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    Since She Went Away
    Since She Went Away
    Since She Went Away
    Audiobook11 hours

    Since She Went Away

    Written by David Bell

    Narrated by Julia Gibson

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Three months earlier, Jenna Springer 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 21, 2016
    ISBN9781501931413
    Since She Went Away
    Author

    David Bell

    DAVID BELL is the author of five novels including NEVER COME BACK, THE HIDING PLACE, and CEMETERY GIRL. He is an Associate Professor of English at Western Kentucky University. To find out more visit: www.davidbellnovels.com

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    Reviews for Since She Went Away

    3.5/5

    59 ratings18 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Very good! Kept me guessing to the end.
    • 5/5
      This was quite the thrilling mystery. Several murders/missing people happen in one small town. Are they all connected? And everything happens around Jane and her son Jared. I did not fully understand how everything was going to fit together but it really did. I would have liked to find out the result to the guilty party but it still worked fine.
    • 3/5
      This is a story about a woman, Jenna, who was supposed to meet her best friend one night. Jenna was late to the meeting, and Celia, the friend, has gone missing. Other people disappear, and Jenna's guilt threatens to crush her. She tries to make amends with Ian, Celia's husband, and Ursula, Celia's daughter. In the meantime, Jenna's 15-year old son, Jared, is having difficulties of his own. At times, I thought the writing was a bit juvenile, but the story was interesting. There were some twists and turns, but none that you couldn't figure out, or see coming.
    • 3/5
      Jenna and Celia have been best friends since childhood, but as adults, fitting in time to get together between jobs, kids, and Celia's country club friends have been difficult. Even though they don't see each other as often, they always seamlessly pick up right where they left off. One night Jenna decides they should go crazy and meet up at midnight and hit the town, much like they did in their younger years. Something happens at home and causes Jenna to be late to meet Celia and when she does arrive Celia isn't there. Celia never shows up and a missing person report is filed.In the meantime, Jenna's son Jared is in his first ever romantic relationship as a high schooler. Then his new girlfriend disappears and Celia's daughter Ursula is turning into a bully at school which makes Jared uncomfortable. The news media and the police keep knocking on Jenna's door and she is just trying to get some normalcy back in her life while wanting to know what happened to Celia. After another woman goes missing in a nearby town everyone begins to wonder if there a serial murderer on the loose.I really liked the premise of this story and I was certainly intrigued, but unfortunately for me, this story got a little too bogged down in meaningless and repetitive conversations. I felt like every chapter included Jenna leaving and telling Jared to lock the doors while she was gone and then in the next paragraph Jared was leaving and getting himself into a bad situation. After the first few times, it got a bit old because you could imagine what was coming next.There were a few twists and I was definitely interested in finding out what was going to happen and who was behind the disappearance of the women. But, I eventually put it down for awhile and picked away at it a few chapters at a time until the last ten chapters or so. The chapters are quite short and make it easy to read a few at a time. The characters are likable and realistic for the most part. I had some issues with where the author took Jared in the book, especially in his relationship with his girlfriend. As the mom of a 15-year-old boy, I felt, at times, it was unrealistic. The ending seemed quick and left me a little unsatisfied. If I had to grade this book, I'd say the first third was an "A", the middle third a "C" and the final third a "B". The author did a great job of grabbing your attention at the beginning but could use less detail and side stories in the middle to keep the reader invested in the characters and the mystery. The author is quite popular and well-liked, but since I haven't read his other books I can't give a good comparison. I think most regular mystery readers would find this one a bit boring.
    • 4/5
      This is another great David Bell mystery. The story involves the lives of Jenna and son, Jared, Celia, Ian and Ursula as well as several other important characters. The twists and turns in the story keep the reader devouring every page of this book.
    • 3/5
      Bell writes books that I am usually thoroughly engrossed in, but for some reason this one not so much. I was still interested enough to continue reading to the end, and it started out very strong, intriguing, but somewhere along the line I found it a bit repetitious, to much conversation between mother and son and not enough or timely revelations. This slowed the pacing of the middle of the book, in my opinion and I found myself wanting something, anything to happen. Also many times my inner skeptic was on high alert. Anyway proved to be just okay for me, just thought it could do with some tighter editing and since this is an ARC maybe it will be tightened, shortened in the process.ARC from Netgalley and NAL publishers.
    • 4/5
      I am always excited when a new David Bell book is released and this one didn't disappoint. Jenna and Celia have been best friends for decades. Celia is the girl that always gets what she wants, including her husband Ian, although Jenna was interested in him first. When the two women are to meet one night, Celia doesn't show and has seemingly disappeared. As many of Celia's secrets start spilling out, Jenna realizes she doesn't know Celia as well as she thought she did. Jenna is thrown into the limelight as the girl who was late to meet her friend, is blamed for the disappearance and is hounded by press and talk show hosts.Also going on is the mysterious appearance of a young girl, Tabitha and her father. Jenna's son Jared develops a relationship with her but the mystery still surrounds her. Why does she always seem so scared? Why does she have such strict rules? And what kind of hold does her father have on her?And then Tabitha disappears.Are the two disappeared connected?I can always count on this author to keep me intrigued. He writes spell binding mystery/thrillers that I always enjoy and become engrossed in. I highly recommend this one and all of his others.
    • 4/5
      This was the first book that I've ready by David Bell and after reading it, I've ordered some of his earlier books. Since she Went Away is a suspense story that keeps the reader guessing until the end. The author has a lot of false clues that looked like they might lead to the answer and when they didn't the reader is back to trying to figure out the mystery. And the best part, the ending was a total surprise and was also very believable. I love reading a mystery/suspense book that keeps me guessing until the end.Jenna is a single working mom with a 15 year old son, Jared. Three months earlier, she decided to try to re-connect with her best friend who had drifted away. They planned to meet at the park at midnight where they used to hang out in high school. Jenna was 15 minutes late and Celia never showed up and hadn't been seen since. What happened to her and why all that was found was one expensive diamond earring becomes the main focus in Jenna's life. There is also a duel story line about her son and his first love who appears to be hiding secrets. This is an exciting suspense novel that keeps you reading until the end. Thanks to goodreads for a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.
    • 3/5
      2.5 starsHad this book been written by someone other than David Bell, I would have given it a solid 3 stars, which is why I have rounded the 2.5 stars I actually awarded up to 3. After reading Somebody I Used to Know last year, however, I expected better from Bell. As was the case in his previous book, Bell sets up multiple possible solutions to the central mystery of what happened to Jenna's best friend Celia, but here they felt forced and contrived, as though Bell had a quota to fill and went through his manuscript checking off how many clues pointed at each solution before finally settling on one that came almost completely from left field. This book was way too long and would have benefited from the elimination of some subplots and red herrings.I received a free copy of Since She Went Away from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      SINCE SHE WENT AWAY is the new book from bestselling author, David Bell. The “she” in the title is the “Diamond Mom,” Celia Walters, a wife and mother from Hawks Mill, Kentucky who disappears from a park late one night—leaving behind only one diamond earring.Jenna Barton, Celia’s best friend, is the center of Bell’s suspenseful tale of friendships, family relationships, and the tensions that come with both. While Jenna navigates the stresses of being the primary contact for the media in her friend’s disappearance, her fifteen-year-old son, Jared, is managing his own drama. The new girl at school, Tabitha, is beautiful, interested in Jared, and proves to have a lot of secrets as well as a very controlling father.As the plot takes the twists and turns that lead to the intense conclusion of the book, my favorite thing about David Bell’s books is as evident in SINCE SHE WENT AWAY as it has been in all of his novels: Bell is terrific at developing relationships in his stories and showing the nuances of connections between family members and friends.Finally, I also have to note that the cover of SINCE SHE WENT AWAY is gorgeous, and I hope it catches the eye and draws in readers who have yet to discover this book and the author’s other compelling mysteries.
    • 4/5
      When Celia didn’t show up to meet Jenna, it’s all Jenna could do but to blame herself for putting Celia into whatever predicament she did that caused her to disappear, and all she felt was pure guilt. She would find herself playing the ‘what if’ card, so often. If Jenna hadn’t been late that night, would Celia still be alive? What if she didn’t insist they go out that night? She put ALL the blame for Celia’s disappearance onto herself. We know Jenna is being irrational, and you can’t help but to feel for her. Here is her best friend since school, and now she’s gone? Jenna misses her severely and lives with what happened every day.In alternating chapters between Jenna and her teenage son, Jared, we also learn he has a girlfriend, Ursula, and there is mystery surrounding her as well, then she disappears, too. What is it with people who come around Jenna? They seem to disappear. Both of these stories start to intertwine very late into the story, and the answers all start to work themselves out.This was an enjoyable murder mystery, and it had me flipping the pages, but I was able to put it down unlike others where I just could not, and that is the reason I did not rate this a five star book. I had part of the mystery figured out for once! However, I was off on most all of it, still, and never could have put the details together! This is a shocker, I have to say that! Once we do find out what happened, the book abruptly ends.I see this author is very accomplished, yet this is the first book I’ve seen by him. I have a new author to follow and read! I’ll take that! I would like to thank the Publisher, New American Library and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book to read and write a review of my own opinion!
    • 5/5
      How do you live knowing that if you had only been 15 minutes earlier that your best friend might still be alive. This book is very intense and has a lot of twists and turns. I could not put this down. I give it a five out of five stars. Jenna is a wonderful character and I loved getting to know her and her son through this tragedy. I received an ebook copy from Firsttoread for a fair and honest opinion.
    • 4/5
      Secrets and betrayal in small town Kentucky! David Bell pulled me into his latest cleverly crafted mystery with a tension-filled opening and kept me guessing until the end.Two life-long friends, Jenna and Celia, plan to meet at midnight at a local park. Jenna shows up, but Celia never does, and now she's been missing for months. Meanwhile, Jenna's teenage son Jared has fallen for the mysterious new girl in town. She's very secretive and has an uber-strict father, which worries Jared. Then suddenly, she disappears too.I enjoyed trying to figure out how the two story lines would intersect. My heart went out to Jenna and Jared, who were good people forced into a terrible situation. The townspeople, internet, and even a relentless crime show host all have their opinions about who to blame, and that takes its toll on the main characters.There were lots of twists in this book, different ways the mystery could have played out, and in the end I was shocked at who the culprit was. I thought the book ended too abruptly though, would like to have heard the reactions of the characters over what was revealed. What happened to everyone in the aftermath? I always enjoy David Bell's relatable characters and complex mysteries. Looking forward to his next book!Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Jenna and her friend Celia have agreed to meet lat at night in a park. When Jenna arrives, after having been delayed, Celia is not there and does not turn up. Jenna becomes consumed with investigating her friend's disappearance. At the same time, Jared, her son, having his first teenage love, turns detective when his girlfriend also disappears. The story has numerous twists and plenty of clues. I spent an enjoyable afternoon trying to unravel the mystery. My thanks to the author and the Penguin First to Read program for a complimentary copy.
    • 3/5
      I received a copy of this book from the Goodreads Giveaway. I would actually give this book a 3 1/2 star rating if possible. Jenna, mother and single parent to 15 year old Jared, is distraught over her best friend Celia's disappearance. She feels responsible and spends her free time in online chat rooms looking for clues. Tabitha, her son's new girlfriend, also disappears and suddenly there is a second mystery that is somehow linked to Celia's disappearance. While the story was entertaining and suspenseful, I did not care for Jenna's character and had a hard time believing parts of the story. Her role as a mother seem rather weak and Jared seems to be older than what a 15year old boy is. The character development was a little weak and the ending was rather abrupt and a little anti-climatic. For me this was a forgettable book.
    • 2/5
      Jenna Barton is a single mom juggling working as a nurse, raising her teenage son Jared (and his first girlfriend, Tabitha), and battling the media (and public perception in general) in regards to her best friend, Celia, who went missing. The media spotlight has been cast on Jenna not only because she is Celia's best friend, but because she was the one who was supposed to meet Celia on the night she disappeared but ran late. Celia's husband, Ian, is struggling to remain composed in the wake of his wife's disappearance. He becomes a single dad to his teenage daughter, Ursula, during this maternal void while trying to protect the family from the media. He renews a friendship with Jenna, whom he and his wife were all good friends in high school, with the common goal of finding his wife, alive. All four of these main characters have secrets. All four of their secrets are forced to be told one by one. The aftermath of the reveal of each secret causes them all to wonder who their friends really are, and who they are pretending to be. This story is told in alternating perspectives between Jenna and Jared. It added perspective but not much depth to the narrative, in my opinion. Furthermore, I could not find any depth to most of the characters, except for Tabitha. As a reader, I thought that Jenna came off as self-centered and nosy. I did not care for the potential line of romance between Jenna and Ian. I found it to be distracting, especially when nothing came of it. I was also frustrated with how many chapters had plenty of verbiage and expression of feelings. However, that was the only content in the chapters. For example, Chapter 47, is about Jenna getting drinks with her friend Sally. That's it. Two girls talking over drinks. Lastly, I found the book to be predictable and knew the secret before I was halfway into the book. The red herrings are obvious because facts about them are repeated and redundant. For those who may be offended, there is foul language, violence, sexually suggestive scenarios, kidnapping, murder (not a spoiler alert), imprisonment, and child abuse. Please note: a copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Three months ago, Jenna Barton was supposed to meet up with her friend Celia at a local park. Jenna was late leaving the house, and Celia was gone. Disappeared. Consumed with guilt, Jenna has been thrust into the media spotlight as the case of Celia's disappearance keeps hitting dead ends.Jenna's son, Jared, meanwhile is experiencing first love. He's fallen hard for Tabitha, the new girl at school, but she is strangely reluctant to divulge any details of her past. Then Tabitha disappears.I absolutely loved reading David Bell's Somebody I Used to Know last year. Bell is very good at creating well-rounded characters that you start to care about from page 1.This applies to Since She Went Away, too. I was totally wrapped up in the mystery and the lives of the characters from the start, and although this wasn't edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting gory thriller stuff, I found it difficult to put down. The pace is steady and the surprising twists and turns as more and more details are revealed keep you wanting to read more.Told from Jenna's and Jared's perspectives, David J. Bell keeps you guessing and trying to work out what happened to Celia and how Tabitha's story is connected to it all. I had several theories and not one of them was completely right in the end.I really liked Jenna and Jared, but I thought Jared was a little too mature and wise for his age. Their mother-son relationship was quite unusual with some very relaxed parenting by Jenna. All in all, the characters as well as the plot remained believable throughout, though. Even the secondary characters were well drawn and seemed authentic.Overall, a really sound mystery delivered in easy flowing prose and hence, very enjoyable to read.I received an ARC from Berkley NAL via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 2/5
      Since She Went Away by David Bell started out with so much promise. I thought it could be another Gone Girl, but for me it fell apart about midway through the book. Jenna and Celia have been friends since high school. Celia married the boy that Jenna wanted and over the years their friendship lessened except for the occasional phone call. Jenna is now a single parent and one evening she decides to give Celia a call and ask her to meet at midnight at the park where they used to rendezvous in high school. Due to an altercation with her son Jared, she’s late and Celia has vanished. She’s never found. Jenna is blamed, there is a lot of media attention, and this is the story’s plot.Most frustrating for me was the relationship between Jenna and Jared. Actually, Jenna and Jared bothered me in general. They didn’t listen to anyone, let alone each other. While I could accept this scenario once, it happened over and over again and I began to expect it before it happened. It was tiring. What, I assume, was supposed to be teenage angst between Jared and Tabitha was also difficult to buy. It just didn’t work for me.No one is likable or should I say “believable” in Since She Went Away, but that shouldn’t be the measure of a book. I do expect more from a storyline though and I don’t think it was provided in this novel.