Then She Vanishes is a well paced and beautifully plotted psychological thriller. Jess returns to the seaside town she grew up in but this time in her role as a journalist. She discovered that her childhood friend Heather is accused of shooting dead a mother and son in their own home. Heather has a tragic past, her sister Flora went missing and her father was killed in a tragic accident at their home. Jess cannot believe that her old friend is capable of murder and her investigation leads her to finally ask questions about the summer that Flora disappeared.
Claire Douglas takes you into the thick of it from the very first chapter, I was so impressed with the pace that she set and maintained. The book flits between the present day and the summer that Flora disappeared. I thoroughly enjoyed both parts of the story and Douglas brings them together so well.
Then She Vanishes is full of secrets, every single character is hiding something from other characters. It's such a clever device as the reader is left guessing and you are never 100% sure who you can trust within the story.
Douglas includes many twists and turns along the way. I worked out a couple but then had the rug pulled out from under me when these were followed by more revelations.
Then She Vanishes is an excellent read that I can highly recommend. It is gritty, addictive and entirely believable.

Heather and Jess were best friends the summer that Flora went missing. Flora was Heather’s older sister and has never been found. 18 years later Jess, a journalist, is sent to cover a murder in her home town, a murder that Heather is accused of. Can Jess uncover what drove Heather to become a cold-blooded killer?

I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

I received this book from publishers through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. And big thank you for the free book. But that being said, I never want to read another British crime author again.

OK, maybe not never. But not for a long time.

I love thrillers and crime fiction but when it comes to British crime fiction - at least lately - it's ALL the same. There's a huge hook (that 90% of the time doesn't even have a story under it, more like you flip through to the back to see that the hook was some sort of angled wording or a perspective by a character that changes throughout the book.)

I mean, what exactly is the point from the marketing perspective to introduce a book with "a twist" and at the same time have a synopsis with a girl who's gone missing years ago and oh my gosh...something's gonna happen now that will shake up your world. Is there one reader out there who doesn't immediately suspect that a) she probably ran away, not just vanished, b) it was all just a ploy of some sort and we will now find out why, or c) she never actually vanished.

Because if you introduce a fact and the promise of the TWIST then in the case of British crime writers it almost always means that your introduced fact simply doesn't hold up by the end of the book. And I, for one, then start hating the authors for not coming up with an actual expanation of "What happened?" It's like your friends ask, did you read that book...so what happened. And you're forced to say - oh, just read it yourself and you'll see because otherwise, you would have to say, it simply wasn't what it seemed at first.

Whatever happened to actually writing a story worth telling, and not needing any twists to make the reader want to last through it? Are we all supposed to be so twist-thirsty that we don't even deserve a multi-layered plot? It's like I'm supposed to only read a book to just find out this ONE FACT, this ONE THING...

In my opinion, there was nothing wrong with Claire Douglas's writing or character building or else, it's just the trend that's become overworn and dull. Which, sadly for regular crime fiction readers, makes every single book that comes out very predictable and eye-roll-worthy.

It's like turn on British news, spot a crime that's happen (to say it's probable and legit) then write up a masterfully worded premise that makes it sound a billion times worse or scarier or, in most cases, family related and like there's something BIG you'll never guess...and BOOM, you have a book. That any experienced reader will decipher in minutes.

So can I really recommend this?

If you don't read a lot, then yes. It's a family secret that's written from various perspectives with a twist at the end.

If you have ever read any British crime fiction, then you will very possibly be disappointed because you can probably even guess (with variating multiple choices) the plot from the synopsis alone.

Plus, this doesn't paint Bristol or surrounding areas in any appealing colors. Sorry, I wanted to find something positive to say but it's been so many versions of this trend that I am starting to give up of Netgalley altogether.

I really enjoyed this book, it wasn't one where you couldn't bear to put it down but the story line kept me interested until the end. It was an original theme where you have the crime at the beginning of the book and know who the criminal is, but the more you read, the more you wonder how this could have been executed and by the character accused. You just can't fathom it all out, but thankfully the ending ties up all the loose ends..There are some gritty and quite dreadful explanations as to the background of the victims and how they are connected to Jess' family, which I didn't expect, a great book which I do recommend.

I love a tale with twists and surprises and And Then She Vanishes is certainly full of them. Flora went missing many years back and it is likely she is dead, after all she hasn’t contacted anyone since that night. Her sister Heather, has just shot dead a man and his old mother and her friend, Jess, who she hasn’t really seen since Flora’s disappearance, is now a journalist covering the story. Everyone has secrets which slowly emerge throughout the book. Nicely written and keeps you hooked.

I enjoyed this story very much. There are several unexpected twists and turns involving characters that you wouldn’t expect would act in such a way. A cut and dried murder proves to be less straightforward than appears on the surface. It is a well thought out story. Jess is a newspaper reporter. She had worked for a large daily paper in London, but she and several others had been involved in a scandal that caused most of them to be sacked, and facing possible prosecution. She had lied to her partner about why she had to leave London, and he had left his job to move with her to Bristol.

There is a double murder, and the supposed perpetrator tries to kill herself. She was Jess’s best friend in their teens, so she hopes to get some scoops that the other journalists won’t be privy to. However she becomes more involved with the family, and the scope of her investigation grows. She is frustrated because many of the things she learns are published by another reporter in a daily paper (her paper only comes out twice a week), and she doesn’t know how they obtained the privileged information.

When the whole story finally comes out it is more unexpected than I imagined, the author appears to be leading you in a different direction. The murders are not as straightforward as expected. A satisfying read.

More twists and turns than a rollercoaster. Had me riveted from the first to the last page. Loved it!!

Unpopular opinion time I'm afraid as while I didn't dislike this, I didn't find it to be the gripping read I was hoping for. There is a strong possibility it's me and not the book as I have been struggling with thrillers recently but I never felt particularly invested in either the story or the characters. There were even a few points where I felt like I was forcing myself to keep reading and seriously considered just giving up.

The story does start with a literal bang and I had high hopes for it after that opening chapter but while it does pick up again towards the end I found it a little too slow and lacking in any real surprises to truly hold my attention throughout. It does have an intriguing premise but if like me you've read a lot of thrillers it's probably not too difficult to guess a lot of the twists. I did like that the investigative part of the story is told from the perspective of journalist Jess. It brings something a little bit different to it and lets the author explore the issues of media intrusion and influence. As Jess has a connection to the family at the center of the story it also creates an ethical dilemma for her of whether she should use her relationship with them to get the scoop or keep their confidences.

Jess is an interesting character (neglected as a child, bit of a loner, on the run from her mistakes) but I have to admit I never really warmed to her and in fact I'm not entirely sure there was any character that I felt invested in. The story is told from three main pov's Jess, Margot (Heather and Flora's mother) and in the past, Flora herself and while I never really had anything against them I found it hard to care about them or what happened to them.

I think part of the problem for me was that it was all just so flat. The characters are well rounded and realistic but none of them are especially strong or forceful and there didn't seem to be much in the way of emotion. For me, plot can only take a book so far and I need a character to root for (or to hate). Similarly the tone stays relatively constant throughout, there are no lighter moments to provide a contrast to all of the darkness.

Overall I'd rate this as an okay read, not bad but not great either. This was my first book from the author and I think I would probably try some of her other novels on the strength of it. I may however take a break from thrillers for a while.

A solid suspense novel but cant quite identify why I am not more enthusiastic. There were lots of good things here. 1) Lots of mystery and suspense. Jess and Heather were best friends in their youth, but no longer speak. Heather's sister disappeared around the same time under strange circumstances. In present times, Heather has been accused of a double homicide which makes no sense and Jess coincidentally is the journalist reporting on it. 2) Unpredictable. Despite many guesses and some right, I was unable to anticipate all the twists and turns. 3) Complex relationships. All the boxes were ticked for a gripping, memorable novel.

Yet somehow, for me, the magic was missing. I struggled to get inside the heads of the characters, why they behaved in certain ways. This left me a dispassionate observer. I wasn't racing to finish the next chapter. And the end left me satisfied but not jumping up and down.

I must admit that I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would.
I really enjoyed how it was written. I'm not usually in the mood for slow paced stories, but I really enjoyed this one. I think the characters were well developed for the most part, but at moments I had a bit of a harder time sympathizing for the main character as I didn't like the attitude she displayed.
Other than that, it's a pretty solid book. The story is interesting and quite gripping.
People who enjoy reading thrillers will definitely enjoy this one.

Sixteen-year-old Flora goes missing in 1994 without trace. Present day and tragedy strikes the family again, as her sister Heather appears to have killed two people at random, miles from her home. She is found in a barn on the grounds of their caravan site, having turned the gun on herself. Heather has no recollection of what happened. Jess, a journalist and Heather’s once best friend, is sent to her hometown to report on the case. Will the truth be discovered?

This book gripped me from the outset. The revelations and connections that were unearthed throughout the book were fantastic. They were mainly things I couldn’t have guessed and that’s always a pleasant surprise!

I was drawn in to Jess’ character and her past, and subsequently rekindled, relationship with the family. Margot in particular, as the mother of Heather and Flora.

The changing of perspectives between the two characters worked and provided extra detail and viewpoints which kept the story moving. Each discovering key information meant we were provided with their own take on things.

A well written book and one I’d highly recommend. Now to add the rest of Douglas’ books to my TBR list!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having not read Claire Douglas before I was in for a treat with Then She Vanishes. It's a strong novel that felt warm and cozy in the relationship department but packs a punch with a multi-leveled mystery that seemed an open and shut case. The likeability of the characters was top-notch. Jess, Margo and Heather were characters the reader could easily warm to and even befriend, if they were actual people. The supporting cast also offered an array of personalities that kept the story moving along at a swift clip.

I would call this a gentle thriller as the reveals weren't surprising but the extent of the damage wrought by them could be felt like a body blow. The solving of the main mystery - what happened to Flora - was a deeply penetrating shocker though a number of the smaller revelations didn't have the same powerful force behind them.

Then She Vanishes is a clean, nicely wrapped up novel that delivers a sense of satisfaction. All the random bits scattered throughout the book are explained and the full understanding of all that transpired is both touching and heartbreaking.

More twists and turns than a rollercoaster! The opening chapter was very unique - it definitely drew me in and I had to find out what was going on. A very engaging read. Thank you.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review..
Book number five from Claire Douglas - a fast paced read, a psychological thriller, the pages turn themselves, the readers attention is captured from page one.
Two teenage sisters, Flora and Heather, then two teenage friends, Heather and Jess. The story is told in the past and the present.
Flora is sixteen and goes missing, who was the last person to see her. Heather and their mum Margo are distraught.
Jess and Heather drift apart, they are both harbouring secrets
Heather is now married and has a child, Jess is a journalist and chasing an exclusiv story, following Heather having shot two people , there
an eye witness,
Thie story is well written and believable, I liked Jess. I did guess the twist that comes at the end quite early in the story but it did not spoil the the story for me
Another top read from Claire Douglas.

I absolutely loved this book. Amazing characters & storyline. Plenty twists along the way & keeps you guessing. Also all ties together so well at the end. Amazing I’d highly recommend this book!

This was a very good read and it had me hooked from the first page. The story is told on two datelines the 1990's and the present day and yet it still flows easily, back in the 90's Heather and her sister Flora were close and when Flora disppears she lets old friendships die. In the present day Jessica is a reporter and is sent to find out about a seemingly random shooting of a mother and son takes place and it seems the perpetrator has tried to kill herself. Jess realises it's in the place she grew up and that the shooter is none other than her old friend Heather , they haven't spoken for years and she cannot think why Heather would do such a thing. How can she keep her boss happy without encroaching on old friendships too much.
A great edge of your seat story.

As usual, I will not reiterate details of the plot - there are plenty of other reviews of that ilk available.

Having read other books by this author, I was looking forward to this one. However (no doubt because I've read other books by the author) I wasn't overly surprised by the ending. That said, it's still a compelling and enjoyable read - I finished it in one day. The characters were interesting and the plot well thought out.

This would make a perfect holiday read - interesting but not overly taxing to read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

Definitely a slow burner book yet layer after layer was revealed to keep the intrigue going, as there are several mysteries going on in this book. Jessica Fox is a reporter. Her old school friend Heather has killed 2 people and tried to kill herself. As Jessica investigates and interviews Heather and her family she can't believe her school friend is capable of this. Searching for reasons and motives this book really got under my skin as I wanted to know so many answers, and they were certainly answered. A clever plot

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book.

What a fabulously delicious book. This book has a fantastic story line, excellent characters and is just unputdownable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and I enjoyed it immensely.

Back of the book :

Everything changed the night Flora Powell disappeared.

Heather and Jess were best friends - until the night Heather's sister vanished.

Jess has never forgiven herself for the lie she told that night. Nor has Heather.

But now Heather is accused of an awful crime.

And Jess is forced to return to the sleepy seaside town where they grew up, to ask the question she's avoided for so long:

What really happened the night Flora disappeared ?



What I think : 

Jessica and Heather were best friends at school, they had one perfect summer. They both lived in the seaside town of Tilby in somerset. They had the best of times until something happened and they never really spoke again. That was eighteen years ago.

Jessica is now a reporter in a nearby town, she doesn't get back to her home town much. However, she's been asked to report on a double murder and an attempted suicide. It's then she realises that it's her friend from years ago. Heather. It turns out that Heather has shot two people in cold blood, then returned to the caravan park that her family owns and tried to kill herself. She is still alive though, but unconscious, so Jessica can't ask any questions. 

But just what has driven Heather to do this awful thing ? 

Maybe it has something to do with the disappearance of Flora, Heather's older sister ...? 

She went missing that summer that the girls were best friends. Jessica knows something about what happened then but she promised she'd NEVER tell ... 

So now Jessica feels compelled to investigate this crime. But in doing so will she have to tell ... ? 

Another fab book from this brilliant author of suspense. 

I really like how her books are always fast-paced with plenty going on. It really kept me on the edge of my seat wanting more, there's plenty of twists and turns and I also liked the way that each chapter was dedicated to the different characters so you could really get into their minds and find out what was really happening. We also get to go back to when Flora, Heather's older sister went missing and find out what actually happened.

And OMG ! what a brilliant ending !! 

I give this brilliant thriller 9/10 (five stars)