Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell Book Review

Title: Then She Was Gone

Author: Lisa Jewell

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Source: Ebook - Netgalley

Rating 4.5 out of 5 paws

Ellie Mack's life was perfect, she had a loving family, the cutest boyfriend in school and she was on the fast track to passing her school exams.  As a 15 year old girl, she was looking forward to the summer after all her hard work. Then she was gone.  Just gone.  No one seen what happened to her.  Now 10 years later her mother Laurel Mack is trying to piece together her own life.  Only months after finding final clues to close Ellie's case, Laurel meets a charming man in a café.  The flirtation takes right off and quickly develops into something much more serious.  Before she can turn away, she meets his daughters.  Poppy is his youngest, and she stops Laurel in her tracks.  Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie.  This sparks new unanswered questions within Laurel and she becomes determined to find out who Floyd really is and who is the mother of his daughter.

I have seen this book numerous times through social media like goodreads and book clubs so when I seen it on Netgalley I decided I needed to give Then She Was Gone  a chance.  The plot synopsis makes it sounds beyond interesting, and after the first few pages I was hooked.  I was spellbound and captivated throughout the rest of the story.  It took everything in me to be able to put the book down and sleep or go to work.  There was nothing that I did not like about this book, or about Lisa Jewell's writing.  Lisa has the ability to pull her readers away from reality into a new world.  With her words she provides thrill and suspense many readers are searching for, a sense of suspense we may not find in the movies.  There is not one way that this book does not meet my expectations, it exceeded everything I was hoping to find in this story.


This the first Lisa Jewell novel I have read and I have to say I am wildly impressed.  She had me on the edge of me seat all the way through.  I enjoyed the different perspectives and the way she did was not confusing or hard to follow.  By the end of the novel (epilogue included) the story ties together well, there are no loose ends, not lingering questions..everything is solved and provided for the reader in a satisfactory way that leaves everyone happy. I loved the bits about Noelle and how she meet Floyd and what drove her to do what she did.   Jewell masterfully drags her audiences into the story whether it is this one or one of her other books.  It felt like everything was set on hold while I read this book and could not focus on anything else.


It was easy to understand where Jewell was headed with this novel, but she gives the readers the information.  I think having the readers realize where she was going was intentional, but we didn't know how she would get to that point.  I felt that while it was genuinely suspenseful and thrilling, it was also a look into how different people respond to grief, how they heal and learn to move one.  Most of the family was able to after some time, but still 10 years later and Laurel is still struggling to which she calls Poppy Ellie.  I love that Jewell gives readers a compelling plot with a little bit of romance and inner dialogue to reveal the emotional and psychological depth of her characters I have very few authors who have been able to accomplish this. Every one of the characters in Then She Was Gone were interesting.  I wanted to see more of Hanna and Jake even Blue.  I was intrigued with Blue seeing auras and could tell something wasn't right.  I had hoped she would push a little more on it, but at the same time understand why she didn't.  We still get that thought implanted into Laurel's mind.


If you enjoy suspenseful thrillers then this would be a great book for you to pick up from amazon, or your local bookstore or library. Definitely pick up this book and give it a go, you won't be disappointed.  This was my first novel by Lisa Jewell, and I am looking forward to reading more novels by Lisa Jewell.  May have found a new favorite.


Get it now: http://amzn.to/2Gaj2RA

After the Bloom

In the mid-1980's Lily goes missing, something she has done before, but never for long periods of time.  Her daughter knows her mother wanders off and suffers from dissociation and memory lapses.  The police reluctantly take the case and Rita feels they are not taking things seriously, so she takes matters into her own hands and begins her own investigation. Rita quickly discovers various family secrets including her family's  internment at a camp in the California desert during the Second World War, and the father she has never known.  Through her search Rita learns more about her family, her mother, and herself than she imagined. 




** I will start this review off by saying I received this book for net galley for an honest review. If you review books and haven't signed up for Netgalley, then you are missing out on some great opportunities.**




I have gotten more and more into books like this and I am loving the things that I am learning and they way it is changing my views as a reader and woman.  There are aspect of our history that we don't know about because we don't do much research anymore.  In this novel a woman begins a search for her  mother and gains so much more understanding of her mom, family, and begins to understand herself in the process.  I love how these books make me look at myself, even sometimes look at my mom and wonder what are some things she experienced that I don't know about, how has her life shaped her into the woman she is.


This is a book that touches your hear and makes you long for something more.  It does have suspenseful moments, but not in the edge of your seat kind of suspense, but the anticipation that builds and grows until you cannot hold it in any longer. It is very well written and easy to get lost within.  While this isn't my normal genre I go to, I did enjoy reading Leslie Shimotakahara's novel.  I will be looking for more from her and give this a 5 out of 5.