It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @simon.audio @simonaudio.bsky.social #ItCouldHaveBeenHer

the setup…
Jane Trevally is outside Rosebery Hall, her crumbling family estate in Dorset, when she comes upon a little white Westie terrier without his owner. She learns it belongs to a young girl visiting in town who seems to have disappeared but the dog’s chip identifies the owner as living in Hampstead. When she returns the dog (Hugo), Jane is rocked to find that the house is one she has a history with and not a good one. She probes about the missing girl but to no avail. Undeterred, she’s determined to keep investigating…and look deeper into this place she once managed to escape.

the heart of the story…
I remember Jane from Don’t Let Him In and loved the little Easter eggs from that book. She’s twice divorced, 55-years old and a bit rudderless. Finding that missing girl puts her mind on track to become a private investigator with the help of her stepson Dexter. But this search has a treacherous path and Jane can’t help thinking she dodged a bullet twenty-five years ago and it drives her to dig deeper.

the narration…
It’s a full cast narration with nine performers led by Lesley Sharpe and James Norton who were fabulous. The secondary characters become more critical as the story develops and their separate, distinctive voices make a big difference. It was a wonderful performance.

the bottom line…
This is an extraordinary psychological character study, laden with dark tones and edges that kept me guessing and horrified. This family was tragic and the parallels to Jane’s history made her connection even stronger. That house of horrors looked so genteel from the outside, hiding the secrets within. While there wasn’t anything highly twisty, I was still unsure of where it would land until the final page. I hope this isn’t the last of Jane and Dexter, maybe a Trevally and Son reunion? She showed some serious skills.

Book Info

• Release Date: June 23, 2026
• Narrators: James Norton, Lesley Sharp, Joanna David, Emilia Fox, Freddie Fox, Tim McInnerny, Harriet Fisher, Ella Rae Smith & Elsa Lepecki Bean
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 45 minutes
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

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(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)