

I generally don't prefer more than two in one story, so it speaks to Jewell's ability as an author to keep me engaged.

This story starts slowly, partly because of the three points of view which take place across different timelines. When Sophie, a mystery writer, moves in nearby, and clues start to surface, it seems like Kim will finally get the answers she's been searching for.

But with no clues, the cases goes cold, and a year goes by. But when the couple still hasn't returned by the next morning, Tallulah's mother Kim is rightfully worried. Young parents Tallulah and Zach are thrilled to have the chance to enjoy a rare night out on the town. The Night She Disappeared starts off as a slow burn with a chilling atmosphere and multiple points of view, which soon all converge into a gripping and unputdownable story. As the novel reaches its climax, the chapters get shorter in a frantic race between the two- Kim discovering the truth, and Tallulah living it. The story alternates between the present where Kim tries to find out what happened to her daughter, and the past from Tallulah's perspective as she moves toward that fateful night. As the pages go by, more questions arise, and other characters get pulled into the story, each, it seems, hiding a piece of the puzzle.

Kim's sense of loss is palpable and the mystery behind the disappearance is unbelievably compelling. She knows that despite her youth, despite how hard it is to be a young mother, Tallulah would never abandon her baby. When teen mother Tallulah goes missing, the police assume she's made a break for it, cast off responsibility for her baby and ran away with her boyfriend. The difference here is in the vivid characters, in how Kim and Tallulah come to life on the page. This one begins with the plot of countless other mystery/thrillers: a daughter goes missing, leaving behind a distraught mother who will do anything to find her. Jewell's best books are the ones that make you fall hard for the characters so you can't do anything else until you've found out what happened to them. The Night She Disappeared is an excellent thriller, steeped in mystery and drama, with a strong emotionally-compelling mother/daughter love story at its core. I found it absolutely riveting and impossible to put down. At this point I have read six Lisa Jewell books, but this one is my favourite.
