Book Review: THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED by Lisa Jewell

 

Title: THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED

Author:  Lisa Jewell

Read: October 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

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 musings:

 

I’ve been enjoying Lisa Jewell’s books ever since picking up THE HOUSE WE GREW UP IN many moons ago (which remains my favourite), so it was a given that I would read her latest book THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED as soon as I could lay my hands on it! Revolving around the disappearance of young teenage mum Tallulah and her boyfriend after a night out with friends, this slow burning mystery slowly unravels what happened to the young couple that night. In typical LJ style, each character held a few surprises in store and the final denouement was (even if not totally surprising) unexpected. 

 

I read this as part of a group read, and whilst not my favourite book by the author, we had a lot of fun coming up with wild theories about Tallulah’s fate. Overall, I felt that some elements of the ending lacked conviction for me, and I felt like the author was trying a bit too hard to come up with a number of (quite implausible) plot elements to offer us her signature twists. Saying that, it was still fun to be led down the garden path and I eagerly kept turning the pages to get the answers. My favourite part was the abandoned old mansion, which made for a deliciously creepy setting. I also appreciated that there were several POVs that each approached the mystery from a different angle, which made it all more interesting.  

 

Summary:

 

All in all, THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED was an enjoyable slow burning mystery trying to explore the circumstances behind the disappearance of a young teenage couple that made for a great buddy read. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy a slow burning mystery rather than an action packed whodunnit and don’t mind suspending disbelief for the sake of entertainment.