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mxcopmy's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This review contains spoilers!
I have no idea how to feel about this book. I have incredibly mixed feelings about it. Therefore a solid 2.5, just half or a little over half. This thriller is recommended for those people who want to start reading thrillers or take away a not too deep story.
"Then she was gone" is a super average thriller. At least I found it to be the most predictable thriller I have ever read in my life. In fact, I find it very unfortunate that you can already pick out a major plot via the synopsis. This took away a lot of the experience for me. Often I could tell dozens of chapters in advance what was going to happen, and that right on the upside. It was so predictable that I even realised it from chapter 3. You then always hope deep down that it probably won't be as easy as you think, but yes it was. For me, a good thriller is a story that blows you away, leaving you amazed and not expecting it at all. This book did not have that at all.
Some things were also very unlikely or too simplistic for me. The fact that Ellie went along with Noelle without any problems despite her gut-feeling that she was a strange woman and wanted to stay away. I also found the fact that Floyd left Laurel alone in his house when he went to get a Christmas tree strange to say the least. If you wanted to keep such a big secret hidden in your own house, you wouldn't want that person to find it, would you? More towards the end of the story where they had discovered everything, Floyd would have made a video for Laurel with all the explanations. In it, he said it was up to her to decide if she would tell Poppy the truth, but in the end he had already confessed it all himself the day before, hadn't he? So there are a lot of things as I said that for me were too simplistic, too accommodating. As a result, the story also lacked the necessary details that I love.
You would think, why at least still give 2.5 stars? Well, I have to say that Lisa Jewell clearly has a phenomenal writing style to so engross someone with her story. Jewell could easily make the atmosphere of the setting and the story so unsettling that it sent shivers down my spine at times! This then made the story a lot better for me. Also, the short chapters read so smoothly what made the book a real page-turner and I could easily read on for hours at a stretch without realising how long I was reading. How the book was laid out was also enriching for me. All the chapters were super variable which gave you different perspectives on the story. It was the right variability for me to still keep me hooked!
In conclusion, I think I would like to read another book by Lisa Jewell anyway. Her writing style alone has me intrigued to read further from her. With this one, I think maybe other books are more promising or more up my alley!
I have no idea how to feel about this book. I have incredibly mixed feelings about it. Therefore a solid 2.5, just half or a little over half. This thriller is recommended for those people who want to start reading thrillers or take away a not too deep story.
"Then she was gone" is a super average thriller. At least I found it to be the most predictable thriller I have ever read in my life. In fact, I find it very unfortunate that you can already pick out a major plot via the synopsis. This took away a lot of the experience for me. Often I could tell dozens of chapters in advance what was going to happen, and that right on the upside. It was so predictable that I even realised it from chapter 3. You then always hope deep down that it probably won't be as easy as you think, but yes it was. For me, a good thriller is a story that blows you away, leaving you amazed and not expecting it at all. This book did not have that at all.
Some things were also very unlikely or too simplistic for me. The fact that Ellie went along with Noelle without any problems despite her gut-feeling that she was a strange woman and wanted to stay away. I also found the fact that Floyd left Laurel alone in his house when he went to get a Christmas tree strange to say the least. If you wanted to keep such a big secret hidden in your own house, you wouldn't want that person to find it, would you? More towards the end of the story where they had discovered everything, Floyd would have made a video for Laurel with all the explanations. In it, he said it was up to her to decide if she would tell Poppy the truth, but in the end he had already confessed it all himself the day before, hadn't he? So there are a lot of things as I said that for me were too simplistic, too accommodating. As a result, the story also lacked the necessary details that I love.
You would think, why at least still give 2.5 stars? Well, I have to say that Lisa Jewell clearly has a phenomenal writing style to so engross someone with her story. Jewell could easily make the atmosphere of the setting and the story so unsettling that it sent shivers down my spine at times! This then made the story a lot better for me. Also, the short chapters read so smoothly what made the book a real page-turner and I could easily read on for hours at a stretch without realising how long I was reading. How the book was laid out was also enriching for me. All the chapters were super variable which gave you different perspectives on the story. It was the right variability for me to still keep me hooked!
In conclusion, I think I would like to read another book by Lisa Jewell anyway. Her writing style alone has me intrigued to read further from her. With this one, I think maybe other books are more promising or more up my alley!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
clara_017's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I think I’m obsessed with Lisa Jewells books. This is the third book written by her that I’ve read.
I give this book 4.75 Stars. It was an amazing story. Somewhat bizarre but brilliant. The characters are beautifully described and the book is so well written, I couldn’t stop reading. The only reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars is that some parts of the plot where predictable, but I didn’t mind because there where still a lot of unpredictable twists and I didn’t expect the ending at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Stalking, Child abuse, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Animal death, Infertility, Suicide, Murder, and Terminal illness
sarahbryant717's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Is there such a thing as a true coincidence or is life a series of carefully planned events?
Ellie Mack seemed to have the perfect life. She was the apple of her mom Laurie’s eye. Smart and beautiful, Ellie had the entire world ahead of her. Then one day, shortly before her school exams, she disappeared. The police chalked Ellie’s disappearance up as a runaway teenager, but Laurie knew her daughter and she knew that Ellie wouldn’t have just ran away without a word to anyone.
Years later, a chance encounter at a coffee shop causes Laurie to meet Floyd, a single father of two daughters. After years of heartache, Laurie is finally open to the idea of love and embraces the idea of being a mother figure to Floyd’s younger daughter, Poppy, a precocious preteen girl whose own mother abandoned her years before. Laurie’s vision of a perfect blended family is shattered when she meets Poppy, who looks just like Ellie. This meeting causes Laurie to wonder if meeting Floyd and Poppy was a coincidence or is there a sinister connection to Ellie’s disappearance
Ellie Mack seemed to have the perfect life. She was the apple of her mom Laurie’s eye. Smart and beautiful, Ellie had the entire world ahead of her. Then one day, shortly before her school exams, she disappeared. The police chalked Ellie’s disappearance up as a runaway teenager, but Laurie knew her daughter and she knew that Ellie wouldn’t have just ran away without a word to anyone.
Years later, a chance encounter at a coffee shop causes Laurie to meet Floyd, a single father of two daughters. After years of heartache, Laurie is finally open to the idea of love and embraces the idea of being a mother figure to Floyd’s younger daughter, Poppy, a precocious preteen girl whose own mother abandoned her years before. Laurie’s vision of a perfect blended family is shattered when she meets Poppy, who looks just like Ellie. This meeting causes Laurie to wonder if meeting Floyd and Poppy was a coincidence or is there a sinister connection to Ellie’s disappearance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, and Death
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Murder, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Suicide
marinnelilly's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Suicide
monaroe899's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Confinement, and Self harm
mysterymom40's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Confinement, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Torture, Sexual content, and Death
Minor: Suicide
riereeds's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wow. I feel like a lot of stories about “missing kids” can be very easy to predict. They tend to be written the same. I did not feel that way with this book. There are times you think you know. But you don’t. The ending was exactly what it needed to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, and Death
Minor: Suicide
baileyridgway's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Murder, Child death, Rape, Infertility, Suicide, Stalking, Grief, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Confinement, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
lez_whale's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was incredible!!! Definitely broke me out of a reading rut. The end is somewhat controversial as to who likes it, but I loved it. From the beginning, it kept me engaged and interesting and I truly loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Pregnancy, and Child death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Suicide
mcole18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
At times I didn’t want to keep going, but felt I had to to figure out the tangles that created this mystery. Although you can kind of see where things are headed, how Jewell tells the story is interesting and pulls you in. I enjoyed how the book did not just center on the missing girl and her mom, but expanded to show the complexities of the entire family & extended family. The ending is bittersweet but I’m glad I finished this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Child abuse, Child death, and Suicide