Reviews

The Night She Disappeared: A Novel by Lisa Jewell

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autumnel's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

4.5

this book made me think. that's a good thing btw. multiple povs and three timelines, which made it hard for me to get into it at first. but when i got into it, i couldn't put this book down. my mind can't stop wondering all the possibilities of what could have happened to both Tallulah and Zach. i did predict the twists but i didn't EXPECT THE EPILOGUE LIKE DAMN.

booksmaud's review against another edition

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3.0

3,5*

daniellekirsten's review against another edition

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mysterious

5.0

thephdivabooks's review against another edition

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4.0

Honestly I will read anything Lisa Jewell publishes and I would have picked this book up for the cover alone (it is hypnotic to look at). The story itself is gripping and the narrative structure (multiple narrators and timelines) worked beautifully, as the mysteries in different timelines become more clearly linked as they unfold.

If you haven’t read Lisa Jewell before, or if you have but thought the book you chose wasn’t for you, this is the book to pick up from her impressive resume. The story at once has the signature Lisa Jewell suspense, but it also may be more approachable for some readers.

It’s got a classic feel to it—in the past, young mother Tallulah and her boyfriend disappear after a night at the pub. Tallulah’s mother Kim is certain something is wrong, but everyone else thinks Tallulah just wanted to get away from her parenting duties. A year mystery writer Sophie and her boyfriend move to town as he takes over as the headmaster at the local boarding school. One day Sophie stumbles upon a note stapled to the fence that says “Dig Here” and an arrow pointing to the ground.

I think the less I say the better—this is the set up and you’ll see everything from the weeks leading up to Tallulah’s disappearance, the time after her disappearance as her mother searches for her, and Sophie’s investigation into the strange note and events of the year prior.

I definitely didn’t predict the ending—there is a lot that happens in this book and it was such a fun read! This was one of our #saturdaybookstaclub picks last fall and it was perfect for discussion. We had a lot of theories at the midpoint chat but I don’t think any of us got it exactly right!