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A review by missmethven
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I’ll start off by saying that the majority of this read for me was gripping and fabulously dark. It was chilling in a way that wasn’t too over the top which I like - for example when Noelle says that she leaves the basement but doesn’t go back for a really really long time - the way that was worded was perfect.
But it does fall short on a few things. Some of it is a bit far fetched and happens too quickly - for example we find out that Ellie is dead very early on (definitely could have been avoided) and why would Noelle’s mum suddenly go into a deep convo about her private relationship with her daughter and her disappearance with a total stranger or Floyd realising everything was going wrong so admitted it all and then killed himself in the same day (also was Laurel and Poppy meant to just go to the Christmas Eve party and act as if the situation was completely normal?)
I also wish there was more of a twist - I felt so excited by all the what-ifs and how it all tied together but it was quite drawn out so by the time we find out exactly what happened it falls slightly flat, sucking out the tension that was in previous chapters. And don’t get my started on that epilogue 🫠 the final thing that I didn’t really enjoy was the switching of people narrating the story - it’s interesting because although I liked hearing the situation from different perspectives, it didn’t flow well in the end
But it does fall short on a few things. Some of it is a bit far fetched and happens too quickly - for example we find out that Ellie is dead very early on (definitely could have been avoided) and why would Noelle’s mum suddenly go into a deep convo about her private relationship with her daughter and her disappearance with a total stranger or Floyd realising everything was going wrong so admitted it all and then killed himself in the same day (also was Laurel and Poppy meant to just go to the Christmas Eve party and act as if the situation was completely normal?)
I also wish there was more of a twist - I felt so excited by all the what-ifs and how it all tied together but it was quite drawn out so by the time we find out exactly what happened it falls slightly flat, sucking out the tension that was in previous chapters. And don’t get my started on that epilogue 🫠 the final thing that I didn’t really enjoy was the switching of people narrating the story - it’s interesting because although I liked hearing the situation from different perspectives, it didn’t flow well in the end
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, and Death of parent