Then She was Gone

Laurel Mack comes to terms with her missing teen daughter in Lisa Jewell’s Then She was Gone. Although most of the novel focuses on Laurel’s journey and her relationships, it does provide the perspectives of the missing daughter and the perpetrator of the crime. The organization of the book is interesting, and focusing on the people left behind is a different approach, but the content can be quite disturbing. I was surprised by the ending, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing or a good thing. The book is a quick, engaging read if you don’t mind some upsetting content.

Good Girl, Bad Girl

Michael Robotham’s novel Good Girl, Bad Girl centers around Cyrus Haven, a psychiatrist with a history, and Evie, a young woman with a history and a talent for identifying lies. The book rotates perspectives, although Cyrus has more page time than Evie. Throw in the murder of a local girl and Cyrus’s help in the investigation, and you have many threads going at once. The story is interesting, enjoyable, and fast, but it relies a lot on coincidence, and I’m not a fan of that plot device. It also ends with a lot of those threads unresolved. At first, I thought that was a bold way to end a book of popular fiction—until I discovered this is just the first book in an anticipated series. So, read if you are into series fiction. If you’re not, pass on this book.