Review: Then she was gone by Lisa Jewell

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother’s golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her.  And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up
hope of finding her daughter. And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.
Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.  Poppy is precocious and pretty – and meeting her completely takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age.And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?
Who still has secrets to hide?

Review

I read I Found you by Lisa Jewell a while back and absolutely loved it. Needless to say, I was excited to find out that the author has a new book. Then She Was Gone tells the story of Laurel who lost her daughter 10 years ago. Laurel’s life has since changed then. She is no longer married and is now distant with her two other kids. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is her longing to find her missing girl or at least get answers on what happened to Ellie.

Unlike the previous book, this wasn’t fast paced with lots of action. I thought it was much slower though the pace worked out well for the story. There was something unsettling about the story that had me turning pages to find answers. I kept trying to solve the mystery of Ellie’s disappearance. Throughout the book, there were hints but I couldn’t connect the dots until the final chapters.

The book is told through multiple POVs. Laurel’s is the prominent voice though as a character, she is the one that I didn’t like very much. She was sympathetic but there were instances when she got on my nerve. There are other chapters told by Ellie that give details of what happened to her. There are also a few chapters narrated by a really twisted villain. Other characters also help in putting the pieces together though the chapters. I think my favorite character was little Poppy. She was sweet, awkward and quite endearing at the same time. Her words fascinated me and I wish we could have seen her more in the book.

As I have already mentioned, the pace was slower although that doesn’t mean that it dragged. There were twists along the way that kept the story moving. In addition, this ended up being quite an emotive read. I found myself going through different emotions. I didn’t expect it to be that poignant but it was, especially towards the end. If you like domestic noirs, suspenseful reads then I think that you will enjoy Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell

Blurb
In a windswept British seaside town, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.

Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.

Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. Their annual trip to the quaint seaside town is passing by uneventfully, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just that he’s playing the role of protective older brother.

Two decades of secrets, a missing husband, and a man with no memory are at the heart of this brilliant new novel, filled with the “beautiful writing, believable characters, pacey narrative, and dark secrets” (London Daily Mail) that make Lisa Jewell so beloved by audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

Review

I Found You by Lisa Jewel tells the story of three people who met in some very strange circumstances. Lily is newly married and still stuck at the honeymoon phase until her husband mysteriously disappears. Alice is a single mother of three who invites an amnesiac stranger into her home. The amnesiac stranger also narrates his story as we watch him slowly regain his memory through the chapters.

The story starts out strong and I was immediately hooked from the first chapter. The 1993 narrations of the past about Gray and Kristy threw me off at first but I soon got the hang of it. The different perspectives are narrated through alternating chapters with each chapter ending with a cliff hanger that makes you eager to get to the following chapters. The three stories run concurrently until they finally merge.

I think that the author did an amazing job with the character development. I liked Alice from the start. She is such a flawed character but with an amazing personality. Some of her decisions like welcoming the stranger to her home seemed bizarre at first but after getting to know her, it all made sense. I was on the fence about Lily through some of the chapters but I sympathized with her. 21 years old, in a foreign country and with a missing husband, poor girl! She really had a tough time especially when secrets started being revealed.

I even liked the support characters like Alice’s kids who were so adorable. Even the dogs, peacocks and some of the houses had personalities. Seriously, the author ensured that everyone played a role in this book in the best, most memorable ways possible.The thing with such strong characters though is that they have the ability to break your heart. There were chapters that were so tragic that I found myself wishing for a different outcome for the characters. Other characters disappointed me when their masks fell off.

This book is superbly written. Lisa’s writing is enchanting. Once you start reading the book, it becomes hard to put it down. The suspense was thick throughout the book. I had two main suspects while reading this but I was still surprised at the end when everything was revealed.

Lisa Jewell’s I Found You has everything that makes a good thriller. It has secrets, lies, murder, a dancing peacock and twisted characters. It also has amnesiac characters which I find quite interesting in thrillers. The writing is so addictive that I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I remember getting to the last page and just sitting there in awe of the author. How did she come up with such an awesome plot-line with all these incredible characters? Everything about this book was just perfect! I highly recommend this book to all fans of this genre.

WWW-Wednesday #March 1st

This meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words

To take part all you need to do is answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

So here’s my 3 W’s for the week.

Recently Finished

Lisa Jewell’s I Found You has everything that makes a good thriller. It has secrets, lies, murder, a dancing peacock and twisted characters. It also has amnesiac characters which I find quite interesting in thrillers. The writing is so addictive that I couldn’t turn the pages first enough. I remember getting to the last page and just sitting there in awe of the author. How did she come up with such an awesome plotline with all these incredible characters? Everything about this book was just perfect! I highly recommend this book to all fans of this genre.

About the book

In a windswept British seaside town, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.

Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.

Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. Their annual trip to the quaint seaside town is passing by uneventfully, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just that he’s playing the role of protective older brother.

Two decades of secrets, a missing husband, and a man with no memory are at the heart of this brilliant new novel, filled with the “beautiful writing, believable characters, pacey narrative, and dark secrets” (London Daily Mail) that make Lisa Jewell so beloved by audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

Currently Reading

Say Nothing by Brad Parks

I started reading this book on Monday and I like it so far. The book started out really strong but I feel like it slowed down a bit after a while. Don’t get me wrong though, it is still a captivating read but I hope that the pace will pick up a little bit.

About the book

Judge Scott Sampson doesn’t brag about having a perfect life, but the evidence is clear: A prestigious job. A beloved family. On an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, he is about to pick up his six-year-old twins to go swimming when his wife, Alison, texts him that she’ll get the kids from school instead.

It’s not until she gets home later that Scott realizes she doesn’t have the children. And she never sent the text. Then the phone rings, and every parent’s most chilling nightmare begins. A man has stolen Sam and Emma. A man who warns the judge to do exactly as he is told in a drug case he is about to rule on. If the judge fails to follow his instructions, the consequences for the children will be dire.

For Scott and Alison, the kidnapper’s call is only the beginning of a twisting, gut-churning ordeal of blackmail, deceit, and terror; a high-profile trial like none the judge or his wife has ever experienced. Their marriage falters. Suspicions and long-buried jealousies rise to the surface. Fractures appear. Lies are told. Through it all, Scott and Alison will stop at nothing to get their children back, no matter the cost to themselves…or to each other.

 

Reading Next

The Trophy Child by Paula Day

This book is being published on March 7^th. So far, I have heard good things about it so I can’t wait to start reading it.

About the book

Karen Bloom is not the coddling mother type. She believes in raising her children for success. Some in the neighborhood call her assertive, others say she’s driven, but in gossiping circles she’s known as: the tiger mother. Karen believes that tough discipline is the true art of parenting and that achievement leads to ultimate happiness. She expects her husband and her children to perform at 200 percent—no matter the cost. But in an unending quest for excellence, her seemingly flawless family start to rebel against her.

Her husband Noel is a handsome doctor with a proclivity for alcohol and women. Their prodigy daughter, Bronte, is excelling at school, music lessons, dance classes, and yet she longs to run away. Verity, Noel’s teenage daughter from his first marriage, is starting to display aggressive behavior. And Karen’s son from a previous relationship falls deeper into drug use. When tragedy strikes the Blooms, Karen’s carefully constructed facade begins to fall apart—and once the deadly cracks appear, they are impossible to stop.

 

Happy Reading!