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Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
4.0

I have been in a thriller mood for months. When selecting my next book, I lean towards a murder mystery, crime novel, or a thriller. So it is no surprise that I picked up Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, narrated by Helen Duff at the library. I enjoyed the last Lisa Jewell audiobook, so I had high hopes for this one as well. The book is broken up between “Then” and “Now” and follows the points of view of multiple characters. The main character is Laurel, the mother of three teenage children. They say parents don’t have a favorite, but Laurel does. Her golden girl is Ellie. She is clever and has her whole life before her when she goes to the library, but never returns. There are never any leads and it destroys her family. Years later, Laurel meets a charming man in a cafe. They begin a whirlwind romance and Laurel is shocked when she meets his daughter, Poppy. Poppy looks exactly like Ellie. There is something suspicious happening. What happened to Ellie and why does this charming stranger feel like he is linked to her disappearance?

I am very particular when it comes to multiple points of view in books. If it is not done correctly then I find the book tedious. This book transitioned from each point of view smoothly. The pace never slowed down and I was always interested in the story. Now, there are a ton of “missing girl” thrillers out there. This book definitely has a unique spin on that trope. I did find the twists very predictable. I felt that they were actually pretty obvious relatively early. However, I am actually surprised by how dark the story became. A lot of authors flirt with the disturbing line and Lisa Jewell had no problem tap-dancing on that line–which I appreciated. It kept the pace moving and it exposed more about the characters.

Speaking of the characters, they are absolutely fantastic. At first, I was not sure about Laurel. I found her typical and selfish. However, as the story goes on, her development is quite extraordinary. I love how even as her children are older, she is able to discover how to be a better mom and she learns from her mistakes.

I am still not sure how I feel about the narration. The narrator does a good job with all the different accents in the story. However, I did not like some of the voices for different characters. For instance, her voice for Laurel’s other daughter Hannah. It is very deep and low. There were times that I almost couldn’t understand what Hannah was saying because it was not enunciated as well. So overall, I rate this audiobook 4 out of 5 stars. Between the predictability and narration issues, I could not give it a perfect score. Although, I do recommend this book for those who enjoy thrillers.