A Chilling, Dark Story of Family Secrets
4.5
It Could Have Been Her Book Cover It Could Have Been Her
Lisa Jewell
Domestic Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers, Women's Domestic Life Fiction
Atria Books
June 23, 2026
Ebook, Hardcover, Audiobook
384

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.

Lisa Jewell does it again!

Lisa Jewell excels at writing stories in which there are some deeply unsettling family dynamics. Her latest release, It Could Have Been Her, is no exception. I read this novel in just a few days. It is a complex, chilling, and dark thriller. 

Jewell builds the story through multiple timelines and points of view, slowly revealing how the characters connect. At first, keeping track of everyone felt overwhelming, but the payoff came as the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place.  

Much of the novel centers on Jane Trevally, a recurring character from Jewell’s previous book Don’t Let Him In. While walking one day, Jane stumbles upon an abandoned dog and returns it to its owner, only to find herself tangled in the mystery of a missing girl. Acting as an amateur investigator, Jane discovers that the house where she returns the dog has a dark past; a past that she narrowly escaped from twenty-five years ago.  

Jewell clearly wanted to expand Jane’s story in this novel, but that aspect felt disjointed at times. Some chapters focused on Jane’s personal life and, in my opinion, those slowed the momentum of the central mystery. (Note: Readers new to Jewell do not need to read Don’t Let Him In before starting It Could Have Been Her.) Despite her importance to the plot, I found myself more emotionally invested in characters like Stuart, Daisy, and even Jessamine.  

Jewell succeeded so well in creating a dark plot of family trauma and abuse. I regret that the ending was not more of a plot twist. However, the more I thought about it, the more I felt as if I needed to applaud the author for creating such twisted characters that it felt totally believable when the horrifying ending did arrive. The ending felt less like a shocking twist and more like a “yeah, that tracks—honestly, any one of them could’ve done it” kind of conclusion. 

Fans of Lisa Jewell and psychological suspense novels should absolutely add this book to their reading list. Readers should also note several trigger warnings, including addiction, kidnapping, physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and trauma.