A solid mystery with a messed up twist per usual with Lisa Jewel and it mostly worked! The narrator did a great job with different voices and accents too.

My biggest issue:

Floyd and Noelle weren’t properly held accountable. Floyd “accidentally” killed Noelle after finding out she kidnapped Ellie, and that Poppy wasn’t his biological daughter. He just ran away from Laurel and Poppy and ended his life instead of facing some consequences! And it frustrating for me, to see that Floyd was selfish till the very end, because Poppy loved him being her father! Maybe in some weird alternative he could’ve still been involved? But he took the selfish way out and poor Poppy has to suffer.

 

My second issue was that Laurel doesn’t really seem to care for her 2 kids who were still alive. She compares Ellie to Hannah FAR too often, and doesn’t talk to her son. I wish she had some sort of reckoning earlier in the book, and I wish Hannah confronted her about it. But I’m glad her ex-Paul did. Because Laurel kept seeing herself as the only one suffering but like Paul said, she abandoned her family once Ellie disappeared.

Other than that, this was another solid mystery.

Spoilersssss!!!!

This book was incredibly traumatic to read as a mother and as a woman. Starting with the Noelle's perspective where she explains meeting Floyd.  She was clearly falling in love with him and this man found her attractive 'enough' but not really. At first it was clear he only wanted sex even though she was a Virgin at an old age. Any intelligent man could see she was interested in more. I am not at all sympathizing with her but his actions led her to do some crazy things just to "keep" him so to speak. 

Next there of course is the kidnapping of ellie. A bright young girl who just wanted to pass her exams and graduate with her boyfriend at the time. She was kidnapped and for a long time didn't even know why. Then suddenly this teenager was pregnant, forced to have the baby with no medication in a filthy basement where she eventually passed away dreaming of her mother. As a mom these are some of my deepest fears, not to mention that she was so close to home and never found. If you have read this far into my reveiw and still want to read this book, you have been warned. 

 I found the ending predictable, but the character development and writing were really enjoyable.

Soooop slow but it was fun to piece the events together. The back and forth between narrators and time period was a bit confusing at times.

4.5 ⭐️ idk I messed up the shelving of this

This book broke my heart! I was not expecting it to be as dark as it was, but it was really well done!