Lisa Jewell has a knack for introducing nice protagonists in picturesque neighborhoods, only to have the creepiest incidents befall them. Reading the riveting It Could Have Been Her feels like watching a Nancy Meyers movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Jane Trevally, a supporting character in Jewell's Don't Let Him In, has been promoted to the lead here. While walking her dogs, Jane encounters a lost white terrier. A veterinarian scans his chip and identifies the dog as Hugo. But Hugo has a London address--how did he get to where Jane lives on the coast outside Brighton? When she takes Hugo back to his home, she has a startling realization: she's been inside the decrepit house. Twenty-six years ago, late one night, with a man who would've done her harm if she hadn't escaped. The man who answers the door now is a different one, but Jane feels unsettled nonetheless. Upon returning home, her sense of foreboding intensifies once she learns that a young woman who recently rented a property near Jane's has gone missing. And she had a white dog. The woman's disappearance, the old house, and what happened to Jane all seem connected, prompting her to investigate and finally confront her past.
The goings-on inside the house where Hugo lives are the stuff of nightmares. Plus, there's a terrifying clown. But Jewell balances out the dark elements by placing the affable Jane at the heart of the story. With her--and Jewell's alluring prose--leading the way, it's hard to resist going down to the basement where the monster lurks. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, reviewer and freelance editor at The Edit Ninja