Review: Then She Was Gone

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Up to about page 140, this novel seemed to be in the usual vein of North London psychological thriller (which I equate as captained by THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN). Interspersed were a few champion "Oh no!" moments (such as when we discover who unexpectedly may have been the last person to see Ellie), and many truly enterprising instances of substantial character delineation. But it wasn't until about page 140'-about 37% in--that a certain conversational intent had me chortling, "Oh ho! So that's going to be the way it is, is it?" and shouting at Laurell, the protagonist, "Listen up! Don't disregard this. You're being taken for a ride." Noting that this was almost 40% into the story before I grasped for the brass ring reinforces my point that the novel could have/should have been trimmed. I had the same complaint (more strongly) about the author's THE GIRLS IN THE GARDEN. I noticed this again with the lengthy section concerning Ellie and Noelle, feeling this could have benefited from a good trimming. In general I found the story too long drawn out, interspersed with shock points.

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