Oh wow! What have I just read??? This was to be a 4 star review until the very end! OMG my eyes couldn't believe what they were reading! My brain literally went 'sorry what now?' Great story - great characters. I really cared about them all and wanted the gang to be caught and for Lauren and Zara to be OK and safe. Will definitely be reading more by this author in the future!! I'll take a while to recover from this book, that's for sure!

McAllister is one of my favourite authors and I literally devoured this book. McAllister has a way of weaving a story that has you hooked from page one and enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. How To Disappear is my favourite book so far and was a very clever premise.

Here’s the thing. I really like the author’s writing style and the structuring of this book but OMG I was so irritated by every single character and the dumb ass decisions that they made. Every character was an absolute idiot that brought danger upon themselves. I couldn’t care about them because they were so so stupid. JUST DO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD. Jeez. Such an annoying book.

You know when you want to like an author because so many other people do, so you keep persisting with their books? Unfortunately, this is me with Gillian and I think it’s time to accept defeat; her books just aren’t for me.

I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and it made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

I quite enjoyed this book even though it was a slow burner . I loved the characters and the unusual story in this book . There were no surprises at the end of this book but I would still recommend this to my readers . Just lacked a few twists and turns for me so it lost a star .

An enjoyable but ultimately forgettable read, that at times dragged due to pacing issues and some plot inconsistencies which were a little hard to ignore. Interesting but not enough for more than 3 stars.

What do you do when you can't run, and you can't hide?

Lauren's daughter Zara witnessed a terrible crime. But speaking up comes with a price, and when Zara's identity is revealed online, it puts a target on her back.

The only choice is to disappear.

To keep Zara safe Lauren will give up everything and everyone she loves, even her husband.

There will be no goodbyes. Their pasts will be rewritten. New names, new home, new lives.

The rules are strict for a reason. They are being hunted. One mistake - a text, an Instagram like - could bring their old lives crashing into the new.

They can never assume someone isn't watching, waiting.

As Lauren will learn, disappearing is easy. Staying hidden is harder...

The synopsis probably does a better job than most at summing up this novel perfectly. An enjoyable but not ground breaking read.

A slow burn thriller of a young girl and her mother.forced to leave their happy life and go into witness protection..Although the writing is emotionally.charged.I found it a tedious read but have.read other books by the author and look forward to reading more.

What can I say about this book I mean it blew me away!

I have a read previous book by this author but this book just blows everything out of the park!

It has taken me a while to find the words for this book and it just broke me at the end.

I mean the story of a mum and daughter having to go into witness protection and leave everyone and everything behind, well I couldn’t fathom it. I even spoke to Mini-Me about it, I mean as long as we had each other we would be ok, but it doesn’t bear thinking about it!! I just couldn’t go through the fear, the doubt and the unsettling lives they had to live. Just the smallest thing could let people know, the wrong people, where they were.

Although, Zara was a right madam in the middle and I would have given her a slap. The way she treated her mother after everything riled me! I understand she was struggling but I guess as a teenager you can’t see past your own life. She couldn’t even see how Lauren, her mum was struggling and that broke my heart.

This book will stay with me for a long time, you know, well you wouldn’t know, that this does happen. People do end up in witness protection but do you ever really know who they are!

The narrator of the book was spot on, she brought everything to life. She amplified the terror in Aiden’s characters and the sorrow and loneliness in Lauren and Zara’s.

Even though the author has said she doesn’t have all the facts about witness protection, for obvious reasons, I felt like she was spot on with them! I believed her words, I have no reason to doubt her…..and that’s why it’s terrifying!!!

I was so hooked on this book, I started to plan my day around listening to it. Checking how much time I had left and how I could squeeze in in a day. Thank god for working at home at the moment!!

I really can’t do this book the justice it deserves but it is a book you should definitely read….like now!

Due to work it’s taken me a little over three weeks to finish this book I can say, if I had time to block out purely to read, this would have been a ‘read in a day’ novel!

It’s a binge worthy book due to the unique themes that kept me enthralled. The storyline was cleverly written and interwoven well through the parallel timelines.

A very twisty plot with great edge of your seat moments. Well written, intriguing and a whole host of fabulous characters!

That’s all I’m saying because if I say more I’m going to end up spoiling it for you if you haven’t yet read it!

Every once in a while a book comes that changes your perception, to me, this was it.

It was so atmospheric and downright terrifying yet fun in some ways.

The ending was unexpected and very satisfying.

goodreads.com/booksireadandliked
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher for my advanced reader copy of the book. This is my honest review

Teenager Zara is the only witness of the murder of a homeless man, but when the trial collapses, her identity is reveal online and she is in huge danger. Offered witness protection, Lauren and her mother Zara must disappear to ensure their safety. Her step father Aiden makes the heart breaking decision to stay behind, as he can’t leave his own daughter Poppy.

This is a compelling story filled with twists, moral dilemmas and consequences as the family deal with their enforced separation and new identities. Other great read by Gillian McAllister.

I Found the storyline of this book really intriguing and found once I started reading it and how Zara witnessed the crime it was quite fascinating what snowballed after that. The linked characters to the family started to get involved and it was really tense wondering what was going to happen to each and everyone of them. I’d recommend this as a really good interesting book to read and I will definitely try more from the same author.
#HowtoDisappear #NetGalley

I could not put this book down! Following a family who must go into witness protection after a murder trial collapses I was hooked from beginning to end.

I really liked the insight into the criminal prosecution and witness protection aspects of this book and how the situation continued to escalate.

I found the characters to be believable and engaging and enjoyed the emotional twists throughout.

The ending was perfect and so well written, completely unexpected.

Really enjoyed this one, although in the end it felt a bit dragged out. Great characters, twisty storyline and overall a good writing style. Wish the book was slightly shorter and faster paced. Nevertheless, I still recommend picking it up and I'll be sure to check out her other books in the future 😊

How To Disappear tells the story of a girl called Zara, who has to enter witness protection after lying during a high profile court case. Zara, known as Girl A, and her mother Lauren are forced to move across the country, leaving Zara’s stepfather Aiden behind to stay with his biological daughter Poppy.

However, Aiden isn’t going to let his family go that easily. He assumes a new identity himself, infiltrating a group of people known only as Find Girl A. Find Girl A are determined to track Zara down and to make her pay for her lies, but Aiden is certain that he’ll be able to gather enough evidence to stop them and allow his family to come home safely.

The Find Girl A group are more dangerous than Aiden thought, however, and it isn’t long before all of their lives are at risk.

How To Disappear was one of the most hyped thrillers released in 2020, but I’m sad to say that it wasn’t for me.

My first problem with How To Disappear is that it starts in the wrong place. We meet Lauren as she’s applying for a job at a new nursery, trying to get her head around the fact that she’s not Lauren any longer. The story then jumps back in time, taking us back to Zara testifying in court, slowly leading up to Zara and Lauren leaving their lives behind. Sadly, the knowledge that Lauren had a new identity meant that the “will they/won’t they?” discussion around entering witness protection was null and void.

Normally I read at least 10% of a book before bed each night, but How To Disappear began so slowly that it took me almost a week to get through the first third of it. Thankfully things do pick up in the middle, and I did read the second half of the book in a day, but this story was a slog to get into. If it hadn’t been receiving such rave reviews, I might not have forced myself to finish this book.

One thing I did love about this story was the way Gillian McAllister describes the settings she picks. Zara and Lauren end up in the Lake District, and the way that McAllister described the location sent shivers down my spine. I used to live in a little village and the silence was pervasive, making every little noise seem amplified and always putting me on edge if I was home alone at night. McAllister brought these feelings back to life for me, and that’s the main reason I gave How To Disappear two stars instead of just one.

I also enjoyed the fact that this story was told in multiple perspectives. There are chapters following all four of the main characters which adds a lot of depth to the story. They all had very strong voices as well, which made it easy to remember who was narrating even if I put the book down in the middle of a chapter.

The pacing of the story is far better in the middle than at either the beginning or the end. While the beginning drags out interminably, the ending is so abrupt that I didn’t have time to feel anything about the events that played out. I’m not going to give spoilers, but there were a few predictable things which happened one after the other, and it destroyed my enjoyment of the whole story. If the ending had been a bit more interesting – or had been eked out, allowing me to care about the things that occurred – this book could have been a 3 or 4 star.

There was also a huge plot hole which is still bugging me. I’m wondering whether it may have been changed before the novel was released, as this was an advanced copy, so I am tempted to reread a finished copy of How To Disappear at some point! But there is a big event which has some timing inconsistencies, and something else which is implied throughout the story but never comes to fruition. They seem like glaring oversights. Because I’m not sure whether they will have been removed in the finished copy, this has not impacted my rating.

That being said, I’m still interested in picking up more of Gillian McAllister’s novels in the future. This was the first one of hers that I’ve read, and her writing style is brilliant. Unfortunately this wasn’t the one for me, but if you’re looking for a thriller stuffed with tension and a great use of setting, I would still recommend giving it a go.

And boom she does it again, another seriously good book from Gillian, fast paced and full of the twists we all love this ones a must read, I liked the main character and the story in itself was fab...Gives you a good insight into how witness protection works and I honestly was on the edge of my seat throughout it and couldn’t put the thing down, it has suspense by the bucket loads and the endings a killer....masterpiece!!!

OH WOW!!! When you find an author like this you’ve hit GOLD! I have devoured this book of a moral dilemma and the recuperations of someone you loves’ errors. Excited for her new one due out in summer. Winning! 5 strong stars!

A witness to a murder, Zara's identity is in the public domain, and her life is in danger. Witness protection is the only choice, but her mother. Lauren must leave her husband behind to keep her daughter safe.

This is a compelling thriller, intricately woven into a believable story, with easy to empathise, relatable characters. Dilemmas and relationship dynamics are authentically written, in a story infused with emotion, that pervades each characters' action and thought.

It's claustrophobic at times, always suspenseful with many clever twists.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin UK - Michael Joseph via NetGalley in return for an honest review.