Highlights
New York Times–bestselling author Lisa Jewell is back with a new thriller 'The Night She Disappeared' in 2021. The story follows the sudden disappearance of 19-year-old teen-mother Tallulah. Did she run away from home or is there more to her disappearance?
The year is 2017. Tallulah, 19, decides to go on a date with her boyfriend Zach, leaving her baby son Noah with her mother Kim. But when Tallulah doesn't return home by the next morning, Kim knows that her daughter is in trouble. On calling Tallulah's friends, Kim gets to know that Tallulah and Zach were last seen at a pool party at a property near the woods in Surrey, England. The police investigate the matter but soon call it a cold case of the young couple eloping, shrugging their responsibilities. However, Kim isn't convinced and she continues her quest to find out what happened that night. A year later, mystery writer Sophie Beck and her boyfriend Shaun Gray move into a house near the property where Tallulah had disappeared. Upon noticing a mysterious note reading 'Dig here' near her house, Sophie finds something which could be an important clue in finding what happened to Tallulah and Zach on that fateful night. Together, Kim and Sophie try to join the missing pieces of Tallulah's disappearance.
'The Night She Disappeared' is narrated from three different characters' points of view-- Kim's, Sophie's, and Tallulah's. The story shifts from the present day and the past. Each page gives a glimpse to the readers about a clue to solve the mystery in the present day and to what actually happened in the past, which is told through Tallulah's point of view. While the story begins slowly, it quickly picks up pace. The chapters are short and end on a high note, keeping the readers hooked to know more. Jewell's well-developed characters and unexpected plot twists make this a gripping thriller that is soaked in drama.
How critics view the book:
Alison Flood writes for the Guardian, "Gripping and satisfying, this had me in tears at the end."
Publishers Weekly says, "Jewell is in top form in this suspenseful, satisfying story."
