Then She Was Gone

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I think this book has one too many pieces to the puzzle trying to make it mysterious where I feel it would have been better to just focus on on one or two things. Some things were just weird and again I will reiterate WTF was the point in the Hanna thing? Of all the options it had to be that one? And the ending with Laurel? Ehhhh.

Ellie was fifteen eager to take her exams. Now that she had been tutored in math she was sure she would do well. On her way to the library one evening, she disappears. Her disappearance takes a huge toll on the family, a family that breaks apart as many families in this type of situations often do. Now ten years later, Laurel is willing to take a shot at having a life and love again a series of events will send her reeling. Would she finally find out what happened to her daughter? I often say that this author is so great because (1) even her strangest characters are 'real' and (2) even her most bizarre plots are 'believable.' This book is the exception to item number 2. 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? Then She Was Gone references in an excerpt from Ellie’s diary, Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones, another story about a young teenager who goes missing and the fallout of her unsolved disappearance on her family. Consider making The Lovely Bones your next book club read and discussing what parallels you find between the two novels, and what distinguishes them. Populated with fantastic characters, this was a fascinating and moving story about obsession, loss, and family. Some suspension of disbelief may be necessary, but it didn’t really bother me, I just enjoyed what I found to be a unique and absorbing story.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.

In this dark and captivating novel, the different strands slowly but surely come together, and the result is that rare thing – a thriller that will break your heart’ Metro This is the third Lisa Jewell thriller that I have read and she has penned another winner! After finishing this book I really had to wait a few days to sort of “SETTLE ME DOWN” as this mystery touched some very delicate feelings in me, more so than her first two books. Call me a snob but in my experience with thrillers, it has been hard to find many with the combination of great writing, past and present POV’s that flow seamlessly together, and create emotions that well up inside of you and really stay with you. Laurel is doing her best to move on with her life. Her teenage daughter went missing years ago, triggering an avalanche of misfortune. The family splintered. Laurel and Paul divorcing. And now, their two remaining children are leaving home at the first chance they get - anxious to live their own lives, away from the oppressive tension within their home. Symbolic of the desire to move on once closure has been reached, Part Two opens with Laurel encountering, apparently by accident, an attractive eligible bachelor in a neighborhood café. He is American-born anglophile Floyd Dunn, a moderately successful author of scientific books. The two strangers exchange personal information during a leisurely conversation. Floyd is separated from his wife and is the father of two daughters. The older of the two, Sara-Jade, known as “SJ,” is a product of his marriage, and usually lives with her mother. The younger child, Poppy, just nine, is the result of an extended but long-past affair. Poppy was left with Floyd—who is ecstatic to have her—when she was four years old, after which time her mother took off for parts unknown.Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. pleasingly twisted… I gulped this in one long, thirsty session, sitting by the pool on holiday. Sam Baker, The Pool Lisa Jewell knows how to take a classic storyline and make it her own. Most of her plots are traditional tales that have been told before in some form, but the difference is that she knows how to take something that could be predictable and put her own spin on it. The atmosphere, characterization, and raw emotion that is infused into each of her novels elevates their status to something that few suspense novelists have attained. The blending of multiple genres in each of her books really creates a unique reading experience; readers of every gender and walk of life have been able to connect with her writing and I feel that's a sure sign of the highest quality of writing.