It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell

It Could Have Been Her

by Lisa Jewell is a deliciously tangled web of suspense that completely pulled me in. This is the kind of book I’d recommend reading in long, uninterrupted stretches—it’s too immersive to dip in and out of. That said, it comes with some heavy themes, including clowns, sexual assault, and physical abuse, so it’s worth going in prepared. The story follows Jane, a middle-aged divorcée stuck in her decaying family estate in the English countryside, quietly longing for change but unsure how to grasp it. Everything shifts when she discovers a stray dog, setting off a chain of events that leads her to a missing girl, a chilling house near Hampstead Heath, and a deeply unsettling family tied to her past. What I loved most was Jane’s evolution. As she digs deeper, she finds unexpected purpose—almost like amateur detective work gives her life new meaning—and begins reconnecting with people she’d drifted away from. That growth is beautifully contrasted with other characters spiraling in the opposite direction. It’s dark, unsettling, and at times heartbreaking—but that tension is exactly what makes it so compelling.