Lisa Jewell does it again! She’s the master at creating complex characters in tough situations, where secrets and lies are all intertwined. This time, there’s a missing girl, a suspected man, and a family who are witnesses to the event - or are they more than that?

The story deals with sexual assault, the mistreatment of women and even looks at the rise of “incels”. It made me frustrated at times so that’s down to the effective writing! Even though not all the characters were decent, I thought the book does a good job of humanising them. The relationships are loaded and never what they appear on the surface. The mystery had me guessing until the end. If you love Lisa Jewell’s books or if you‘re looking for a thought-provoking, addictive mystery, you don’t want to miss this!

It’s not often you get to read about what it could feel like to have circumstantial evidence piling up against you and you know the truth. This book shows sympathetically how that may appear to others while creating a mysterious plot. A very clever piece of writing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the different characters, who were very well defined - even the ones I didn’t like. This is a quick, easy read which belies the skill it must have taken to write it.

I totally enjoyed reading this book. Couldn't put it down. Perfect read at the end of the day. Definitely recommend.

A fascinating book that keeps you hooked from start to finish. All the twists and turns are well planned and add to the mystery. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book.

Another fail safe thriller from Lisa Jewell. Dark secrets, complicated family dynamics, even after so many books Lisa’s stories still have the ability to hold my interest and surprise me. The queen of domestic noir!

A dark mystery psychological thriller that has you thinking everyone could be guilty of something.

A 17 year old, Saffyre goes missing on Valentine’s Day evening. There is no trace of her but someone must know something.

Cate and Roan are a married couple with two teenage children. A Valentine’s Day card arrives in the post for Roan and suddenly Cate is imaging all sorts, but why ?

Finally we have Owen, who lives across the road from Cate and Roan. He has just been removed from his teaching job for inappropriate behaviour, which he strenuously denies, and is pretty much a bit of a loner.

After the disappearance of Saffyre, all of their lives are turned upside down but where is Saffyre and what secrets are individuals trying to hide ?

This is a great mystery with a dark undertone. The characters are great, even if you don’t like a couple of them !! This one will have you doubting everyone and trying to figure out who knows what about Saffyre.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

This was so so so good! I really couldn't put it down once I started it which meant that I finished in within a few days. Jewell brings forth 33 year old Owen who doesn't meet society's expectation of what a man his age should be doing, ie. in a relationship, living alone, not a virgin etc. Add circumstance, a series of sexual assaults and a missing 17 year old and you get a ravenous media itching to slap this man in the public eye. Of course, the story isn't just about him as we learn about lovely Saffyre Maddox who's desperate to gain back what she lost as a 10 year old at the hand of an older boy.

Wow. I love Lisa’s books soooo much. Always a twist right to the end. I fell in love with 17 year old Saffyre, she should have her own series of books that girl has such a history for one so young. Lisa shows such empathy to all her characters and you can’t help but feel sorry for the accused Owen as he obviously has undiagnosed autism/attachment disorder. The introduction of the fox just have it even more of the feel good element amongst a dark story of sexual abuse and attacks on women. Love this book a must read.

When Saffyre Maddox was ten, something terrible happened, and she's carried the pain of it ever since. The man who she thought was going to heal her didn't, and now she hides, learning his secrets, invisible in the shadows.

Owen Pick is invisible too. He's never had a girlfriend; he's never even had a friend.
Nobody sees him. Nobody cares.

But when Saffyre goes missing from opposite his house on Valentine's night, suddenly the whole world is looking at Owen.

Accusing him. Holding him responsible for Saffyre's disappearance

Lisa Jewell returns with another dark, intense, creepy and twisty psychological thriller set in London that examines a wide range of complex flawed characters, many of whom comprise of societies oddballs and socially awkward misfits, and the quick to judge perceptions of the police and the public, heightened to unbearable levels with vilification through the questionable medium of social media

An engrossing, twisty story of how we look in the wrong places for bad people while the real predators walk among us in plain sight.


Loved it

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest review

I'm normally a fan of Lisa Jewell but I didn't really enjoy this one. I found the story slow and couldn't take to any of the characters. The plot itself was ok but this was just an average read for me.

I wasn't completely tempted by the blurb but being Lisa Jewell I couldn't not read. I am so glad I did. A unique story with an array of diverse characters. A great thriller with lots of twists and turns. I loved it.

Lisa Jewell at her best. I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were likeable and I felt sorry for some. I was sucked in by them. I couldn't put it down. The twists and turns within the story were great, thought you figured it out and then in true Jewell style you are left guessing. Thank you netgalley for my ARC copy.

I am a big Lisa Jewell fan, so was immensely looking forward to starting her most recent novel, Invisible Girl. This book is satisfyingly twisty and riveting read which follows various, seemingly separate characters whose lives soon become entwined in different ways. It all centers around the disappearance of a teenage girl, but it’s about so much more than that – it’s about relationships, respect, family life, gender, appearances and deception – plus so much more.

It’s a novel I am wary of over explaining, as I don’t want to give too much away. I’ll just say that Lisa Jewell has done it again and created a fantastic read with convincing, well-rounded characters (and the characters really help make this book what it is; they’re so brilliantly created and fleshed out by the author, who I would expect no less of!). We get a real insight into the way a seemingly fleeting decision or life choice can have such an effect on someone’s life – Owen is a prime example of this – as well as how some people can so effectively and completely fool other people, even those closest to them. There’s multiple narrative threads at play here, and you just know that it’s all going to link together in some way, but you can’t quite work out how…

Combine this brilliant characterisation with an intriguing, complex (but not too complex) plot that moves along at just the right pace, and you have Invisible Girl. It avoids being overly dramatic but instead offers just the right level of impact.

This book really grabbed me from the first page, and the writing flowed so well that I struggled to put this one down – at all. Definitely recommended.

Another amazing book by lisa Jewell. Characters you can visualise and feel you know and the excitement as the plot develops. This book centres on lonely people and how they all become connected. A fabulous read

I have read a lot of this authors books and enjoyed them all. Sadly I didn’t enjoy this one. I found it very slow and I didn’t particularly like any of the characters

Now before I start, I am a big Lisa Jewell fan and have had no hesitation in the past to give put 5* reviews on previous books BUT dont hate me, I just didnt like this one!

Personally I wouldn't place in the thriller genre, in my opinion it lacked suspense and the shock factor.

I didn't gel with any of the characters and didn't relate to them and there are quite a few.

It just didnt hold my interest, when you start scanning the pages you just know it's not for you right?

In all honesty I got bored BUT the majority of ratings are 4-5* so this is definitely a "it's me not the book" scenario!

Thanks to netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

When vulnerable 17-year-old Saffyre Maddox goes missing, the entire Hampstead community have their own ideas about what happened to her. With local reports of sexual attacks on young women, Cate Fours, mother-of-two and wife of Saffyre’s former psychologist Roan, has her suspicions about Owen Pick, the odd single man who lives opposite them. Invisible Girl is unnerving, twisty and highly addictive with believable characters who you both suspect and empathise with. A unique, mind-fuck of a domestic suspense novel. Lisa Jewell does it again!

Synopsis: Owen Pick feels like his life is falling apart. He's in his 30s, still a virgin, living with his elderly aunt, sacked from his job and basically friendless. Searching for advice online he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of 'Incels' forums where he meets other men who are 'victims' of involuntary celibacy. Across the road live the Fours. Roan is a successful child psychologist and he and his wife have two great kids. The family feel there is something off about Owen. He seems creepy and their daughter said he followed her home once. Meanwhile Saffyre Maddox a young girl under Roan's treatment is left feeling abandoned and a little obsessed with the family, but when she disappears Owen is the prime suspect.


Lisa Jewell is a recently discovered author for me and I've loved everything I've read from her so far, Invisible Girl included. There is a great tension to the writing that keeps you reading and plenty of red herrings that lead you to believe one thing or another only to be surprised when you get it wrong. The characters are great, all being somewhat morally grey and not really fitting into 'good' or 'bad' categories. I'd really recommend Lisa Jewell for any fans of a good psychological thriller.

Invisible Girl is a tense family drama/psychological thriller that I raced through in one day.

Like all Lisa Jewell books it is well written with great characterization and a unique plot that kept me guessing until the end.

Trigger warning - sexual assault, self harming, adultery, misogyny

4 stars

This stalking, psychological thriller has the tables turned on the characters in the story. This was a good read and recommended.