It Could Have Been Her

Thrillers are my jam and Lisa Jewell is one of my go-to authors for a dark and twisty read. It Could Have Been Her is her latest book and I give it top marks for its creepy factor, but this wasn't one of my favourite books by this author.

The cast is a mélange of imperfect, issue-laden people with Jane Travally at the helm who considers it her job to solve a missing person's case that has nothing to do with her. [Jane is from Don't Let Me In which I didn't realize until after I finished]. The rest of the cast are deeply flawed, some rather creepy, with one character who morphed from icky to a good guy/complete doormat for the psychopath of the bunch. It's a mixed bag of imperfect people with lots of issues.

Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a miss for me and took me until around the 50% mark to get into it. The story was too drawn out and a bit confusing. It had an odd pacing with a lot of back and forth between timelines and perspectives and I struggled to remember who was who, how they were related to each other and within the plot. The tension picks up and the ending wraps up well, but I was hoping for less obvious reveals and a shocking twist.

More creepy than intensely suspenseful, this wasn't my favourite book by this author, but I know it will find its ardent fans, and I look forward to what Lisa comes up with next.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Atria Books for the complimentary digital copy of this book that was gifted to me in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Lisa Jewell

Genre: Suspense

Type and Source: ebook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Atria Books

First Published: June 23, 2026

Read: June 12-19, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell brings the suspense to this shocking new thriller about a lost dog, a missing woman, and a house of long buried secrets.

Jane Trevally is walking her dogs on her country estate when a small white terrier appears, alone and with no sign of the teenaged girl he’d been staying with nearby. When the teenager is reported missing, Jane offers to return the dog to his registered owner, hours away in London. Arriving at a run-down house called Thornwood in the deepest backwaters of Hampstead, she is immediately on alert—because Jane has a dark history with this house.

The man who answers the door is not the man that Jane remembers from her past. He is cagey, and claims to know nothing about the missing teenage girl. Then, through the window of the house, Jane catches a glimpse of a haunted-looking woman.

Conjuring her memories from twenty-five years ago, Jane knows this unsettling house holds the key—to the missing teenager, to her own traumatic story, and to the dark secrets of the past.