Book - Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell

  

Ellie Mack was a 15 year old girl who disappeared after she left her house to go to the library. She was the youngest of 3 children and was very close to her mother, Laurel. After she went missing, her parents' marriage fell apart, her father got a new partner, her brother moved away, and her sister Hanna grew cold and distant because she felt unappreciated. 

Laurel now lived alone with her thoughts, with a simple routine of going to work 3 times a week, visited her mother in a old people's home and cleaning Hanna's apartment. The media portrayed Ellie's disappearance as a teenage runway, which felt odd because the girl had no reasons to do it. Summer was just around the corner, she was studying for her final exams and she had a loving boyfriend. Was it an accident or a kidnapping instead? Her mother is unable to move on without finding out what really happened to her daughter. 

One day in a coffee shop, Laurel meets Floyd, a nice man with two daughters who quickly grew close to Laurel and started a romantic relationship with her. When Laurel is introduced to Floyd's younger daughter, Poppy, a clever and precocious 9 year old, she is amazed by the resemblance with Ellie and is intrigued by the unusual way Floyd protects and worships the little girl. 

A new clue appears on Ellie's case, a bag with some of her belongings. Laurel's haunting thoughts come back again, and she starts to realize that there is a connection between Ellie and Floyd's family and that there are secrets to reveal.

Mysteries and thrillers are one of my favorite kind of books and although it's easy to figure out what that connection is really early in the book, I still enjoyed it very much. Yes, most of it is predictable and unbelievable, but the writing is very captivating and you never know when it's going to be a sudden twist or revelation. 

Have you read more books like this? Tell me one in the comments!
Rate: 4/5