Book Review (Unpopular Opinion): Then She Was Gone {Lisa Jewell}

When I mentioned on Facebook and Instagram that I was going to read this book, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who said that they LOVED it!  I was so excited to read and review it!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother’s golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty – and meeting her completely takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

3.5 Stars

My vacation is officially over and I officially hardly read ANYTHING while I was there.  SO WEIRD.  I have decided that Disney World is truly the only vacation spot in the history of the world where it is physically impossible to sit down and relax with a book.

The plus side?  I am now having a glorious time back at home working my way through this stack of books, lol!

Two of them have already been returned to the library.  I’m currently reading this one. I’m not quite sure when I will read this one???

I recently started AND finished Then She Was Gone! I read the whole book over a handful of days.  If you follow me on Instagram you know that I’ve been home with 2 sick kids.  Thank you for these extra germy souvenirs, Disney World!  My poor little babies have been sleeping so much so I’ve had extra reading time.  Thankfully everyone is feeling better and today is the first day where they are BOTH back at school!

As for my review, my feelings about this book are so incredibly mixed.

Overall, it was GREAT, I couldn’t put it down! I loved the short chapters, the different points of view, and the highly complicated plot. It held my interest from page 1. Such a quick, fantastic read and so well written!  I can’t wait to read more titles by this author and already have 2 of them on my library waiting list.  She’s clearly talented.

However…

This is one of the most predictable books I’ve ever read. I figured out every major (and more than one minor) twist almost immediately. That NEVER happens! I hate spoilers so much that I don’t even TRY to figure out twists but this book basically begs you to spoil it for yourself.

I kept waiting to be wrong, I kept waiting to be shocked, I kept waiting to be surprised. And yet…I felt none of that. At all.

There were a few minor occurrences I didn’t see coming, but none of them were important enough to the story that they made any kind of difference.

This book reminded me SO much of this one! So well written, so great….but yet so incredibly predictable.

There is absolutely nothing better than a blindsighted twist in a psychological thriller and unfortunately there wasn’t a single one in this book. No big defining moment. No big shocking ending. Unfortunately this will be one of those books months down the road where I won’t be able to recall details.

I wasn’t satisfied with the ending as there were still storylines that weren’t completely tied up and explained.  Plus, the entire ending was just so weird.

Also, this book is DARK.  And disturbing.  So disturbing. All psychological thrillers are dark and a bit disturbing but the subjects in this one took that to a whole different level.  I actually found parts hard to read because of the dark subjects being discussed.

Clearly not my favorite psychological thriller.  If you are looking for a good one in this genre, I HIGHLY suggest reading this one! I loved that book.  Much more than I loved this one.

Bottom Line:

I think I figured out this entire story before all of the characters were even introduced, lol.

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book?  What did you think?  So many people love this book…are you one of them?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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