Lisa Jewell has such a skill of drawing you into the world she creates and holding you there, tangled in the mystery. You're compelled to read on and find out what happens to her characters.

The Night She Disappeared follows the story of a teenage mum, Tallulah and her boyfriend, Zach, who seemingly vanish after a night out. A year later Tallulah's mum is no closer to understanding what happened to them and is struggling to look after their son, Noah.

As you go back to their lives before they disappear, and a picture begins to build, everything you think you know gets turned on its head.

Themes of money and privilege, control and friendship run through the story and make it a proper page turner.

There was just one element that jarred a little for me. A character, Sophie, is a novelist of cosy detective stories, but fails to recognise a plot situation taken straight from the pages of one of her own novels. It didn't take away from the book as a whole though and, as usual, you're in safe hands with Lisa Jewell.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this early copy.

I’m not going to lie. This book took a lot of getting in to. I struggled with the amount of characters, remembering who was who and their relationship with others. The story also kept flipping from 2017 and 2018 to add to the confusion.

Tallulah is a teenage Mum to Noah. She lives with Noah, her boyfriend Zach (Noah’s Dad) her brother Ryan and her Mum Kim.

Whilst at college Tallulah is befriended by Scarlett - she a popular girl with a clique of friends and wealthy family.
When she and her boyfriend is invited to Scarletts house for a party, Tallulah leaves Noah with her Mum and then vanishes.

A year later Author Sophie moves in to the living quarters at Maypole College with her boyfriend Shaun who is the new headmaster and finds a note on the gate saying “Dig Here”

This links back to the disappearance of Tallulah and Zach.......

There is a lot of people in this story and like I said it took me a long time to get in to it and get my head around who was who. The ending felt slightly rushed and I figured out half of the reveal at the end.
The book was just “okay” for me it wasn’t a good enough story for my confusion to be worth it. Too many characters, some not even necessary (like Zach’s parents for example) and an ending that was disappointing.
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Jewell is back with another phenomenal thriller that will suck you in and keep you guessing until the shocking final reveals leave you reeling! The Night She Disappeared is destined to become another smash hit for one of the thriller genres most consistently brilliant writers.

I am a huge fan of Jewell’s novels and for me, she keeps getting better and better (which I’m pretty sure I say with every release!). I wasn’t sure if anything could top the magnitude of excellence that is Invisible Girl, but The Night She Disappeared is equally as fantastic in different ways. The social commentary in this novel is there in a more subtle way, but frankly, it doesn’t need to be as prevalent. First and foremost, this is an utterly gripping mystery that cleverly brings the reader along on the journey to its shocking climax. The narrative is told through multiple timelines that are expertly and intricately woven together. As the present day events unfold and the truth of Tallulah and Zach’s disappearance begins to unravel, the timelines set prior to this develop the characters and sow the seeds that eventually blossom into the truth. I found this style so engaging and I really enjoyed moving between these timelines and trying to work out how things would come together. Needless to say, I could not guess exactly what was going on and I was only able to piece things together exactly when Jewell wanted me to. This is testament to her skills as a writer, as I was genuinely floored by some of the revelations, despite having developed certain suspicions as and when Jewell constructed me to.

One element of Jewell’s novels that keeps me returning is the excellent exploration and commentary on humanity and society. Although this plays less of a role here, there is a brilliant study of privilege and wealth. There are characters who fully manipulate both of these, as well as characters who are desperate to find these. Similarly, relationships and identity are very much at the heart of this story. These drive the mystery, tension and suspense. For me, the most interesting aspect was the exploration of power people hold over others. There are multiple characters who exert this and the affects are devastating on all fronts. This is very much a story of manipulation, obsession, cruelty and entitlement. However, it is also a story about love, hope and discovering true identity.

The Night She Disappeared is an exceptional, exciting read that should be on everyone’s summer TBR pile!

Lisa Jewell, The Night She Disappeared (2021)

Lisa Jewell’s The Night She Disappeared draws us in with an absorbing, beautifully crafted story that holds us in suspense throughout. As in Jewell’s other novels, our attention is compelled not only by the intricate plotting but by characters so richly created and memorable that they stay in the reader’s mind long after the final pages.
The girl who has disappeared is nineteen year-old Tallulah Murray, a college student who lives with her mother in Upfield Common in the Surrey hills, together with her boyfriend Zach and their baby son. When Tallulah and Zach go for a rare night out at the local pub, they never return. The last time they were seen is at Dark Place, the old mansion of a rich acquaintance of Tallulah’s called Scarlett Jacques. In a novel of proliferating mysteries, we are repeatedly brought back to the question of how the lives of two characters so apparently unlike one another became so closely intertwined:

“Tallulah is a pretty girl, but looks like the sort of girl that likes to blend into the background, who doesn’t like compliments or fuss, the sort of girl that likes routine and normality and simple food, who doesn’t experiment with clothes or make-up in case she gets it wrong. Yet somehow she found herself embroiled in a Bohemian, self-centred family like the Jacqueses. How did it happen?”

As we realise the extent of Tallulah’s involvement with Scarlett and with the disturbing secrets of Dark Place, the tone of the narrative becomes increasingly Gothic and terrifying.

Jewell says in her Acknowledgements that she wrote The Night She Disappeared during lockdown, when changes in life and family routine meant that she temporarily found herself unable to write. It is possibly an experience that fed into her creation of another of the novel’s central characters, Sophie Beck, a writer of ‘cosy crime’ novels whose move to a new life in Upfield Common has left her suffering from writer’s block. Instead of writing, she throws herself into trying to solve the village’s year-old mystery of what happened on the night Tallulah and Zach disappeared. The writer as amateur sleuth is instrumental in propelling the investigation forward. Sophie’s involvement also reinforces the reader’s sense of how distant Jewell’s strange and sinister world is from the comforting confines of old-fashioned crime writing.

At the end of the novel, Sophie, writing again, has decided that she will leave behind the conventions of cosy detection embodied in her Hither Green Detective Agency and move on to writing about “the wide world, not just one corner of it." The Night She Disappeared – perhaps such a novel as an older, more experienced Sophie might go on to write – is a darkly satisfying psychological thriller. Highly recommended.

I have always loved Lisa Jewell books and this one certainly didn't disappoint. Told in 2 different time spans, this book was fast paced with twists right up to the very end.

2017, 19 year old Tallulah is mum to baby Noah and living with her mum. She is working hard to get herself through college, and although her and Zach, Noahs dad, had originally not been together, had rejoined with Zach desperate to make their relationship a permanent arrangement. On a planned night out, Zach is ready with a ring to propose. However the evening did not go to plan with the couple last Bering seen with friends at a swimming pool party. They never make it home.

2019, Sophie has just moved into the local boarding with her boyfriend, who is to be head teacher. She is a crime novelist and after finding an engagement ring buried outside of her house, becomes embroiled in the mystery of Talulahs and Zachs disappearance. Events begin to unfold as to what exactly happened that night.

Brilliant read, highly recommend.

Loved it. A twisty thrilling mystery from the queen of twisty thrilling mysteries! Lisa Jewell’s lock down novel is as interesting and gripping as anyone who loves her work would expect. Tallulah and her boyfriend go missing one evening, leaving behind their much loved baby Noah. 15 months later the mystery of their disappearance starts to unravel with the arrival of a ‘cosy thriller’ writer who is determined to find out what happened to them. A fab read, thoroughly recommend.

Lisa Jewell cannot write a bad novel and this one is fantastic. when the teenaged mother and her boyfriend disappear on a night out with friends, what has really happened to them? Surely they wouldn't abandon their baby son? Their relationship outwardly looks ok but we have seen worrying evidence of controlling behaviour. A year later as the nightmare continues for the fmaily, can the newly arrived head teacher's wife unravel the mystery and who is leaving clues for her? What fate has befallen Tallullah?

I had never read a Lisa Jewell book first so was delighted to be given the chance to read The Night She Disappeared.

Tallulah is headed out on a date with her boyfriend Zach, father of her year old baby, they have had their ups and downs recently but hopefully this night will sort things out once and for all.

Kim, Tallulah's mum, is at home babysitting she gets a text message from Tallulah explaining they have been invited to a party and would she mind looking after the baby for a bit longer, Tallulah promises not to be too late, but when Kim wakes up the next day, neither Tallulah nor Zack have made it home.

A year later a new headmaster, Peter, arrives at a local private school with his partner, Sophie, who is an author. Sophie goes for a walk a few days after they arrive, and finds a sign saying 'Dig here'.

This is a really intriguing book, and I could not put it down, actually read it in one day, it's set across three timelines which take a little getting used to especially, as the timelines aren't years, so you have the evening of the disappearance, the year before, and the present.

I enjoyed the book, was a really good read, just a small criticism that a couple of the characters who had an impact on the book, didn't have much of a back story, even though they were critical (I think) to the narrative, their reasons etc?

Recommended and would read more by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for giving me the chance to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a great book. I have enjoyed all of this author’s books but this one blew me away!

Young mum, Tallullah, and her boyfriend go missing after a date night at the local pub. The last contact she made was a text to her mother saying they were going to a friend’s house - then she didn’t return home.

This was gripping and brilliantly written book with so many twists that I didn’t know what was going to happen. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

This was a fantastic, twisty psychological thriller. I really enjoyed the writing style, and the plot had me hooked from the very beginning.

I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ebook to review via Netgalley

Despite a bit of unbelievability this is Lisa Jewell back on form.
Very much enjoyed this book which I read very quickly. Still have questions that weren't answered- maybe I'm being a bit dense. Kim and Sophie were excellent, well drawn characters. I enjoyed the way the book was set out and the timelines. A little bit of waffle that being cut could have made the book tighter but overall a very good and enjoyable read. Ideal for holidays- when you can have one!

A pool party, the Dark Place, a missing girl and a sign that says DIG HERE - all ingredients for a page-turning thriller I was intrigued to read. With an opening that describes a girl in the dark and the term ‘arachnophobia,’ the book is impossible to put down. It has a fast pace and plenty of dialogue to keep you guessing until the end.

Kim is babysitting for her teenage daughter, Tallulah, who is out on a date with her boyfriend. But as the hours tick by, Kim, who is left at home with the baby, becomes increasingly anxious. When there is still no response to her texts, she knows something terrible has happened. When Tallulah and Zach fail to materialize, the police are called in to investigate. During the weeks that follow, Kim tries to get to the bottom of how, where and why, only to be thwarted at every turn. Her interviews at the country house where the party took place turn up little or no leads. Scarlet Jaques is from a more privileged background. She doesn’t appear overly concerned, yet there is an underlying tension in her behavior.

At every turn of the page, secrets are peeled away. A controlling boyfriend who may have taken rejection badly. A friend whose obsession with Tallulah could have played a part. A DI whose bolstering presence adds a little comfort but is sadly unproductive. The book is told in different timelines, 2016, 2018 and 2017 so we get a marvelous taste of the characters. I enjoyed Sophie, a cozy crime writer, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. With clues strewn throughout the story, I began to list my suspects.

There are small nuggets of clues and tantalizing clips of conversation that keep us waiting to the end. Although some conversations could have been snappier without so many pleasantries since it catapulted me out of the story at times. I have loved reading Lisa Jewell’s earlier novels. No contrived twists and everything sliding into place at the end. I requested this knowing it would be just as good and I wasn’t disappointed. It's a stay-up-way-too-late read with shifting points of view, and a disturbing narrative that uncovers dark, twisty secrets you know will be satisfying.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author Lisa Jewell for the privilege of reading this book.

#TheNightSheDisappeared #NetGalley

The Night She Disappeared

I was SO excited to read this book that I simply dropped everything to start it.
Teenage couple Tallulah and Zach have a baby boy. They both adore him. Tallulah wants to be a social worker, Zach is working hard to buy their first home. So why do they go out to the local pub for a date night & not come home? Set in the English countryside at a boarding school on the edge of the woods Tallulah’s Mum refuses to accept her daughter would ever leave her son. Newcomer to the area Sophie is an author of detective novels and there is something very unsettling about the abandoned house at the back of the woods.
We hear from several POV for this story - from the before the disappearance and after. However this is nothing unusual for a Lisa Jewell novel and as always it’s easy to follow. I wanted to guess what had happened throughout this book but I couldn’t - I just couldn’t figure it out. It was so cleverly written that I simply had no idea. The characters were all enjoyable (although I found Sophie a little bit dull - maybe she was just a bit lost?). This is another great mystery from Lisa and I’ll definitely be recommending it. Oh and I want a Toby dog please.

After reading a few of Lisa Jewell’s other books, I was extremely excited to receive this one.

We follow a dual timeline again in this book which was easy to keep up with. A girl called Tallulah goes missing one night. A few years later, a woman called Sophie moves to the area. It’s fair to say, her world is shifted somewhat :)

When I read the synopsis of this book, I thought it was going to be a lot darker than it was. Not to say that this book or subject is light and fluffy in anyway. I just expected a little bit more.

Again tho, Lisa Jewell’s writing is phenomenal. There are so many twists and turns you don’t expect really keeping you on the edge of your seat.

If you are a fan of any of her other work, then definitely give this a go when it comes out in July!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book this intense. WOW this book is amazingly brilliant. If I wasn’t reading it I was thinking of it. It is a well thought out storyline and a bit of a twist at the end with Liam. I would have liked more of his story. The characters where brilliant the storyline unreal. I look forward to reading more from lisa she is so talented.

Another great read from Lisa Jewell. This author had a great way of writing, that in the early chapters you wonder how these characters are going to come together in line with the plot, and they're then cleverly weaved into place. A thrilling read, with characters you can really see and believe. I really enjoyed getting to know Tallulah, her relationships with Zach and Scarlett and her son, and ultimately her fate. Thank you Goodreads for my ARC.

This is the most engaging book I have read for a long time. Tallulahhas a baby with Zach. At college she meets and is dazzled by Scarlett. They begin a love affair and Tallulah plans to leave Zach. The story flits between present day and how Kim, Tallulah's mum is coping and a year earlier and the relationships that lead to disastrous events. Gripping.

This is a superb psychological thriller which had me gripped from get go. The story is excellent and I loved the plot and the way it was written. This book is an absolute page-turner and really hard to put down once you start reading, I’m really glad I got a chance to read it from Netgalley. Highly recommended. Thank you Random House, UK Cornerstone for an advanced copy of this ebook and giving me a chance to review this book!

I always enjoy Lisa Jewell's books and this was no exception. 19 year old Tallulah and her boyfriend Zach go for a night out at the pub leaving their baby son in the care of Tallulah's mum Zoe. They leave the pub with a group of others but they never come home. Extensive searches reveal nothing. A few years later, Sophie moves in to the village with her partner who has just become the head teacher at an expensive 6th form college. Sophie writes detective novels, and quickly becomes involved in the case. This is a fast paced story full of great characters, and will keep you guessing to the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

WOW!LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT!.
What can I say about this amazing book apart from I LOVED IT!. I was devastated to finish it because I wanted it to go on and on and on. I was completely gripped and I tried to take my time reading it but that was an impossible feat. All the characters had their own little story, they were believable and relatable and Lisa bought them to life on the page, I really felt for Kim Knox, I just wanted her to find her beloved daughter Tallulah The plot flowed at a nice pace and the ending was remarkable, with a wicked twist. I love all Lisa's books and this one did not disappoint and I am really glad Lisa found the strength to finish writing it whilst in lockdown, after some telling off from her editor Selena, so THANK YOU Selena for giving the amazing Lisa Jewell the final push to complete this book, it truly is brilliant and I have already pre-ordered it and I can't wait to get into my hands. Huge Congratulations Lisa you certainly deserve all the credit and this book will undoubtedly be on the bestseller list.