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challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So the beginning was really slow for me and I didn’t really start liking it until part 2. I don’t really know if I liked the changing pov’s mostly because I felt they gave too much of the mystery away and the changes were really sudden, and didn’t add a lot to the story for me. I also think I understand what the author was trying to do by giving a false sense of closure with the first mystery being solved but throughout the book it just felt extremely easy to figure everything out and I felt like the ending was kinda mid. One thing that I did enjoy was the depth of the MC and the emotions that she conveys through the book especially with her children and her husband. Overall I would give this a 4/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a 2.5 star read for me personally. I had so many qualms with this book:
• It was easy to figure out the mystery behind Ellie’s disappearance. I even have a sticky note that I put in the book just to go back to it and prove myself right. Though I must say, the finer details did have me feeling very uncomfortable and kinda sick to my stomach. That’s superb writing right there, because some people in this world are actually that sick and twisted.
• Why was American English being used in a book set in the United Kingdom?? That was such a pet peeve for me as someone who uses British English. If they’re in England, it should be ‘humour’ not ‘humor’.
• Most of the characters were extremely annoying to me. Laurel constantly shat on Hanna and kept comparing her to what Ellie was, Poppy didn’t feel like an accurate description of a 9 year old to me. Her language and behaviour felt quite mature. Painting Floyd as this story of ‘doing it to protect my daughter’ guy then with the suicide thing was so not cool. He doesn’t get to be felt sorry for. What he did was creepy and wrong. Then Hanna getting with and marrying her dead sister’s ex was really just kinda gross to me
• I hate ending. I really do
it doesn’t make sense that the letter was written by Ellie if she wasn’t allowed to leave the cellar at any point. How would she have been able to do that? That’s a huge hole in the plot line
I just overall was not a fan of this. Disappointed
• It was easy to figure out the mystery behind Ellie’s disappearance. I even have a sticky note that I put in the book just to go back to it and prove myself right. Though I must say, the finer details did have me feeling very uncomfortable and kinda sick to my stomach. That’s superb writing right there, because some people in this world are actually that sick and twisted.
• Why was American English being used in a book set in the United Kingdom?? That was such a pet peeve for me as someone who uses British English. If they’re in England, it should be ‘humour’ not ‘humor’.
•
• I hate ending. I really do
I just overall was not a fan of this. Disappointed
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
A quick read, but somehow the pace still felt a bit slow. I think it's because I was able to figure out what was going on and most of the major 'twists' before they were revealed to the reader. I am not sure if the hints were too heavy handed, or if this is just a storyline that I feel is beginning to play itself out.
Jewell is a talented writer however, and I enjoyed her writing style. Her characters are well-rounded, and the book served the purpose of a quick read. (It did make me feel uncomfortable however, and it's not one I would read again.)
One other point:
Not sure the insemination plot and the birth would have taken as easily as it is described. Usually there are more things required medically for that to work. Hard for me to buy into that, which is a shame because it is integral to the plot.
Jewell is a talented writer however, and I enjoyed her writing style. Her characters are well-rounded, and the book served the purpose of a quick read. (It did make me feel uncomfortable however, and it's not one I would read again.)
One other point:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Murder
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Stalking
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Predictable and terrifying in the sense that I’m sure people like Noel probably exist and that makes me see the world as a little worse than I previously did
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault