What do readers think of Since She Went Away by David Bell? Write your own review.

I took this book on vacation to the beach and it was perfect. While it is a mystery, it is definitely easy to read and the characters are very relatable making me want to keep reading.
The secondary story line about Jared's girlfriend, was actually more compelling for me than the primary storyline, the disappearance of Celia. They family dynamics of single mother and teenage son were perfect and the conversations between Celia and her friend Sally were spot on.
The resolution of the mystery is believable, not something crazy or far-fetched; making this a satisfying read for anyone who enjoys mysteries.

I like the relationship between mom and son. Also liked the son's willingness to help his girl friend no matter what. A good wholesome read for a summer's day

I was very excited to read this book. Numerous friends had gotten their hands on it as well so we did a group read and NOT one person was displeased. I really liked it....liked a lot

I love mysteries and this was an excellent mystery. I struggled between a 4-5 for this book and if there was the option, I would give it a 4. The characters were believable and the personal relationships felt real and natural. There was never a time that I didn't believe the characters could be real, from 15 year old young people to their parents to a 65 year old on line crime solver who just wanted to help. I would say the main characters were Jenna a single mom with all the identity problems a single mom has (I've been one and a person constantly questions themselves regarding what problems of one's children have to do with your divorce from his/her father.) Jenna and her son Jared are deeply involved in mysteries of two missing people. One is Jenna's best friend from childhood and the other Jared's "girlfriend" a troubled but beautiful young woman. The teenage angst of a new relationship rings true and so does the absolute obsession Jared has regarding this first girlfriend. The mystery has twists and turns. Most clues lead to a few different characters, and through clever twists the final solution isn't easily guessed. The chapters are short and it was very hard to put down between those chapters so the emotional human elements along with the family drama and a true mystery kept me reading when I should be doing a multitude of tasks. This isn't high level literature but it is an excellent read and I highly recommend it to lovers of family based crime mysteries.

The story line centers around a disappearance so right from the start you want to dig deeper into this book.The interesting thing for me was that the story is built around 3 single parents and their children. Jennifer and Jared have a very solid mother/son relationship . In stark contrast the single fathers have a way to go in the parenting department - Ian can not get into a comfortable relationship with his daughter Ursula whose mother is the missing person in the novel. And William Rose is cast as a horrid example of parenting to his daughter Natalie. The comparisons in relationships are interesting. The raw emotions of the teenagers move the story along quite nicely as the reader waits for the mystery of Celia's disappearance to be put to rest. A good summer read that you want to devour quickly to get it all resolved.

Unfortunately, this book did not draw me in, engross me, or captivate me at all. It took me over a month to finish it and I have a low suspense tolerance. For me, the plot proceeded incredibly slowly and I just didn't feel the characters personalities palpable to connect with them. I wish Tabitha's storyline had moved along faster and I felt there were too many ties to wrap up at the end. Though I did find the end surprising, it was more of an oddity than something I suspected all along, which is even more surprising that I wasn't drawn in! The ending of the novel was too abrupt and sudden for me; without real development. Maybe I need to stick to dramas rather than intended thrillers?

I really wanted to like "Since She Went Away" by David Bell, but unfortunately, it just didn't appeal to me, despite its promise of being a page-turner. (It probably didn't help that I had just finished reading "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" before beginning this one.) In fact, I found it hard to keep turning the pages at all. The characters were tedious and while the writing tried to hard to be literary, it was not, so the writing was tedious also. Yes, I get that Jenna felt responsible for Celia's disappearance; no need to hammer the reader with her guilt. No, I don't buy her response to her son's reaction when she finds him (at 15) in bed with a girl. I could go on, but I'll spare you: skip this one.

While the plot for "Since She Went Away" held promise, I had to struggle to finish the novel. I found the first half of the book to be very slow moving and repetitious. There was much too much wordy introspective – I got the point (over and over) that Jenna felt responsible for the disappearance of Celia, when she was late in arriving to meet her. But, I had a hard time sympathizing with Jenna, in fact after a while, Jenna's tendency to seemingly attack people with pointed questions and her general attitude was too much. I also found it a bit of a stretch that this one disappearance would lead to perceived continuing national coverage by networks like CNN (but you never know). Second half of the book did pick up the pace and enough hints were dropped as to where the outcome was headed. I think, though, that with some judicious editing, 50 or more pages could have been deleted which would have made it a better read from my perspective.