Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell

Psychological thrillers will always be one of my favorite genres and Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell was such a good one! This missing child/grieving mother trope has been written a million different times, but Ms. Jewell really did it justice in this one.

15-year-old Ellie Mack is the youngest of three children & the family golden child. She leaves for the library one morning and never comes home. Her family is devastated by her disappearance and finally gets closure 10 years after she goes missing. During those years of uncertainty, Laurel and Paul (Ellie’s parents), split and start to rebuild their lives in her absence. Moving on is especially hard for Laurel, Ellie’s mother, but she eventually finds romance again and in turn, the truth about what happened to Ellie 10 years earlier.

I really enjoyed the author’s spin on the missing person trope…unique and clever. The story was pretty fast paced and had me hooked from the first chapter. I listened to this one on Audible and enjoyed the narrator as well. The story was told in a ‘then’ & ‘now’ format from several POVs.

This isn’t so much a story about what happens as much as it is why. Character heavy books aren’t usually my favorite, but it really worked for me in this book. Laurel’s character was written so well…very realistic and easy to empathize with her. Even the “bad” characters were good. I did feel like there were really predictable moments (which I don’t love in this genre), but that didn’t spoil the story at all. I actually loved the author’s storytelling style. Overall interesting in the way the whole story unfolded, but you’ll definitely have to surrender your skepticism. If this one is on your TBR, definitely pick it up and read!

4 stars out of 5

TW: child abduction; child abuse; death of a loved one