Book Review: The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

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I won this hard cover book in a subscription box. It is a popular book making the rounds on social media. ~~~~ [/i]It's a beautiful summer night in a charming English suburb when Tallulah and Zach head out to a bar for the first time since the birth of their infant son. Just nineteen years old, they've been looking forward to this night and a break from bottles and diapers. A party at the massive country estate of a new college friend seems like the perfect way to unwind, until morning comes and the two don't make it home.[i] [/i]Tallulah's mother, Kim, struggles to piece together what happened that night. She manages to contact her daughter's friends, but they dodge all her questions. Even Zach's mom doesn't seem too concerned, convinced that the pair ran away to escape their parental responsibilities. But Kim had just found an engagement ring in Zach's coat pocket the day before. Why would two parents so devoted to their family abandon their child?[i] [/i]One year after the case runs cold, a writer moves into a cottage on the edge of the woods that border the same estate where the couple disappeared. Known locally as the Dark Place, the dense forest is her favorite area for long walks, and it's on one such stroll that she stumbles upon a mysterious note that simply reads, "Dig Here". Could this be a clue to the young couple's disappearance? And what exactly is buried in this haunted ground?[i] ~~~~ All I read about this book led me to believe it was a thriller. It is really a very good, twisted, intriguing mystery. The story is told in three parts, back and forth between the time leading up to the moment of the disappearance, Kim's questioning during the time immediately following the disappearance, and the current time when the mystery author moves in and starts unearthing clues. This is a very well written, very well thought out mystery with many twists and clues and questions. There is a healthy cast of characters which makes me pause to remember who is who. But it a very easy read with short chapters. I give kudos to the author for coming up with a story with amazing twists and turns, especially as she was writing this during the height of the pandemic. She was distracted as her whole family locked down in her home. But she was pushed by her agent to get the story written and so she did. I am amazed at how well written this story is having been written under such conditions. I found no errors in the flow of the story or grammar/typos. It is a really good mystery which I dare you to try and decipher before all is revealed.