The Night She Disappeared

LISA JEWELL (CENTURY, £14.99)

In 2017, teenage mum Tallulah and her boyfriend Zach go on a night out, leaving baby son Noah with Tallulah’s mum Kim. They end the night at a country house called Dark Place, with the enigmatic Scarlett and her entitled clique. The next morning, Kim realises the couple never made it home. Despite a police search, there is no sign of them. In 2018, writer Sophie arrives in the village when her partner takes up a position at the local school. She’s drawn into the story when she finds something belonging to the missing teens – but who put it there, and did they specifically want Sophie to find it? In 2016, Tallulah’s life is turned upside down by a new friendship. She needs to decide what she wants in life, but what if she realises that’s not what she has? As the story flits back and forth, secrets threaten to spill out in this seamlessly constructed, slow-burn mystery. ★★★★