Review: Since She Went Away by David Bell

Title:Since She Went Away

Author:David Bell

Published:June 2016, NAL

Format:Paperback, 432 pages

Source:Personal Copy

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.

My thoughts: This is the first book I’ve read by David Bell and it certainly will not be the last! I have to thank my dear friend, Laura for gushing over his books and not only peaking my interest, but then sending me this book – she loves his books and since we tend to have similar reading tastes, she graciously passed his latest one on to me. 

I really enjoyed this book – it was so cleverly written and kept me hooked from beginning to end. The characters were all well-developed, yet it was hard to know who you could trust…I love that! And the suspense slowly builds, with twists and turns throughout.

The story alternates from Celia’s point of view to her son, Jared‘s point of view. They each have their own mystery to solve – Celia is determined to find out what happened to her best friend, now missing a few months. Jared’s new girlfriend is definitely keeping a secret and he feels in his gut that finding out is in everyone’s best interest, particularly hers. 

Throughout the story I kept going back and forth as to what I thought happened to Celia’s friend, Jenna, based on the clues we were given. Each time something new came to light, I would have to readjust my guess…David Bell certainly keeps you on your toes. And the ending…I certainly didn’t see that coming!

I cannot wait to go back and pick up David Bell’s back list while waiting for his next book. If you’ve read any of his books, what do you suggest I pick up next?