Review: The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

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Atria, Lisa Jewell, Reviews, suspense, the night she disappeared, thriller

The Night She Disappeared

by Lisa Jewell

Huge thank you to Atria Books for this gifted book.

Publisher: Atria
Publish Date: September 7, 2021
Hardcover
416 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Suspense, Thriller

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' . . .

My Review:

Jewell is one of my absolute favorite thriller/suspense writers and this is my seventh read of hers. One of my favorite things about Jewell is how intricate she is in her details and trails to figure out the mystery at hand. Let's go find out what happened to Tallulah, shall we?

This is definitely a slow burner as we see through a few POVs and very close time lines - crazy isn't it how much can happen in such a short time? And yet that short time can feel like FOREVER to some. I admit it took me a little bit to get used to who was talking and when. And while I stilll was entertained by this read and will continue to read EVERYTHING that is Jewell, I'm sad to say I'll be putting this one towards the bottom of my list of hers. Understand, it's still QUITE entertaining and enjoyable but I think this one didn't quite keep my attention as I would have liked. I also started this while traveling so couldn't one or two-sit read it like I do with most books. Personally, I find myself enjoying books if I get to read them in a shorter amount of time than a longer one. Thank goodness for being a fast reader, eh? Just the way I work, and since this was pieced out a bit, I think maybe that may have had something to do with my overall enjoyment.

I did find the ending to be a bit far fetched but I don't mind suspending reality most of the time. After all, this is a work of fiction. Although this may not have been a favorite, it is still certainly a testament to Jewell and her ability to write the missing girl story in such a beautiful way. I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for her next book. In the mean time, if you like slow burn suspense novels, I will always recommend this author. Always.

★★★