In the 1990s sixteen year old Louisa disappears at the same time as her art teacher. Twenty five years later, a journalist is investigating this for a story and becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened. Did Louisa run away with charismatic but shallow Mr Lavelle or is there a more sinister explanation?

I thought I would love this book. I went to a school run by nuns (although not a boarding school) and I was looking forward to some characterisation that i could relate to. In reality I didn't relate to much about the book at all. The characters were thin and somewhat elusive. At no time did you get a sense of who they really were. First love features strongly throughout and yet you never get a real sense of its agony and longing. Yes we are told of the feelings Louisa has for another character but we don't feel them in any way. In the end I found I was unconvinced and unmoved by the story although it was well written. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Whether fact or fiction, a teacher vanishing at the same time as a student is not new.
However, few remain undiscovered given a few months of searching. The Temple House Vanishing poses something of a mystery, neither teacher nor student found after many years of their disappearance.
I won’t disclose more of the story, sufficient to say this is a debut novel and should make Rachel Donohue a name to be remembered. It is very well written, keeping the reader engaged throughout the tale. I was most impressed with her style and how she made a well-worn genre, fresh and new, relevant too. She uses a device which causes the reader to make a false assumption part way through, but at the end it’s a way to reveal what really happened. It’s fair to say this is a stand-alone novel, so I wonder what topic Rachel will choose next in her career?

For me this book was about self image. Louisa as a scholarship girl felt that she was treated as if she didn't exist so was drawn to Victoria and Mr Lavelle as they considered her opinions worthwhile and thus gave her identity. Victoria herself was inventing a persona for herself that was more interesting than the reality. In reality she was impulsive and thoughtless living in a fantasy world. Mr Lavelle had no understanding of the vulnerablity of all the girls that he taught. The book was not what I expected and I felt it was too drawn out in places.

Louisa is a 16 year old scholarship girl at the seemingly prestigious, if crumbling, Temple House, run by an order of nuns. She falls in love with lofty classmate Victoria who is obsessed by charismatic young art teacher Edward Lavelle who is said to watch Louisa. One night, Louisa and Lavelle disappear never to be seen again. The mystery is written about in the national press. Twenty five years later a journalist reinvestigates.

An atmospheric mystery albeit with characters that I did not find sympathetic. Slow moving too, I found myself watching the % counter. The text is well-crafted but I did not enjoy it.

This one was just not for me. The story of a schoolgirl and teacher vanishing from a boarding school in the 90s - moving between then and the present. I found the characters hard to like and didn’t get drawn into the story or their world.

Told between two timelines, The Temple House Vanishing a a slow paced, gentle mystery. Twenty five years ago a girl and her teacher disappeared from a Catholic boarding school and now a journalist is trying to put together the pieces. It's a slow burner told by both the journalist and the long lost girl and I have to admit, it didn't really resonate with me.

It is a novel that relies on its atmospheric nature but I just didn't find myself getting drawn in. It's all a little too shallow, trying to seem deep without really delving into lives of the individuals concerned. I found both teenage main characters rather unlikable and, frankly, boring whilst the art teacher is set up as this teenage God and I never really got why. Very little is actually made of the religious background, and set in such a conservative religious setting that is strange. There's a whole heap of pretentious arty stuff which largely went over my head.

I found the ending rather predictable as well. It had to be one of two options really and I was relatively confident which one it would be from about half way in. All in all, a bit of a disappointment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy.

A convent boarding school run by supposedly strict nuns, which allows the only male teacher (who has no qualifications) to entertain his favourite pupils at all hours in some sort of bohemian studio/den is a bit of an unlikely setting. The fact that adolescent girls would have huge crushes on a young male teacher has not occured to them, even though it is set in the 1990s. Then, when one pupil disappears no one is informed until it is too late. The male teacher has also disappeared, but the mystery is not solved until years later when the school has been closed down for a number of years and a journalist who used to be a neighbour of the missing girl decides to investigate. The truth of the matter is revealed eventually but there are no great twists and the pace of the book is very slow, in an attempt to create an atmospheric setting.

Two sixth form students at a convent school and a charismatic young, male art teacher. What could possibly go wrong? Louisa and Mr Lavelle, the teacher, disappear at the same time. Twenty-five years later a journalist is examining the open but unsolved case. The atmosphere of the ancient building run by the order of nuns was brilliantly portrayed. I attended such an establishment myself, though in the 1960s. By hearing from the two girls and the journalist in turns the story unfolds for us. Occasionally I found the voices so similar I had to go back and check who was telling me the story. The characters, all so young, even the teacher, were trying to find who they were, usually with reference to others. It was a tangle, and an interesting one. Although the style occasionally threw run-on sentences at me, I enjoyed the book overall. A good read.

This book is truly stunning. A romance in so many directions at once, and chillingly dark without ever seeming macabre, The Temple House Vanishing is some of the best writing about teenagers for adults I have come across in a long time. The novel is atmospheric and disturbingly romantic in parts, and while it never feels like a thriller where you're waiting for the big twist, when the reveal comes it is heartbreaking and satisfying all at once. Rachel Donohue is a very exciting new voice, and I can't wait to read whatever she does next. I LOVED this.

What a book!

Temple House comes across as a sort of enigma.

A fairytale or perhaps a nightmare.

Twenty five years after a horrible disappearance of a student and teacher questions are again being asked.

Are all the stories about this now derelict building true?

Executed in an extremely clever manner.

It is slow building but in the best of ways.

Mysterious and thrilling at the same time.

Even when I thought I'd pieced it all together, there was another twist that left me feeling nothing less than shocked.

Cannot wait to share my full review with you on my blog nearer publication time!

I read this book in a day as I just couldn't put it down. It is a dark, but beautifully-written book, and the gradual unfolding of what has actually happened to Louisa is very cleverly written. The scenes set in the school were completely believable, and the characters were all well-drawn. I would thoroughly recommend this rather unusual book.

I got this book confused with another book I was hoping to read and requested it in error, I gave it to my wife to read and she really enjoyed it, good enough recommendation for me

A tale of adolescent passion and jealousy at a catholic girls boarding school, Temple House.
Attended by girls from privileged families and occassionally a scholorship girl from a state school is accepted. One such girl is Louisa.
Louisa forms a friendship of sorts with Victoria, who in her mind has created a relationship with the school art teacher Mr Lovelle.
In the cloistered atmosphere of Temple House passions spiral out of control, leading to one girl`s, Louisa, disappearance and of the handsome art teacher.
Did they run away together or did something more sinister occur.
The mystery has remained unsolved for many years but now a young journalist is determined to discover exactly what happened.
An atmospheric tale filled with suspense, mystery and characters who came to life.
I was drawn in from the start.
An excellent read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic books for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

"The Temple House Vanishing" is beautifully sculpted and haunting. Rachel Donohue's prose carries a hint of Daphne du Maurier. The book explores a variety of themes including the confines of Roman Catholicism, the nature of love and obsession. It's a lovely piece of work.

This was unsettling to say the least! A religious school in the 1990s and the nuns are scary! It's hard to pinpoint where the story actually takes place. You would think it was Ireland with the names and the fact there were many catholic boarding schools in Ireland does hint at this. However, wherever the school is , it's one you'd want to avoid in real life! I do think a little more explanation as to where this school was, would have really made this stronger for me even if the town had been fictional. There's something about having a name of a place that helps to ground it for me.

Boarding schools are scary at the best of times in novels. This one is full of creepy nuns, scary girls and a teacher who has seemingly run off with a pupil. What really happened? The story is revealed surely and with a deft hand of touch. Told in the 1990s and the present day, this works well with the school memories and the investigation into the past.

In the present day a journalist who lived near the missing girl narrates the story. Then there's Louisa and Victoria.. Two girls I wouldn't like to meet! The students are all a bit wild but that school is soon going to tame them!

This is a story about hidden passions, hormones and the decisions that result. Jealousy is a school companion throughout and this tale gets dark and gritty pretty quickly..

Religion, schools and religious schools= lots of chills and spills
Very Donna Tartt I thought. A bit of Tana French thrown in. .
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This is a dark, moody exploration of first love, loyalties and betrayal set very realistically in the claustrophobic atmosphere of an exclusive girls boarding school. A journalist is investigating an unsolved disappearance from many years ago, and uncovers the story which is narrated from different viewpoints.

The book is written beautifully, and takes the reader on a compelling journey to uncover the truths of what happened between a group of people 25 years ago, showing through the various viewpoints that life is only ever a construct of what you can understand and are willing to see and admit to yourself.

The characters are well-drawn, and the nasty atmosphere that lies under the boarding school veneer is portrayed with chilling accuracy, as you follow the fortunes of the new scholarship girl Louisa and her experiences of being 'other' in a very traditional setting.

Less clear is the position of the journalist in the story, and why her obsession is leading her to solve the mystery at the heart of the story that has remained covered up for so much time. The story leads you through to a bitter conclusion, and adds meaning in a way only looking back in time can.

Thanks for the opportunity to read an advance copy, it's a book that makes you think about your own youth and vulnerability at a time of great change.

In 1990 a 16 year old pupil of the respected, snobbish private Temple House School vanished with one of the teachers, neither to be seen again. The story traced back through the eyes of a young journalist 15 years later, who was once babysat by the vanished girl Louisa, and has been curious about the case since. The second narrator speaks from 1990 and is one of the main antagonists, but at first, you’re unsure which one.

Louisa, one of the first ‘Scholarship girls’, anxious to fit in at the prestigious school makes friends with the dreamy and unconventional Victoria, who she is determined to impress. The Head Girl of the school resents the encroachment of these scholarship girls who she sees as beneath her. Victoria idolises the charismatic and vain art teacher Edward Lavelle and thinks this feeling is mutual. Within their triangle teenage angst, love, death, irony and unrequited passion are key themes along with the extremes we go to, to protect others and the prices we ultimately pay.

We find out what happened and it’s just so pitiful and uncomfortable, it stays with you. Other characters around the central triangle conspire to keep the mystery intact. It’s in no-one's interest to tell the truth. I loved the creepy, gothic school and the desolation of its abandonment. I felt jarred by the strength and passion of teenage infatuation and outraged by those whose vanity causes them to take advantage of it; with no regard as to the impact. A really good literary mystery – (Why on earth did it remind me of Malory Towers?!) I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book tells the story of a teenager and her art teacher who disappeared, presumed to have run away together. The story is told in two strands, at the time leading up to the disappearance, and present day through the narrative of a journalist investigating the disappearance at the 25th anniversary approaches. The scenes in the boarding school are like an evil Mallory Towers. None of the characters are likeable, and I didn't bond with any of them. Although the ending explains what happened , I found it unsatisfactory.

There were some beautifully atmospheric scenes in this book,where you could almost feel the longing for the teacher,and the actual angst of being a teenage girl,housed with other teenage girls...
I liked both Louisa as narrator and the journalist... But the whole book just missed the mark for me.
Never fully lived up to some parts of it.
The story slowly unfolded and it was a tangled web. I'm just glad it wasn't left unresolved.

I absolutely loved this book! Really not an enormous plot! But beautifully written and the characters were so colourfully described that I could envision them as if they were real! Wonderful read!