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A review by rubybooks
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Even though I didn't love Watching You by Lisa Jewell, the audiobook of Then She Was Gone was available and I decided to give it a go. It's a pretty short read so I got through it fairly quickly, although I wasn't that motivated to keep picking it up. This was mainly because I guessed what was happening really early on and it limited my enjoyment unfortunately.
Ellie Mack has a great life as a teenager, but suddenly goes missing before her GCSEs. Her mother, Laurel, struggles with not knowing what happened to Ellie because she doesn't believe that she ran away. Years later, Laurel gets a new boyfriend, but when she meets his daughter Poppy, she can't help but be reminded of her own daughter. The book alternates between the past when it happened and the present when Ellie's mum Laurel learns more about what happened.
The parts from Ellie's POV were heartbreaking and her emotions came across in a really distinct way. I liked how there was more of a mix of POVs with more characters towards the end because it helped bring pieces of the narrative together. I think Laurel's point of view also improved as the book went on and her character developed. I did get interested at the very end of the audiobook because I wanted to see how the characters would react to the information. It was a pretty quick read, and I enjoyed the writing too. The descriptions of relationships were probably my favourite part!
Unfortunately, I found the plot reveals pretty obvious and I guessed really early in the book, which meant I wasn't eager to get to the end to see what was going to happen. This was such a huge part of the story so I was disappointed. I recently got into thrillers for the mystery and excitement, which I just found lacking in this book. It wasn't until the very end that I got interested, and it was just a bit too late. I think I also thought that the ending would be more dramatic than it was. I didn't hate the book, but I was mainly just disinterested and I'm honestly surprised that this book is so popular... (although I'm glad others were able to enjoy it)
Overall, I was underwhelmed by this book. Jewell conveys emotions well, but unfortunately I wasn't captivated by the actual plot that much and it didn't surprise me. I don't regret reading it, but I don't know if I'll read more by Lisa Jewell because I haven't liked either of the ones I read. Still, this book does have good reviews so if you're interested, don't let my review put you off. It contains content including child abuse, kidnapping, death, and grief.
Ellie Mack has a great life as a teenager, but suddenly goes missing before her GCSEs. Her mother, Laurel, struggles with not knowing what happened to Ellie because she doesn't believe that she ran away. Years later, Laurel gets a new boyfriend, but when she meets his daughter Poppy, she can't help but be reminded of her own daughter. The book alternates between the past when it happened and the present when Ellie's mum Laurel learns more about what happened.
The parts from Ellie's POV were heartbreaking and her emotions came across in a really distinct way. I liked how there was more of a mix of POVs with more characters towards the end because it helped bring pieces of the narrative together. I think Laurel's point of view also improved as the book went on and her character developed. I did get interested at the very end of the audiobook because I wanted to see how the characters would react to the information. It was a pretty quick read, and I enjoyed the writing too. The descriptions of relationships were probably my favourite part!
Unfortunately, I found the plot reveals pretty obvious and I guessed really early in the book, which meant I wasn't eager to get to the end to see what was going to happen. This was such a huge part of the story so I was disappointed. I recently got into thrillers for the mystery and excitement, which I just found lacking in this book. It wasn't until the very end that I got interested, and it was just a bit too late. I think I also thought that the ending would be more dramatic than it was. I didn't hate the book, but I was mainly just disinterested and I'm honestly surprised that this book is so popular... (although I'm glad others were able to enjoy it)
Overall, I was underwhelmed by this book. Jewell conveys emotions well, but unfortunately I wasn't captivated by the actual plot that much and it didn't surprise me. I don't regret reading it, but I don't know if I'll read more by Lisa Jewell because I haven't liked either of the ones I read. Still, this book does have good reviews so if you're interested, don't let my review put you off. It contains content including child abuse, kidnapping, death, and grief.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Grief