Then She Was Gone

Over the years, Jewell’s writing style and genre have evolved and I have enjoyed every single stop on this journey. Then She Was Gone has most definitely lived up to the reputation of its predecessors. Ellie Mack seemingly disappeared without a trace when she was just fifteen years old – Ellie headed out to the library to do some studying for her exams and simply never returned. With no witnesses, clues or a body found, the case was closed unresolved with the presumption that she had simply run away and did not want to be found. Her mother, Laurel, ten years on is still not ready to accept these version of events and is hopeful that Ellie will one day walk back through her door. However, this hope has come at a price – Laurel is in limbo, she hasn’t really moved on since Ellie’s disappearance whereas her now ex-husband Paul has found happiness and is living his life (albeit still in Ellie’s shadow). Then She Was Gone is told both in the present day and the past so we hear both Ellie’s voice throughout the book as well as Laurel’s which provides an interesting dimension to the story. What I loved most about this book was how this author has created a cast of lovable characters, all with their own personalities and back stories. Then She Was Gone is a story about family as much as it is a mystery – Laurel’s relationships with her ex-husband, her son and remaining daughter are well crafted and truly add to the narrative to provide a round-view of the Mack family both then and now. It’s fascinating how they have all dealt with Ellie’s disappearance in different ways – as such, Jewell has created an emotionally charged story. At times, this is uncomfortable reading both in regards to Ellie’s story and when the plot line begins to unravel to the reader. Jewell’s writing style is stunning (as usual!) and, alongside the brilliant plot, makes this a fascinating read that is impossible to put down. It is so easy to get completely immersed in Jewell’s books – highly recommend this to both firm fans and those new to Lisa Jewell (and there is an exceptional back catalogue of books to get through too 🙂 ).

Another beautifully written novel by Lisa Jewell. Upon starting this book, I was not expecting to go on the emotional rollercoaster I just experienced. Handling the subject of a teenage girl going missing unexpectedly with the utmost respect and sensitivity through the mothers point of view whilst also touching on how the trauma created a strain with her other children is no easy achievement but creates a compelling read. Each character has depth and in true Jewell style their motives for their actions are both explained and understandable due to the information about how they think we are provided. Noone quite manages to switch the narrative voice quite like this author. The story was not the most mysterious, with the true villain being partially revealed very early on, but watching a heart broken mother, along with the reader, learn more and more about what actually happened to Ellie kept me hooked from the very beginning. I do have to question at times how exactly Jewell manages to write such twisted characters in her novels, but I can only hope she writes some more soon because I can not get enough

Absolutely brilliant read. It’s been a long time since a book has made me cry. A must read. I thought half way through, I know the outcome!!! Such a twist.

Bought as a present for my mum for Christmas She said good book to read

Great book! Devoured it in 3 days. Keeps you guessing. The first book I’ve read in a long time which didn’t disappoint me with the ending. Interesting, mysterious & great ending!

Good book, gripping story and an easy read.

An enjoyable read

Having read several of Lisa Jewell’s previous novels I have come to expect an engaging and well-written story that draws the reader in, flows effortlessly and features ‘real’ characters with heart that hold a readers attention. Unfortunately whilst I found Then She Was Gone easily readable I cannot say that much of what unravelled was either vastly original or well-disguised. In fact the synopsis for the novel and the first fifty-pages together will be enough for most readers to fill in the blanks. I believe that this is the first of Jewell’s attempt at turning her hand to a darker and more unsettling storyline and all in all it felt a little off, slightly warped and, at times, very unsavoury. Perhaps if this aspect had been executed a little more seamlessly then that would have translated to creepy and suspenseful, but as the inconsistencies and questions in the readers mind grow it never quite manages to convince. Then She Was Gone opens ten years on from the disappearance of fifteen-year-old ‘golden girl’ and overachiever, Ellie Mack, having gone missing just days before her GCSE exams on a routine trip to the library. For her mother, Laurel, is was to be the start of something that has never ended and ripped a hole through her life and at the age of fifty-five she has split from husband, Paul and has a superficial relationship with remaining daughter, twenty-seven-year-old Hanna (the difficult middle child) and rarely sees her twenty-nine-year-old son, Jake. After two years the search was downgraded and Ellie chalked up as a runaway by the police but Laurel knows that would never have been the case and has never stopped hoping. Then, after ten years of no substantive leads human remains identified as Ellie’s and her backpack are found close to the ferry port in Dover. For Laurel this is an opportunity for closure and a chance to feel her way back into a life that ended the day Ellie vanished and she effectively stopped functioning as a mother to Hanna and Jake and a wife to Paul. It is several weeks after Ellie’s funeral that Laurel meets Floyd Dunn, a charismatic single father with a twinkle in his eye and a very flirtatious tone. There is something of Paul about Floyd from his dress sense to his kindness and Laurel quickly finds herself swept off her feet and subsumed into his life which centres around his nine-year-old daughter, Poppy, who is the spitting image of Elise at that age and reminds Laurel so much of the daughter she lost. Brilliant at maths, with a dry sense of humour and a maturity surpassing her tender years, idolised by her father and clearly as infatuated by him, the experience is enough to send Laurel on a renewed search for answers to just what did happen to her beautiful Ellie. As Laurel slowly learns more about Poppy’s unconventional upbringing and home-schooled life with her father, she recognises a child desperately in need of a mother... and then Laurel stumbles upon a tangential connection from her life of ten years ago with Floyd and Poppy’s world and it is enough to send her into a obsessive search for the truth of her daughter’s disappearance. In the main the narration is largely supplied by Laurel (with the now perspective) and Ellie (from ten years previously) aside from a few interludes from a more sinister voice (which felt contrived and I cannot say worked for me). Jewell has an abundance of experience with portraying credibly flawed individuals with believable redeeming features but on the evidence of her efforts in Then She Was Gone her attempt at recreating a nutjob was significantly below par! Lisa Jewell handles a dual ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ timeline with consummate ease and the switching back and forth is deftly done and feels incredibly natural. Occasionally with such dual timelines the constant transitioning can be somewhat jarring for the reader, but it is testament to Jewell’s expertise that even in a story which never hit the spot or connected with me, the unravelling was exceptionally well done. As Ellie’s story unfolds in one timeline, alongside this the reader sees protagonist Laurel struggle to put her finger on where her feelings of disquiet are stemming from, but the fleeting connection between a time when Ellie was at home and glimpses into Floyd and Poppy’s past is enough for a newly positive Laurel to face the consequences of her journey. Despite Laurel being somewhat blinkered and a little slow on the uptake concerning Floyd and their fortuitous meeting I found her sympathetic and realistic. It was refreshing to hear her acknowledge her responsibilities for the distancing of her family and her contrasting attitude to both Ellie and her two older children, in particular Hanna who she is overly critical of and appears disappointed with for simply not being Ellie. Indeed it was the story of the Mack family and their evolution back to a complete blended family that genuinely seems well-explored with a realistic dynamic. The let down for me is with Lisa Jewell’s characterisation of both the unbelievably articulate and ludicrously precocious nine-year-old, Poppy, a far too slick Floyd Dunn, not to mention the mentally insane character (Noelle) who connects the two families. Likewise, it was the dialogue of Noelle and Poppy that proved such a sticking point for me and was neither terribly realistic or convincing and had me cringing on many occasions. Poppy speaks like an over-educated forty-year-old and she is extremely self-possessed and all in all this feels a little unsettling and conjures up images of brainwashing! Also the relationship between Floyd and Poppy has rather too much of the Oedipus complex about it and in all honesty turned my stomach. So, whilst Then She Was Gone is a decent read and far better than some of the more recent and frankly ridiculous psychological thrillers saturating the market place, it holds very little in the way of surprises for any savvy reader and relies on a sequence of unlikely coincidences. I didn’t find this an emotional read as it all felt a little too artificial and implausible for me, from the sentimental ending through to the good grace with which the unfolding revelations seemed to be received. All in all Then She Was Good is an immersive and very readable character driven family drama and offers an insightful look at a family reuniting after the tragic disappearance of one of their number. Given the wealth of editorial support at Lisa Jewell’s behest, I do think that advising her on the scientific specifics of aspects of this book would have proved beneficial (rate of decomposition of a human body to skeleton form being just one of them). Review written by Rachel Hall (@hallrachel)