Zara is the only witness to a murder, and can identify the assailants. After the court case and her testimony, Zara, and her mum, Lauren, are forced into witness protection after they are targeted and their lives threatened. Zara’s step father can’t leave his daughter, so stays behind when Lauren and Zara are spirited away to their new lives.

I loved the premise of this book, and having read a couple of the authors previous books I was looking forward to this one. It is obviously well written but I couldn’t empathise with Lauren and Zara. Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons is still doing the wrong thing. I struggled to finish this book and nearly gave up. However I’m glad I persevered as the ending was well written, if a bit predictable. Not the book for me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

I know when reviewing a book you maybe shouldn’t look at other reviewers comments, but in my defence before I started the book I looked at all the 5 star reviews and read the book description and I thought this book sounded as though it would be one I would really enjoy. I am afraid it was a bit of a let down for me.
I really struggled to feel any sympathy for Lauren and Zara. Lauren I found quite an irritating character. Surely once her life changing decision was made - for the right reasons - to protect her daughter - she would have had more backbone and drive. She just seemed so wishy-washy and quite pathetic really. Zara I initially felt sorry for, but then the stroppy teen character materialised which I found unbelievable, given her character up to that point.
To me the book seemed to drag in the middle section in the Lakes and go into super speed once they were in York. It was a pity the York section wasn’t the longer one as I got a bit bogged down and bored in the Lake District middle bit.
The character I enjoyed the most was Poppy. You can tell from reading that the author is a good writer, but I’m afraid this book fell a bit flat for me. Enjoyed the ending though.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

"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 . . ."

Wow! Utterly brilliant! I'm a fan of Gillian McAllister's books so I was really looking forward to reading her new book, and it did not disappoint. This is her best book yet!

It was totally unpredictable; just as you thought the story was going one way, it seemed to go another. McAllister is always one step ahead of the reader to keep them on their toes.

The storyline was unique, not something I've read about in a novel before, so I was hooked from the start, wanting to know more about the situation the characters had found themselves in. The characters are likeable and felt so real, as if they were right in front of me. Lead character Zara is also a bit like me - same name, loves books, aims to be a proofreader (which I am...), worrier etc. - this made me want to continue reading to get to know her as a person.

The book is so gripping and intense, with a brilliant pace. And oh my days, the ending! I do not think my review can do it justice, so just read it - you will not regret it! Highly recommended!

This is a cracking page turner about witness protection well imagined by Gilliam McAllister. Lauren and Aiden have a blended family with her daughter Zara and his daughter Poppy. After Zara witnesses a murder and gives evidence she becomes a target eventually leaving Lauren with little choice other than to enter witness protection with her daughter having had to make the heartbreaking choice of leaving Aiden who could not leave Poppy. I cannot imagine having to make such decisions and the story really resonates with the difficulties of being uprooted into a totally new life that you haven’t chosen for yourself and the pain of missing those you love. I thought Aiden’s way of dealing with the situation fit well with his character and I enjoyed reading the story from the viewpoints of all the characters.

This is a unique and striking book. The author says it was difficult to research witness protection, which is not surprising but the result feels authentic. It is an emotional and electrifying roller coaster of a read told from four points of view, each with a different perspective. The characters are so well drawn, their many emotions clear and distinct. The suspense increases throughout until you almost cannot read quickly enough. One of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year. Just suspend all disbelief and let it carry you through to the amazing ending. I thoroughly recommend it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for an early reading copy in return for an honest review.

Zara has witnessed a terrible crime which she reported, and due to being threatened, her family is forced to go into hiding under witness protection. The story explores the heartbreaking pressures involved in changing your identity, family relationships and how difficult life can become. And poses the question about whether you should report a crime you have witnessed, or for the sake of safety, ignore.

The characters are likeable and relatable. Lauren will do anything she can to help her daughter Zara, a typical teen with principles, and Aiden a loving step-father. Aiden is forced to decide whether to go into hiding with his family, leaving behind his biological daughter Poppy, who also needs him. Their journey is difficult and heart-wrenching, with lots of twists and turns.

The book is written in the present tense, giving a sense of immediacy which keeps you connected as events unfold. Fast and pacy, the tension increases and keeps you turning the pages. Should Zara have reported the crime, or due to the ever present dangers kept quiet? The story explores an unusual situation and I felt empathy with all the characters who have found themselves in an impossible situation. Although at times it was frustrating to read how incredibly naïve they have been. Skillfully plotted, the story is tense and dramatic, you become completely absorbed, hoping for the best outcome for the family.

I couldn’t put this book down until the last page. Highly recommended.

This is the first book I have read by Gillian McAllister but I will now be searching out more books as I Thought this one was brilliant

I won’t give the plot away, what I will say is the characters were strong and it was easy to get involved in what was happening to them. I couldn’t stop reading and at times in found myself holding my breath when it became tense.

This is one if the best books I have read this year. Read it you won’t be disappointed.

Gillian McAllister is an author I know will guarantee a fab read! I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed her previous novels, they should really be under the dictionary definition of unputdownable. If you’re in the mood for a well written psychological thriller, you know you can’t do wrong in reading one of her books.

How to Disappear is about Lauren’s daughter Zara, who witnesses a crime which will change her and her families life beyond recognition. With Zara being pursued, Lauren has no choice but to go into witness protection and attempt to start a new identity. It makes you really take stock and contemplate how would you react and how much is your identity really part of you? Could you leave your entire life and loved ones behind, and know you can never contact them ever again.

There are a few serious themes that run throughout the entire book which I thought were explored carefully and appropriately addressed, but overall it is a psychological thriller with a love story burning away in the background. What I enjoyed most however, was the well-rounded, believable, slightly flawed and messy characters and how they interacted in a realistic world. Although at times I did want to shout at a few of the characters to not do that! It’s one of those books where when you aren’t reading it, you are thinking about it and can’t wait to pick it up again. This was a really very enjoyable read.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

How to disappear by Gillian McAllister is definitely the best book I’ve read recently (& there have been quite a few!) Oh my word! Shocking, fast paced, tense, heartbreaking and very authentic. Gillian creates living, breathing, flawed characters who pull you into their lives and emotions with their pressures, self-doubts, hopes, dreams and betrayals. I didn’t know that we had a witness protection program in the UK so this was very interesting and that part of the underpinning storyline also extremely well done. I was second guessing everything and everyone and still didn’t see the ending coming. A truly excellent read. Gillian will definitely be on my watch list. Five stars from me

‘How To Disappear’ tells the story of Zara, who witnesses the murder of a homeless man and stands trial against his murderers. Following the trial she is given the Osman warning and is placed into witness protection.

The plot then follows the lives of her four family members; her mother Lauren (who goes with her), her step dad Aiden and step sister Poppy as they all come to terms with their new lives, lies and fractured family.

I don’t know what is is about this book but it just didn’t do it for me. I struggled to maintain interest in the story and found it a bit slow, not what I was anticipating or anything like Gillian McAllister’s other books.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book, I did. I think I just wanted more than what was given. Whilst I can appreciate that getting information about how police protection works is a non-starter (for obvious reasons!). I think Gillian could’ve taken more artist licence and cut a lot of the character detail. There’s only so much I can read about herbal tea, long baths and eating cake!

As I just mentioned, Gillian has poured a lot of effort into her character building but I found Jon, cold and hard to place. He probably got the least starring role. He was a little too heartless for my liking. And bookish, clever Zara seemed to loose her intellect half way through and became a angry teen. Neither character flaws spoils the read - I thin it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A fantastic and terrifying story. This was harrowing and suspensful and everyone's worst nightmare. Loved it.

This was simply amazing!
I was gripped from the start. I went through a whole host of emotions and the ending was so much more than I could have hoped for.
I don't want to spoil it but I hated the ending and I loved it too!
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Well done, bravo!

I first came across Gillian McAllister when I was sent her novel 'Anything You Do Say' to review at the end of 2017. At the time I honestly thought it was one of the best books I'd ever read. It still rates as a favourite and I've read well over a hundred books since then. However, How to Disappear has joined the ranks at the top.
Witness protection is a subject I've always found fascinating and this story really fuelled that interest. Though I may have spent too much time now wondering if any of my neighbours are in witness protection! The novel just evoked constant emotion in me. How do you decide who to take with you? How do you leave so many people behind? How do you leave behind everything you know about yourself to completely become a new person? I don't want to say too much and ruin the story but I loved it and would highly recommend.

Could you imagine having to go into witness protection
leaving you family and friends behind with not much notice
and starting a new identity

This is a well throughout plot
Very addictive and emotional
The characters are good and you get behind them very easily
Plenty of twists and turns - a must read
Another winner for Gillian McAllister

Thank you netgalley, Gillian McAllister and Penguin UK (Michael Joseph) for allowing me to read and review this book

Having finished this book just last night I think that I should set the record straight. I think the publishers have mis-titled this book. It really should be called 'How Not To Disappear' or '10 Ways to Fail at Staying HIdden.' Actually, it may be more than ten but who's counting really? Let's face it, if the characters involved had been half as good at keeping schtum about what is going on as they should be, the read wouldn't have been nearly as dramatic in intense as this book became at times and would have been all the poorer for it.

I'm not sure I could imagine a worse fate than that which befalls Zara and her mother Lauren. Zara is the unwitting witness in a murder case, one who is determined to do right by the victim, no matter what, and as a result of her testimony finds herself the subject of hatred and threats at the hands of the alleged killers family and friends. To ensure that Zara remains safe, to prevent her meeting the same fate as the victim, they are forced to go into hiding - more accurately Witness Protection - and this is where the story divides between Lauren and Zara's new life and the life of those left behind, including those who would do anything to find and silence Zara.

The author does a brilliant job of building the tension and keep it taught throughout the novel. There are no surprises as to what is happening or who is targeting Zara, this is revealed fairly early on into the proceedings, but it is more the exploration of how they are seeking to find her, the kinds of tactics and programmes used to scour the internet for signs of either of them, that intrigue. That and the actions of those left behind to try and keep them safe. Whilst we do know the main perpetrators of the vendetta, there is always a sense of their being something bigger and GIllian McAllister keeps you guessing as to how far their influence spreads and just who may be helping the antagonists get their way.

Set against this all consuming threat is the emotional core of the book. The impact that this enforced period of hiding - and let's face it, witness protection does tend to be an indefinite, if not permanent thing - has upon the family. Because this is a combined family - two single parents who married and raise their two daughters together. Lauren's husband, Aidan, stays behind to be with his mother and his daughter, Poppy, splitting the family in two. It is a devastating situation and the author captures the turmoil beautifully as Laruen is forced to choose between her daughter and her marriage. Zara wins, of course, but it is not without an edge of resentment that is manifested in the way her thoughts, and her actions develop.

Zara was a great character, very principled and straight in her actions, but also with many secrets that are revealed to alarming effect throughout the course of the novel. It is interesting to see the impact that her action and her decisions have upin her as a character, see the way in which the author has explored the range of emotions that come from not only her principles but the hormones and reactions that come from being a teenager, one who is still discovering who she really is.

As I said at the beginning, this book should be called how not to disappear. Whilst I understand the mistakes that Lauren and her family make, the choices the take, due to their enforced separation, the rules of witness protection are there for a reason. The breaches that occur - well the characters only see them as 'minor' breaches. Nothing to worry about. In the same way the iceberg only made a minor breach of the Titanic ... Each time the threat escalates, the pace increases to match and the tension and need to scoot closer to the edge of your seat grows too.

The characters were great. Be they good or bad or suspicious, they were authentic, full rounded and their emotions and behaviours explored in an intriguing and engaging way. They all had their priorities that they pursued, be it telling the truth, keeping their family safe, or even deciding which shoes to wear, and all of them rang true to the character and the story. But my favourite was probably Bill Gates. Everyone needs a Bill in their life. And I bet I know where the inspiration for him came from ...

Tense, emotional and with a perfectly pitched pace, if this is what to expect from the author's other books, I'm bumping them right up my list. Definitely recommended.

A compelling read that makes you question whether doing the right thing is really the right thing to do if it turns your life upside down.
Having appeared in court to give evidence of a crime witnessed Zara is forced into witness protection, fearful for her life. Her world and her family are ripped apart and embark on their own personal fights for acceptance, retribution and the truth.
Although the start is relatively gentle the book rapidly builds in tension as more and more is revealed of the sickening actions of a group of people who believe homeless people are worthless and deserve to be victims. They then turn their attention to Zara and her family leading to a battle for the truth and for justice.
Couldn't put it down!

I absolutely loved this book. The emotions it stirred up were amazing. Witness protection isn’t
an often written about subject and by the author’s own admission it was mostly her own idea of what it might be like and what might happen. It certainly makes you think though. I felt so crushingly sad at the thought that they’d given up all contact with their families, friends and were in effect, in the world alone. It was heartbreaking. The fear on top of that of people never stopping looking for them and always feeling like they were on the run. It was an amazing book and I was awake well into the early hours because I just had to finish it!
I’d give this book 11/10 if I could.

I doubt the author, Gillian McAllister, ever envisaged a global pandemic when together with her father she cooked up a story and tatties in her kitchen in 2018. For everyone who reads How to Disappear will feel they have 'skin in the game'. This is because we have had our lives turned upside down by Corvid-19 and lockdown, nothing is as it was. So too is it for the blended family at the heart of the novel. Not by a pandemic but by a protection programme which 'disappears you' in but a few hours, your life and loves changed forever. The unblending of the family or deconstructing as foodies would have it, is well written and insightful, with heart wrenching decisions being made. I don't wish to discuss more about the story because it's one of the first truly novel novels I've read in a long time and it would destroy the moment when you read for yourselves how lives can change in the blink of an eye.

A very satisfying story by a master storyteller. I lived through such a range of emotions with the characters I felt quite drained by the end!
Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book.

From the very first page this book gripped me and I just couldn't put it down. The story and characters are brilliant - I came to know them well and found I felt all the emotions (and sometimes terror) they were feeling. At points my heart was absolutely pounding as I was there with them.

Lauren's daughter Zara witnesses a crime and speaks out. Things go wrong in Court and the mob are baying for her blood. When her identity is revealed online the only option for them is to go into witness protection. Lauren's husband and Zara's stepdad feels torn. He's got a daughter Poppy and his mum that he feels he can't leave behind.

There are no goodbyes and they leave - their pasts are rewritten, they've got new names and a new home miles from London. They've been told no selfies, stay off social media and most important no contact with anyone they've left behind....

Aidan decides to infiltrate the gang to make sure he's one step ahead, one false move and his family could be dead. The story is fast paced and twisty, emotional and tense and omg that ending. Just wow I absolutely loved this story and so highly recommend it.