This was such a beautifully written book, the descriptions of the history done well, and the double timeline was also done well. I will definitely read more by this author in future. Recommended.

A lovely book, set in 1942 and decades earlier. It was engrossing, poignant, beautifully descriptive, and very moving.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

This is another enjoyable novel from Katherine Webb, set in 1942 and 1918. Frances is desperately searching for the child she was looking after, and who is now missing after a terrifying night of bombing in Bath. The destruction caused by the Germans unearths the remains of another child who went missing in 1918, and was Frances’s best friend.
The story follows Frances as she searches for Davy in 1942, while trying to remember fragments from her past in an attempt to solve the mystery of who murdered her friend Wyn, burying her in her own back garden.
I enjoyed this book and didn’t find it predictable at all. I did feel the pace was a little slow though and therefore failed to keep me completely absorbed in the storyline.

A child disappears - but what actually happened? A man is hung for the crime- but was he really the perpetrator? As a child, Frances’ best friend goes missing. A young German is hung for the crime. Then, 20 years later, the Second World War bombing campaign uncovers a body....... and Frances starts to uncover lost memories. This is a gripping story, building the tension and intrigue at a slow pace so that you cannot put the book down. I was desperate to find out what had actually happened and who the true culprit was. A great read!

Overall a good story about guilt, friendship, love and uncovering the truth. A descriptive plot and well-researched in terms of the Bath blitz. The story was easy to follow between the two timeframes of 1918 and 1942. A real mix of characters feature in the story and each one is well-written.

My only criticism of this book is the slow pace. There were several occasions where the story seemed a little repetitive and I felt like it was dragging on somewhat. For this reason, it was not a book that had me ‘gripped’. The pace picked up a little towards the end and I liked the author’s ending - I was left feeling as though Frances finally had some closure on all that had troubled her for the past 24 years.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Orion for an early digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a huge treat The Disappearance turned out to be; a mixture between a crime drama with all of the elements I enjoy in historical fiction! Even better it was set in one of my favourite places, Bath.

In 1918 during WWI , Frances and Wyn are best friend, just eight years old. Sadly by the time the other strand in the story happens in 1942 Wyn has been missing ever since that innocent time. Frances is alive and well but not a happy woman, separated from her husband she falls into the roll of childminder for young Davy who would have been Wyn's nephew. In the bombing he goes missing. As a reader you can't help but wonder if history is repeating itself.

The characters are beautifully drawn and shown in all their glory with both the good and bad showing their faces in both time periods. This is so important because while this isn't a typical crime thriller those elements are played out in the pages taking into account the time period the book is set in.

Fully recommend this one for lovers of historical fiction and really good characterisation.

I really enjoyed this book. Two parallel storylines - the disappearance of Wen at 8 years old in the closing months of WWI and the disappearance of her similar-looking nephew Davy during a bombing raid on Bath in WWII, Family secrets, a family friend who is still involved in the family's lives all these decades later. It kept me guessing until the end, although once everything was revealed it all made perfect sense. Definitely recommended. I will be looking out for more by Katherine Webb.

A gripping book, well written and fascinating. I liked the descriptions of the historical background, the fleshed out cast of characters, and the plot with its double timeline.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The predominant theme of this novel is missing children, but the setting is unusual. The action moves between two periods in the history of the city of Bath, the last year of the Great War and the time of the Baedeker blitz in 1942. The quality of the descriptions of family life at these times, and in particular children's lives, is central to the plot development, and the descriptions of the city are fascinating. The characters are distinctive and well developed and I found it compulsive reading.

For me, Katherine Webb’s books are really hit and miss, ranging from absolutely gripping to dull and dragged out. Unfortunately, this was the latter, and after forcing myself through the first 30% I ended up skimming through the rest. I just really couldn’t connect with it at all, which is a shame, as it had great potential.

Set in two timeframes - 1942 and end of WWI this is a story of disappearance, murder, family tragedy, child abuse etc..narrated by Frances. Her best friend Wyn vanished in 1915 or so, when they were 8, and a a young Austrian that they had befriended was accused, tried, found guilty and hanged for her murder although a body was never found. During horrendous bombing of Bath in 1942 a skeleton came to light and determined to be that of Wyn. Frances had been looking after Davey, the little boy of Wyn's sister Carys when she left him with friends and took herself off up a hill to ponder Wyn's fate, it being the anniversary of her disappearance. The lad disappears and much of the story was spent looking for him in bombed out Bath with gin-ridden Carys berating Frances at every opportunity. Frances started having flashbacks, made herself unpopular with various family members reminiscing about Wyn and trying to find out what happened. It all came together neatly in the end and Davey was, happily, found alive. Less happily for others but we found out why Carys hit the gin so much. There are vivid descriptions of life during and after bombing, as well as of the bombing itself, all too true, and the characters were mostly well-drawn. It was somewhat repetitive though and at times rather drawn-out which counteracted the panic and concern to a degree. It was certainly of its time in that you put up with what you did or didn't have and just got on with life and that's where Frances felt a little too modern to me. Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love a dual narrative book but I was slightly disappointed by this book
The writing was very repetitive.
Not the best book by this author

With the dual time line this book was a little drawn out for me and also very repetitive in the search for Davy.
The Bath Blitz was not something I had heard about and it is always good to extend one's knowledge of history.
The characters were well fleshed out and believable. Some parts of the story weren't so believable.
Nothing changes, child abuse, sexual abuse, violence in families, making people scapegoats to satisfy the general populace still goes on. Politicians, police always say, we will learn from our mistakes, they never do.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy in return for an honest review.

Gripping saga spanning 2 decades around the Blitz. Good characters are developed througtout and a good story line leads the reader to a dramatic ending.

A Great story that draws you in with fab characters,a book i can highly recommend to any reader and well worth the 5*well done to Katherine Webb.5*

An excellent book with a wonderful set of characters and an engaging storyline. Highly recommended to every reader that is interested in a book that really draws you in.