I can pretty much point to the day I quit reading psychological thrillers. I was a freshman in college and had just finished Stephen King’s The Shining. My roommate had gone home for the weekend, so I was alone and thoroughly freaked out. Up until then, I read everything King wrote. The Stand is still one of my all time favorite novels! Lately, however I’ve been slowly sticking my toes back into the thriller genre pool, most recently, Lisa Jewell’s, The Night She Disappeared. I picked this one up based on a customer’s recommendation/special order. I get the best book picks from customers, this one included!
Jewell’s story is set in a small English village bordering a forest aptly named Dark Place. Tallulah, just out of secondary school, has recently become a new mother. She continues to live at home with her own single mother, Kim, who offers to babysit and encourages her daughter to take a rare night out with the baby’s father.The two young parents disappear into thin air after ending up at a pool party on the estate of one of Tallulah’s wealthy college classmate.
Almost a year later, an obscure detective writer named Sophie moves into a cottage near Dark Place with her boyfriend, who has just become the new Head Teacher at a nearby posh prep school. Sophie stumbles onto a cardboard sign nailed to a gate reading, “Dig Here”. The discovery she makes begins a real life detective puzzle she is determined to solve.
Although vaguely sure of where this story was going as I read, there were definitely twists and turns I didn’t expect, and I was caught completely off guard by the ending, the sign of a truly good thriller!
Want to Suggest a Review?
I love book suggestions! Please send me a message to suggest a book you would like to see reviewed.