Then She Was Gone is a horrific tale of a mother whose daughter went missing ten years ago, unsettled by the mystery regarding her death. She soon meets Floyd and his daughters Poppy and Sara Jade, who slowly piece her back together, but bring back previous questions that still need to be answered. What really happened to her daughter?
I’ll give Lisa Jewell this: she definitely had me more and more disturbed as the story progressed. The moment you think the story couldn’t get more suspenseful, horrifying, and all around shocking, she adds another twist to it. Do not confuse my reading progress (which was 5 months) to mean lack of interest. I simply was so dumbfounded with how horrifying some of these chapters were. There was even a point where I had to put the book down and just breathe for a moment, because I was definitely on the edge of my seat at some parts.
Of course, do not take the synopsis at just face value. There is definitely more Jewell has to offer besides the missing child plot line. Her language throughout the book, especially in regards to descriptions, were amazing in my mind. As pointed out by another reviewer on GoodReads, Chelsea Humphrey, not only were they eerily descriptive and complex but they were also not too lengthy and complicated either. She used the Goldilocks Effect in her writing style, making sure you understand the characters, their inner dialogue, and their personalities and how it affected the plot, but didn’t give too much away and lose readers in the process.
Unfortunately though, I was not able to give this book the perfect five stars, but instead a four out of five. There were points where I did not like the main character simply because she was not the best mother to her other children. Albeit realistic, it was definitely hard to read through the parts where Laurel highly favors her lost daughter, Ellie, and almost despises her other children, especially Hanna. It was a shame there wasn’t more dialogue between Laurel and Hanna in regards to what happened, and I would’ve liked to see some more chapters on that and for Laurel to face the consequences of her preferential treatment towards her kids.
I also was not a big fan of Poppy. I can’t imagine a child being perfect, no well written character can be, but when I read the synopsis, implying that Poppy took, “Laurel’s breath away,” I wasn’t imagining Poppy to be so…annoying. Again, I know she’s a child, but throughout the book there is a theme where Poppy and Laurel’s golden child, Ellie are similar. And seeing as they are being compared, I had high hopes. Of course, it’s possible that Laurel is just grieving, and her perspective, emotionally wise, isn’t always consistent with the actual events of the story. But Poppy’s dialogue was definitely hard to get through at times. Especially when Floyd only encouraged her and the, “I’m not like other girls,” pretentious persona she reeked of.
One final detail I want to note is that on the surface, it seems like the mystery is solved in the very beginning, especially since the book has multiple perspectives. But I want to encourage you to continue reading it, because on the surface it’s solved, but it’s a lot more sinister as you continue reading. I was definitely disturbed multiple times by the different POV’s. Not because it was irritating or hard to get through, but because some of the characters are so emotionally disturbed and their rationale of their actions were more disturbing then the actual actions they committed.
rachel hall 