Having enjoyed several cruises, and loving life on the ocean waves, I was very keen to read this story by Kantari. I was hooked from the first pages and whizzed through at a fast rate of knots - excuse the pun! The opening chapter introduces us to twins Alexander and John who are aboard a cruise ship and are informed that their ageing mother, Audrey, is lost at sea, presumed drowned. We are then taken back in time to meet Audrey, who is departing for India, after the loss of her beloved father. The story then alternates through dual time frames allowing us to piece together Audrey's new life in India and what happens to her after her marriage to Ralph Templeton. I loved the way the story came seamlessly together and I felt empathy for the young, naive and carefree Audrey discovering that life was far from the bed of roses she had anticipated it to be. Ralph, her husband is possessive to the extreme and is cruel and calculating. Her one chance at finding true love with Mack, an artist is ripped from her and she succumbs to life as the mother of Templeton's twins and smooths over the cracks in her relationship with her husband. Outwardly, they are what seems to be a perfect couple. The story takes a turn when Audrey books a cruise for Alexander and John to the Mediteranean to celebrate her 70th birthday.
Kantari's descriptions of Santorini are accurate and evocative and took me back to my arrival there by cruise ship. Arriving in the Caldera and being transported by tender to the sheer volcanic cliff side and climbing up alongside the throng of lively donkeys to Fira's hot and dusty streets - wonderful. After her disappearance we piece together events leading up to and after her supposed drowning and build up a picture of both Alexander and Johns's characters. I found him quite despicable and uncaring whilst Alexander is easily swayed and unprepared to stand up to John. The last few chapters are fantastically good, with unexpected twists and turns. I have to admit I had worked out the ending but there were still unexpected thrills along the way.
A great read, for anyone who likes cruising or enjoys a good mystery.

Two stories merging into one. A woman living a life in Bombay with a life ful of colour and happiness. A man she marries and a city she falls in love with in every sense of the word. From the markets and the bustle and chaos of the dusty streets, the constant noise and a city which sweeps you away with it. Visiting the Taj Mahal is perhaps the only normal thing Audrey sees when there - this is the tourist part of the city and the real heartbeat of the city is elsewhere.
Flash forward many years, and the Templetons are now in Cornwall. Audrey lives here and her children nearby. Her last parting gift to them is a cruise but as they sail past Mykonos, Santorini and Katakolon, secrets come out. The shock of someone going missing at sea is horrific - in the middle of nowhere, in a strange country, on a moving ship where the perpetrator, could be amongst you.
Such horror in the floating paradise and cruise around the Greek Islands. Paradise is only sometimes paradise on the surface. It’s what lies beneath still exterior that we should be most afraid of.

REview This was a clever book in many ways. A cruise where someone goes missing, not long after discussing money and inheritance. A marriage soured over the years and a woman who may appear senile at first but who has more marbles than the whole lot of them put together.

Told in dual timeline - present day and then back to Audrey’s past in 1970, I like the way the threads wove together as it was very unexpected! The way in which the story unfolded from Audreys past and present made the story build so that you were really familiar with Audrey’s mindset and past history all the way leading up to the cruise. The disappearance was a lot more complex than first thought and this took the story one way, then another - rather like the motions of that ship.
The Disappearance is not just about what disappears from sight but what we lose sight of, things that we need to protect and things we never want to lose.
Audrey was an interesting character and the whole ‘ missing person from a ship’ setting was very intriguing. The ending was a nice surprise and I was not shocked bur rather found that it more than wrapped up and explained what had gone on before.

I think this novel just show that we can never just accept that what we see on the surface is what really goes on underneath.
The colours of the cruise, the floating paradise shows a magnificent view of the Greek islands, a family trip to help mend a broken family but one which turns out to be what has been missing all these years. The Disappearance is a multilayered novel that delves deep into a seemingly normal family and the events which lead up to a woman disappearing from an idyllic cruise. A floating paradise around the Greek /Islands and a secret bubbling away under the apparently calm exterior.

Not what I'd typically choose to read but I thoroughly enjoyed this little book! Flitting between the present, distant and recent past it is a beautifully written story of family secrets, betrayal and Audrey's selflessness all combined with a happy ending. My only question is..... What happened to the infamous Tiffany earrings?

To the outside world, Audrey and Ralph Templeton seemed to have the perfect marriage: two young children, a beautiful home in India and a great deal of wealth. Looks can be deceiving, however, and, behind closed doors, things were very different.

Fast forward several decades and, on her 70th birthday, Audrey Templeton disappears... just after telling her children, John and Lexi, that they are due to inherit a fortune on her death. What makes this disappeance even more complex is that it takes place on a cruise ship, sailing around the Greek islands. Has Audrey jumped overboard or has something even more sinister happened?

After reading the synopsis of this book, I envisaged it being a straightforward 'whodunnit'. I couldn't have been more wrong! Although I did figure out what had happened to Audrey, this did not detract from the brilliance of this story in any way. The author does a good job in introducing significant events throughout the book which helps you to gain an understanding of Audrey's life and helps to explain why she made the decisions she did.

It is hard to say much more without giving away any of the plot. Suffice to say, I was very pleased with the ending as it tied up several loose ends. I do think, however, there is a sequel there if the author chooses!

Highly recommended!

Well well well.....this has been an unexpected pleasure! A "couldn't put it down" book! Having picked it up earlier to read a few chapters I can honestly say that apart from a few necessity breaks, I did not let go of this beautifully written story of family secrets and betrayals set in 1970s India and present day Cornwall, oh and with a few Greek Islands thrown in for good measure!

The opening of this book is quite a shocker as we are told that the captain of a cruise ship is abandoning the search for a passenger who has been lost overboard. That passenger is Audrey Templeton who was on a cruise of the Greek Islands with her adult twin children to celebrate her 70th birthday. We then go back in time to 1970 to meet Audrey who, having lost both of her parents within a short space of time, is on board a boat bound for India where her parents were married and her friend Janet now lives. Once there she meets a dark and mysterious man, a gorgeous stranger, in a coffee bar and within 6 months they are married. Their new life together in India is changed forever by an horrific incident and they return to London.

This is the authors 2nd book and she has certainly upped her game this time! I loved Audrey, I really felt an emotional connection to this young woman living in a foreign country with a controlling husband and twins that she struggled to make a connection with. You could see how their upbringing had made the twins the adults they became by the authors skilfully plotted insights and with Ralph, their detached but controlling father, very much a figure in the background but pulling all the strings. I loved the relationship Audrey had with Lexi but her connection with John was much more interesting in terms of seeing how family secrets affect those we love. And again it makes us think about the old "nurture versus nature" argument, surely twins will have the same morals if they have been brought up together exactly the same? I do so love a dysfunctional family drama and involving twins (an intriguing subject for me that I am always drawn to!) certainly took this to another level of enjoyment.

The plot was very easy to follow due to the use of chapters with dates and times or before/after headings which worked well and kept up the tension on a countdown to "the disappearance". As I said before, once you start reading the chapters seem to fly by! One of the reasons I read books like this is that I love to be surprised and I am constantly searching for that next OMG moment. I thought I had got it all worked out here but one part of the plot came with a bit of a "lightbulb" moment that I hadn't expected and the book then went on to a perfectly handled conclusion. This is now an author I will actively seek out in the future as she has certainly proved she can write an intriguing travel inspired suspense with believable characters. Loved it.

I received a copy of this book via netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

Once I started this I couldn't put it down, I read it in one sitting as I needed to see what would happen.

Well-rounded characters, gorgeous settings and a little bit of a mystery combine to make a wonderful book and the ending, while not what I expected, was perfect. 2 huge thumbs up from me.