Ten years after her fifteen-year-old daughter Ellie Mack vanished without a trace, Laurel Mack remains frozen in grief. The investigation stalled long ago, leaving her marriage dissolved and her remaining children alienated. When Laurel meets Floyd, a charming stranger, she begins to envision a future beyond her loss. However, meeting Floyd’s young daughter Poppy triggers a visceral reaction; the girl looks exactly like Ellie. Laurel begins to investigate Floyd’s past, uncovering a disturbing connection between a former tutor, a basement flat, and the final moments of Ellie’s life.
Fans of domestic thrillers read this book for its focus on the psychological aftermath of long-term trauma and the mechanics of a cold case. The narrative provides insight into how secrets can lie dormant within a neighborhood for a decade. Readers walk away with a detailed understanding of the perpetrator’s obsession and the specific chain of events that led to a teenager’s disappearance. It is a study of how a mother’s intuition identifies a crime that the legal system failed to solve.
Insights from Then She Was Gone
Ellie going missing broke Laurel's whole life. Seeing her try to date Floyd years later felt so hopeful and so scary at the same time.
“He was a man who lived in the shadows of his own making.”
Floyd was so charming at first. It makes you realize how easily a person can hide a dark history behind a nice smile.
“She was Ellie. She was Ellie all over again.”
Poppy looked so much like Ellie it was chilling. Genetics can feel like a haunting when a child is a perfect mirror of someone lost.
Noelle was obsessed with being special. Her need for a perfect child turned into something truly monstrous and sad.
- Published
- 2017
- Publisher
- Simon and Schuster
- ISBN
- 9781501154669
- Language
- EN
