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Then She Was Gone: A Novel

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Family Upstairs and None of This Is True comes an “acutely observed family drama” (People) about the lingering aftermath of a young girl’s disappearance.

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother, Laurel Mack, is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her youngest child disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie.

Laurel is haunted by her long unanswered questions. What happened to Ellie? Did she run away from home, as the police have long suspected? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?

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Published Nov 6, 2018

Average rating: 7.47

2,117 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Maxime
May 24, 2025
9/10 stars
WOW. That's the best way to describe it. It is a page turner and its built-up is sublime.
JessSunshine
May 09, 2025
8/10 stars
Recommendable! Even though, it was a but predictable, to see how we got to the plot was what made it a page turner for me. Even found myself tearing twice. I love how she wrote out Floyd’s character. I do wish, we had a chapter on how Ellie’s family felt when they found out the truth. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it very much and will be looking for another Lisa Jewell book in the future.
Anonymous
May 04, 2025
6/10 stars
Kinda weird but a solid story that kept you wanting to read more. Definitely predictable but somehow that was okay. Maybe I just really needed a light summer read.
Regina001
Apr 27, 2025
5/10 stars
This book was a slow burn. I think if the author would have dealt with the grief from the parents and siblings perspective, how Ellie felt being kidnapped and finding her remains.This would have been a great book.
Tamanna
Apr 09, 2025
6/10 stars
I personally didn't like this book a lot because it was predictable and even after the twist it kept going on and on

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