Review: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Fifteen-year-old Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenage golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. And then she was gone.

Now her mother, Laurel Mack, is trying to put her life back together. It's been 10 years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie's case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a cafe, she is surprised at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she's meeting Floyd's daughters - and his youngest, Poppy, takes her breath away. Looking at her is like looking at Ellie. And now the unanswered questions she has tried so hard to put to rest haunt her anew...as well as some new ones about Floyd and Poppy....

Audiobook, Unabridged

Published April 24th 2018 by Dreamscape Media, LLC
Genre: Fiction/Mystery
Narrator: Helen Duff

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Kristine's Thoughts:

This was not the first title by Lisa Jewel for me but it was the first one that I chose to listen to in audio format. I have to admit that I was a little nervous because it was also the first mystery/thriller in this format. Normally I go for more of a sweeping drama when listening to a book.

Laurel Mack was a wife and mother of three children living a typical and normal life when something unthinkable happened. Her perfect fifteen year old daughter Ellie never returned from a trip to the library. When no signs of her surfaced the investigation determined that she was a run away even though she had been a happy girl with a boyfriend and had been looking forward to her exams. This was something that Laurel could not accept. Fast forward ten years and Laurel was still struggling, divorced and barely hanging on to her relationship with her other two children. When new evidence appeared and the question of where Ellie could be was put to rest, Laurel made an attempt to move on. This was when she met a man named Floyd who seemed to put the life back in her. That is, until she met his young daughter who reminded her so much of Ellie that all of her unanswered questions returned to the surface.

This book was told from a few different points of view which I loved. It brought the creep factor up and made for some really interesting listening. I also found that it made the story flow nicely. I wasn't only listening to Laurel's thoughts as a grieving mother but the villain's as well. I really liked getting in the head of the villain. It made the reading or listening in my case more compelling and unique.

There wasn't really any aha moment in the story for me. I was able to easily figure out the secrets and guess where the plot was heading but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story in any way. It may have just been me though. I have a tendency to figure things out quickly. Regardless, I was still enjoying every minute of it. I'm not sure what it says about me but I really enjoyed the villain's voice.

After listening to this book I would not hesitate to listen to another book from this genre or another book by Lisa Jewell. 

 

 

About the Author

Lisa was born in London in 1968. Her mother was a secretary and her father was a textile agent and she was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls’ Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication.

She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.

She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.

She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly.

Connect with Lisa

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads