Then She Was Gone: A Novel

We are reading this for my company book club for Fev 2026. Wow! That was one twisted story! I loved following along with Laurel, who despite not handling the tragedy of losing Ellie very well and managing to alienate herself from her family for the first 10 years, experiences such tremendous growth as a mother and a human being. She experiences every mother's worst nightmare and the strength, perseverance, and determination she shows along her healing journey despite everything is inspiring. Especially when she learns how to take accountability to her children. The POVs from the grave of certain characters was a nice touch and I really enjoyed the "inside look" at what was happening and to whom. I truly enjoyed every breadcrumb and clue, even gasping when some new twist or tidbit of information was revealed. This book had me laughing and crying the entire way though! I was able to devour it in a day because I didn't want to put it down.

What a compelling and original story. Grabbed me from the start and I found myself carving out time to read every chance I could get. Very unusual story line. At first I was just trying to figure out what was going on and when I finally did, I couldn’t believe it. I like how she changed narrators throughout the book, giving us the different perspectives of the various characters. Anyway, give it a go. You’ll enjoy it.

This author is not in need of yet another review. This novel has well over 122,000 of them, so I am well aware of the fact that one more will not make a difference—either good or bad—and normally I wouldn’t take the time to write a review for a book with this many reviews … but I was deeply affected by this novel, so I decided I needed to write some of my thoughts and feelings about it down. After going through and reading some of the reviews other readers left, I was spurred on even further to share my own. Then She Was Gone is the first novel I’ve read by Lisa Jewell. I am a fan of mysteries and thrillers, and this book was one that was recommended by Amazon because of other books in my Kindle library. It also happened to be on sale—just to be honest—and the synopsis grabbed me. It sounded interesting, so I bought it. I am much like other readers … I don’t always finish every book I pick up. I am a writer myself, so I do for other authors what I hope readers will do for me and push into a book as far as I can before I stop reading. Not every book is for every reader, but this novel by Lisa Jewell was one I found enormously gripping. This story was sad and uncomfortable. It was heartbreaking, and while it wasn’t what one might categorize a typical thriller as some other reviewers stated, it was definitely mysterious and twisty, and I was propelled through the story because I had to know all of the sordid details. To be fair, as I write this review, the categories this novel is listed in are Women’s New Adult & College Fiction, Women’s Divorce Fiction and Women’s Literary Fiction. It isn’t listed in Mystery, or Suspense, or Crime. Even People Magazine says it’s an “acutely observed family drama”. While maybe not a typical mystery novel, it was recommended to me because there are elements of suspense and yes, mystery. Truthfully, I felt that Ms. Jewell delivered a book that was described perfectly by the synopsis, and it was definitely one I had a hard time putting down. There’s no way around it. Then She Was Gone is creepy. It’s gloomy. There were so many things about many of these characters that I didn’t like, that made me angry. I believe that’s one of the many reasons I kept reading—because they were all human. They were real. They did things that were annoying. I questioned them. For instance, I struggled with Laurel because I, too, am a mom to more than one child and cannot fathom loving one of them more than the other. But I’ve known other mothers in real life that are very much like Laurel. None of us are one-dimensional, and Ms. Jewell’s characters certainly weren’t. I wanted to learn more about why they were the way they were or made the decisions that they made, and the story—which is told over a ten-year time span—takes the reader on a journey and shows how the characters change and develop over that time. I believe Ms. Jewell knew the story was an emotionally exhausting one, and I think she wrote it brilliantly. Then She Was Gone made me incredibly sad, as it was meant to. It was not a book that was easy to read. As I stated before, it was emotionally taxing. It was twisted and evil, and yet utterly captivating in ways that are difficult to describe. I am more than happy to rate this book all five stars and will definitely read more from this author—although I do believe I’ll need some time for this novel to settle before I am able to jump into another written by this talented author.

Laurel experiences the unthinkable: her fourteen-year-old child goes missing. Not just her child — it is THE child, the one she favors over her three children. Ellie goes to school one day and never comes back. She’s there one moment, and then she’s gone. Ellie is a smart, carefree girl with a crush on a guy who shares her passion for academics and good grades, so she’s no runaway. The years go by, and just when the police give up, Laurel gets some rather devastating news... The years pass. Laurel trudges through her days, picking up the pieces of her broken life. She tries to make amends with her daughter Hannah and her son Jake, but they’re all grown now, with their own lives to worry about. Her marriage is long over, her ex now in a steady and loving relationship with a pleasant lady. Laurel's life couldn't be worse if she tried... And then she meets Floyd. It’s a chance encounter, a semi meet-cute at a café. He tells her about his books — academic books about math — and about his #1 fan: his nine-year-old daughter, Poppy. Hope flares for Laurel. Will she find happiness with Floyd? And then she meets his daughter — and it’s like taking a trip to the past. Poppy is almost the splitting image of Ellie. Laurel is floored. How is it possible? This is only the beginning though. She’s opened a Pandora’s Box of disturbing revelations that even she wouldn’t have been able to imagine. I’m not a fan of child abduction thrillers, but THEN SHE WAS GONE is one harrowing and amazing read! I couldn’t put it down. This book was on my TBR pile for over a year. I took it with me for my French Polynesian holiday because, why not? I’m so glad I did. The sea-salt breeze, the hammock, the sunset, this book — sweet memories are made of this! I took three books with me, and this one practically read itself. The writing is amazing, well crafted and riveting, with no over the top twists for shock value. Everything serves a purpose in this book. Many of us will guess the outcome, but that’s beside the point. There are so many surprises — so many “mini twists” — that you’ll love it for the character-driven piece of brilliant suspense that it is. The psychological aspects are amazing. There’s a character with Borderline Personality Disorder in this book, and the author touches on various subjects, like triangulation and toxic enmeshments. It’s all done in an organic, not-in-your-face way, which makes it more appealing. I’ve always loved Lisa Jewell, have loved her since her early “chick lit” days. I’m glad she now gets to write the genre she loves. Downsides? Just one. Floyd is a socially awkward mathematician, but he says “Brangelina” at one point. I can’t picture a man — let alone a middle-aged one — saying something like this. I’m surprised the editor didn’t pick up on it. Other than that, I love this novel. One of my favorites this year. Five solid Pecan and Toffee iced lattes, with extra vanilla-flavored oat milk!

Lisa Jewell is a favorite author. Book is good so far.

After reading reviews I really thought this was going to be GREAT. I’d come to the final outcome of this one about 1/3 of the way through. Read the whole thing just bc. It was good but oh so predictable

Sixteen-year-old Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter, if a bit spoiled--for example, demanding a math tutor her family couldn't afford though she didn't need one. When she mysteriously disappears walking to the library, it puts an unfillable hole in her family. Instead of pulling together, they pull apart. It isn't long before Ellie's parents, Laurel and Paul, divorce, and older sister Hanna and Laurel become strangers to each other. Ten years later, Laurel finally tries to put her life back together and unexpectedly meets a handsome man in a cafe. Paul has moved on with his life, and when the man, Floyd, seems interested, she figures "why not?" Floyd seems to be just as perfect as Ellie was, but is he hiding something? Of course, he is, but Laurel doesn't see that. Laurel even wants to meet his two daughters, one from a previous marriage and one from a more recent relationship. Both are a bit odd, but the youngest, Poppy, is a total surprise. Dressed in clothes no ten-year-old would ever choose and kept at home by her father, she's haughty about her peers (they're so silly) and seems to be "on display" for her proud daddy. Even odder, she's almost the spitting image of Ellie. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The story is told mainly through the POVs of Ellie, Laurel, Floyd, and Noelle, the math tutor. Chapter by chapter, the true story of Ellie's disappearance comes out--and it's not what the police think--but no one has the complete picture--not even Ellie. We know almost immediately who the culprit is, and the major part of the plot is about the effects the abduction has on everyone concerned. A tale of desperation, obsession, psychological disorders, misplaced love, and heartbreak (Ellie's family walked by her "prison" countless times but never suspected a thing), the story kept me on the edge of my reading chair. It pivots around the typical teenage trait of sometimes not telling parents the whole truth--and it's a textbook example of trusting the wrong person. And then there's the hamsters.

Well paced and well written