Wednesday 21 July 2021

THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED by Lisa Jewell



Author: Lisa Jewell

Book: The Night She Disappeared

Publication Date: July 2021 


2017: 19 year old Tallulah is going out on a date, leaving her baby with her mother, Kim.

Kim watches her daughter leave and, as late evening turns into night, which turns into early morning, she waits for her return. And waits.

The next morning, Kim phones Tallulah's friends who tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a party at a house in the nearby woods called Dark Place.

She never returns.

2019: Sophie is walking in the woods near the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started work as a head-teacher when she sees a note fixed to a tree.

'DIG HERE' . . .

A cold case, an abandoned mansion, family trauma and dark secrets lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell's remarkable new novel.

  

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My Thoughts

Sophie Beck, a mystery author, and new-to-the area resident, finds herself involved in the unsolved 2017 disappearance of two teenagers, when she discovers a clue at her new home: A clue that can only have been recently.

THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED is the first Lisa Jewell book I’ve read, and I thoroughly enjoyed this multiple point-of-view, multiple timeline story.

I thought Jewell did a great job in setting the mood by treating locations as characters themselves, and giving them a role to play in this mystery. There’s a small wood where three different worlds converge: the tranquil village, a school for affluent, disengaged kids and a now abandoned manor house. This house is also the last location the teens were seen alive.  

Jewell’s writing gives each character a distinct personality, but within a group of seemingly ordinary people, it’s difficult to speculate who - and how - they might be involved; few of these characters are what they first appear to us readers.

Jewell skilfully reveals a little more with each chapter, and there’s an ever-growing tension as we head into the denouement. The book certainly kept me turning the pages.  I give two thumbs up to this thriller. 


Review copy courtesy of Better Reading



About the Author

Lisa Jewell was born in London. Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the bestselling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has published another sixteen novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls and Then She Was Gone (both of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks) as well as I Found You and Watching You. Lisa is a top ten New York Times and number one Sunday Times bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in north London with her husband, two daughters, two cats, two guinea pigs and the best dog in the world.

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