The best Lisa Jewell book yet. Dont take my word for it though, read it and see if you agree .
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review

When 19-year-old Tallulah decides to go out on a date with her boyfriend, her mother, Kim, gladly volunteers to take care of her grandson.

Kim watches her daughter leave and, as late evening turns into night, which turns into early morning, she waits for her return. And waits.

The next morning, Kim phones Tallulah's friends who tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a party at a house in the nearby woods called Dark Place.

She never returns home.

Two years later, Sophie is walking in the woods near the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started work as a head-teacher when she sees a note fixed to a tree.

'DIG HERE' . . .

What an awesome and gripping read!

It was well narrated across multiple points of view and timelines. It is a slow burn mystery but it manages to hold on your interest right till the end. I was so invested into the plot because I really wanted to know what had happened to Tallulah and Zach.

The plot has a bit of creepiness to it and some of the characters are so dark, which made it into an even more intriguing read. The highlight was definitely the ending, because it was so unpredictable and I would have never guessed it!

Thank You NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for this ARC!

What if your daughter is a teenage parent? What if your Grandsons father is attentive and loving? What if you babysit so they can go on a date night? What if they never return home?...
What an excellent tale! Lively, believable characters that keep the reader turning the page.
A page turner of a story

This book caught my attention from the beginning. I like Lisa Jewell’s writing. I read her early books years ago and loved them, she writes relationships with great accuracy , all the different relationships in this book, particularly those of Tallulah with her mother/ partner were captured well. I was invested in her and wanted to know what happened to her.

The story is told over dual timelines and from different perspectives and it’s competently weaved together through the first half of the book as the mystery builds. However it did begin to unravel as the book went on and I felt the second half of the book was weaker than the first. There were some twists but also a fair dollop of predictability to the conclusion.

I liked it but after such a strong start , the ending let this book down. A solid enough read that lost its pace towards the end.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

O gosh I was so excited to read this!
The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I got goosebumps.
I love a book full of secrets and twists and I was not disappointed!
I loved it!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Teenage mum Tallulah and Zach her boyfriend go on a rare night out whilst Kim (Tallulah's mum) babysits; but they never return.
I enjoyed the multiple timelines once I got used to them.
I wouldn't describe this book as a fast paced thriller as it was more of a mystery which gradually builds up and grips you.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this read.

Lisa Jewell books are simply not to be missed. Fabulous writing, full of twists and turns, characters you can invest in. Highly recommended

I have always loved reading her books and I think that Lisa Jewell has surpassed all her previous novels with this one. The story is gripping reading wth many twists and new information being fed to the reader at a perfect pace. I kept changing my mind as to what had happened that night. Highly recommend this book and this author to anyone she is just amazing. Tank you for letting me get an advance copy.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

In the summer of 2017, teenage mum Tallulah and her boyfriend Zach go out on a date and never return. Tallulah’s mum Kim knows they would never leave their baby boy, Noah.

Kim discovers Tallulah was last seen going to a pool party at a house called the Dark Place, near to the woods.
One year later, Sophie moves into the headteacher’s cottage backing onto the woods, on the grounds of the local boarding school with her boyfriend, who has just taken up the position of the headteacher. Detective novelist Sophie sees a sign nailed on the fence: “DIG HERE”. Will the mystery of Tallulah and Zach’s disappearance finally be solved?

The story is told in three timelines with multiple points of view and is full of mystery and drama; I loved it!
It is quite a slow burner, but it leaves you gagging for more, desperate to know where Tallulah is. The characters are vivid, extremely Tallulah who feels so real; I found myself worrying for her!

Lisa Jewell seems to excel herself for each new novel; this is her best book yet! I stayed up later as I could not stop reading!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is my second Lisa Jewell read. The only issue I had with the beginning of the book (part one).
I fully appreciated that you needed the back story, for me, I felt that it really dragged and i had to push through the first 200 pages, that said as soon as I got through part one it picked up a pace and I could not put the book down for parts 2-5. Thats when the action and suspense really built I was on tender hooks to see when the story went and loved the twist at the very end. Then the early set up and back story really paid off.

Thank you for my review copy. I will not hesitate to recommend this book to friends and family.

Another page turner from Lisa Jewell - you'll be hard pressed to put this down once you're throught the first chapter. Well drawn out characters and an easy to follow story, perhaps not quite as good as The Family Upstairs but still the perfect summer read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

Another cracker from Lisa Jewell. Finding an author you can rely on to keep delivering clever, tense, heart-gripping novels where you are never quite sure where she is leading you, till you arrive, is a joy and Lisa Jewell delivers every time. A huge cast of maybe murderers, of diverse characters explored in depth, combine with a storyline that holds you firmly till the final page.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing all the way through and I found it so intriguing right the way though. Brilliant story telling

Lisa Jewell is by far one of my favourite authors and this did not disappoint. I don’t think her best work but still left me on the edge of my seat dying to know more. Although a more predictable plot line, enticing characters with duel time lines very much kept the mystery alive. Loved it!

This author is a fantastic story teller, she draws you in and keeps you guessing till the very end. Fast paced crime thriller with strong characters and shock ending

I liked this book, but not as much as others by this author.
It was a nice easy read, that flowed well and had a satisfactory ending.

Der Roman wird auf drei Zeitebenen erzählt. Der eine Erzählstrang spielt in der Zeit vor Tallulahs Verschwinden nach einer Party und dreht sich darum, wie sie Scarlett kennenlernt. Dann wird in einer weiteren Reihe von Kapiteln über die Erlebnisse ihrer Mutter Kim berichtet, die nach Tallulahs Ausbleiben mit deren Bruder und ihrem Baby Noah allein zurückbleibt.
Kim versucht zunächst auf eigene Faust ihre Tochter zu finden, immer deren kleinen Jungen von ihr im Schlepp, aber ohne schnellen Erfolg. Es wird langsam zum Detektiveinsatz und ihre Sorgen werden immer größer und drängen zunehmend in den Vordergrund. Diese Entwicklung wird nachvollziehbar dargestellt, man empfindet mit ihr mit. Aber langsam denkt man dann, dass sie doch mal die Polizei informieren sollte.
Dann kommt in der dritten Zeitebene die Geschichte um Sophie und Shaun hinzu, die etwas über ein Jahr später das Cottage auf dem Schulgelände beziehen, da er dort die Leitung der Schule angenommen hat. Sie haben einen großen Schritt gewagt und sich von London dorthin ländlich verändert. Sophie schreibt Kriminalromane. Als Autorin sucht sie gerne Inspiration in ihrer Umgebung, wandert direkt mal durch den berüchtigten Wald zu dem verlassenen Anwesen, interessiert sich für die Geschichte der angeblich im Wald Verschwundenen. Eigentlich sollte sie sich raushalten aber immer wieder kommen ihr ihre eigenen fiktionalen Ermittler aus ihren Büchern in den Sinn und wie sie wohl handeln würden. Solche „Buch im Buch“ Geschichten mag ich ja sehr.
Bis zum letzten Drittel verläuft die Geschichte für einen Thriller recht ruhig und mit vielen detailreichen Beschreibungen. Man lernt nur mit ganz kleinen Schritten mehr über die Ereignisse. Aber dann geht es Schlag auf Schlag, man liest in einem Rutsch durch. Trotzdem kann diese letzte Spannung und der gute Abschluss der Geschichte den sehr betulichen Großteil des Buches nicht wett machen. Aber zum Ende blitzen die Qualitäten der Autorin durch. Auch die „Buch in Buch“ Geschichte kommt zu einem interessanten Ende.
Die Atmosphäre war vielleicht leicht gruselig gemeint, Elemente davon sind zu finden, aber die Autorin konnten mich damit nicht überzeugen. Nur Lula und die Spinnen sind für mich persönlich grausig.
Fazit: Für Leser, die einen ruhigeren Thriller lesen mögen.

This is the first Lisa Jewell I've read and I can't wait to read more!

What I absolutely loved about this book is the use of a duel timeline and using them well. Throughout the pages you get a seamless jump from present day to past, steadily building suspense.. always ending the chapter in a place where you just have to read on. I was definitely hooked. I wasn't completely shocked by certain twists but I didn't guess either!

I love how I was reading multiple perspectives of the same situations, this definitely helped create a sense of realism. Through the use of her characters Jewell has tackled some complex issues, not only were they well thought-out but its obvious she researched the topics and did justice the there delicate nature.

Overall this book is a brilliant steady paced thriller that keeps you engaged. Slowly you get to know the characters as individuals, with little clues slotted in to help build a picture of what really happened.. The Night She Disappeared.


Thank you NetGalley and Random House uk for my gifted digital copy in return for my honest review.

Following multiple timelines and points of view, this book could have been confusing but the pace and interesting characters meant it wasn't and I couldn't put it down.
A good read and an ending that helped tie up the loose ends for the reader.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review