The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

A contemporary thriller described by one of us as a “Nancy Drew mystery for adults,” is tightly written while its short chapters aren’t at all short on character development or setting. The opening quote concerning fear of spiders sets the tone for the tunnels running beneath a spooky suburban British house located near a posh boarding school. When a young couple disappears after leaving a pub for a popular girl’s party, a year later, the new headmaster’s wife—a detective novelist—comes upon an unexpected clue leading her to prioritize solving this mystery. The narrative jumps back and forth in time with each chapter labeled by date, making the chronology of events easy to understand.

“I’m so grateful to have been introduced to this author,” “loved it,” and “good writing,” are only a few of the unanimously positive comments from our discussion. Themes such as mothering—nurturers vs. toxic narcissists—peer pressure, the class system, and, of course, murder, all make for an entertaining novel that led more than a few of us to look for other titles by Lisa Jewell.

The Federation Book Club meets via Zoom at 4:00 PM on the first Thursdays of every month. Note: our next session is on the second Thursday in March.

• March 2: Horse, novel by Geraldine Brooks

• April 6: The Clockmaker’s Daughter, novel by Kate Morton

• May 4: Last Bus to Wisdom, novel by Ivan Doig