The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone returns with an intricate thriller about a young woman’s disappearance and a group of strangers whose lives intersect in its wake.

Owen Pick’s life is falling apart. In his thirties and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct—accusations he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel forums, where he meets a charismatic and mysterious figure.

Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.

Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.

Book Type:

Psychological Thriller

Review: Invisible Girl

A girl’s disappearance upends a man’s life, while a neighboring family begins to fracture beneath the weight of the secrets they hide.

Thirty-three-year-old lecturer Owen Pick has just been accused of sexual misconduct by two of his students. Suspended, angry and spiraling, Owen returns to his aunt’s spare bedroom where he rages about women in Incel forums.

Across the street, Cate and Roan Fours struggle to mend the tears of their frayed marriage. Cate suspects Roan strays, but her mistrust once made everything wildly unravel and she is determined to get their relationship back on track.

But Roan doesn’t realize his once-patient seventeen-year-old Saffyre Maddox has become obsessed with his shadowed life. She lurks just out of sight as she learns the secrets he hides from him family.

Everything changes, however, when Saffyre suddenly vanishes. Their lives intersect in ways unforeseen as we untangle the events that led to the teen’s disappearance.

I’m such a huge fan of Lisa Jewell, but unfortunately her latest felt a little lackluster. The pacing seemed slower than usual despite short-format chapters and I wanted her to delve deeper with some of the characters—really reveal some of the darker, more nuanced parts of who they were. No big surprises shook the narrative and up until the very last page, I’d hoped Lisa would pull the rug out from under us.

While this one felt a little flat, I can’t wait to see what story she’ll give us next.