I have to say it was a little far fetched but having said that it was enjoyable and kept you on the edge of your seat and also gave you an insight into witness protection programme and how scary it must be, leaving people you have known all your life, If only she hadn’t seen anything happen how things can change someone’s life definitely recommend it and thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read it

Wow! That was a roller coaster of a story! The first time for years that I felt so very connected to the characters that I just HAD to read the last chapter, somewhere around a third of the way through, and it still didn’t spoil the enjoyment. This is the best psychological thriller I have ever read and I will not write here anything about the storyline, read it without any spoilers. The writing is brilliant, the pace changing to match the story and I often felt almost breathless because I was reading so fast...and I am a very fast reader. I will now read every one of Gillian’s books...although tinged with a slight feeling of envy...how awesome that someone can not only think up such amazing storylines but also write so well. Another factor, for me, is that the characters are all everyday, ordinary people, the kind of people that I know....and that includes the ‘baddies’ sadly. The whole range is here from idealists to those people who live ordinary lives but are able to commit terrible things and that is what makes this book so realistic. Thank you Netgalley, publisher and mostly author for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Really well thought out and really well written. This book kept me guessing right up until the last page. A believable story with believable characters. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

How to Disappear is addictive, twisty, and emotional, forcing you to put yourself in the shoes of the characters.
Zara is a witness to a crime. She sees 2 boys kill a homeless man. As a teenager she is supposed to be anonymous when she gives evidence but her identity is revealed and people are coming for her.
She is sent in to witness protection with her Mum Lauren, leaving behind her stepdad Aidan, stepsister Poppy and their beloved dog Bill - but this group of vigilantes will stop at nothing to get revenge.

I don’t want to say anything more about the plot as I don’t want to reveal too much information but suffice to say this book is a real page turner.
The story is told in the POV of Aidan, Lauren and Zara and each chapter becomes a piece of a puzzle to fit together with each individual story intertwining to build up to a twist I never saw coming.
I felt for Aidan and Lauren when they had to split. I felt for Roz, the bookish teenager who thought she was doing the right thing - though there were times where I wanted to give her a hard shake, after all, she was the reason her family were going through this.
That aside, I really enjoyed this book. I had previously read “The Evidence Against You” so knew I liked Gillian McAllister’s style of writing and after this I will be reading more of her novels.

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great characters and another gripping story from Gillian McAllister. Well worth a read, Highly recommended

A very different story here; I'm a crime fiction fan and I don't believe I've ever read a book that shows the reality of the witness protection scheme. This is also very well written and one of those books where you want to know what happens to the characters afterwards. I highly recommend this involving read.

Wow where do I begin? After reading Anything You Do Say by Gillian McAllister and thoroughly enjoying it I’d hoped that this book would match my expectations. Well not only did it match it, it went above and beyond all expectations leaving me completely gobsmacked at the end!

One of the many things I loved about this book was that it was told from several POV. All of the character were small pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and McAllister fitted them together perfectly. I found Poppy’s chapters interesting. When she was first introduced I felt that she was just a spoilt teenager and didn’t think much of her but as she got more and more involved I realised my first impression of her was completely off. She was in fact a very sweet young woman who obviously missed her extended family. She balanced school and caring for her mum as best she could which made her an admiral character. I found myself feeling sorry for Lauren as everyone always seemed to know a little bit more than her, everyone had their own plan she just rolled with the punches.

I have never read a book about witness protection and I can imagine that unless you have experienced it or are involved in it then, from a research perspective it is difficult. This is an issue that was highlighted in the authors notes but if I’m being perfectly honest I think McAllister did an amazing job at making the whole process seem candid and authentic. The emotional side of this process was captured and retold beautifully. Despite only knowing the characters briefly I felt deeply sad for Lauren and Adrian when they had to separate, I honestly don’t know if I could of done it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and the final revelation, whilst shocking, was the perfect ending. Clever, tense and emotional are some of the many words I could use to describe this exceptional story so put on something comfy, grab your refreshments and snacks because once you start you are not going to want to stop!

Thank you to Gillian McAllister, Penguin UK and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

** spoiler alert ** Whilst this was an easy read,with a decent amount of tension in it,I was constantly distracted by the foolish decisions of the main characters.
If you're hiding because your life or your child's life is in danger... do you just tell people who you are? Contact your nearest and dearest?
I'd think no.
My biggest annoyance though,was how nobody in the club knew that Aidan was the step father... would they not have researched the family?

I actually enjoyed the writing and will look out for the author in future... just a few irritants with the characters!

Wowsers. A first class read!
A page turning, rollercoaster of a story that I just could not put down.
It’s left me not able to pick up another book for several days - why - because I’m still absorbed within How to Disappear! What a read and the ending!

So when I got the email for this, I was right on it. And when I was approved, I was so excited - but meh, this fell flat for me in more ways than one.
I am struggling to rate this one because although I found the premise alluring and the writing easy to read with good pacing, I'm not sure I liked this book.
I think maybe breaking it down will allow me to organise my thoughts.

What did I like?
- Okay, so like I said I loved the idea behind this book. Anything about disappearing/witness protection and being a witness to a murder, I am here for. I thought McAllister did a good job at making the plot original enough that I haven't read a book quite like it.
- I also like her writing - a lot. I would definitely pick up another book of Gillain's. The pacing was good, and no overuse of flowery language either.

But, here is where I'm not sure. I have read some other reviews for the book and I feel like I have some very conflicting opinions to a lot of others.
First of all, I think the entire reason the group were out to try and hurt/kill Zara was, in my opinion, ridiculous. I completely understand when something can be a little far fetched, but this wasn't even believable.
I mean, it started off being Zara witnessing two boys killing someone and then some conspiracy initiation thing?? I mean, it was DUMB. How obvious would it be to the police if Zara - a witness - turns up dead??? There is no mystery there and frankly, it's laughable. Would have been better if bloody Adrian turned up and tried to kill her, at least I would get some suspense from that.
I also thought all characters - Zara and Lauren were so boring. One dimensional. In fact, Zara was that annoying I wanted them to kill her. I didn't feel sorry for her at all, she lied and then made her entire family have to be uprooted from their lives to somewhere else - twice. She treated her mother like crap and it angered me so much considering they were in all of this because of her!
Adrian - his chapters, to be honest, were the only semi-interesting ones. I liked that he cared so much for his wife and step-daughter that's he would do anything to protect them and frankly, the poor man carried the entire book on his shoulders.

Overall, this was disappointing to me. I wanted more suspense, more nail-biting and I felt bored reading it. I think the only reason I am giving this 3 instead of 2 stars is that I think Gillian can definitely write well, I just didn't like this book.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book and read it in one sitting. Even though the main characters are exasperating, I was completely drawn into this very clever story, and the ending is completely unexpected. I would definitely recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this suspense novel. It was extremely tense throughout and I had huge empathy for all of the family involved. I can't imagine having to start again as somebody else and completely leave my life behind. The plot was good - I felt that certain bits were maybe a but far fetched but as I've never been in that situation it could actually be true to life.

Thank you to netgalley for this advance review copy. (For reference I read this during Covid 19 lockdown)

The premise of this book is a little bit ridiculous. (I skimmed the majority of the Aidan sections). There were Sections/characters in this story I really empathised with and enjoyed their parts. Others I couldn’t stand. Maybe that was the point of the book? Also the ending.....why that ending???

THIS BOOK😱I was on edge the whole time...talk about tense 😬that emoji was my face the whole time.😂

Lauren’s daughter Zara witnesses 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. Ahhhhh! The only choice is to disappear. From their family, friends, even Lauren’s husband Aiden. So Lauren and Zara go into witness protection with new names, new home, new lives....But can you disappear for good?🧐One mistake could bring their old loves crashing into the new. Eeekk...as Lauren learns, disappearing is easy. Staying hidden is much harder...So yes, it was tense.😅

McAllister really knows how to write a thriller 🙌🏻 full to the brim with suspense and so many twists. Everywhere you turned there was danger! I really felt I got to know the characters as it’s told from the perspectives of Lauren, Aiden, Zara and Poppy (Aidens daughter) and is quite an emotion driven book. You know I’m here for all the emotions! 😉 Honestly, you can empathise with the lengths you could go to in order to protect your family! I’m so dramatic 😜 and before you say it, yes I know parts were presumably played out for entertainment purposes as I did have to scream at some of the characters...WHY ON EARTH DID YOU DO THAT?! 😂 I don’t want to go too much into the plot as the joy of this book is not knowing what’s coming...👀
It was interesting (and frightening) reading about witness protection. I should note the author does say that for obvious reasons, it was not an easy subject to research as the UK’s protection service did not wish to reveal their secrets to her. Good to know really.😉

If you are looking for a proper page turner this summer, HOW TO DISAPPEAR could be for you.👌🏻The last 50 pages were something else. I had no nails left as I’d bitten them all! 🤣 THAT ENDING...🙌🏻A psychological thriller that’s full of action from start to finish.

Zara witnessed a murder. She speaks out but is targeted and she has to disappear. It tears her family apart as she goes with her mother, leaving behind her step-dad and step sister as well as her beloved dog Bill.
So everyone is involved and someone is determined to find Zara and kill her and they wont stop at anything and staying hidden is hard.
This is a gripping read and just as you think the story is concluded there is one extra twist.
Loved it!!

I never repeat the blurb. Fairly easy read and written with as much accuracy as possible (but some artistic licence) given that the secrets of witness protection are not readily available for obvious reasons. Would have had 5 stars had the ending not been quite so rushed and the so-called 'twist' so infinitely easy to guess.

Aidan lives in Islington with his second wife Lauren and his fifteen year old step-daughter Zara. His fifteen year old daughter Poppy lives nearby with his first wife. When walking home one summer’s afternoon Zara witnesses a murder. Two players from the local football team killed a homeless man in the park. Zara decided from the beginning, despite Aidan’s opposition, that she would testify at their trial. Her identity has been kept secret and she will be known only as Girl A. When in the witness box Zara’s testimony comes apart and the players are acquitted. Soon a social media campaign begins to try and identify Girl A and threats are made to the family. The police decide that witness protection is the only option left to them and the book relates the experience from Aidan, Lauren, Zara and Poppy’s point of view.

The book kept me gripped to the final page - fantastic read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and Gillian McAllister for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

A great easy reading thriller . The author states that it was hard to research witness protection but she made a good job of putting her stamp on it . A page turner with a twist . Thanks to netgalley and the publish for my copy

How To Disappear is another gripping and tense read from Gillian McAllister. From her first book I've been hooked by every story McAllister tells, and this latest is no exception. Zara witnesses a dreadful crime, but when she speaks up, the cost is life-changing. Forced to disappear with her mother, they both have to live a life of caution and constant fear of exposure...

This is a rollercoaster ride of a book that will keep you reading, just one more chapter...

I have read and loved all this author's previous books but, instead of being a bit wary of this one going in, I was confident that she would, once again, deliver. And she did. The bar was set very high right from her debut but each subsequent book has eclipsed my every expectation.
So, Zara is a witness to a rather nasty crime but, despite the identity of the defendants, she agrees to appear in court. This proves a costly mistake as she is ripped apart by the defence, leaving her reputation and credibility in tatters. Oh, and also with a bit of a price on her head from those she crossed. Things escalate when her identity is revealed and she and her family targetted. Zara and her mother Lauren are forced to flee, to disappear, leaving behind Zara's step-dad, Aiden, and step-sister. Their new lives prove troublesome as they are on tenterhooks every second to try and maintain their true identities, not an easy task in the days of internet and other social platforms, and it's not long before they are discovered again and their lives once again in danger. Meanwhile, Aiden is desperate to get his family back together at any cost, going all in to find those who would do them harm, but will that cost be too much?
Oh my days, I simply whizzed through this book. I needed to know what would happen. I had to find out. I knew from previous books by this author that it would probably be something special and I wasn't wrong there! It has a great plot and brilliant characters but the way that this author tells a story puts those necessary staple things on another level as she strives to deliver the overall story. I'd love to qualify that statement but I seriously can't. It's not about what she does, the individual elements that make a good book a great read, rather it's just the complete package all the way through. Ok so this time I guessed something quite key towards the end which I don't usually manage to do with this author, but that was just the cherry on the icing for the way the book concluded and didn't mar my enjoyment at all.
All in all, another winner from an author who is definitely now in my top five. I really can't wait to see what she serves up for next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.