Author: Lisa Jewell
Published: April 17th 2018 by Atria Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 359 pages
Genre: Suspense
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Not thinking Lisa Jewell could outpace her previous book, “I See You”, she does so and more by taking the reader to the day when Laurel Mack’s life stopped – the day ten years prior when her daughter went missing.
Fifteen-year-old Ellie Mack was preparing for her upcoming exams, she was a bit nervous about the math portion, but as a gifted student, she could handle it. Maybe the help of a tutor would not be so bad, but after a bit, she realized the sessions were not going to work out. She would get through this on her own. While taking a break from her studies, she wanders out only to never return. People wanted to believe she was a runaway, the stress was too much, yet that was not the answer. An answer confirmed years later with the discovery of her bones, clothes, and backpack.
Ellie was Laurel’s golden child, she had two others, but in her mind, they were not Ellie and she found herself drifting away from them and from her own marriage. It was not their fault they could not measure up to the idealized Ellie. They were who they were and when Ellie disappeared, her extraordinary light went with her.
While sitting in a café, Floyd Dunn approaches Laurel and quickly the two begin a relationship. He is charming, but what unnerves Laurel is how much Floyd’s daughter Poppy looks like Ellie. How could the two not only shared physical characteristic, but also have the same mannerisms?
Maybe it is seeing Poppy that triggered Laurel to begin a relentless search for answers, yet it is not until the reader jumps ahead of Laurel that a connection is made and the twisted puzzle comes together. With the final piece in place, she will have her answers and hopefully, one by one, her family will forgive her and allow her to be in their lives again.
Told in alternating accounts, the reader bounces back and forth between Ellie, Laurel, Floyd’s wife, and Floyd himself. The narratives are not difficult to follow as Lisa Jewel is a master at giving each their own voice. Voices that will both disturb and satisfy you.
Fifteen-year-old Ellie Mack was preparing for her upcoming exams, she was a bit nervous about the math portion, but as a gifted student, she could handle it. Maybe the help of a tutor would not be so bad, but after a bit, she realized the sessions were not going to work out. She would get through this on her own. While taking a break from her studies, she wanders out only to never return. People wanted to believe she was a runaway, the stress was too much, yet that was not the answer. An answer confirmed years later with the discovery of her bones, clothes, and backpack.
Ellie was Laurel’s golden child, she had two others, but in her mind, they were not Ellie and she found herself drifting away from them and from her own marriage. It was not their fault they could not measure up to the idealized Ellie. They were who they were and when Ellie disappeared, her extraordinary light went with her.
While sitting in a café, Floyd Dunn approaches Laurel and quickly the two begin a relationship. He is charming, but what unnerves Laurel is how much Floyd’s daughter Poppy looks like Ellie. How could the two not only shared physical characteristic, but also have the same mannerisms?
Maybe it is seeing Poppy that triggered Laurel to begin a relentless search for answers, yet it is not until the reader jumps ahead of Laurel that a connection is made and the twisted puzzle comes together. With the final piece in place, she will have her answers and hopefully, one by one, her family will forgive her and allow her to be in their lives again.
Told in alternating accounts, the reader bounces back and forth between Ellie, Laurel, Floyd’s wife, and Floyd himself. The narratives are not difficult to follow as Lisa Jewel is a master at giving each their own voice. Voices that will both disturb and satisfy you.
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