the mystery/thriller stories i have read lately have been really predicable, so im starting a new game with myself where i predict what will happen before i read it, based solely on the synopsis. heres what i think for this one: floyd was involved in ellies disappearance (i dont think it will be a kidnapping, but maybe manipulated to run away?) and poppy is ellies daughter. i also dont think ellie will be dead. i still havent figured out how im going to reward myself for a correct prediction - the game is a work in progress - so suggestions are welcome. lol.

This story was very dark, gloomy, and creepy, but also quite emotional and poignant. Laurel's voice is so realististic, raw, and sympathetic, she nearly had me believing she was a real person and that this was a true story. Her emergence from a tortuous state of limbo and her fierce determination to get to the truth, and begin truly living life again was an amazing transformation. For much of the book, Laurel and her daughter Hanna have a fraught relationship as Laurel fails to let go of unfavorable comparisons between Hanna and Ellie. Do you think it’s normal to have a favorite child? How should parents handle these feelings if they arise? In 2008 she was awarded the Melissa Nathan Award For Comedy Romance for her novel 31 Dream Street. [7] Hanna pays Laurel to clean her apartment, so Laurel knows that Hanna has not been sleeping at home. Hanna claims she's out partying, but that's not really her personality. Laurel finds some flowers given to Hanna by someone named "T". Laurel also visits her elderly mom who had a stroke many years ago. Her mother Ruby is old, but seems to be holding on hoping for Ellie to be found.

I don't know whether I can call this book a thriller. There are not many unexpected twists in this story. So can I call it a book coming under the gentle of "acutely observed family drama"? I think that it is a mixture of both genres. The vacillating between the past and the present is done perfectly by the author. The mendacious mercurial nature of some characters in this book will rattle you to the extent of even making you nihilistic. In chapters from Ellie’s perspective, she repeatedly brings up the subject of blame, thinking of all the moments that led to what happened to her and what she “should” have done differently, or what others could have done to save her. As you read, did you find yourself blaming characters for the unforeseen consequences of the choices they made? If so, in which situations? It sort of feels like I've read a hundred different variations of the missing daughter/grieving mother plot, and Then She Was Gone doesn't really do anything new with it. The writing is strong, but it's disappointing when you figure out all the major reveals in the first few chapters and even get the reasons behind them. As soon as certain characters are introduced, I was thinking “ah, got it” and, unfortunately, I was right. I kept hoping something exciting would happen to prove me wrong, but it really is as obvious as it seems. If you loved “Girls in the Garden” and “I Found You” you will definitely love this book. For me this one was a little difficult to read because the behavior of this probable psychopath was just so twisted and ugly. After starting this novel I couldn’t quit, her writing is just so compelling, those of the words I would use to describe it! Once again, I am impressed with Lisa Jewell’s storytelling. I thought this was a terrific story. Told from multiple points of view, alternating between ‘then’ and ‘now’, I was enthralled as everything was revealed.

So, whilst Then She Was Gone is a decent read and far better than some of the more recent and frankly ridiculous psychological thrillers saturating the market place, it holds very little in the way of surprises for any savvy reader and relies on a sequence of unlikely coincidences. I didn’t find this an emotional read as it all felt a little too artificial and implausible for me, from the sentimental ending through to the good grace with which the unfolding revelations seemed to be received. All in all Then She Was Good is an immersive and very readable character driven family drama and offers an insightful look at a family reuniting after the tragic disappearance of one of their number. Then She Was Gone is, first and foremost, a mystery. Yet many questions are answered quite early on in the book. How soon did you guess what really happened to Ellie, and if you did, did it affect your enjoyment of the book?As you may imagine Laurel is devastated, barely holding up but one day she meets Floyd at a cafe, sharing a carrot cake and the charming, mysterious, charismatic mathematician blows her mind. And another surprising thing about this man is her 9 years old daughter named Poppy who lives with her, has great resemblance with her deceased daughter. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.