It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell: A Frustrating 1.5 Stars ⭐
A slow-burn thriller that never quite catches fire
Hey book friends! 👋 I'm back with another review, and unfortunately, this one comes with a heavy sigh. You know that feeling when you want to love a book because you've loved the author's other work, but it just... doesn't happen? That's exactly where I landed with Lisa Jewell's latest.
If you've been around here before, you know I have a complicated relationship with Jewell's books. Some of them absolutely knock my socks off. Others? They leave me scratching my head, wondering if we read the same thing everyone else is raving about. It Could Have Been Her falls firmly into the second category.
Let me explain why.
⚠️ Content/Trigger Warnings
Before we dive in, here's a heads-up on the heavy stuff:
Child abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual)
Graphic violence and murder
Rape and sexual violence
Addiction and alcoholism
Mental illness
Death by suicide
Animal death
Cursing
Isolation and captivity
This one gets dark, folks. Jewell doesn't pull punches when it comes to the disturbing content.
What's It About?
It Could Have Been Her (2026) is Jewell's 24th novel, and it's a psychological thriller that weaves together multiple timelines and perspectives to unravel decades of dark family secrets.
Our main character is Jane Trevally, a 55-year-old divorcée living in a crumbling Dorset estate called Rosebery Hall. She's feeling adrift, her life lacking purpose, when she stumbles upon a lost West Highland terrier named Hugo wandering her woods.
When Jane returns Hugo to his owner at an address in Hampstead, she's shaken to her core. This is the same house where, 26 years earlier, a man named Allen Black tried to drug and abduct her after picking her up at a bar. She escaped then. But now she's pulled back in.
The dog's owner, a young woman named Rose White, has vanished. Jane, convinced this is somehow connected to her own traumatic past, launches her own investigation alongside her stepson Dexter. What she uncovers is far darker than she could have imagined—a family with secrets buried so deep they've poisoned generations.
🚨 SPOILER WARNING 🚨
From this point forward, I'm getting into the FULL plot. If you want to read this book unspoiled, scroll down to my "Final Thoughts" section. You've been warned!
Full Plot Summary (With Complete Spoilers)
The Setup
In May 2026, Jane Trevally is contemplating selling Rosebery Hall, her decaying family estate in Dorset. She's divorced, feeling lost, and her life seems to have stalled. When she finds a lost West Highland terrier named Hugo in her woods, her veterinarian traces the dog's microchip to a man named Stuart Tucker at an address in Hampstead.
Jane immediately recognizes the address. Twenty-six years earlier, she was almost abducted from that very house by Allen Black, a man who drugged her drink and tried to trap her. She escaped, but the memory haunts her.
Accompanied by her stepson Dexter, Jane returns Hugo to the scruffy, defensive Stuart. She soon learns that Hugo had been staying at a local Airbnb with a young woman named Rose White, who has now disappeared, leaving all her belongings behind. Convinced the events are connected to her own trauma, Jane begins digging.
The Investigation
Jane discovers a school sweatshirt from North London's Waterside Academy in the woods near her home, marked with the initials "DB." This leads her to suspect "Rose White" is a false name. She and Dexter return to the Vale of Health neighborhood, where neighbors reveal the missing girl is likely Daisy Black, Stuart's stepdaughter.
The Black family, neighbors say, is strange and secretive. They recall a major police visit during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. Jane also learns about Daisy's mysterious uncle, Jasper, a clown who "had run away with the circus".
Jane tracks down Natasha de Large, a costume designer who worked with Daisy's mother, Jessamine, when she was a teenage actress. Natasha describes Jessamine as intense and dramatic. Jane then contacts Tobias Wilson, a former security consultant, who uncovers the truth about the 2020 police visit: It was part of a cold-case investigation into the 2005 disappearance of a young woman named Claire Connolly, last seen near Thornwood. The detective, DI Yasmin Brooks, had noted Daisy's uncanny resemblance to the missing Claire.
Jane sneaks onto the Thornwood property and discovers a small outhouse with metal rings screwed into the walls—clearly designed for restraining someone. She finds a poster for Martello's Circus, which was in her village the weekend Daisy disappeared. Suspecting a connection to Jasper, she visits the circus, where performers reveal Jasper, known as "Patch the Clown," also vanished the same weekend. In his abandoned trailer, Jane finds a horrifying clown mask and a scrap of a letter addressed to Jasper, care of a Stella Madden.
Stella, Jasper's former landlady, describes him as disturbed and suspected him of assaulting a young woman in the park. The letter fragment leads Jane to Jasper's former therapist, Dr. Anthony Twist, who confirms Jasper is a dangerous individual still processing severe childhood trauma.
The Confrontation
Jane and Dexter stake out Thornwood and follow Stuart to a pub. Confronted with everything they've learned, a desperate Stuart admits the house has a dark history but begs Jane not to involve authorities, fearing it will put Daisy in more danger. The next day, Stuart texts Jane, inviting her to Thornwood to hear the full story.
Armed with a kitchen knife, Jane goes to Thornwood. There, Stuart reveals that Daisy is alive and has been hiding in the house for weeks. Daisy recounts her story: During the police's 2020 visit, a detective showed her a picture of Claire Connolly, whom Daisy immediately believed was her real mother. Daisy ran away from Thornwood and tracked down Jasper at the circus to learn the truth. They met in the woods, but Jasper became agitated and attacked her. Daisy fought him off and fled, leaving Hugo behind, and called Stuart for help.
The Full Horror Revealed
Stuart and Daisy lead Jane to the outhouse, revealing the dead body of Annie, Jessamine's mother, who died after Daisy pushed her down the stairs during an argument. Jane insists they call the police.
When officers arrive, Jessamine confesses to killing her mother herself to protect Daisy—and reveals the full, horrific history of Thornwood. Her father, Allen, aided by her mother, Annie, had been a serial predator who lured young sex workers to the house, calling them "au pair girls." He imprisoned, tortured, and murdered them in a secret basement beneath his study.
In 2005, their final victim, Claire Connolly, gave birth to a baby girl: Daisy. Claire managed to kill Allen with a small knife that Jasper had smuggled to her. However, before Claire could escape, Jessamine discovered the scene and murdered Claire in a rage. Annie orchestrated the cover-up, disposing of the bodies and forcing Jessamine to raise Daisy as her own daughter. Traumatized by witnessing the murders, Jasper ran away.
Police excavate the basement and find the remains of Allen and seven young women.
The Aftermath
Stuart and Daisy, now using her mother's surname Connolly, are freed from the house and begin to heal. Jessamine is sent to a rehabilitation facility to await trial for manslaughter. Six months later, Jasper's body is found in the woods where he attacked Daisy; his death is ruled a suicide.
Jane, having confronted the trauma that echoed her own past, feels a sense of release. She sells Rosebery Hall, plans to move to London, and starts a private investigation agency with Dexter called "Trevally and Son." She's finally building a new life.
The Twist: An epilogue reveals a transcript from Jasper's first therapy session, confirming he witnessed Jessamine murder Claire. This reveals Jessamine's confession as another performance—she wasn't protecting Daisy out of love; she was covering her own tracks.
My Thoughts (AKA: Why This Book Frustrated Me)
The Family Upstairs Problem
Remember when I said this book reminded me of The Family Upstairs? Yeah, that's not a compliment. Both books suffer from the same issues:
Way too many characters. I spent half this book trying to remember who everyone was and how they connected. By the time I had it straight, I was already checked out emotionally.
Nothing feels relatable. The characters exist to serve the plot, not the other way around. I never felt like I knew Jane, or Stuart, or Daisy. They were just pieces moving around a board.
I was only reading to see where it was going. And honestly? The destination wasn't worth the journey. The "twists" felt predictable, and when they landed, I felt... nothing. No shock. No sadness. Just relief that I could finally move on to something else.
The Emotional Void
This is my biggest complaint: I didn't care. At all. Not about Jane's trauma, not about Daisy's discovery of her true parentage, not about the seven murdered women in the basement. That last one should have hit hard, but it was delivered in such a clinical, expository way that it felt like reading a police report instead of a novel.
A good thriller makes you feel something—fear, dread, heartbreak, anger. This one just made me tired.
The Pacing Problem
The book is slow. Painfully slow. The first half is a slog through endless setup, red herrings, and characters I couldn't bring myself to care about. By the time things picked up around the 60% mark, I was already too detached to be invested.
And the ending? Rushed. After dragging for hundreds of pages, everything wraps up in a neat little bow. Jessamine's final twist—that her confession was a performance—should have been a gut-punch. Instead, it felt like Jewell remembered she needed one more twist and tacked it on at the last minute.
The Goodreads Confession
I need to be honest with you all: immediately after finishing this book, I went to Goodreads and read 1-star reviews just to feel validated. That's how frustrated I was. I needed to know I wasn't alone in my disappointment.
And I wasn't. Other readers have called this book "muddled," "boring," and "convoluted". Some couldn't even finish it. Knowing I wasn't the only one who struggled made me feel slightly better—but it doesn't change the fact that I wasted hours of my life on a book that never delivered.
Final Verdict
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars ⭐½
It Could Have Been Her has all the ingredients of a Lisa Jewell thriller: dark family secrets, multiple timelines, shocking twists. But the execution falls flat. With too many characters, zero emotional investment, and pacing that moves at a snail's pace before sprinting to the finish, this one just didn't work for me.
If you loved The Family Upstairs, you might feel differently—this has a similar vibe. But if you struggled with that one like I did, I'd recommend skipping this one.
If You Want to Read Something Similar (But Better)
If the premise of this book appeals to you but you want tighter execution and characters you'll actually care about, here are some recommendations:
1. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Yes, same author, but this is Jewell at her best. Tight plotting, emotional depth, and a twist that genuinely shocked me.
2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Unreliable narrator, domestic dread, and a mystery that keeps you guessing. Everything I wanted this book to be.
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Sharper, darker, and more psychologically complex. If you want a thriller that makes you feel something, start here.
4. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Atmospheric, twisty, and emotionally grounded. A great example of how to do a slow-burn mystery right.
5. We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
More literary and character-driven, but it plays with timelines and hidden truths in a way that feels earned, not gimmicky.
Have you read It Could Have Been Her? Did you love it or hate it? Let me know in the comments! I'm always curious to hear different perspectives. 💬
Until next time, happy reading (and may your next book be better than this one). 📚✨
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