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

I enjoy mystery/thrillers, stories of missing persons, etc. This book was the story of a missing woman, emphasizing how it affected her best friend and a number of red herring possibilities for the ultimate outcome. It was just average, an easy read, but really could have been quite a bit shorter. Also, although the missing person mystery was revealed at the end, there were some fragments which eluded resolution and left one wondering.
Maybe a good beach read.

Since She Went Away is a crime solving story that takes place in current time. For the reader who likes mysteries that are not that challenging in terms of language and philosophy, this would be an ideal choice. I can't see this as the type of book that would be great for a book club discussion as it is not cerebral in any way. The story is easy to read and I read it lying on the hammock in a couple of days. There are no lawyers or courtroom scenes, just a story about a missing woman and the people who tried to find out what happened to her.

This was my first read by this author, and I'm sorry to say but I didn't find it that good. I am generally a mystery reader, and love it when I can't put the book down. This book was what I would refer to as a lite read..Not edge of the seat reading. Although, I will try another book by this author sometime in the future.

A small town experiencing the unexplained disappearance of a woman, three sets of single parents and their teen offspring wounded by this event. One of these is the victim's best friend who continues to seek answers.

I've read a number of books that I didn't want to put down. I was disappointed to find that after reading 50 or so pages of Since She Went Away, I didn't relish continuing. I did, however.

I found the characters lacking dimension and their thought processes flawed. I wanted to like them, really, but I didn't.

I am not familiar with this author, David Bell's, previous works. I do see that they had …more positive reviews from readers so, I will read more of his books to be sure this wasn't a fluke. (less)

I recently finished reading Since She Went Away by David Bell. I have read this author twice before. On the plus side for this novel, I did enjoy: the construct of how media can significantly affect crime procedure, the author's use of alternating chapters involving Jenna and Jared, chapters of 3-4 pages in length and the simple but effective storyline. It is another play on how our perceptions often are more important to us than existing reality. On the minus side, I felt that some of the happenings where not totally believable, that the characters were not totally as fleshed out as I would like and that I …more never did feel "the thrill of the chase" as I like to do when I am reading a mystery or thriller. For those reasons, I think that Since She Went Away would make a decent beach read. Certainly not one of David Bell's more engaging reads. (less)

It pains me to write this review as I enjoyed reading Cemetery Girl by David Bell and was looking forward to this book. With book club on hiatus for a few months, I have looked forward to reading lighter weight books and especially thrillers which I love. While I was engrossed in Mr. Bell's first book, I found it hard to keep my attention on this book. The plot was convoluted and didn't seem plausible. For me, a thriller has to have a very plausible plot line. The characters were also one dimensional and frankly I didn't really like any of them. I would recommend trying to read some of Mr. Bell's earlier books. …more They are much better. (less)