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

This was a very sad book. It is a fake mystery but it truly felt like this happened to someone real. I can’t even think how someone can be so evil and ruin so many people’s lives like that. :(

While I was reading this book, I kept waiting for a revelation that Ellie was still alive. I figured out by page 80 that she was Poppy’s mother but I had no idea how twisted everything was. Learning what led to it was terrible and heartbreaking. I felt like I was reading a true crime story because of how upsetting everything was. Since there are different pov’s, I kept saying “please notice” or “please mention this because it could change everything”. One part that hurt me was when Ellie kept pounding on the window and the walls but nobody heard her. It was so frustrating. I hated Donnelly so much for what she did to Ellie. She was mentally ill.

Yes, there was some predictability to this book but the plot was so well executed that it didn’t make reading it feel like a boring task. I enjoyed unveiling all the parts of this mystery.

I thought that Floyd would be much worse. I was expecting for an ultimate twist in his reveal, but it felt like I already knew what he did. I don’t think he should have died. What he did was terrible but Donnelly deserved that and more.

I was so sad to learn Ellie’s actually dead. I know early on we find out that her remains were found, but deep down I still had hope for her. :(

It was heartbreaking that Poppy lost her mom and Laurel lost her daughter. But I did like how Poppy is giving Laurel a second chance at being a mom after she lost Ellie. The ending is so bittersweet.

Overall, I give this a 3.5/5 rating.

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sharlapeggy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

Bit predictable and I realised what was happening as the story went on. I hoped I’d be wrong and there would be a big twist but I was disappointed. However I did enjoy this and it did keep me wondering what was happening!!

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pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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sharanyaaguha's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Laurel's teenager daughter Ellie goes missing one day. Years of search bear no result and Ellie is nowhere to be found. But 10 years later she meets a man whose daughter looks exactly like Ellie.

This is all I am going to say about this book. Honestly go as blind as you can into this one and let the story unfold. With every new character being introduced I thought of a possibility but there was always a twist. The end was not what I expected at all, and it kept me guessing all the time. The plot get darks at a time, but it's truly worth it. The story is told in multiple POV so you get to learn about everyone's motive too. The ending is dramatic and emotional.

Extremely Detailed Plot : One fine Wednesday morning Ellie heads out to the library but she never comes back. 10 years of exhausting search bear no result for Laurel. 10 years later, they find the last of Ellie's in a forest along with human remains of Ellie. Ellie is dead. Laurel moves on with her life, still having no answer to who killed Ellie and why. He meets Floyd in a cafe and soon meets her daughter Poppy who looks exactly like Ellie.
When she gets a rough idea that Floyd is somehow involved in Ellie's disappearance, Floyd dissapears(and later kills himself) leaving her a note which says -
Noelle Donnelly was Ellie's maths teacher. She was in love with Floyd. Floyd had a compilcated relationship with his daughter(with previous wife) and Noelle wanted to give Floyd a baby and in return she wanted his love. However she suffered a miscarriage. She was madly in love with Floyd and hence she kidnaped Ellie, locked her up in her basement for months. One night when Floyd was drunk enough, she switched herself with unconcious Ellie and Ellie soon gets pregnant with his baby and Noelle fakes her own pregnancy. 9 months later, Noelle can't take Elle to the hospital for obvious reasons so she delivers her baby(Poppy) in the basement. But still, Floyd would not love her. Even when she gave him a beautiful daughter Floyd wouldnt. All her hardwork bear no result and irritated by Ellie's cries (she got a terrible infection from giving birth in the dirty basement) she shuts the door and for months doesnt go there. Ellie dies just like that, in pain, in hunger, and in grief of not being able to see her family again. Months later Noelle dumps Ellie's remains in a forest and plans on returning to her home with Poppy(without telling Flyod). Floyd comes to know about this and just as she was about to leave he confronts her. Noelle tells Floyd the whole truth and in the process Floyd accidentally kills Noelle and buries her in his garden. It is then he decides he will meet Laurel and tell her the truth but all his life he was yearning for a family and with Laurel he found one. This delays the process and leads to Laurel's individual investigation and before she starts formulating reasons and situations about Ellie's death, he goes away forever, leaving behind a note, Poppy and closure.

"May was like the Friday night of summer: all the good times lying ahead of you, bright and shiny and waiting to be lived."

"A man who can’t love but desperately needs to be loved is a dangerous thing indeed."

"Stories,” she says, “are the only thing in this world that are real. Everything else is just a dream."

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nazmeekamal's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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klubbgodis's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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sophiamoneva's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I didn’t read the back when I started this and I should have because boy was that a heavy novel, definitely should not have been reading it at 14 but whatever. Very heavy, very true crime, honestly felt like a real case.

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