By Robyn Rossit
Content warnings: Emotional abuse, violence, rape
When it comes to thrillers, Lisa Jewell is certainly an author I know will not let me down. You just can’t go wrong and The Night She Disappeared is no exception. Nineteen-year-old Tallulah and her boyfriend Zach leave their baby with her mother and go out on a much-needed date. Kim grows concerned as late evening turns to night and night becomes morning without a word from them. Tallulah was last seen leaving the pub with her boyfriend to a party at a friend’s house. While her friends think the couple has left the party to head home, they are not heard from again. A couple of years later, Sophie, an author of mystery books, moves to the area with her husband. While exploring the woods surrounding her new home, she sees a note fixed to a tree that says ‘DIG HERE’ that reopens a missing person's case that had long grown cold.
The Night She Disappeared follows three distinct and equally intriguing points of view and alternating timelines. Tallulah’s leads up to the night she disappeared and her struggles between balancing going to school and being a young mother. Because of the couple’s age, they are often written off by the police as a young couple running away from responsibility. Kim’s point of view is full of grief and knowing deep down that her daughter is a loving mother who would never abandon her son. Sophie’s is equally intriguing as she is drawn into the mystery of what happened to the young couple.
Grief and the love a parent feels for their child are certainly strong themes woven throughout the story. You could really feel the sense of loss Kim was feeling, with some hope woven in between. Her love for Tallulah only grew stronger, and her determination to find out what happened that night never fades. She also steps in and raises her grandchild despite going through such a hard time herself.
Jewell is certainly an expert at pacing her stories. I felt like there was a clue or reveal at every turn. As Tallulah’s story got closer and closer to revealing what happened to her, I was truly on the edge of my seat. The chapters even start to get shorter to really ramp up the anticipation for the reader as they are thrust between the past and the present. Although I did have a very strong idea of what happened, I wasn’t entirely right and was entertained right up until the very end. While a woman going missing is not a unique plot line for a thriller in itself, the delivery felt different. The characters were unique and very well-developed, standing out in a sea of thrillers.
The Night She Disappeared was a slow burn full of tension and intrigue. It was certainly a hard one to put down, which led to a serious book-reading binge. I felt like I was alongside Kim and Sophie as they tried to figure out what happened the fateful night that Tallulah and Zach disappeared. I would certainly recommend it to any fans of the thriller genre but would recommend clearing your calendar first!
Thank you, Simon and Schuster Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.