Thank you to Lisa Hall, Joffe Books, and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Day She Disappeared had everything you need from a thriller. There was a level of suspense that had me feeling eerie throughout certain parts. This story follows Rebecca, a writer who returns back to her hometown Kirton, that is a small, isolated island, after being gone for 18 years because her mother has become ill. When she returns, she finds that everyone isn't very welcoming because they remember her and what she did before she left. While everyone is making their feelings known, Rebecca decides to occupy her time by looking into a missing girl case that correlates with the topic of her next novel. However, she finds that trying to get information about the girl and all who knew her, leads to learning the secrets of others, lies, and the threat of revealing the truth about what she did before she left all those years ago. This story covers regret, grief, betrayal, mistakes, and second chances. Lisa Hall was excellent at describing the scenery of the island, and I felt transported there. The way she expresses the emotions Rebecca was feeling, I felt as though I was feeling them as well.

I gave this book four stars because I was able to guess the twisted ending before it happened. However, I still enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller!

This review will be posted on my Goodreads account on 9/6/2023 and will be posted to my Booksta account on 9/11/23.

This book has great atmosphere and is a slow-burn mystery. For me, some of the book's plot lines were guessable, but that may not be every reader's experience. Recommended for mystery/suspense lovers who enjoy highly atmospheric, dark stories. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Day She Disappeared: I really enjoyed this take on a "Locked Room Murder" mystery. It's fast paced so that you feel like the plot is moving along but I also appreciated that the author developed the characters into realistic people who didn't feel like they were there just to move the story along. This is definitely more than just a beach read and I didn't want to stop reading this. Rebecca's relationship with the others on the island made the interactions interesting to read and I liked the redemption arc for her coming back to the island.

Thank you #NETGALLEY for an #ARC for my honest review. I'll be looking out for more books by this author.

Welcome to Kirton,an island off of the coast of Dorset with a small population….who have big unforgiving memories and when Rebecca arrives back after 18 years she finds little has changed,sure there’s a new Bistro and a top of the range coffee machine in the local ‘hive of gossip’ Supermarket but as soon as she steps off the ferry she knows everyone instantly remembers her and what happened the last time she was there……
Full of intrigue,this Whodunit ish thriller deals with secrets,lies,regret and people who are not always as they seem…..add to this a missing Islander from a travelling community based on the island who no one seems to care about and Rebecca’s refusal to be bullied back to London and you have a great read that doesn’t just tick all the boxes but also asks some very poignant questions about society and the differences certain peoples face
I loved the characters we got to meet and loved the imagery the writing gave re the island and what living in a closed community must be like
As with all books from this author it was an enticing and well written read that I loved and the ending,well the ending will make you shudder…..

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Day She Disappeared releases October 10, 2023

- isolated island setting
- journalist/writer
- grief/loss of parent
- missing person mystery

16 years ago, Becky did something that made her leave Kirton Island and she swore to herself that she’d never return… until, news of her mother unexpectedly dying from cancer causes her to come back. Unfortunately, her mother ends up passing away before she reaches the island.

Becky hasn’t been back for very long, and already someone on the island has been leaving a series of anonymous and threatening notes for her to leave. But why? And who is doing it?

As Becky spends her time repairing her mothers home in order to get it ready to sell, she looks into the disappearance of a girl named Violet who went missing from the same island, roughly a year ago.

There were a lot of male characters that kept popping up… we had Stephen, her closest neighbour, as well as Gabe, the handyman, and Owen, a teacher that gave Becky an unsettling feeling.
I stayed cautious of everyone that was introduced because I knew that one of them had to be suspicious of something, no matter how friendly and helpful they came across.

I don’t know if thinking outside of the box comes too easily for me with the amount of books I read, but I kid you not, I wrote down a prediction at 13% and it ended up being the “big” twist… meh. Thrillers aren't fun when you can spot it that early on.

cw: suicide, underage teacher/student relationship, psychopath, stalker, kidnapping

The author has hit every mark with this one. It’s a fun, fast paced read with loads of interesting characters - and suspects. The writing style is very natural and a pleasure to read and the author does an amazing job of creating characters who are human - complex and flawed and open to different interpretations.

As much as The Day She Disappeared is a thriller, it also shines a light beautifully on past regrets and mistakes as well as grief.

Rebecca Gannon left the small island of Kirton when she was eighteen and never looked back. Due to scandal, the people of the island were all too happy to see her go. Following the death of her mother sixteen years later, Rebecca is forced to return. The people of the island are anything but welcoming, and when Rebecca starts to poke her nose into the disappearance of a young woman, the islanders see it as Rebecca stirring up trouble once again.

This was a good book! It was a bit of slow burn in the beginning, but I found it incredibly captivating as the story picked up in the second half of the book. Rebecca was a complex character who I felt for at times and disliked at others. The rest of the characters were individual with strong personalities that I enjoyed. The plot was interesting!

My only complaints would be that some of the chapters can get repetitive especially in the beginning. I also did guess all the twists before the ending, but it was still very good. I would recommend.

Whoa! What a book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one! Great book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, Action, intrigue, mystery, revenge, murder, kidnapping, a great who done it, great plot twist, and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me

This book was a bit too slow for me- I often found myself drifting off and losing concentration. It simply failed to keep me entertained.

I love isolated, atmospheric settings — and The Day She Disappeared has that in spades. However, the story itself was too slow for me. I was in a mood for a thriller that would hook me faster, and this one just didn't do it. If I wanted a slower burn, this probably would have been a great fit. Nevertheless, I'll definitely be watching for the author's next book.

*I read this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers. My review can also be found on my Goodreads account which is listed in my bio*

The book does hook you in from the beginning. However, it does get and stay kind of slow towards the middle and doesn't fully pick up until about 7 chapters til the end. I felt like some parts were pretty predictable and who had done it was pretty clear as well as the back story but even then it was still a shock of a story and outcome. I really liked the main character and how headstrong she is and how she never gives up regardless of what people said. I also really enjoyed the "Glossary of English Usage for US Readers" as being a US reader it was helpful for certain words or phrases I wasn't fully sure of. I would recommend this book to my friends and family!

The setting of this book was great. I felt like I could see this island town - though I don't want to visit since it's so creepy! The main character was also well crafted and felt real. The other characters felt like plot tools instead of people and their purpose was obvious to me. There are pitfalls to every degree between "I never saw it coming - and therefore it doesn't ring true" and "it was so obvious I couldn't believe it was supposed to be a surprise." Unfortunately, I found this book to lean towards the latter. I knew exactly who the bad guy was and wasn't. There were a few surprises at the end, though, which I appreciated.

#THEDAYSHEDISAPPEARED #NetGalley is the first book I've read by this author, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the story.
Rebecca is a great character, she made a horrible mistake years ago, causing damage so bad, she left her life, her mother, and best friend behind, never looking back.
16 years later, that best friend calls her, she's needed at her, her mother is dying.
Fast forward to Rebecca's arrival, tensions are high before she steps off the ferry, the island residents don't want her there, no one does, except for Ivy, she wants her there, needs her there, her sister is missing and she wants Rebecca's help.
This story will leave you on the edge of your seat, changing suspects quickly as Rebecca digs up new information.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.