Then She Was Gone: From the number one bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

Product Information

From Noelle's perspective, in the past) After Noelle kidnaps Ellie, she keeps her in the basement. She gives her the hamsters as pets. One day, she drugs her and soon Ellie realizes she's pregnant. Noelle pretends to Floyd that she's pregnant. However, a month before the baby is due, Floyd breaks it off anyway. It is said by Carl that Noelle was born in Portugal while he and Hodsey are in the doghouse looking at things they collected from Noelle. I won’t go over the plot, I rarely do that, you all read the blurbs on the books I know you do! This is a true thriller to me as it contains an extremely deviant sociopath who is so mentally ill that it’s painful to read her thoughts. You know where it’s going but you just can’t stop it. still, not the worst book out there. i definitely would have loved this more if my predictions had been right, but thats completely my own fault. Personally, I feel like the author attempted one too many pieces to this puzzle and it just felt like too much.

Ten years after her teenage daughter went missing, a mother begins a new relationship only to discover she can't truly move on until she answers lingering questions about the past. There will be tendencies to compare this book to The Girl On The Train and its various imitators, but don’t be fooled: This is better than those. Jewell’s forte is the good old-fashioned novel of psychological suspense, the kind that keeps you reading deep into the night. The Globe and Mail Don't even get me started on characters getting all psychic all of a sudden about things that were happening or that they had a "feeling" about plus the character who sees auras. The author really said "eff it, put it all in there"How can we understand that our partner is an ideal candidate for providing mutual love or unconditional love? If you are always loyal, honest, and supportive with each other and never complain about each other to other people, there is a high probability that you are ideal candidates for mutual or unconditional love. This book shows us the importance of mutual love in our life.

As soon as their relationship become serious and she forms true bounding with Poppy, she surprisingly finds out the birth mother Noelle of Poppy who left her is the same woman who has tutored her daughter Ellie. And Ellie wrote at her diary that woman gave her creeps and she didn’t want her tutoring anymore. Before she went missing, Ellie had been struggling with math class. Ellie asked for a tutor, and Noelle Donnelly was recommended. It went well, but Noelle started to weird Ellie out, so Ellie stopped the lessons. After the lessons stopped, Noelle runs into Ellie and offers her some practice materials. Ellie, not wanting to be rude, accepts. They go to Noelle's house, and Ellie isn't seen again. The police thought Ellie might have run away. But Laurel knew that wasn’t possible. The years went by and although Laurel kept pushing the police to do more…there was only so much they could or would do. Did you think Lisa Jewell’s portrayal of Laurel and her journey was realistic? Could you relate to the way she dealt with her grief, or did you find it alienating? The basic premise of this story is impossible. Not just bizarre, impossible. Period. There is no way in this day and age that the basic plot line of this book could happen. It MAYBE could have happened in the 1800s, but not in the 2000s. There are simply too many holes in the villain's plan, and inevitably everything would have 'fallen apart.' I'm not saying that the girl who disappears couldn't have disappeared in the manner outlined. That certainly could happen, and probably does more often than we'd like to admit. No, what I'm saying is that the 'mystery' here, the 'plot twist' that keeps the book going, is, simply, not possible. It couldn't be done, not by this villain, not by any other villain who ever existed.

The structure keeps the suspense level high, and Jewell manages surprising revelations all the way up to the ending. The mix of women’s fiction and suspense—plus a no-nonsense 40-something heroine at the heart of the story—makes this a good fit for fans of Liane Moriarty. Booklist From Laurel's perspective, in the present) Laurel calls Noelle's parents who report that they haven't seen her in decades. She was supposed to move and go live with them along with Poppy at one point, but it looks like she dropped off the baby with Floyd and disappeared instead. From Noelle's perspective, in the past) Noelle grew up with two older brothers, two younger brothers and a younger sister who died when she was eight. Noelle comes upon Floyd's book, and goes to a signing. It turns out they both live in the same neighborhood (Stroud Green), a few roads apart. They run into each other later, and eventually go to dinner at a Eritrean restaurant. They see each other for over a year. Noelle does not get along well with SJ. I can see why, with a better plot, Jewell is a great writer. The relationships and characters were fleshed out and interesting. Laurel’s pain over her missing daughter is palpable and realistic. The loss of Ellie felt like a real thing, not something that exists only inside a book. It's a shame, though, that we know a major aspect of Ellie's fate almost immediately, seeing as this is probably what I would have cared about most.

A jewel. A treasure. And even though I had an inkling about where this was going, it didn't diminish my pleasure in this read at all. Floyd writes books about mathematics and number theory. On their next day, he tells her he Googled her and knows about Ellie. They sleep together. Laurel meets his kids, and is floored when she realizes Poppy looks just like Ellie. Poppy and Floyd have a very close relationship, which unnerves Laurel a little. But overall, Laurel is much more excited and happy due to her relationship than she has been in a long time.The book opens from Ellie’s point of view ten years earlier. Life is going great for Ellie. She’s doing well in school and the boy she’s had her eye on seems to like her too. Her future is bright. the mystery/thriller stories i have read lately have been really predicable, so im starting a new game with myself where i predict what will happen before i read it, based solely on the synopsis. heres what i think for this one: floyd was involved in ellies disappearance (i dont think it will be a kidnapping, but maybe manipulated to run away?) and poppy is ellies daughter. i also dont think ellie will be dead. i still havent figured out how im going to reward myself for a correct prediction - the game is a work in progress - so suggestions are welcome. lol. Then She Was Gone was fine as an undemanding beach thriller, but I wouldn't recommend it for readers looking for something new and innovative.

Then there's Floyd & Poppy. Floyd who treasures Poppy but his first child SJ? Nah forget her, apparently. I didn't mind SJ but what was that random rant about people being sheep? Very much felt like the author had something to say & that's the only place she could slot it in. Also I'm sorry but Poppy unsettled me so many times, and she was not coming across as a child in any way until it was necessary for the plot. And again with Floyd it seemed like one too many things there that I'm not entirely sure how we should feel about it.

Part One

I am begrudgingly giving this book 3 stars just because I spent most of the day reading it. While it was at times intriguing and I needed to know how things were gonna end, by the end of the book I just found myself annoyed, even now as I'm writing this review I am annoyed lol. Fans of The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl will find Jewell’s suspense novel every bit as riveting and exciting. The Missourian I believe in bad vibes and listening to your instincts but why include a stereotypical hippie dippy character to warn Laurel?