The Day She Disappeared by Lisa Hall
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 4th October 2023
Published: 10th October 2023
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
A remote island. A missing girl. A woman with a troubled past.
Becky is back on the tiny island where she was born, the island she swore she’d never return to.
Apart from her former best friend Megan, everyone makes it clear she isn’t wanted. The islanders have long memories. They haven’t forgotten the scandal. What Becky did.
Becky decides to leave as soon as she can. But first she must discover what happened to Violet.
Violet disappeared exactly a year ago, the day of the summer festival. Everyone assumes she ran off to the mainland with her boyfriend. Only her sister believes something more sinister happened to her.
Becky starts to ask questions — and becomes convinced that Violet never left the island. Someone in this remote, suspicious community knows exactly what happened to her. Someone who’s determined to keep the truth hidden — whatever it takes.
As Becky pieces the clues together, she is forced to confront the dark secrets of her own past. But has she got it tragically wrong . . . yet again?
And then another teenage girl goes missing . . .
MY THOUGHTS:
A remote island...a missing girl...a woman with a troubled past....
Firstly, let me just say that ending - WOW! It was creepy, it was disturbing, it was brilliant! And left me feeling completely satisfied upon turning the final page. If only the rest of the book was like that. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it for the most part but I felt it dragged out far too much from the beginning in the build up. And there were too many annoying characters - who else was there to suspect?
Welcome to Kirton, a secluded island off the south coast of Dorset; population, small enough to have long memories. Rebecca Gannon grew up on Kirton but left when she was 18, escaping to London where she pursued a career in journalism and became a successfully published author. But she left Kirton under a cloud. So when her best friend Megan calls to tell her that her mother is ill, begging her to come home, Becky takes some indefinite compassionate leave and heads back to where it all began.
But as soon as she steps off the ferry, Becky can feel the frosty reception from the community. The islanders have long memories and they do not want Becky back...almost as much as she doesn't want to be back. Never mind that she arrived too late to see her mother, who passed before she was able to see her one last time. And so she has the arduous task of packing up her childhood home and putting it on the market. And only then can she leave the island.
But while she is here, Becky decides to look into the disappearance of teenager Violet Monroe who went missing the year before after the summer festival. The island are divided as to what really happened. Most believe she caught the ferry and ran away but her sister is adamant that Violet would not just up and leave. And then Becky stumbles onto some interesting information...the day she was last seen there were no ferries running that night because of the storm. So Violet could not have left the island. Which means she is still here somewhere. The question is, where? And what happened to her?
Becky is determined to uncover the truth and get closure for Violet's family but will it be to her detriment when her past is about to come back and bite her? I mean, cry wolf one too many times and no one will believe you. But is Becky ready for the truth?
So this was a slow burn, a bit too slow in my opinion that I almost gave up on it. I'm glad I didn't because it ended up a great read for the last 60%. And that ending is deserving of another star as I was going to rate it a 3 but it is deserving of a 4 with that deliciously disturbing twist at the end. I will say I wasn't surprised by the villain. In fact, I had them pegged almost from the first thinking it was so obvious it was screaming at us. But everyone else on the island was blind and hardly anyone was likeable, which made it hard to root for anyone. And Megan? My gosh, for someone who was supposed to be Becky's best friend she was a b****. Letting her take the blame for something she was guilty of. And then still blaming her! Becky, ditch her and leave the island. None of them are worth the trouble.
I did like the setting. A remote island is always an atmospheric setting for a sinister and creepy thriller. It bore some resemblance to another one I can't think the name of which was also set on a remote island off the coast of Dorset or Devon or somewhere along there, with the main character returning with a big secret etc. But that one uncovered buried remains in their garden if I recall. It was some years ago so I really can't remember the title or the author but when I began this book I began to get a sense of deja vu. Much like Becky...she was continually getting the sense of deja vu with every chapter it became a little repetitive.
But overall, while it was initially a slow burn, it did pan out into a thrilling read with creepy connotations and a deliciously disturbing twist.
I would like to thank #LisaHall, #Netgalley, #JoffeBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheDaySheDisappeared in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Her debut novel Between You and Me was a Kindle UK number one bestseller, sitting in the top spot for over four weeks.
Lisa has a First Class Honours degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
She lives in Kent with her husband and their three children.
Social media links:
Thank you so much for kicking off the tour today x
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