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esundborg's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gabriellemarie's review
4.0
Read this as my second Lisa Jewell novel (since “Then She Was Gone” had me hooked from the beginning, and needless to say I really enjoyed it! I’m loving her style of writing and she does a fantastic job developing the plot in a way that keeps it detailed enough for readers to get immersed, without being too wordy or lengthy that it loses that attention.
Started and finished this novel in basically one sitting, (give or take food and nap breaks) because it was just that well written. Compared to “Then She Was Gone”, I found this plot to be a bit more intricate, which I love because it allows me to get more immersed and invested in the characters’ journeys. Also, since it had more character development, I also found it to be less predictable - who doesn’t love that?
This novel centers around a young couple, Tallulah and Zach, who disappear one night after last been seen at a party. While Tallulah’s mother, Kim, is the primary focus of the plot, as she struggles to come to terms with her daughter’s sudden disappearance, there is a new writer who moves into the area, who also gains interest in the case. Together, readers follow along with the day-to-day experiences of these characters as we grapple with the unsolved mystery.
While a bit longer than “Then She Was Gone”, this was also a very easy and quick read to get through and I would definitely recommend!
Started and finished this novel in basically one sitting, (give or take food and nap breaks) because it was just that well written. Compared to “Then She Was Gone”, I found this plot to be a bit more intricate, which I love because it allows me to get more immersed and invested in the characters’ journeys. Also, since it had more character development, I also found it to be less predictable - who doesn’t love that?
This novel centers around a young couple, Tallulah and Zach, who disappear one night after last been seen at a party. While Tallulah’s mother, Kim, is the primary focus of the plot, as she struggles to come to terms with her daughter’s sudden disappearance, there is a new writer who moves into the area, who also gains interest in the case. Together, readers follow along with the day-to-day experiences of these characters as we grapple with the unsolved mystery.
While a bit longer than “Then She Was Gone”, this was also a very easy and quick read to get through and I would definitely recommend!
jessicahneill's review
4.0
I feel like despite the fact that the ending is completely predictable, the way the story unfolds still keeps you interested.
benitaal's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
meganreads78's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this!
This is my first time reading from Lisa Jewell and after finishing this book, I want to read her entire backlist now! This was such an easy read for me and I literally sped through it. The writing style was spot on!
This was a really cleverly plotted and thought out mystery that had so many twists and turns, literally every chapter was so intense!
The Night She Disappeared is a really dramatic and twisty thriller about young teen mum, Talluah, who went missing over a year ago after going out on a date with her boyfriend, and neither of them were seen again. It goes between flashbacks to when they went missing and to the present day, when a crime author called Sophie moves to where the teens went missing, and starts to investigate the cold case herself when she finds a strange sign in her garden connected to the mystery…
While this book is focused on the mystery of the disappearances, there’s also a big focus on the mother and daughter relationship between Tallulah, and her mother Kim, which I thought was beautiful. It really shows the deep and emotional bond the mother and daughter have, and it’s actually upsetting reading about Kim’s dealing with the aftermath of her daughter going missing, and how she never gave up hope of finding her little girl.
I’m finding it difficult to put all my feelings about this book into words, but it was literally everything I want from a thriller. I’m so excited to read more books by Lisa Jewell!
This is my first time reading from Lisa Jewell and after finishing this book, I want to read her entire backlist now! This was such an easy read for me and I literally sped through it. The writing style was spot on!
This was a really cleverly plotted and thought out mystery that had so many twists and turns, literally every chapter was so intense!
The Night She Disappeared is a really dramatic and twisty thriller about young teen mum, Talluah, who went missing over a year ago after going out on a date with her boyfriend, and neither of them were seen again. It goes between flashbacks to when they went missing and to the present day, when a crime author called Sophie moves to where the teens went missing, and starts to investigate the cold case herself when she finds a strange sign in her garden connected to the mystery…
While this book is focused on the mystery of the disappearances, there’s also a big focus on the mother and daughter relationship between Tallulah, and her mother Kim, which I thought was beautiful. It really shows the deep and emotional bond the mother and daughter have, and it’s actually upsetting reading about Kim’s dealing with the aftermath of her daughter going missing, and how she never gave up hope of finding her little girl.
I’m finding it difficult to put all my feelings about this book into words, but it was literally everything I want from a thriller. I’m so excited to read more books by Lisa Jewell!
shirley098's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Gratingly slow in the beginning, before picking up and getting interesting near the middle, before falling again a bit to shambles near the end. Cast of characters was overly large (three different POV characters; Tallulah teen, Kim mum, Sophie detective novel writer) most of them present to just move the plot, and no real development or sympathy for the key players. All in all, probably a skip in terms of Lisa Jewell's works. Does have the occasional interesting thought on young motherhood however, and was entertaining enough to keep me reading till the end.
Some memorable quotes:
'Things are happening. Painfully slowly, in some cases, I'll grant you that. But it just takes so long to get anything done these days with all the government cuts, and when it's a cold case, it takes even longer...'
When the bones are already icy cold, Kim thinks. When the blood is dried hard. When it's too late to save anyone.
Kim closes her eyes and nods. Men don't know, she thinks, they don't know how having a baby makes you protective of your skin, your body, your space. When you spend all day giving yourself to a baby in every way that it's possible to give yourself to another human being, the last thing you want at the end of the day is a grown man wanting you to give him things too. Men don't know how the touch of a hand against the back of your neck can feel like a request, not a gesture of love, how emotional issues become too cumbersome to deal with, how their love for you is too much sometimes, just too much. Kim sometimes thinks that women practice being mothers on men until they become actual mothers, leaving behind a kind of vacancy.
Some memorable quotes:
'Things are happening. Painfully slowly, in some cases, I'll grant you that. But it just takes so long to get anything done these days with all the government cuts, and when it's a cold case, it takes even longer...'
When the bones are already icy cold, Kim thinks. When the blood is dried hard. When it's too late to save anyone.
Kim closes her eyes and nods. Men don't know, she thinks, they don't know how having a baby makes you protective of your skin, your body, your space. When you spend all day giving yourself to a baby in every way that it's possible to give yourself to another human being, the last thing you want at the end of the day is a grown man wanting you to give him things too. Men don't know how the touch of a hand against the back of your neck can feel like a request, not a gesture of love, how emotional issues become too cumbersome to deal with, how their love for you is too much sometimes, just too much. Kim sometimes thinks that women practice being mothers on men until they become actual mothers, leaving behind a kind of vacancy.
tanja_alina_berg's review
4.0
Lisa Jewell is back to fine form in this yarn. Teenage mother Tallulah and her boyfriend Zack never return home from a night home. Kim, Tallulah's mother who had minded her grandson Noah for the night, begins to look for her. She gets no answers.
A year later, Sophie moves into town, as the head teacher's girlfriend at the school that Tallulah and her friends attended. Sophie finds a sign in her garden that says "dig here". She does, and what she finds sets the case in motion again.
This was unexpectedly engaging and even tear wrenching at times. The story that unfolds wasn't anything like I had expected.
A year later, Sophie moves into town, as the head teacher's girlfriend at the school that Tallulah and her friends attended. Sophie finds a sign in her garden that says "dig here". She does, and what she finds sets the case in motion again.
This was unexpectedly engaging and even tear wrenching at times. The story that unfolds wasn't anything like I had expected.
izzyproudfoot1's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
shireeniebean's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0