Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell – I’m Unwell
Lisa Jewell, you SAVAGE! ( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡)💢 The way you ripped my heart out and left it on the side of the road was UNCALLED FOR! Okay, let me regroup and find my manners…
The Blurb…OMG the Blurb
Here’s the gist:
Ellie Mack disappears without a trace. Ten years later, her mother, Laurel, is still trying to pick up the pieces. As she’s going through her (literally miserable) day-to-day, she meets this man named Floyd. He’s got a daughter named Poppy WHO LOOKS JUST LIKE ELLIE. WTF?! This lights a fire under Laurel’s bum (it’s a British thriller), and we go from there. Where in the heck is Ellie? Did she run away by choice? Or did something much darker happen to her?
I read that blurb and KNEW I was gonna love this book. I wanted twist after twist. I wanted insane reveals as we get closer to the truth.
But clearly, I don’t always get what I want. 😖😩
The Problem – I Knew Too Much
I’m the kind of reader who doesn’t want to know what’s going on until the end. Why? Because the upcoming reveals and twists are what keep me invested. If I know too much too soon, it takes some of that anticipation away.
Then She Was Gone revealed what happened to Ellie too quickly. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s just not my personal preference. I won’t give any spoilers, just in case you haven’t read this yet.
The focus was squarely on Laurel (a dull character, I must admit). It wasn’t really about Ellie most of the time. So, the mysteries surrounding Ellie’s fate were not kept behind lock and key. I honestly wish they were; I think I would have enjoyed this more if that were the case.
Not Super Thrilling, TBH
Because of the early reveals and the overall focus of the story, this book wasn’t as thrilling as I hoped it’d be. It felt more like a suspense drama, if that’s a thing. Honestly, I was bored for a good chunk of it. (¬_¬")
I knew that at some point the boo-boo would hit the fan and I would feel “thrilled.” But I didn’t know when. In the meantime, we were following Laurel in the present and Ellie in the past. Much of it was pretty mundane.
But I will say that there’s a reveal at the 50% mark that kept me reading. We get to know the main Crazy of the story and the messed-up stuff they were doing. The book does get a touch more interesting after that point.
Later on, Laurel finally admits that something is horribly wrong in Floyd and Poppy Land. But it just took too long for me.
As an aside, Lisa Jewell is a phenomenal writer in general. 🙌✨🤩 I would 100% read her shopping list. She infused a ton of dread into this story. So, though the book wasn’t thrilling all the way through, I had to keep flipping those pages.
The Last 5% Was Everything
Yes, the first 95% of the book was relatively slow. But that last 5% was INSANE! 😱 It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It was dark, horrifying, and deeply upsetting…and I couldn’t look away.
THE EPILOGUE….the epilogue was the saddest thing I’ve read in a long time. I nearly cried, and I don’t cry easily with thrillers. I read that part 3 times; clearly, I enjoy suffering.
Rating: 3/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
I love Lisa Jewell’s books, but this one was definitely not my favorite.
The mystery surrounding Poppy and Floyd pulled me in - what did he want from Laurel? Why did Poppy look like Ellie? Was Laurel in danger? All of those questions were in the back of my mind. But Lisa Jewell didn’t deliver the answers in a way that worked for me specifically.
Though I didn’t love the reading experience as a whole, I did enjoy certain reveals, and the ending was definitely worth it! I recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers but doesn’t need twist after twist to be satisfied. It’s a 3 out of 5 for me.
