Then She Was Gone

January 29, 2018
More than a whiff of The Lovely Bones wafts through this haunting domestic noir from bestseller Jewell (I Found You). The disappearance of beautiful, brainy 15-year-old Ellie Mack in May 2005 from her north London neighborhood takes a terrible toll on her parents and siblings, even a decade later. Most profoundly affected is her now-divorced mother, Laurel. After a shocking development in the cold case jolts Laurel from her lonely limbo, Laurel stuns herself by agreeing to dinner with a man she meets in a café, genial author Floyd Dunn, and quickly falls into a relationship with him and the younger of his daughters, precocious nine-year-old Poppy—who reminds Laurel eerily in so many ways of Ellie. But then unsettling coincidences start to emerge, most notably Laurel’s discovery that Floyd’s former partner, Noelle Donnelly, who he claims vanished five years earlier after dumping Poppy with him, was Ellie’s math tutor. Skillfully told by several narrators (some of them ghostly), Jewell’s gripping novel transcends its plot improbabilities to connect with an emotionally resonant story of loss, grief, and renewal.

February 15, 2018
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.Laurel Mack's life stopped in many ways the day her 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, left the house to study at the library and never returned. She drifted away from her other two children, Hanna and Jake, and eventually she and her husband, Paul, divorced. Ten years later, Ellie's remains and her backpack are found, though the police are unable to determine the reasons for her disappearance and death. After Ellie's funeral, Laurel begins a relationship with Floyd, a man she meets in a cafe. She's disarmed by Floyd's charm, but when she meets his young daughter, Poppy, Laurel is startled by her resemblance to Ellie. As the novel progresses, Laurel becomes increasingly determined to learn what happened to Ellie, especially after discovering an odd connection between Poppy's mother and her daughter even as her relationship with Floyd is becoming more serious. Jewell's (I Found You, 2017, etc.) latest thriller moves at a brisk pace even as she plays with narrative structure: The book is split into three sections, including a first one which alternates chapters between the time of Ellie's disappearance and the present and a second section that begins as Laurel and Floyd meet. Both of these sections primarily focus on Laurel. In the third section, Jewell alternates narrators and moments in time: The narrator switches to alternating first-person points of view (told by Poppy's mother and Floyd) interspersed with third-person narration of Ellie's experiences and Laurel's discoveries in the present. All of these devices serve to build palpable tension, but the structure also contributes to how deeply disturbing the story becomes. At times, the characters and the emotional core of the events are almost obscured by such quick maneuvering through the weighty plot.Dark and unsettling, this novel's end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.

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Starred review from March 1, 2018
Laurel Mack's world was destroyed when her 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, disappeared on her way to the library. Ellie, a bright, happy girl whose only care in the world was having to be tutored to pass her math exams, seemingly vanished from her suburban London neighborhood?CCTV cameras show nothing, and the police have no leads, so she's chalked up as a runaway. But 10 years later, after the family has fractured, remains are found along with Ellie's belongings, putting the case to rest. Laurel still has questions but is desperate to finally move on, so when charmingly geeky Floyd comes into her life, she latches on to him. But Floyd's young daughter, Poppy, bears an uncanny resemblance to Ellie?and, strangely, he has a connection to Ellie's former math tutor. Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. There will surely be comparisons to novels such as Emma Donoghue's Room (2010) as well as all of the Girl thrillers, but Jewell's latest really isn't at all derivative. Her multilayered characters are sheer perfection, and even the most astute thriller reader won't see where everything is going until the final threads are unknotted. Those few who do guess early won't mind, as the pace and prose will keep them hooked.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2018

Laurel Mack is still recovering from the loss of her teenage daughter Ellie. It's been ten years since Ellie went missing, and every day Laurel feels that loss. It cost her her marriage to Paul and caused a rift with her two other children, Hannah and Jake. But Ellie was special to Laurel, the youngest, the brightest. Now getting on with her life, Laurel meets Floyd in a caf'. He's charming and unusually similar to her ex-husband. Perhaps she can move on. As the relationship heats up, Laurel meets Floyd's daughter, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ellie. As Laurel learns more about Floyd and Poppy, unanswered questions from a decade ago return to haunt her. VERDICT For thriller readers, Jewell's latest (after I Found You) will not disappoint. Sharply written with twists and turns, it will please fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, or Luckiest Girl Alive. [See Prepub Alert, 10/22/17.]--Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2018

Ten years after her beloved 15-year-old daughter Ellie disappeared, Laurel is charmed when she meets Floyd at a cafe, surprised when her feelings for him grow deeper, and absolutely shocked to meet Floyd's daughter, who looks exactly like Ellie. From the New York Times best-selling author of I Found You.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.