Member Reviews

I was kindly sent an audiobook in exchange for a review and it was ideal listening as I chill in the garden with an aperol. I read The Family Upstairs, at the start of the month and really enjoyed it so when I was offered an audio proof of her new one I snapped that up.   
  
The Night She Disappeared follows three perspectives over the course of two summers. At the start of the novel teenage mother Tallulah and her boyfriend go to the local pub one evening and never come back. Her mother Kim knows immediately something is wrong - Tallulah would never leave her baby. Throughout the book we follow Kim in the immediate aftermath of their disappearance; Tallulah over the last year before she disappeared and Sophie, a crime writer who moves to the village with her teacher husband a year later. Through these perspectives we start to build up a picture of this small town and the secrets buried there.   
  
I loved that the novel immediately introduced the central mystery. I found that the previous Jewell novel had a slower start but with TNSD I was immediately hooked. I am a sucker for books set over summer (especially when it's sunny outside) and I thought the atmosphere was built up really well. I also loved how long this thriller was - I say this constantly but long thrillers just work so much better for me in terms of making me really invested in the characters. I think that the detail Lisa Jewell gave to all the moving parts, even smaller side characters, really added to my enjoyment. It's not always action-packed and fast paced - at times I forgot I was reading a thriller as much as just an interesting novel about a teenage mother - but there's also plenty of surprises along the way. I think as well as being a really accessible, page-turning crime novel it's a sensitive portrayal of a variety of issues. I must say that I didn't love the ending of this one as much as The Family Upstairs. It was a fine way of wrapping everything up but it didn't quite live up to my enjoyment of the rest of the book. But for sure a solid thriller that you will race through!

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Kept me hooked until the very end. I had no idea what direction the story would take for such a long time and it was very enjoyable. Lisa Jewell never seems to disappoint me.

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This was my first audio book and it was absolutely fantastic. I think in part due to the combination of an amazing storyteller that is Lisa Jewell and a brilliant actress and narrator Joanne Froggatt.

This book was so cleverly written, I love Lisa Jewell’s style, she totally captures and intrigues you and you can’t help but want to know more. As with many of her books I felt this was tense, hugely unsettling and at times disturbing which made me question almost everything and everyone in this novel.

The narrative is set out in dual timelines which helped build the suspense and with multiple character perspectives I could fully understand and get to know each character and their thoughts, feelings and potential motives. I really felt for Tallulah and her mother Kim, they were my favourite and I was definitely intrigued by Scarlett.

Joanne Frogatt narrates this wonderfully and I loved the way in which she voiced each character, it brought everyone to life. It was so easy to listen to and I’d often be pottering around the house or making dinner whilst listening along.

I would 100% recommend this book in a heartbeat, you won’t be disappointed. Get your hands on a copy NOW!

Thank you to @instabooktours for the opportunity to be part of this incredible book tour and to @penguinukbooks @lisajewelluk @netgalley for this #gifted audio copy. {AD - PR PRODUCT}

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I really wasn’t sure how I’d get on with the audiobook format, as I have a terrible attention span, but there was just something so captivating in the way that @jofroggatt read it that it had my undivided attention from the start!

Now I’m sure we all love to put our inner voice’s acting skills to work when reading, but hearing someone else read it so excellently, and with such drama and emotion, it allowed me to immerse myself in the story that much more! The accents that Jo used perfectly fitted the characters too!

Lisa’s writing is incredible!! I love a jumpy timeline where the past and present events all wrap up to make perfect sense at the very end! This delivered 👏🏻 I had NO idea what was going on for the whole time (in a good way), I created so many theories but they were all shot down as we discovered more!

This was such a brilliant combination of thriller with a sort classic murder mystery feel to it, so it was of course right up my street! I didn’t read the blurb before signing up to this, because I wanted to go in completely blind and let the story unfold in my head!

The plot twists, the tension, the drama, the emotion.. it was just bloody brilliant 👏🏻👏🏻 go get yourself this book, right now!

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I was totally transfixed by this book to finding out what happened to Tallulah, narrated perfectly and builds to a climax to where is Tallulah and what happened to her. A thriller that would be enjoyed by all.

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And she nails it AGAIN! In fact, this may just be my favourite Lisa Jewell novel yet, and that’s as someone who used to read the romance novels and everything since.

Told through multiple timelines, this novel investigates the disappearance of Tallulah and her boyfriend Zach, who went for a child free night out and never came home. Her mother Kim knows there’s no way she’d leave her little boy, but the wealthy family she was last seen with claim that she just went home. Two years later, cosy crime writer Sophie finds a ring buried in the woods which reopens the investigation and leads her to start looking into the disappearance, and to finally find out what happened to Tallulah…

So I mostly listened to the audiobook of this which is just perfectly narrated by @jofroggatt - but either way it is one addictive read! It all unfolds so slowly and you really have no idea what happened to Tallulah until the end - and suspicion is cast on so many different people, including Zach himself who turns out to be incredibly controlling and possessive of Tallulah. It can be uncomfortable reading at times because of this, but it was utterly impossible to put down.

I love that the author never compromises on the characters as some crime/thriller writers can tend to do - this is the perfect combination of plot and character-driven storytelling. For me, this novel just cements Jewell as one of the best thriller writers out there, and I can’t wait for the next one!

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Told in dual timelines and points of view, we follow a teenage girl in the lead up to her disappearance and a new to the village cozy mystery author a year later.

This was a good mystery focusing on the relationship between a loving mother and daughter but also the secrets kept, no matter how close the relationship is.

Whereas this wasn't the most imaginative mystery I have ever read and not the most thrilling it was a good book as I was reading it and provided enough intrigue to keep me engaged.

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I thought this was a good read - or listen, as I had the audio book. The story runs along then and now time lines and the chapters are labelled so you know which year you are in.
For me, the first half of the book was scene setting and was a little slow and then it began to pick up pace moving towards the conclusion. The girl who disappeared is described as rather lacking in character which leads her down the disastrous path, as she is ‘taken over’ by the stronger more charismatic personalities. This allows the twists at the end to develop.
Recommended

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At a time when I was in a bit of a reading lull, this audio-book coaxed me back into stories. The pacing, split narration and intrigue were done brilliantly and I was hooked throughout. Another compelling and enjoyable mystery from Lisa Jewell.

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SUCH a good book!! I have really enjoyed the audio version of The Night She Disappeared - thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
This had me gripped from the beginning, gasping at the suspense and grumping every time I had to press pause. The narrator was great, I would highly recommend reading/listening to this if you enjoy a thriller. A big 5 stars.

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I really liked it
I started to read the book, then remembered I had the audiobook waiting on my netgalley shelf and switched to listening to it. The narrator was fantastic, I just couldn’t stop listening!! I got vibes about certain chararcters early on and my prediction was right, I really despised them! The plot was good and I love how this author always captivates you.

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This was my first audiobook (read by Joanne Froggart) & my first book by Lisa Jewell.

The story focuses around the disappearance of 2 teenagers, leaving their baby son at home with his grandmother. The story Switches between 2017 before they disappear and after in 2018 ‘current time’. I really enjoyed the switch between the two as you can feel the story building, knowing that you are soon going to find out what happened and that both time lines will join.

If I was reading a physical book, I feel as though I would have tried to figure it all out a lot more however listening to the audiobook made me focus on listening rather than trying to work it all out ahead of the story. I didn’t at all expect it to turn out how it did!

Overall I really enjoyed the story, the last quarter was really good, as everything unravelled. My other half had also heard me listening and even began joining in and asking me if I’d found out what was going on 😂

I will definitely keep my eye out for other Lisa Jewell books!

🔈Audio books review🔈
I haven’t really bothered with them until now. For me, I’ve always been unsure as I’ve not classed it as reading as its listening. I listening to it in the car, on my breaks, in the kitchen, laid in bed & in the bath! All over the place! I enjoyed that I could listen, hands free & crack on doing other things.

As the book got started I found it hard to follow, if it has been a physical book, I’d have looked back a few pages. I also had to settle in the reader doing the different voices of the characters, at first it was a little off putting.

Overall I enjoyed the experience of a audiobook and I would consider listening to one again.

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Absolutely jaw droppingly brilliant! I was completely hooked from the first chapter. The story is told across two timelines and the clues are slowly revealed leading to a totally unexpected ending. I couldn’t stop listening, I just had to know what had happened. Riveting reading.

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Another fantastic book by Lisa Jewell. I was overjoyed to receive this audiobook to review as I am a huge fan of the author. This story definitely did not disappoint, with a great mix of suspense and twists thrown in.

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Wow, wow, wow! What a read 😱 I was hooked on this from start to finish and really struggled to put it down!

This was my first audiobook and I wasn’t a huge fan, I wouldn’t be in a rush to listen to one again but I absolutely adored Joanne Froggart’s voiceover of this book, she has such a beautiful voice.

The drama, twists and turns in this books was too much! I was listening and felt like I should be pausing to take a moment to process what happened!

Lisa never fails to have me hooked on her books and throw in some curve balls. Absolutely adored this one and highly recommend.

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I have loved all of this authors work that I have read so far. So I was very excited to listen to this one.

It was suspenseful and plot driven. Such a good story. I loved the narrator as I believe if you don’t get a good one then the audio book just doesn’t have that appeal to you. The characters were really brought to life for me.

I was to totally and utterly absorbed into this story and if you love thrillers then you will absolutely love this one! a good thriller to me means twists and turns and a great ending which will keep you guessing as this one did

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I am new to audiobooks and I’m still unsure if it’s the new way of accessing novels that’s not quite working for me. One thing I don’t like is the different voices narrators use for characters as it sort of pulls me out of the narrative. This novel seemed to go on for an awfully long time and the pace was too slow for my liking. We spent a very long time before finding anything out at all really and by the time things started to happen I’d lost interest. The mystery unveiled quite well in the way you kept reimagining what had happened as things shifted and It certainly was not a bad book. I’d be happier to settle for 3.5 but I’ll stick with the three because it all seemed to drag a little.

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I really enjoyed this one! I listened to the audiobook via Netgalley which was narrated by Joanne Froggatt. She did a great job of distinguishing the voices of various characters, including accents, dialects etc. The book is written in 3 separate POVs: Tallulah before she went missing, Kim (Tallulah’s mum) from the time of the disappearance, and Sophie in the present day.

The pacing was great at the beginning and end, but I did get a bit bored in the middle section, which I felt was too drawn-out. However I do bore easily, so this may not be the case with other readers!

There are lots of little hints to what happened sprinkled through the novel which I really liked! I find it extremely satisfying when a mystery comes together and you can pick out details from earlier on in the book. I enjoyed myself trying to think of theories as to what happened, similar to Sophie’s role in solving the case. I did find the ending SLIGHTLY predictable (only slightly) but the extra twist in the epilogue really got me.

Overall I really recommend if you want a gritty mystery, either by text or listening to Joanne Froggatt’s brilliant narration!

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the gifted audio-ARC!

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Well I’ve gone and popped my Lisa Jewell cherry and what a blooming book to pop it with. The Night She Disappeared is so good.

Set around the disappearance of a young couple Tallulah and Zach in 2017, the story tells us of the before, the after and then a year later when Sophie and her headteacher boyfriend move into a cottage close by. Each time frame is intriguing and gripping and I loved that the story moved back and forth seamlessly. It’s such an easy listen, you can end in one time frame then come back later or even the next day and start off in another time frame and it all just flows beautifully.

I’ve said this many times before but I like to play detective when reading, I like to try and guess what’s going to happen, see if I can get the ending right. Well I was completely stumped with this one. Lisa Jewell drip feeds you throughout this book, she lets ideas form in your mind but without squashing them she lets more ideas form so I ended up with all these theories and none were right.

I can’t believe how quickly I managed to get through this book, every time I switched it off or my phone battery died I kept thinking about it. Being similar ages with Tallulahs Mum Kim and also having a daughter the same age as Tallulah, it just gave me shivers and I couldn’t help imagining what I would do in her situation and I had to get to the end to find out what the heck was going on.

Joanne Froggatt is the narrator for The Night She Disappeared and she has done a fantastic job, I got a few chapters in and I forgot she was narrating it and felt like it was the characters actually speaking to me. Just incredible.

The Night She Disappeared is twisty, gripping, terrifying because it feels real, like it could happen or has happened and it’s just down right unputdownable. This is a story that you need to put on your tbr, whether it be book or audio. It’s definitely highly recommended by me.

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This was my first Lisa Jewell audiobook and it won't be my last. It was an easy listen, gripping, infectious. I listened to it in under 24 hours as I needed to know what happened next!

The story unravelled flitting between 2017 and 2018. The different perspectives, Tallulah's mother to Sophie, the headteachers wife, offer a variety of emotions surrounding Tallulah's disappearance. I could imagine Sophie finding these signs and the overwhelming curiosity to uncover what had happened.

The book is narrated well and is a pleasure to listen to.

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