It was difficult to put this book down. The three key characters; Zara, Lauren and Aidan, were so believable that it was easy to feel involved with the horrific situation they found themselves in. Zara's teenage principles, moods and angst; Lauren's stress relieving baths and cakes and Aidan's desperation to take some action all added to the tension that was ever present throughout the book. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

Wow! What a fantastic read!
This is definitely one of my favourite books of the year and Gillian McAllister’s best yet. The plot is unique, engaging and well developed.
There’s plenty of twists and the ending left me speechless as I didn’t see it coming.
I’d recommend this book to anyone, it’s a true 5 star read.

I saw this book all over social media and loved the cover and the blurb. This was a great gripping and tense read. It is not a subject I have read a lot about but it did lend itself to becoming for me a page turner, I sat up late in the night reading on as from early on I had no idea how this was all going to end.
The story follows Zara a teenager who witnesses a crime and during the trial it is uncovered that she lied about what she saw. This leads to threats made to her and she needs to go into witness protection. Her family are torn apart suddenly and I enjoyed the telling of the story from different character perspectives, this gave me a really strong sense of their actions and feelings about what happened in their lives.
It terrified me the whole thing to be honest, how quickly people's lives can change and how in many situations you feel as if you have no control. There was a sense of foreboding throughout the book. Who could she trust? Would it be revealed who she was?
The book moved at a tense and quick pace for me and the final revelation and ending shocked me. I did not expect it.
If you love a tense, edge of the seat thriller then this is the book for you.
I loved the cover too, it fits the subject matter in the book and gives a sense of an edge of the seat thriller.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is easily one of the best books that I have ever read
Gillian mcallister knows exactly how to write the perfect legal thriller. I read this book in two sittings, stopping only to sleep

This book literally had me hooked and I was so shocked by the ending. But also was so happy

This book is highly recommended and I cannot wait for more the by the author

have been waiting 18 very long months for this book and have to start by saying that How to Disappear is one of the best books that I’ve read this year. Gillian McAllister is always a “go-to” author for me as she’s a writer who always seems to bring out hidden emotions in me. I can always find her writing seems to speak to me personally and I can always find something to relate to, making her one of a very short list of writers who’s books I will automatically order without even reading a blurb. Her books speak to me, reaching out to comfort or inspire, evoking feelings and responses to the perfectly pitched fictional scenarios. How to Disappear is a stunning book, full of carefully crafted characters and a plot that will shock you with its emotional intensity and make you think about how you would react if you were in the same awful situation as her characters. Because, believe me, the everyday decisions that we have to make are reflected back at us from this storyline and it prompts the question…”what would you do?”

I’ve always been curious about witness protection programmes and how they work, especially about whether or not anyone is ever found and how hard is it to just disappear? Would you tell the truth and testify against someone you know is a criminal if it meant that you had to leave the life you know and start again, often leaving behind those you love, never knowing when or even if you will see them again. That’s what happens to Zara and her mother Lauren after she witnessed a heinous crime. And that’s all I want to say about the plot as you need to read this with no preconceived ideas! All I will say is that this book is heartbreaking and shocking and I howled my eyes out whilst reading it.

How to Disappear is a contender for my book of 2020. It’s out on July 9th so make sure it’s on your wish list as you won’t want to miss this one!

Whilst this had a good premise and was well written I am afraid it fell short for me. If you are in Witness Protection you don’t reveal who you are or contact your previous life. It was unbelievable that the club did not know who Adrian was. With internet searches they would have found out all about her family. This was a major flaw in my opinion. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
This for me is her best book so far! Compelling, hard hitting and an emotional rollercoaster from the first to the very last page! Worthy of every 5 star review it receives as I know my 5 star rating won’t be the first and it certainly won’t be the last.

After witnessing the murder of a local homeless man by two teenagers, little did 14 year old Zara, or her parents, know that from that moment on their entire lives would never be the same again. Their blended family will be ripped apart, all contact severed from everyone in their lives, even their adored family pet Bill, a golden retriever, will never see either Lauren or Zara ever again.

As the two young lads, footballers, one on his way to the big leagues, the Premiership, stand trial for the murder, Zara is called to give evidence being the only witness to the attack. Due to the fact of Zara’s young age, her identity is concealed from everyone, especially the media, she is only known as Girl A.

Girl A, Zara, when cross examined in the court proceedings, her statement begins to unravel and under pressure she cracks and admits that Jamie, the homeless man had in fact attacked the two young lads first! The results of this confession – both boys walk out of the courtroom scot-free!

Luke, the boy who actually stabbed Jamie to death, had had a promising football carer ahead of him before he was held in prison on remand awaiting trial for murder. Now his carer as a professional footballer is over, and with two of their teams rising stars both going on trial for murder, it has effected the entire Holloway FC, and people are not happy! Some of the die hard fans hold Girl A entirely responsible, and they want her to pay.

A facebook group pops up called Find Girl A and thus begins the search for Girl A’s real identity, then from there, her location, then after that? With several death threats being posted, who knows what they are capable of once they find her.

It doesn’t take them long at all to discover Girl A’s real identity and the threat to Zara’s life is genuine, so much so that their only option if they want to keep her alive and safe, is going into witness protection. As Zara’s mum, she will do whatever it takes to keep her daughter safe, but for her husband to enter witness protection with them he would have to leave behind his daughter, Polly, forever and never contact her every again, because once you are in, your in. All your past history, all your family members erased as if they never existed.

They both know that Lauren has no choice but to leave, has to make sure Zara is safe, and they both know Aidan can’t leave his daughter Poppy and has to stay, has to watch his wife and his step-daughter walk out of his life forever.

Given new names, new identities and whole new fictitious lives, Lauren and Zara are driven miles away from London and set up in a new house, and a new set of rules to follow. Their only hope of staying safe and not being found is to embrace the new names and lives they have been given, stick to the rules and never contact anyone from their past, no matter what.

But is it truly that easy? To just up and leave your entire life, your entire family without ever looking back? If they thought that leaving was hard, they soon discover staying away, the lack of contact is harder than ever imagined.

This story is told by Before, Days gone and Days in and is told via Lauren, Zara, Aidan and Poppy’s points of view as we watch the whole thing play out across the pages.

It was never going to be easy, but no one, not even the reader knows what is about to happen next!

And it was the not knowing that kept me up all night, reading right through until morning to reach the final pages, watching the fates of these characters unfold across the pages, my heart cracking for Aidan whilst cursing the author for doing that to me (and undoubtedly most readers!) 😱

How to Disappear will be published on 09 July 2020 and is available for pre-order now.

Would I recommend it? Without a shadow of a doubt!

A massive thank you to the author Gillian McAllister, publishers Penguin Michael Joseph UK and NetGalley for my digital copy of this brilliant book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
This for me is her best book so far! Compelling, hard hitting and an emotional rollercoaster from the first to the very last page! Worthy of every 5 star review it receives as I know my 5 star rating won’t be the first and it certainly won’t be the last.

After witnessing the murder of a local homeless man by two teenagers, little did 14 year old Zara, or her parents, know that from that moment on their entire lives would never be the same again. Their blended family will be ripped apart, all contact severed from everyone in their lives, even their adored family pet Bill, a golden retriever, will never see either Lauren or Zara ever again.

As the two young lads, footballers, one on his way to the big leagues, the Premiership, stand trial for the murder, Zara is called to give evidence being the only witness to the attack. Due to the fact of Zara’s young age, her identity is concealed from everyone, especially the media, she is only known as Girl A.

Girl A, Zara, when cross examined in the court proceedings, her statement begins to unravel and under pressure she cracks and admits that Jamie, the homeless man had in fact attacked the two young lads first! The results of this confession – both boys walk out of the courtroom scot-free!

Luke, the boy who actually stabbed Jamie to death, had had a promising football carer ahead of him before he was held in prison on remand awaiting trial for murder. Now his carer as a professional footballer is over, and with two of their teams rising stars both going on trial for murder, it has effected the entire Holloway FC, and people are not happy! Some of the die hard fans hold Girl A entirely responsible, and they want her to pay.

A facebook group pops up called Find Girl A and thus begins the search for Girl A’s real identity, then from there, her location, then after that? With several death threats being posted, who knows what they are capable of once they find her.

It doesn’t take them long at all to discover Girl A’s real identity and the threat to Zara’s life is genuine, so much so that their only option if they want to keep her alive and safe, is going into witness protection. As Zara’s mum, she will do whatever it takes to keep her daughter safe, but for her husband to enter witness protection with them he would have to leave behind his daughter, Polly, forever and never contact her every again, because once you are in, your in. All your past history, all your family members erased as if they never existed.

They both know that Lauren has no choice but to leave, has to make sure Zara is safe, and they both know Aidan can’t leave his daughter Poppy and has to stay, has to watch his wife and his step-daughter walk out of his life forever.

Given new names, new identities and whole new fictitious lives, Lauren and Zara are driven miles away from London and set up in a new house, and a new set of rules to follow. Their only hope of staying safe and not being found is to embrace the new names and lives they have been given, stick to the rules and never contact anyone from their past, no matter what.

But is it truly that easy? To just up and leave your entire life, your entire family without ever looking back? If they thought that leaving was hard, they soon discover staying away, the lack of contact is harder than ever imagined.

This story is told by Before, Days gone and Days in and is told via Lauren, Zara, Aidan and Poppy’s points of view as we watch the whole thing play out across the pages.

It was never going to be easy, but no one, not even the reader knows what is about to happen next!

And it was the not knowing that kept me up all night, reading right through until morning to reach the final pages, watching the fates of these characters unfold across the pages, my heart cracking for Aidan whilst cursing the author for doing that to me (and undoubtedly most readers!) 😱

How to Disappear will be published on 09 July 2020 and is available for pre-order now.

Would I recommend it? Without a shadow of a doubt!

A massive thank you to the author Gillian McAllister, publishers Penguin Michael Joseph UK and NetGalley for my digital copy of this brilliant book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

Wow! Literally just finished this book and my heart is still racing. It had me gripped from the start. You are straight in there and then riding on the edge of your seat until the shocking end - seriously you will not believe this one!! I really cannot say too much without giving away any sort of twists or turns that may, or may not, occur (haha!) only to urge any psychological thriller fans you must read this book!!!! I rated this a strong 5 ⭐️ and I will definitely be reading more from Gillian McAllister in future. I’m going for a lie down now to recover! 😳

This book had me in two mind, I loved the unique plot and I found I couldn’t actually put it down, yes I disliked the two main characters. I just could warm to them and their silly outright mistakes.
Having said that the story flowed along nicely and with a promising ended.
I have read better from this author however nothing can take away her skills at writing unique stories

Oh my goodness, what a story! With each turn of a page it just got better and better. I was on tenterhooks the whole time, gulping each word down as fast as my eyes would let me.

I loved everything about it; the plotting, the characters, the excitement on each page along with my nerves being ripped to shreds at the same time. The adrenaline rush from reading it is better than a rollercoaster. I urge everyone to read it.

I was so gripped by Lauren, Zara and Aidan’s story that I can’t stop thinking about it now. Incredibly original with a love story at the heart of it. It is quite simply AMAZING and the short snappy chapters were an excellent added touch as it kept the momentum of reading it up. This book deserves to soar.

This is an absolutely breathtaking read. I didn’t think Gillian McAllister could write any better than she does already but this one knocks that all out of the ball park. This is definitely the best yet!

Characters are relatable and the situations they are in are to a degree very believable, sometimes you forgot you are reading a novel. The plot is easy to follow and the writing style is enjoyable. Be prepared for a rollercoaster of a journey with this one!

I would like to start by saying that this has been a refreshing read, (as dark as the subject matter may be ), and I would highly recommend this book by Gillian McAllister. I would like to say that any parent experiencing or has experienced the sweet nuances of teenage children with often misguided loyalties, a definite lack of the understanding of consequences coupled with the regular vituperative responses to ‘good morning’, will fully affiliate themselves to the undercurrent of this story. Also, anyone who hasn’t yet managed to put blinds up at windows and looks out at night to find themselves staring at their own reflection, beware.

“Her soul is overly mated.” Not only is this just one of the special moments for me as the reader, but it tells you about the heady mix of beautiful prose and a compelling plot. Meet Lauren, over sharer, totally transparent, in the moment and struggling like a lot of mothers, with guilt. I’m not sure I particularly like her if I’m honest, but that just makes her all the more interesting to me. Lauren is a single mother to Zara, married to a single Dad, Aiden, father to Poppy. Their whole delicate sand castle of a family is about to come crumbling down.

Consider this – What is your identity?

This story was full of pleasant surprises in that it was unique for me. Rather glibly I would describe it as a page turner and most certainly I could not put this down, however, it is so much more than that. There are emotional layers, hidden pockets of other encounters, making the reader consider what conversations continue when you have left the room. There are physical layers, familiar and new experiences, and there is both nostalgia and very much the here and now.

Pour the wine dear reader, and hunker down because you will not be satisfied until this is finished!

This gave me goosebumps from the start and didn't let up. It is one of those novels that sucks you in as it dives straight in to the action, gets you thoroughly invested in all the characters then takes you on a rollercoaster ride as the action sweeps you along at pace.

I loved the fact the story was told from the different perspectives of the main characters, this gave more scope to explore what was happening to each of them & let us, the readers, in on details the others didn't have. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way & a few red herrings to throw you off the scent. I found myself flying towards the end, desperate to know what happened but not wanting it to finish.

I will review one week before publication as requested.

This is an intriguing and unusual idea for a book. Zara is a teenage girl with a highly developed social conscience and sense of justice. That gets her into trouble with a group whom she accuses of abusing homeless people but the case against them comes unstuck. The result is catastrophic for her mother Lauren, stepfather Aidan and his daughter Poppy. The decision to use witness protection has ramifications for them and their relatives and social circle. That part of the book is clearly painstakingly researched and the effects on them all are handled sensitively and convincingly. The story then has unexpected twists with an ending well worth waiting for. This is a book that makes the reader think about the dangers of empathy with the underprivileged, the consequences of standing up for justice and how that can have unexpected consequences. The unusual storyline gives it a head start.

This is a really cracking read. Make sure you have plenty of time to read this before you start as you won’t be able to put it down! This is one of those reads where you spend the whole time on the edge of your seat not knowing who to trust! It really does make you think about how difficult it would be to start a new life in this technological World we live in.

Zara witnesses a terrible crime. But when her identity is revealed she becomes a target. Her only choice is to disappear. To keep Zara safe she must disappear with her mum, Lauren. Lauren will give up everything and everyone she loves, even her husband. There will be no time for goodbyes. New names, new home, new lives. But this is only the start as one mistake could bring their past right back to their doorstep...

It was incredibly easy to be hooked to this plot only a couple of chapters in, I found myself wondering what I'd do in Aiden's position.

Whilst a twist at the end of the book was easy to predict overall it was another great pacey thriller from Gillian McAllister.

4 stars.

Once again, Gillian McCallister has managed to create an intriguing novel which, once it gets going moves forward at a rapid pace. I won't say too much about the story line for fear of spoiling the plot. Suffice to say that this is:

A story of hope and despondency.
A story of guilt and confession.
A story about the workings of the witness protection system.

I liked the way in which the characters were developed. There are parts of the book which are extremely dark and disturbing. The book has pace and the ending is disturbingly credible.......
Then of course there's the epilogue.

I once again give my thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK (Michael Joseph) for a copy of this book in return for this review.

Forces you to examine how you’d personally respond to having to leave your entire life behind in order to save it, the painful complexity of witness protection and the boundaries of love and family. Absolutely gripping.

**Review**
How to Disappear by Gillian Mcallister.
Zara witnesses a terrible crime and decides to give evidence at the trial. This makes her a target, and her and her mother Lauren are moved into police protection. This does not stop some people wanting to track her down...
I loved the premise of this story and it had a lot of the right ingredients. It was fast paced and gave lots of characters points of view which I enjoyed. I feel this added to the depth and feel of the book. The threads of the story were interwoven well, making it a fast and enjoyable read.
However, most of the characters began to irritate me! It just seemed they were all making bad decision after bad decision. I was not completely convinced by the plausibility of the police involvement either.
I would recommend it to thriller fans, especially fans of Macallister’s previous novels. Not my favourite thriller, but it did have some really good aspects. Thank you to @Netgalley for this digital review copy. Publication date: 09/07/2020