Another fabulous read from author Claire Douglas. I just love how she pulls her stories together, answering all the questions one could have, but at the same time leaving us wanting more. Just when you think you know, there’s another shocker round the corner. Gripping, a real page turner & I highly recommend it.

A story of the bonds of sisters , of family. Heather is thought to have killed two people at random and then tried to kill herself. Jess used to be her best friend, although the friendship faded when Heather's sister Flora went missing. Jess, a reporter, is torn between a big story and her friendship with the family.

An amazing book

As i try to expand my reading genre, i read the blurb on this book and decided it was worth my attention. For me it was a gripping page turner. I had to know what happened next.

Gripping, suspenseful read. I really wanted to know what happened to the characters and to understand who did what and why!

I can't praise this one enough!
An absolutely compelling read, I couldn't put it down. The plot has a multitude of different threads running through, each one adding a layer of intrigue to the whole, giving a story with great depth. There are enough twists to resemble a rollercoaster, all guaranteed to keep you guessing.
Wonderfully descriptive writing, without slowing the pace. I could almost smell the sea while I read. It gathers momentum page by page and had me racing to the very unexpected final few chapters.
The characters are engaging, they mesh well with each other and add life to the plot. They are absolutely believable and well thought out, each one bringing a different perspective. They bring a whole range of issues and emotions, the younger versions of the characters took me way back into the summers of my teenage years.
Don't miss it!

Then She Vanishes is the first book by Claire Douglas that I have read and whilst the precis or blurb promised much the book itself failed to deliver on this promise.

I found that the book dragged at times and struggled to engage with the characters. I also felt that the story telling wasn't helped by the use of the tale being told by different characters.

Overall not one I would recommend

This book is set in parts with the chapters that alternate between Jess and Margot in the present day and Heather and Flora in 1994.

1994 – Sisters Heather and Flora, together with best friend Jess decided to visit the Summer fair. Then one night Flora goes missing and she has never been found.

Present Day – Eighteen years later, Jess is a journalist on a local newspaper in Bristol and once again Flora’s family is once again in the headlines. Jess’s childhood best friend Heather is in hospital with a gunshot wound. Heather is also being accused of shooting and killing two people.

Conflicted between doing her job covering the story of the double homicide and protecting her old friend she begins to investigate the case and to find out why her friend would do something as cold as murdering two people in cold blood.

What happened leading up to that, what has been going on in the town they all grew up in and does any of it have anything to do with Flora going missing?

Everyone has something to hide and gradually, as secrets are revealed the past catches up to the present and some awful truths are revealed bring past and present together.

This is a really well paced and well written atmospheric novel that is filled with some great twists, about the bond between sisters, mother and daughter, and childhood friends. The characters are all well fleshed out with their own flaws and you can’t help but become invested in their stories, even if you don’t fully like them!

A very clever psychological suspense novel that will keep you guessing and guessing wrong throughout.

Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas will be published on 27 Jun 2019 on Kindle and 08 Aug 2019 in paperback.

A big thank you to the author Claire Douglas, publishers Penguin UK – Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

https://debbiesbookreviews.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/then-she-vanishes-by-claire-douglas/

This book improved slightly as it went along though I still felt it was a little amateurish, i.e., the use of adjectives such as twinkley and crinkley when referring to eyes were a little irritating and I found much about the plot highly improbable. I kept going until the end but unfortunately wished I hadn’t bothered. Sorry!

Just finished Claire’s new book and overall it’s an easy read, but for the first 65% of the book I felt like something was missing. It’s quite a slow burn and pace.

Then She Vanishes is a very enjoyable read. Numerous times I was sure I knew exactly where the story was going only for everything to be turned on its head! In the small seaside town of Tilby a woman calmly strides into a terraced house and shoots dead an elderly woman and her son. A short time later the gun used in the murder is found next to a woman with a possible self inflicted gunshot wound. It would seem obvious that she's the killer, the only problem being a complete lack of motive. Why would Heather Underwood, a relatively ordinary wife and mother shoot these people dead? Could it have any connection to the disappearance of her sister Flora more than 20 years previously? A local reporter and one time friend of both sisters is determined to find out the truth. Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy.

A thriller with lots of twists and turns following the character of Jess. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I really enjoyed this book it kept me guessing all the way through. I wanted to know what happened and the story kept my attention through out. Recommended author and book.

A young woman shoots the lock off the door of a seaside cottage, goes upstairs and shoots a middle-aged man dead, then shoots his elderly mother. A young woman is found at home having ostensibly shot herself. The gun matches the one involved in the double murder. What exactly happened and why?

An engaging thriller, but I felt that the denouement stretched credibility somewhat.

This story is focused on Jess and the latest story she has to write for the local paper. A local woman is found barely alive and is accused of killing a middle-aged man and his mother before turning the gun on herself. Jess is shocked to find that the accused woman is her childhood friend, Heather. Investigating the story brings back memories of her teenage years and the tragic, unsolved, disappearance of Heather's sister.

There's a lot crammed between the pages. The press phone-hacking scandal, drug dealers, underage sex, abusive partners are just some of the topics that are mentioned. However, nothing is ever covered in any depth, and these subjects are really just a means to move the plot forward, slip in a few red herrings and then tie up all the loose ends with a big bow at the end.

It's entertaining if superficial and somewhat predictable. I would recommend it as a light holiday read.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This is the first Claire Douglas book I read and it will definitely not be my last! The book is full of twists and turns as you try to figure out the present- is the suspected killer of Clive and Deirdre Wilson really the one who did it and how is it related to the disappearance of her sister, Flora, in the 90s? There are several characters introduced throughout that had their own secrets and made you question were they involved in the murders or disappearance of Flora somehow? This book kept me hooked as I had to know what happened and boy did the end shock me. Highly recommend!
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really did think this was my sort of book but it was not to be. Sorry to say that it dragged. The further I read the more it did so until I stopped and moved on to the next book on my list; which I read overnight. My 3 star rating really denotes a neutral rating as I was unable to reach the end.

Jess is a reporter on a small bi-weekly newspaper somewhere near Bristol. She was lucky to get the job when she was discovered to have hacked some phone accounts when she was working for a National newspaper. She still feels guilty. Now Jess has come home and she is reminded of her friends Heather and Flora Powell and their mother Margot. The Powell’s house was Jess’s second home, and Heather was her best friend. Jess’s mother was neglectful and selfish, and in fact has now decamped to Spain and is somewhat estranged from Jess – no change there then! Jess loved Margot and Heather but everything changed in 1994 when Flora went missing and her blouse was found later covered in blood, but of Flora, no sign. Jess’s relationship with the two people she loved underwent a change.

Jess is reminded of these events when she is called upon to report on an incident. Two people (mother and son) have been shot and Heather was seen exiting the house with a shotgun – she ends up in hospital after attempting to shoot herself. Her boss is pushing her to get an exclusive story but she is reluctant to trade on her past relationship with Margot.

What an exciting, gripping read. Great characters, fantastic plot and tantalising snippets of information to keep you guessing. Just loved Jess, complicated, insecure, loyal and totally believable. I love books like this and have no hesitation in urging you to read it. Go on, you will not regret it.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Then She Vanishes is another gripping read from Claire Douglas. The plot moves between events in 1994 and 2012. In 1994 Jess, aged fourteen, is best friends with Heather whose mother, Margot, run a caravan park. Jess’s mother doesn’t spend much time with her so Jess loves being at Heather’s as Margot always treats her as one of the family. Heather’s older sister, Flora, meets Dylan, a worker with the travelling fair, and strikes up a friendship with him. Shortly after Flora disappears and hasn’t been seen since.

In 2012, Jess is now a journalist back in her home town of Bristol after leaving a better job in London following an incident when Jess did some unwise things professionally. News comes in that there’s been a double murder followed by an attempted suicide by the murderer. Jess sets out to chase up for a story only to find that the murderer is Heather who is now in a coma. Heather and Jess had abruptly lost touch soon after Flora disappeared. Margot has never forgiven Jess for abandoning Heather so soon after her sister’s disappearance so isn’t too pleased to find Jess on her doorstep, especially given she is there in her professional capacity as a journalist.

This is a really well written novel with many great twists and turns as more and more secrets come out of what was happening in the past. I loved it the whole way though and the ending too. This is my third book by Claire Douglas and I am keen to read more.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK, Cornerstone for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A decent psychological thriller. There are enough twists to keep you reading and the action is fast paced. Jess is an interesting character and although I find her slightly irritating at times I quite like her.
My thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for this copy.

Brilliant book!!! The very first page had me hooked! There were so many twists and turn in the story, that really keep you guessing, did not see the ending coming. Definitely worth reading!