Then She Was Gone
A Novel
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4.2 • 480 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Girl and The Truth About Melody Browne comes a “riveting” (PopSugar) and “acutely observed family drama” (People) that delves into the lingering aftermath of a young girl’s disappearance.
Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. Beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers, and half of a teenaged golden couple. Ellie was days away from an idyllic post-exams 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 ten 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 café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.
Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
How do you regain normality after your daughter vanishes without a trace? Prolific British mystery writer Lisa Jewell pulls us into the story as anguished mom Laurel Mack confronts the possibility of a new beginning. Every bit as gripping as Jewell’s earlier thrillers, Then She Was Gone keeps us on our toes as we wade into a web of intense relationships and dark secrets. And just when we thought we had it figured out, Jewell adds a twist that touches on our deepest fears.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
More than a whiff of The Lovely Bones wafts through this haunting domestic noir from bestseller Jewell (I Found You). The disappearance of beautiful, brainy 15-year-old Ellie Mack in May 2005 from her north London neighborhood takes a terrible toll on her parents and siblings, even a decade later. Most profoundly affected is her now-divorced mother, Laurel. After a shocking development in the cold case jolts Laurel from her lonely limbo, Laurel stuns herself by agreeing to dinner with a man she meets in a caf , genial author Floyd Dunn, and quickly falls into a relationship with him and the younger of his daughters, precocious nine-year-old Poppy who reminds Laurel eerily in so many ways of Ellie. But then unsettling coincidences start to emerge, most notably Laurel's discovery that Floyd's former partner, Noelle Donnelly, who he claims vanished five years earlier after dumping Poppy with him, was Ellie's math tutor. Skillfully told by several narrators (some of them ghostly), Jewell's gripping novel transcends its plot improbabilities to connect with an emotionally resonant story of loss, grief, and renewal.
Customer Reviews
4 1/2 thrilling, but heartbreaking stars!
Ellie Mach was a 15-year old girl to had it all ... she was smart, was beautiful (inside and out), had a wonderful boyfriend and a loving family. It was all taken away from her one morning ... when she went missing. After Ellie's disappearance, her family falls apart ... her older brother going off to college hardly ever returning home, her older sister becoming a shell of her former self and her parents divorce because her mother cannot get over Ellie being gone. Ten years later, Laurel (Ellie's mother) meets a man that brings out feelings in her that she hasn't had for a long time. But when Laurel meets Floyd's 9-year old daughter, Poppy ... all the feelings from 10 years previous come back because this little girl looks just like Ellie.
This is the first book that I have read by Lisa Jewel and WOW ... it took me on an emotional roller coaster ride. Even though I knew that some of the characters are not nice people, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them because they all had their troubles and Ms. Jewel was very good at giving you all sides to the story. I cried and I laughed ... but mostly I sobbed! I'd have to stop reading for awhile just to give my eyes a rest. Ecen now, there are tears still falling while I'm writing this. This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time, just because of the nature of the story and how it was told. I recommend you have a box of tissue handy when you go to read this book.
I received an ARC courtesy of Simon & Schuster Canada through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
Absolutely amazing
I personally can not say I disliked any part of this book. The emotions are very present, the thrill is always there. Very well written. I could not stop reading.
Then she was gone
Unique story telling. A page turner!