The Night She Disappeared – Lisa Jewell

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

I see myself as a bit of an amateur sleuth…my kids would agree as I can normally guess the twist or the culprit of a story.  I was about two-thirds of the way through this book and I honestly thought I’d cracked the case. For the record I was so very, very wrong.  In my defence, I’d figured out the main ‘twist’ but the ‘main’ turned out to be not the only one coming.

The Night She Disappeared centres around the disappearance of teenage parents, Tallulah and Zach, who go out for a date night.   Set in present and flashback both from Tallulah’s and her Mum Kim’s point of view.

Kim, Tallulah’s Mum is not going to give up on the now cold case of her missing daughter and for her any clue is worth exploring.  She also now has been left to bring up her grandson Noah, the missing parents little boy.

Tallulah and Zach were far from loves young dream for a couple of reasons. Tallulah was in love with the enchanting, but rather disturbed Scarlett and Zach has some rather questionable traits.

On the night of the disappearance, Kim is aware that Zach was going to propose to her daughter, not knowing that wasn’t going to be what Tallulah wanted.

They end up attending an impromptu party at Scarlett’s sumptuous house never to return.

A year or so after their disappearance, a new head teacher and his mystery writing novelist girlfriend Sophie move to the area.  And it’s the detective writer who finds a series of clues that reopen the case. But why do the clues feel familiar to Sophie.

Now it’s considered a cold case, it’s left up to Kim, aided by Sophie, to bring the case back to the forefront of the detective who was in charge previously.

Yes, it’s all a bit far-fetched but so enjoyable and I love how Lisa Jewell spins a web of intrigue, and I found it unputdownable.