She was fifteen, her mother’s golden girl.
She had her whole life ahead of her.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.
Ten years on, Laurel has never given up hope of finding Ellie. And then she meets a charming and charismatic stranger who sweeps her off her feet.
But what really takes her breath away is when she meets his nine-year-old daughter.
Because his daughter is the image of Ellie.
Now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.
What really happened to Ellie? And who still has secrets to hide?
*********
Then She Was Gone is the first Lisa Jewell book I have read – and it was rather good.
Laurel’s 15 year old daughter Ellie had disappeared between her home and the library some 10 years earlier. Laurel’s perfect life was never the same after that. She never believed that Ellie had simply run away just before her exams. Ellie was a good student, seemed happy.
Laurel now lives alone, her grown up children living their own lives and her husband now with a new partner. Ellie’s disappearance had a devastating effect on the whole family and Laurel’s relationships with her husband and remaining children.
However one day a man enters a cafe where Laurel is having lunch. They exchange a few words and eventually Laurel goes on a date with Floyd. He’s polite, clever and charming and Laurel finds herself swept off her feet by him. He seems just perfect and Laurel is starting to enjoy life again. However when she eventually meets his young, rather precocious and unusual daughter Poppy she is struck by how much Poppy resembles Ellie at that age and she starts to question her daughter’s disappearance again.
But is the charming Floyd just too perfect? Is he hiding something? Laurel’s son’s girlfriend thinks he is. She says she gets bad vibes from him and that there is something dark and hidden beneath the surface. But Laurel doesn’t really approve of Jake’s girlfriend.
The story is told by several characters, including Ellie at the time she disappeared, and the person who was involved in that disappearance (who is revealed quite early on in the book).
It’s a pretty good psychological thriller/ family drama. It got quite ‘dark’ in parts and there are some very good twists. Although it jumps from past to present and between characters, it is well written and isn’t difficult to follow. The characters are good although you might not like all of them. Although the reader knows who was involved in Ellie’s disappearance from quite early in the book, there is a good build up of tension over time, and some quite disturbing and sinister twists making for a gripping story. I got very engrossed and really enjoyed it. It’s one of those that are hard to put down.
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