Review: Since She Went Away by David Bell

Since She Went Away

by David Bell

Publisher: NAL

Pages: 432

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Three months earlier, Jenna Barton was supposed to meet her lifelong best friend Celia. But when Jenna arrived late, she found that Celia had disappeared—and hasn’t been seen again. Jenna has blamed herself for her friend’s disappearance every single day since then.

The only piece of evidence is a lone diamond earring found where Celia and Jenna were planning to meet, leading the national media to dub Celia “The Diamond Mom.” And even though Jenna has obsessively surfed message boards devoted to missing persons cases, she is no closer to finding any answers—or easing her guilt.

But when her son’s new girlfriend—who suddenly arrived in town without a past—disappears, a stricken Jenna begins to unwind the tangled truth behind Celia’s tragedy. And as long-buried secrets finally come to light, she discovers how completely lives can be shattered by a few simple lies. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Jenna feels left behind as her best friend went missing months ago and she has been waiting on pins and needles for answers or clues as to what happened to her best friend.  Through her journey, the reader gets a glimpse at their friendship and the life that Celia "left behind."  

For a longer book, the short quick chapters made this book a read that was extremely hard to put down!  The writing was also just easy to follow, so the book just flew by, I love when mystery/thrillers have perfect pacing.

Although Jenna wasn't my favorite character and there were a few moments I wanted to bop her; this didn't ruin the book for me.  It didn't impact the search for the truth behind Celia's disappearance.  I actually loved her son a ton and I enjoyed having him a part of the drama.

This is my second David Bell read and I will definitely be adding the rest of his backlist to my TBR and will be looking out for what comes next.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.