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  • Then She Was Gone

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Lisa Jewell
  • Narrated by: Helen Duff
  • Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,786 ratings)

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Then She Was Gone

Written by: Lisa Jewell
Narrated by: Helen Duff
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Publisher's Summary

Fifteen-year-old Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenage golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. And then she was gone. 

Now her mother, Laurel Mack, is trying to put her life back together. It's been 10 years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie's case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a cafe, she is surprised at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she's meeting Floyd's daughters - and his youngest, Poppy, takes her breath away. Looking at her is like looking at Ellie. And now the unanswered questions she has tried so hard to put to rest haunt her anew...as well as some new ones about Floyd and Poppy....

©2018 Lisa Jewell (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Editorial Review

Ellie Mack was bright, full of potential, and beloved by her parents. At 15, she had her whole life ahead of her—and then she was gone. Unravel the mystery of her disappearance through the eyes of Ellie’s mother.

And Then She Was Gone follows Laurel Mack as she navigates life after everything she once knew and loved fell apart. Laurel had an idyllic life, with three children and a loving husband. But when her 15-year-old daughter suddenly went missing without a trace, the happy life began to crumble around her. Now, 10 years, many dead end clues, and one divorce later, she finds herself swept up in new love that, while exciting, unearths buried feelings, suppressed questions, and all the fears and mystery of what really happened to Ellie.

Best-selling author Lisa Jewell weaves a nail-biting story that will leave listeners hanging on every word as the tension grows. At once a tale of loss and a classic mystery novel, this audiobook is full of emotion and suspense as Laurel’s world shifts beneath her very feet. What is it about Laurel’s new love interest, Floyd, that doesn’t seem quite right? How is Floyd’s daughter, Poppy, so uncannily like the daughter she lost all those years ago? Listeners will be entranced by the twisting and turning story that picks up speed as it goes, barrelling to a heart stopping end you just have to hear for yourself.

This audiobook is narrated by Helen Duff. Her soft, melodic English tones offer a calm and inviting voice to an otherwise tense narrative. This soothing cadence lures listeners into a sense of ease, before ramping up the pace and intensity as the mystery builds. A must-listen for any thriller lover, And Then She Was Gone delivers everything you could ask for in a dark and startling mystery.

What listeners say about Then She Was Gone

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Twisted and addicting

This story is great! Just when you think you have it all figured out you find out you don’t. You can’t stop listening as it twists and turns over and over BUT the voices of the oldest daughter, SJ and the grandmother are so epically awful it’s almost painful. You really have to focus hard to look past it and still love those characters. The grandmother especially! However, I would suggest this book to anyone who loves to sit on the edge of their seat!!

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20 people found this helpful

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Good story. Not my favourite performance.

Very compelling story. You are drawn into the mystery and can relate to Laurel Mack. Definitely worth the listen. The performance wasn't my favourite. The narrator changes voice very often to differentiate the character perspectives. This wasn't for me and came off as annoying.

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This was an absolutely great book

After reading some of the reviews I was afraid to listen to this book because some didn't like the performance. I'm so glad I did because the story and the performance was excellent

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15 people found this helpful

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only read it during jogs...went jogging more often

This was my first audiobook& I'll be looking for more like this one! enjoyed the different POV in the narrative, development of characters and pace of the book.

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8 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Brave, Brilliant, Stein

A thrilling, creepy read. Lovely characters - good and evil. Twists and more twists. Rosemary’s Baby comes to mind when reading this book. Some parts are quite disturbing, but, totally worth the read/listening. Love the different voices for each character. I got quite caught up in the narrator’s accents. Well done.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Predictable but a page turner

Easy listen, wonderful performance. predictable fantastical type story but very well written with excellent character development. I especially enjoyed the honest portrayal of the "survivor complex" with the brother and sister left after Ellie and their relationship with their disinterested mother and how that developed over the course of the novel.

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4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Gross

This was one of the worst books I have ever listened to. If you want to hear about child rape and torture, then go ahead and download. The narration was terrible as well. It was all around an awful experience. No mystery here either. Completely predictable. Just gross. *Shiver*

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing!

loved this book! Was read beautifully and kept me on my toes. Would recommend 10000%.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it

I was hooked from the beginning. We know a lot from the summary of the book but it keeps you guessing the entire time. I’m not a fan of books that leave us hanging and this was not one of those stories. It answers all questions and is beautifully written. I’ve recommended it to family and friends- I’ll definitely recommend it to you also :) happy reading and happy guessing til the end! 10/10

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting but narration was terrible.

The story dragged along at first, but picked up towards the end. I almost didn't listen to the entire book because the narration was ridiculous and excruciating to endure. Suggest reading yourself.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2018-05-24

SO GOOD

I couldn't get enough of this book. I drove around on my lunch hour, wasting gas, just to listen. I finished it in a week and it usually takes me a month to get through a book because I only listen while commuting. If you're a fan of suspense/thrillers, you will enjoy this book.

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771 people found this helpful

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  • Nancy
  • 2018-04-21

Love all Lisa Jewell's books.

As always her characters, plots and family dynamics are compelling. This one was a little darker than some of her books, and the main characters a little less quirky but still a book I couldn't put down. I wish I could get all of her books, don't quite understand the publishing rules that keep Audible from being able to offer all of her books. The narrator was excellent as always. I find a good narrator is crucial and this narrator is terrific. Highly recommend!

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641 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Mel
  • 2018-07-20

Bleak, dark, but done exceptionally well

If you've got the heart for it...this is a great read, just very sad and dark. Even the silver lining is a bit bittersweet and tarnished by the immensity of what is lost in the years. This is the first book I've read by Lisa Jewell and I was impressed by the very good writing and sophisticated set up of the story. The delivery, in the beginning, was achingly slow, but I realized as the pace picked up later that that beginning with the barely perceptible ticks here and there was the author's stratagem -- like a comfortable drift downstream until the first rapid upends your tranquil ride and submerges you in a truly horrible world of tumult and heartbreak. It's hard to throw an avid reader off track, but I have to give Jewell props for keeping me guessing.

I used to read some by the author K. Slaughter, until I had professionals in my field point out the dangerously gratuitous violence against women in that author's books. Whatever floats your boats -- (I won't go into details, but we worked with incarcerated sex offenders and were unanimously concerned with a particular book of KS. We all chose to quit reading KS.) While not the same subject AT ALL so gruesomely detailed in KS works, I couldn't help but compare the author's choices. Jewell was able to write about a sad and frightening situation involving a crime against a child and capture the horrors without the flagrant description, instead relying on her talent for writing and her trust in the reader to fill the details, instead of gore and salacious details. Well paced unfolding of a haunting thriller.

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304 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Stacy
  • 2018-05-19

WOW, great book

I just finished listening to this book, and I am sad for it to be over. I found it to be very captivating. Yes, there is some dark content, but that's what psychological thrillers usually are, right?
I loved the narrator, and I got caught up in the story right away feeling like I was actually there with the family.
It was an emotional book with a satisfying ending. I hate when they end with a big question.
I don't want to leave any spoilers, but this book had great characters to hate, as well as to relate to. I loved how the book really went into detail with the characters feelings and emotional states.
5 stars from me.

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281 people found this helpful

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  • Sheila S
  • 2018-05-20

Truly a page-turner

The novel initially involves a middle aged woman who seems to be overcoming her depression after meeting and becoming involved with a nice, compatible man. Good reading, but not exactly a mystery/thriller. Then comes a revelation/warning so ominous and creepy that I didn't want to stop listening--even at 1:00 AM. The conclusion did not quite meet my expectations of menace, but the story certainly kept me involved.

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172 people found this helpful

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  • Jessica Jones
  • 2018-05-26

Not a bad read

I found that I predicted the ending to this book fairly early on but really did enjoy the book. The narrator is excellent. It’s a somber thriller that I think most will find a good read ( or “listen”).

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107 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Nancy Lerandeau
  • 2018-05-13

A non stop listen

I loved the narrator. She made the story, already so poignant, even more stunning. Great, right to the end.

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104 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Ree
  • 2018-12-14

I couldn’t believe what was being told

If the narrator wasn’t as good as she is I could never have finished this book. I think every unbelievable plot was used and piled into this book. It had an interesting beginning and goes downhill from there. Never picks up after that.....boring.

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93 people found this helpful

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  • Nyna
  • 2018-05-08

Obvious from the start

There was no shock or surprise in this book. Everything was essentially laid out in the first few chapters and easy to figure out. I kept waiting for a twist that was promised, but it never came. I was very disappointed.

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79 people found this helpful

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  • Dani C
  • 2018-04-20

Good read!

This is one of the better books I have read in awhile! Kept me guessing as to what would be revealed next!

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74 people found this helpful

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