Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Then She Was Gone

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

178 reviews

shyleek's review

3.5

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Her daughter was gone. Ten years later she was moving on...finally. But was her daughter as gone as she thought?

Very slow start and I didn't think it was going to pick up. Almost to the end I said out loud "well I still don't understand". Middle gave us all the info but the characters still didn't know. Then the last few pages were just like oh, what's the point of the book of the main character doesn't know guess I better tell her.

Potentially a good story I just didn't enjoy the way it was presented.

Will not read again.

Content Warnings

lexie_edmunds's review

4.5

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

taytayc23's review

3.75

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Overall not a bad book. I liked how everything ended up tying together, but I had it figured out about half way through. I found myself hoping for more info on the family members rather than to protagonist.

Content Warnings

sullle71's review

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense 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: Complicated

Content Warnings

mazeeee's review

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

lajoy's review

0.5

mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

beth_s98's review

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

ogokoo's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional sad slow-paced

Well written, but left me with many things to be unhappy about. I'm not sure what this book was trying to be.

A story about carrying grief and managing to find light in life? A thriller and mystery? A study of sociopathic characters and family dynamics? The structure of the book was odd to me. If the point was to see a mother coping with grief and mending the relationships in her life despite terrible things happening to her, then having all those chapters spelling out the horror of Ellie's captivity really threw a wrench in that. I also didn't like how we were given glimpses at the way Ellie's father and siblings were dealing with her disappearance throughout the book, but then after the final reveal we didn't get their POV. We just got Laurel's. And don't get me started on the implausibility of Ellie's captivity. How did she not try to escape more? Or hurt Noelle? The hamster cages, the locks, anything, try anything! The chapter where Ellie died was just....so tragic and disturbing and unnecessary.

Content Warnings

chaptersofchase's review

5.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Then She Was Gone 🍃

Genre: Mystery
Trope: Missing Child
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 4.17.2018
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

"If she could rewind the timeline, untwist it and roll it back the other way like a ball of wool, she'd see the knots in the yarn, the warning signs. Looking at it backward, it was obvious all along."

Then She Was Gone was raw, emotional, and unsettling storytelling at its finest, and I believe this may be my favorite from Lisa Jewell. It's been a few weeks since I finished reading this one, and I still think about the story; it has stuck with me more than I anticipated.

When I finished the last page, I had to sit there for a moment and think about what I'd read and how utterly heartbreaking it all was. I felt like I had the whole story figured out and knew the direction LJ was leading me, but I was so very wrong.

It's hard for me to describe my feelings without giving everything away, but I'll leave you with this — one character in this book deserved so much more from their precious life.

😔 A story that will stick with you long after you're finished
😰 Raw and unsettling
👥 Multiple perspectives
😬 Edge of your seat reading
✨ New favorite from Lisa Jewell

❌- there is some reasonably disturbing content in this book. If you have questions, please DM me.

Read Then She Was Gone if you enjoyed reading Verity from Colleen Hoover or Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier.

______
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebookend.diner/
Follow my blog: https://thebookenddiner.com/
Follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thebookenddiner
Follow me on StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/thebookenddiner

Content Warnings

btaylor's review

3.75

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

More...