Preview - It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell
It Could Have Been Her
Lisa Jewell
Copyright 2026
369 Pages
Hello, Thriller Season — welcome back, darling. I didn’t realize the level of chaos this book was serving until I hit the halfway mark and had to pause like, “Wait… what exactly is happening right now?”
It Could Have Been Her follows Jane, whose simple good deed — returning a lost dog — turns into a full‑blown descent into a family with roots darker than a blackout basement. One minute she’s handing over a cute little Hugo, and the next she’s waist‑deep in the psychological sludge of the Black family. And this sludge? It’s the kind you don’t climb out of. It absorbs you. It learns your name.
This house has seen everything and forgotten nothing. Inside, the Black family hoards generations of abuse, missing people, and vibes so rancid they should come with a hazard label. No one leaves without a story. Some don’t leave at all.
Lisa Jewell is one of my forever faves, and this book keeps her crown polished. The pacing? Impeccable. It grabs your soul, drags it behind like a leash, and whispers, “Dance with me.” Meanwhile you’re side‑eyeing the pages and wondering if you should call your therapist. The characters are lovable — well, the lovable ones are. The rest are chaotic, psychotic, and absolutely riveting. But we eat that up, don’t we?
If you’re craving a spooky‑season psychological thriller to kick off fall, this is the one. It pairs beautifully with a crisp front‑porch morning, a warm pumpkin‑spice something, and a black cat curled in your lap like a tiny emotional support demon. If you lived next door to me, this is exactly what you’d see.
You heard it here first: read this book.
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