Then She Was Gone: From the number one bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

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I have seen this book before but passed on it. Whatever the reason I was compelled to buy it. The book is written well my main disappointment was based because the suspense and murder are the main focus.

This could be Jewel’s first tentatives steps towards advancing up to the literary thriller category. I was impressed with this novel as it held my rapt attention from start to finish. It gave me goosebumps in more ways than one. Then there's Floyd & Poppy. Floyd who treasures Poppy but his first child SJ? Nah forget her, apparently. I didn't mind SJ but what was that random rant about people being sheep? Very much felt like the author had something to say & that's the only place she could slot it in. Also I'm sorry but Poppy unsettled me so many times, and she was not coming across as a child in any way until it was necessary for the plot. And again with Floyd it seemed like one too many things there that I'm not entirely sure how we should feel about it. Laurel's daughter in law, Blue, spouts New Age mumbo jumbo about how she didn't like Floyd when she met him because he has a bad aura or some crap like that. Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. Her multilayered characters are sheer perfection, and even the most astute thriller reader won’t see where everything is going until the final threads are unknotted.”— Booklist, starred reviewMiranda: I mean, there were days I really wished you would disappear, but I had no idea you felt that way too! Ginger: I don't.

All these apparent loose threads begin to be tied to Ellie’s disappearance. Meanwhile, the book explores the reactions of various family members to the tragic event, showing that Laurel was not the only one damaged by the loss. Likewise, law enforcement efforts are summarized: Ellie was last seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage captured the morning she vanished. Though the police are diligent, conducting house-to-house searches and pursuing tips received from the public, they find nothing. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary—beyond Laurel’s insistence that her daughter had no reason to flee home—law enforcement concludes and steadfastly maintains that Ellie was a runaway. They speculate she may be living on the European continent.From Noelle's perspective, in the past) Noelle grew up with two older brothers, two younger brothers and a younger sister who died when she was eight. Noelle comes upon Floyd's book, and goes to a signing. It turns out they both live in the same neighborhood (Stroud Green), a few roads apart. They run into each other later, and eventually go to dinner at a Eritrean restaurant. They see each other for over a year. Noelle does not get along well with SJ. The basic premise of this story is impossible. Not just bizarre, impossible. Period. There is no way in this day and age that the basic plot line of this book could happen. It MAYBE could have happened in the 1800s, but not in the 2000s. There are simply too many holes in the villain's plan, and inevitably everything would have 'fallen apart.' I'm not saying that the girl who disappears couldn't have disappeared in the manner outlined. That certainly could happen, and probably does more often than we'd like to admit. No, what I'm saying is that the 'mystery' here, the 'plot twist' that keeps the book going, is, simply, not possible. It couldn't be done, not by this villain, not by any other villain who ever existed.