“A man who can’t love but desperately needs to be loved is a dangerous thing indeed.”
If you struggled to put down Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, you’re not the only one. With its gripping plot, dark secrets, and psychological twists, it’s the sort of thriller that lingers long in your mind. If you’re on the hunt for books like Then She Was Gone or thrillers similar to Lisa Jewell’s, this is the list for you. Whether it’s missing persons, shocking revelations, or twisty domestic suspense, these novels deliver the same unputdownable energy and chilling atmosphere. Join us today at What We Reading as we present the best fast-paced psychological thrillers and emotional mysteries that tap into the same themes that make Lisa Jewell’s book so addictive. If you love twisty thrillers, suspenseful stories, and books that keep you guessing, you’ll discover your next binge-worthy read right here.
Then She Was Gone Book Summary
Ellie was fifteen years old, her mother’s golden girl, with her whole life ahead of her when she vanished. It’s been a decade since her disappearance, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter. And then one day, Laurel is swept off her feet by an enigmatic man named Floyd. As their relationship deepens, Laurel is stunned when she meets Floyd’s young daughter, Poppy, whose resemblance to Ellie is uncanny.
What starts out as a spark of curiosity soon spirals into a desperate search for answers. Where did Ellie go all those years ago? Why does Poppy look so much like her? And how much does Floyd really know about the truth? Delivered in pulsating multiple perspectives, Then She Was Gone explores how grief shapes us, how obsession festers, and how the truth, no matter how buried, can never remain hidden forever.
The Night She Disappeared – Lisa Jewell
Kicking off our list of the best books like Then She Was Gone is another one of the best Lisa Jewell books, The Night She Disappeared. On a beautiful summer night in a charming English suburb, a young woman and her boyfriend vanish after partying at the massive country estate of a new college friend.
One year on, a writer moves into a cottage on the edge of the woods that border the very same estate. Known locally as the Dark Place, the dense forest is the writer’s favourite for long walks. And it is on one of those walks where she happens upon a mysterious note that simply reads, “DIG HERE.” Could this be the clue toward what happened to the missing young couple? And what exactly is buried within this haunted ground?
Not A Happy Family – Shari Lapena
In this family, everyone is hiding a secret. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be one of the wealthiest ‘haves’ to afford a house here. And they don’t come much more affluent than Fred and Sheila Merton. But even all their money can’t protect them when a killer comes calling. The Mertons are brutally slain after an Easter Dinner with their adult kids, all of whom are, naturally, devastated.
Or are they? Each of the children is set to inherit millions. Thanks to their distant and neglectful parents, they were never the happiest family. But, perhaps one of them was even more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening? A domestic thriller brimming with secrets, Shari Lapena’s Not a Happy Family is one of the best follow-ups for anyone who loved Then She Was Gone.
The Girl Before – J.P. Delaney
Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma is looking for a fresh start. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece, a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules to living here. The enigmatic architect who designed the home has strict rules; rules that are intended to transform its occupant.
After a personal tragedy, Jane is also on the hunt for a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street, she is immediately pulled to the space and to its seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the house’s previous tenant. Similar to Then She Was Gone, Jane starts to untangle the truth from the lies, unwittingly following the same patterns, choices, experiences, and terrors as the girl before.
Check Out Our The Girl Before Book Review
Local Woman Missing – Mary Kubica
Shelby Tebow is the first to disappear. Soon after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just a few streets away from where Shelby was last seen, sparking terror into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an extensive search that throws up more questions than answers, the case soon turns cold.
Then, eleven years later, Delilah suddenly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her. But no one is quite prepared for what they’ll discover. One of the best missing persons books like Then She Was Gone, Mary Kubica’s Local Woman Missing is a thriller that takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing how some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.
Saving Meghan – D.J. Palmer
Some might say that Becky Gerard is a devoted mother who would do anything for her only child. Others claim she’s obsessed and can’t stop the vicious circle of finding a cure at her daughter’s expense.
Fifteen-year-old Meghan has been in and out of hospitals with a plague of unexplained illnesses. But when the ailments take a sharp turn, doctors intervene and immediately suspect Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare behavioural disease where the primary caregiver, typically the mother, seeks medical help for made-up symptoms for their child. Is this what’s going on? Or is there something even more dark and sinister at work?
Pretty Girls – Karin Slaughter
Two decades ago, Claire Scott’s eldest sister, Julia, went missing. No one knew where she went. There was no note, and no body ever recovered. It was a mystery that was never resolved, and it ripped her family apart.
And now another girl has vanished, with a number of chilling reminders of the past. It seems that she might not be the only one either. Claire is convinced that Julia’s disappearance is somehow linked to this new string. But when she begins learning the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery that promises that nothing will ever be the same again in Karin Slaughter’s gripping domestic thriller, Pretty Girls, perfect for anyone who loved Then She Was Gone.
A Flicker In The Dark – Stacy Willingham
When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls disappeared in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and thrown in prison. Chloe and her family were left reeling from the truth whilst dealing with the fallout from these revelations. Fast forward two decades, and Chloe is a psychologist preparing for her wedding.
Which is when another local teenage girl goes missing, memories of that terrifying summer soon come crashing down around her. Is she being paranoid, seeing parallels that aren’t really there? Or, for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer? Another one of the most gripping mystery books like Then She Was Gone, Stacy Willingham’s debut novel, is pulsating, spellbinding, and utterly addictive.
Check Out The Best Books Like A Flicker In The Dark
The House Across The Lake – Riley Sager
Casey Fletcher is a recently widowed actor trying to escape a string of bad press, who has relocated to the tranquil setting of her family’s lake house in Vermont. There, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake.
One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the pair soon strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get along (and the more Casey watches the married couple), the more it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage is not as perfect as it seems. When Katherine suddenly disappears, Casey becomes consumed with uncovering what happened. With his trademark blend of psychological suspense and gasp-worthy surprises, Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake is another great go-to for anyone who loved Then She Was Gone.
Check Out These Shocking Plot Twists You Never Saw Coming
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
