement characters are clueless cops and the teens have obviously been given no discipline nor guidance in their lives. The only reason I finished this sordid tale about these very sad and misguided people was that I wanted to know what happened to the original couple who went missing.

The format was the current craze of hopping back and forth in the time line. That served to make the plot even more confusing and disjointed.

Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite authors, but this book fell far short of her others for me.

I appreciate this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Atria Books, and will look forward to her next novel.

The Night She Disappeared is the first novel I’ve read by Lisa Jewell. While a little slow at times, in the end it did not disappoint. It took most of Part 1 to get used to the alternating timelines and multiple points of view, but once I did, I was hooked. I love when thrillers have short chapters that end on a slight cliff-hanger. This style made me want to keep turning the pages.

Tallulah is a young mom who goes missing one night after going to a party with her boyfriend. Her mom is home watching her son Noah and begins to panic when several days pass without any leads. What happened at that party? No one who was there seems to know - unless they are lying. Her boyfriend is missing too…is he the reason they haven’t returned?

The most intriguing part of the story for me was Sophie, who writes mystery novels and is interested in this case when she arrives in town over a year later. Sophie’s detective work begins when she discovers a sign that says, “dig here.”

This was not an “edge of your seat” type of thriller due to its length, but it did contain plenty of twists and secrets. I am looking forward to reading Jewell’s other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.
US Publication date: September 7, 2021

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell #jaylammreviews

Like many of you, the moment I see Lisa Jewell has a new novel out, I am anxious to get my hands on it. My first book I read of hers was Then She Was Gone and from that moment on I have been a big fan. 

When Tallulha and her boyfriend go missing after a night out, her mother Kim is desperate for answers but after a year the case has gone cold. Now Sophie, a mystery novelist, has moved to town and has just dug up a new clue.

This one started off a bit slow but once it got going, I didn't want to put it down. I really liked the multiple timelines and how the story is slowly unraveled. I really enjoyed that the POV was changing throughout the story. Even though Tallulha is missing we get to know her very well through the past timeline. We can begin to piece things together as we get to know her. 

This one had me guessing until the end- loved the Epilogue as well!

This is one of Jewell's best thrillers. Check it out when its released on September 7 2021.

Two storylines that aren't far apart in time as one takes place in 2017 as a mother is dealing with her missing daughter who herself is a mother and would never willingly abandon her son. The other storyline is two years in the future as a young woman moves with her partner to this small town in England and as a mystery author she may be naturally drawn to a mystery in need of solving and maybe also clues are being dropped in her lap. And there is a third timeline, but I want to leave that up to you to discover!

Tallulah may be a young mother at the age of 19, but I loved reading how while she may be young she has drive to be a good mother and also go to school and prepare herself to be an independent woman and mother in her future. The way her mother described her and was continuing to look for her and have such passion knowing she didn't run from her life was half of my enjoyment of reading. I loved seeing how Kim, her mother supported her and two years later was still fully invested in finding her.

Sophie, the author was an interesting character to follow and while I didn't completely love her and may have rolled my eyes a moment or two when it came to her, I appreciated her role in the book and her need to be there to keep the story moving along. There were a few times where I flipped and flopped with my opinions on her, but I think I landed in tolerating as she was a story driver, but I wanted more from her development beyond her connections to Tallulah's missing case.

I have read a few of Lisa Jewell's books and I have enjoyed each of the ones I have read. Enjoying this one - the plot and the characters (or some of them) I am drawn to keep reading her backlist and getting caught up!

I was completely absorbed with this story and stayed up all night last night finishing it. Admittedly, my expectations were extremely high because I have read most everything else written by Lisa Jewell, and have loved them all. This was certainly no exception as it was enthralling in its premises and unpredictability. I loved hearing the details and the plot from multiple different women's storylines because it prompted me to think about things in a very different manner. The switching time periods and perspectives as well as the viewpoints of the real action was a very creative way to keep me on my toes and guessing what in the world could have happened to Tallulah!

I refuse to give spoilers as this is WAY too good to not be read with a fresh and blank bank of knowledge. All I can say is that, whether you are a Jewell fan or you are new to her creative genius, you cannot miss out on this book! It is dynamic, well crafted, and oh, so thoroughly entertaining!

HIGHLY recommend!

Tallulah leaves her baby with her mother then heads to a party. She never came home. When Kim wakes up to Tallulah not being there, she starts calling her friends. None of them have seen Tallulah. Two years pass and Sophie is walking in the woods and sees a note. Could the note that Sophie sees have anything to do with Tallulah's disappearance?

This book has three timelines (2017, 2018 and 2019). The way this story was delivered was like pieces of a puzzle. I did have to play close attention to see where Tallulah went, how the note that Sophie found played into things, and how Kim handled not knowing where her daughter was. Very clever, as is every Lisa Jewell book I have read thus far. It is from this point that I hand the book over to the reader of this review as I am trying to write this book review without any spoilers.

Suffice it to say that the puzzle handed to readers was well worth solving. With incredible tension, expected twists and turns and a riveting conclusion, The Night She Disappeared was another gripping read by Lisa Jewell.

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

With multiple points of view and three timelines, this story could have been confusing, but I was able to follow the story even though I had several days when I wasn’t able to read. This is a cozy but not a cozy mystery. The story revolves around a cozy mystery author named Sophie. I enjoyed the mystery writer investigating a mystery and that this story is set in a typical cozy setting.

Sophie moves with her boyfriend to a cottage near a boarding school where he is the headteacher. They live in a cottage that lies near the school, and is surrounded by the woods. There is the request English village including a pub and an ancient but creepy old mansion. This story progresses quickly and captures the reader’s attention. The author leaves you hanging after each chapter, urging you to continue reading.

The ending was faster-paced and had enough twists and turns to keep my interest and also hiding the conclusion until the end. This mysterious missing people story is divided it into puzzle pieces. The story is told between three timelines and requiring the reader to piece together to how 19 years old teen mom Tallulah and her boyfriend Zach go missing after they attend a house party at the mansion.

I enjoyed this novel and will read other works by this author.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC. This book will be released in the US on: 9/7/21.

4.5 stars

Lisa Jewell does it again with this one!

With three timelines and multiple perspectives, it did take me a moment to get fully immersed in the story - but once I was, I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen!
One point of view is from Tallulah, a 19 year old mother who has disappeared after a night out with her boyfriend and a group of friends.
One point of view is from Kim, Tallulah's mother, who will stop at no costs to find out where her daughter is.
The final point of view is from Sophie, who's boyfriend just accepted a job at a boarding school that is somehow connected to the missing case.

The story read like a slow burn puzzle. I was spending my time trying to fit the pieces together, and while I sometimes new the exact place a piece would go - there was still enough drama and mystery to throw me off for a bit.
If there's anything Lisa Jewell can do, it's write a really good book!


*sidenote - I will say that I did find quite a bit of typos in the NetGalley ARC version.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this advance ebook copy.
This book hooked me immediately! The initial short chapters with an alternating timeline instantly drew me into this mystery of a teenage mother & father that never returned from a night out. As it neared the middle, the story started to feel a bit too drawn out and lost some of the initial momentum. The pace and suspense picked up again for the final chapters, but things became almost too outrageous. The ending felt like a departure from how the characters and the story had been set up until that point. I thought the connection for one of the main characters would be revealed at the end, but it never happened, so her inclusion felt a bit confusing. With all of that said, it was still an enjoyable reading experience and a unique premise. This was my first book by this popular author, but I will definitely checkout her backlist titles.

Wow!! Just wow! I thoroughly enjoyed this slow burn domestic thriller immensely. The plot, character development, suspense build up, everything was 5 star!

I could not help but fall in love with Tallulah, her dilemma, her maturity at the best of 19, her desire to act freely without responsibilities, her love for her child!! Lisa Jewell is a master story teller and suspense builder. I was so engrossed into getting to the core of suspense, that I forgot to eat dinner last night!!

I highly recommend this immensely beautifully crafted thriller to all your thriller lovers and Lisa Jewell fan out there. It publishes on September 7, 2021

Thank you @atriabooks, @simonschuster and a NetGalley for the gifted galley.

As a longtime Lisa Jewell fan, this new novel did not disappoint! Jewell is known for utilizing multiple point of views and timeline jumps when writing her novels, and I often love this perspective, as it adds to the mystery and suspense of her novels.

In <i>The Night She Disappeared</i>, Sophie is a mystery author who moves to a boarding school with her boyfriend, who just started working as the headmaster. The year is 2019. She is wandering around the woods near the school when she finds a sign posted to a tree with an arrow that says "DIG HERE". Saddled with some writers block, Sophie is intrigued, and starts digging into the mystery that surrounds the school in 2017.

In 2017, Kim's daughter Tallulah set off for a night out with her boyfriend Zach - their first night out away from their one year old son Noah. The pair never returned from the pub and the pool party at a friends they headed to after. Kim has been raising Noah and still desperately trying to locate her daughter and we follow Tallulah's thoughts and steps before that night as well.

This novel wasn't as dark as some of Jewell's previous novels, but it was very intriguing. I couldn't put it down and I found I loved the plot. <i>The Night She Disappeared</i> was compelling and a fully satisfying mystery. Put this on your TBR list ASAP!!

I have read a few other books by Lisa Jewell before, but I wouldn’t say that I’m a regular reader. I read this book based entirely on the description. Boy, am I glad I did!
The story is of a young couple that goes missing. They leave behind their 1-year old son and the girl’s mother who is not satisfied with the popular theory that the two took off because they were tired of their responsibilities.
The story is rich in detail and just when you think you know what happened you’re given a few more morsel’s of information and have to rethink everything.
Some people may think the book starts slowly, but that helped build anticipation and then the last third of the book took off at lightning speed. And oh, did I tell you there is a surprise little nugget at the end. All I could think at that point was “well played, Lisa Jewell, well played.”