Book #4 – Then She Was Gone

Prompt – ‘A book that has at least one four-star review on Goodreads’ (this book has lots of those).

Medium – Book

About the book – Laurel Mack’s fifteen year old daughter, Ellie, disappeared ten years ago, with no trace of her being found since. Laurel is sure that her daughter did not run away, although the evidence found says that she did. One day, Laurel goes to a tea shop and is swept off her feet by a handsome man who introduces her to his nine-year-old daughter – who is the spitting image of Ellie. The book hops between narrators, each telling their own story, and whilst the story line feels like it could be straight-forward, there are a number of twists and turns along the way.

My rating – 7/10. I read this book in about 24 hours, partly out of necessity (not feeling 100%), and partly because of the thrilling story line. So why did I not rate this book higher? I think part of the issue was that I prefer a little more ‘mystery’ in books that I read of this type. I like turning to the last page for a surprise and I didn’t really have that for this book. I was a bit disappointed that what I had guessed had happened before I was 50 pages in was what had actually happened!

Then again, this book does not claim to be a ‘whodunit’, so maybe I am being overly harsh. The book did get my heart racing in some places, and I loved the way that the writing jumped between narrators and past and present tense. It really gave the story a disorientating feel, which I enjoyed. I really liked the main character, Laurel and the aforementioned nine-year-old, Poppy. They were well-written and gripped me as characters. I also liked the fact that this novel is a stand-alone. No room for prequels or sequels, just a good thriller.

Would I read it again? I don’t think so! I liked the story line, but the genre isn’t really for me. I am going to pass it on to a lady I visit from our local library who really likes books like this – I think she will enjoy it.

This isn’t a book I would have picked up without the reading challenge, so appreciate using the challenge to try something new!