Then She Was Gone

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Then She Was Gone answers many questions, or at least provides clues, far earlier than most mystery novels do. At what point did you first suspect what really happened to Ellie? How did this affect your enjoyment of the novel?
• Which of the novel’s characters did you find the most and least likable? Why?
• How does this book compare to others by Lisa Jewell (such as Watching You) and/or to other novels in the mystery genre (such as The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which Ellie mentions in a diary entry)?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Many of the novel’s characters make rash decisions. Choose two characters and reflect on the morality of their actions and decisions.
• How does one of the book’s themes, the human need for love, relate to your personal views or experiences?
• Consider how Laurel’s journey transforms her relationships with Hannah, Ellie, and (later) Poppy throughout the novel. Do you see any connections between your life and Laurel’s experiences in terms of how accepting loss can strengthen families?
• Both Floyd and Noelle exhibit obsessive tendencies.