THEN SHE WAS GONE - BOOK REVIEW

Title: Then She Was Gone

Author: Lisa Jewell

Format: Paperback | Hardcover | E-Book | Audiobook

Pages: 368

Length: 10h12m

Published:April 17, 2018

Publisher: Atria Books

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

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There are some book blurbs that don’t just draw you in—they pull you under. “Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. Then she was gone.” Short. Ominous. Utterly magnetic. That’s how And Then She Was Gone got me. I was expecting a tense, head-spinning psychological thriller, with a missing girl mystery at its core and the kind of spiraling twists that keep you up way past your bedtime. And, in many ways, that’s exactly what I got. Just not quite in the way I’d hoped.

The story revolves around Laurel Mack, a woman whose teenage daughter vanished a decade earlier without a trace. Her grief is consuming, her marriage shattered, and her connection to her remaining children barely holding. But when she meets a charming man named Floyd and is introduced to his unnervingly familiar daughter, Poppy—well, things get strange. There’s something in Poppy’s eyes, her voice, even her quirks that reminds Laurel of Ellie. And from there, the story snowballs into a tangled mess of memories, suspicions, and uncomfortable truths.

Lisa Jewell knows how to pace a book. I flew through the pages and found myself curious, unsettled, and occasionally chilled. The premise is deeply compelling, and Jewell does a good job weaving in multiple timelines and perspectives to slowly reveal the larger picture. That being said, I’m giving this one a solid 3.5 stars—and here’s why.

Where the plot intrigued me, the execution felt a little too clean. Too calculated. The mystery, while dark and disturbing, unfolded in a way that made the answers feel more inevitable than impactful. Without giving anything away, there’s a certain twist that you can see forming on the horizon fairly early on. And once it hits, it’s less “gasp out loud” and more “oh, of course.” While some readers might appreciate that predictability, I was hoping for just a bit more edge. A bit more grit.

And speaking of edges—the characters. This is where I struggled most. Laurel, as a protagonist, had moments of real emotional depth, but I often found her passivity frustrating. I wanted to feel more from her—rage, devastation, something messier and more raw. Her new relationship with Floyd escalates quickly, and I wish we’d seen more internal conflict there. More hesitation. More fear, even. Poppy, on the other hand, is one of the most fascinating parts of the novel—sharp, eerie, and convincingly written. But even she begins to veer toward trope territory at points.

That said, Jewell doesn’t shy away from exploring some genuinely dark themes—loss, obsession, control, trauma. And that’s what kept me hooked. Even as I guessed the what, I needed to know the why and the how. Her prose is brisk and accessible, her dialogue natural. It’s the kind of writing you don’t realize is affecting you until you’re two hours deep, blinking out of your headphones wondering what time it is.

So, would I recommend And Then She Was Gone? Yes—but with caveats. It’s a quick, gripping read for a weekend binge or a rainy evening. Just don’t go in expecting a deep psychological labyrinth. This is a mystery best appreciated for its mood, not its shock factor. If you're the kind of reader who enjoys stories about fractured families and long-buried secrets coming to light, this one will satisfy—even if it doesn’t leave you entirely shaken.