Firstly, thanks to the Publishers and Netgalley for the chance to review this book which I'd been really looking forward to for some time.. Unfortunately I have to say that it didn't meet with my expectations at all. Joel Dicker is a talented writer as anyone who has read Harry Quebert or Baltimore Boys will agree, but this is a huge disappointment in comparison. In the early portions of the book all goes swiimingly well but its when you get deeper into the book and secondary characters are introduced that it all began to fall flat for me- the cliches (corrupt mayor, blackmailing assistant etc) start to appear but then things get worse and there are 2 in particular, (and I won't spoil it for anyone else by saying who) that are basically complete caricatures- one of those is especially irritating given that he is pretty crucial to how the mystery is to be solved..
By the time I'd got halfway through the book I was beginning to struggle to keep going, but I did and, as I said, It didn't reward my patience at all.
So, for me, this was definitely a case of Joel Dicker having a bad day at the office - There were ceratinly things to enjoy in the book, but overall I was very glad to have finished it

A fascinating book that keeps you involved from the beginning right through until the final page. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book.

Fabulous book! Is quite a long read but I really enjoyed it. Joel dicker is a master storyteller! Loved both his previous books but I think this one is even better! Highly recommend! Grab a comfy chair, a glass of wine and a chocolate bar and enjoy!

I was very much looking forward to reading this, having read Joel Dicker's previous mega -sized book a few years ago. However, I am sorry to say that I really have found this to be heavy going.
A small town in America, with a rather odd collection of citizens, several of them with secrets of their own.
I have to say that some of the citizens were a self-obsessed lot and not terribly pleasant to read about and I could not connect with them in any way.
I really began to lose interest in this book about half way, it was far too long and too laborious a story to be bothered with. Sorry .

Don't be put off by the size of this book. Once I got into it, which didn't take long, I simply whizzed through the rest. It held my attention quite well but it did also intrigue me enough to keep me wanting more.
We start at the end of a career. Jesse Rosenberg is on the verge of retiring from a glittering career in the police when he is approached by journalist Stephanie Mailer who believes that he made an error back in 1994 with the conviction of the perp of some brutal murders in Orphea, and that the real murderer is still out there. He's worried as this was one of the pivotal points in his early career, spring-boarding him on the path he has followed ever since. But before he can quiz Stephanie further, she disappears. This sets Jesse on a personal mission to go back and right the possible wrong. Enlisting Derek Scott, his partner from back then to work with him, can the two of them get to the bottom of what really happened to the victims in Orphea in 1994?
Firstly, this is a translation but it is so good that I pretty much forgot that fact as I was reading it. So don't be put off by that. Secondly, it is very similar to Harry Quebert in structure and delivery so also please bear this in mind.
So we have a dual timeline in this book. 1994, the time when the mayor, his family and an unfortunate witness were brutally murdered and the present day investigation of the disappearance and its ramifications, set in 2014. We flit between them, back and forth with the past being used to illustrate and complement what is happening in the present. We do go off on several tangents along the way, some of which did add to the main story, and some in the time between the main timelines, but there was quite a bit of what I would probably class as padding along the way too. Possible with half an eye on the serialisation of this book for tv - as with what happened with HQ. You will have to have your wits about you to cut through some of the noise along the way - but it is worth it when you do get to the eventual end.
As you would also expect, this book is jam packed full of secrets, lies, duplicitous behaviour, red herrings and all the rest of what goes hand in hand with this genre of book. But the plotting is tight and very well worked and executed and the characters are all well drawn (again probably for tv purposes) and the quality of writing is high. Pacing is slow but sure and it does eventually get there and, when it does, you will be rewarded.
All in all, a bit of a slog at times but definitely worth the time an effort to get through. A good solid read that held my attention mostly throughout and which left me more than satisfied at its conclusion. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Joel Dicker has a masterful way of storytelling and this gripping literary sensation was no disappointment. I loved the way the story was layered and the mystery slowly revealed teasingly through the pages. Outstanding work.

I quite enjoyed Dicker's previous book - The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, but even with that I did have some reservations about the writing style and delivery. These feeling returned in abundance with this book. There are a lot of voices in this book and very few of them distinct. There is a lot of two dimensional cliched characterisation, and added to which the dialogue is often ripe and very on the nose, as a result I found it really hard to believe any of these people were actually real.

This might not be so bad if the plotting was tight and snappy (Dan Brown style) but this book is neither short nor snappy, in fact the book just goes on and on and on – it is FAR too long and meandering. By a third of the way in I really didn't care what happened to Stephanie Mailer or indeed any of the other characters. I did plough on and get to the end, and whilst there were a few nice touches towards the end, these did not make up for what had come before. A disappointment.

I recieved a free copy of this book via NetGalley

This was just not for me. Am sure a lot of people will love
Loved Harry Quebert and wanted to love this too.
Too long and I failed to care about any of the characters.
Although did come together nicely - plot generally silly.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, MacLehose Press, and the author Joel Dicker.
I was excited to read this book, as I had thoroughly enjoyed Dicker's more famous novel, 'The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair'. However, this story was incredibly disappointing.
First of all, it was much, much too long. A rambling story that could have been condensed into a book of half the length. The meandering flow of the story eventually lead to an incredibly harried and rushed ending, which was unrealistic and unsatisfying.
There were so many mistakes and errors in the book that I am inclined to think this was the first attempt at translation. If so, I hope additional work will be given to it.
The fundamental story and premise is strong, but the book itself failed to deliver. 2 stars.

I thought that this book was too long. It was hard to stay interested in the story. I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been a lot shorter.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Four people are murdered on the night of a music festival. Two young relatively inexperienced police officers are given responsibility to solve the crime and identify the perpetrator. A successful outcome is achieved. With this minimum of background we jump 20 years when one of the police officers Jessie, is due to retire and during his leaving party meets a young reporter who is emphatic that he did not solve the case and that he arrested the wrong person. Unable to let sleeping dogs lie he decides to delay retirement and review his investigation particularly as the reporter is no longer contactable and appears to have disappeared. We then move through two time lines; one the old case and was the investigation flawed, and secondly the dawning horror that history is about to repeat itself as a new music festival is due to occur. Numerous characters all with their own agenda and complex activities are focussed on preventing any further investigation. Others intent on their own illegal agenda are intent on preventing any knowledge of the issues becoming public. Well drawn characters, a long drawn out tangle of lies and deceit, and flashbacks to a difficult and emotional time in the lives of the residents and police all complicate and hinder the investigation. A well executed conclusion where all is revealed and subsequent tying up of loose ends which is even more unexpected and cleverly written to both surprise and buck the trend of endings leaves this reader with a satisfied smile. Many thanks to publisher and NetGalley for the ARC for this excellent book.

A young woman, researching a murder case that was closed 20 years ago, tells the arresting officer that he had missed something obvious and then disappears. Solving that riddle is the driving force for the rest of the novel. Although set in the Hamptons in the USA the book is a translation of a French original, but the language doesn’t have that stilted effect you often get when reading a translation. In many ways the basic plot is good if a little overblown. On the downside, the tangled web is obfuscated by too much tedious and repetitious material and a cast of characters whose behaviours are mostly just too unlikely to be convincing.

Having read The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair I was looking forward to reading The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer and I wasn't disappointed .This is a very long read full of twists and turns ,suspense and I found it very complex but enjoyable .Set in two time lines 1994 and 2014 the story goes back and forth which I actually like as I think you get more of an insight into the story .There are many characters in this story set in the sleepy town of Orphea in the Hamptons. In 1994 the Mayor and his Family are murdered and a random jogger who was passing by, the murderer was found but 20 years later Stephanie Mailer a journalist disappears after saying that the murderer was wrongly convicted and the truth was before everyones eyes and so the fun begins ... Enjoyed this book so much .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

This is a difficult book to review as it is complex and full of twists and flashbacks which left me a little confused at times. Set in 1994 in the Hamptons, the book starts with a quadruple shooting in a small town. The book is set in two timelines, is long and detailed meaning the reader really need to concentrate extremely hard. I think the dialogue lost a bit in the translation from French and overall, the story is just too long. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I found The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer a really interesting story. The main characters are likeable and intriguing. I particularly liked the way the treatment of a woman police officer in a small town in upstate New York was portrayed. It was very believable. .
The book is a thriller and police drama, which is based around a murder case that had been solved twenty years before. Or had it? A journalist has uncovered information about the murders but then goes missing. The officer who had been involved at the time, and a new officer need to find out what has happened.
There is a large cast of characters and this is a very long book. But when I got into it I found it interesting and was keen to find out what happened.
Unfortunately the version I read pre-publication on #NetGalley had a number of mistakes and felt like it required a final edit. (This may in part be because the book was translated from French, but it does require more work.). This unfortunately impacted on my enjoyment of the book and means I can’t leave a 5 Star review. I do think it has the making of an excellent read however.
Thank you to the author, publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Joel Dicker does it again! Absolutely devoured this book. The writing is so detailed and hooks you from the start and in typical Joel Dicker style I can never predict a twist... Or, even if I do, I am still stunned in some way! I doubt I'll read a better thriller this year.

Full review on my YouTube channel!

This was a great read. I really enjoyed it.
Quite a few 'red herrings' in the plot which kept me engaged right to the end,and I still didn't guess the murderer!
Especially liked that the author told the reader what happened to the main characters after the end of the current story.
Definately an author to look out for.

Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joel Dicker is the master of suspenseful thrillers with that certain cerebral edge. Dicker likes to play games, too, which means that his novels are rarely straight forward thrillers of the pulp-fiction type that have proliferated in recent years. As with 'The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair', Dicker specialises in a meta-fiction - a fiendishly clever plot-device that imbues his novels with a depth that is rarely seen in other novels of this type. This book is the usual, high standard that I would expect from this author. Indeed, only Dicker, or perhaps Stephen King, could make me willingly buckle in for a literary journey that is almost 700 pages long. My time was well spent, I devoured 'The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer', with relish, and at the end, with great satisfaction. Stephanie Mailer, from the eponymous title of the book, believes the original investigators in a murder case, ten years previously, had identified the wrong perpetrator for the crimes. Id she right? Is the real murderer still out there? No one knows, because soon after Stephanie Mailer disappears.... Cue a supremely plotted mystery novel with more twists than a slalom run. There are red-herrings galore, a labyrinth-esq story-arc, and at the end.... an eminently satisfying mystery solved by the inimitable Joel Dicker. An intelligent mystery, full of both style and substance, from the immensely talented, Joel Dicker.

Too many red herrings and a plot so twisted it strangles itself

Having thoroughly enjoyed Dicker’s first two novels I was looking forward to this one. However..I have also been aware that his strengths – quite a cerebral, game playing writer, taking stabs at all sorts of artistic targets, dabbling in meta-fiction – could also lead to overkill. As it does here unfortunately. Clever clever, to the point at which the reader ceases to care.

Two parallel investigations, 20 years apart, by the same police team, who may have solved a grisly murder of 4 back in 1994, for which they were lauded, but they might just have pinned the crime on the wrong man.

The case fascinated many of the central characters in the book for 20 years, and investigations start on that old case. Or restart. Confused? You will be. Especially when some of those investigating or re-investigating begin to disappear………enter Stephanie Mailer, amongst others.

The setting is a small town, which has been hosting a prestigious Arts Festival for 20 years. There are power struggles within the police force, and power struggles for the position of Town Mayor.

And, it turns out EVERYONE has some deeply shady hidden past. So EVERYONE could be a possible suspect. And, if you are like me, with each reveal, you will care less and less and less

In print, this will be 640 pages, and certainly it felt every one of those, and many more. It would not have surprised me to find the page count was 4 figures. An editor who could have wielded a life-saving scalpel, sorely needed

Thank you for letting me have this for review, and I am only sorry I couldn't be delighted by it

Huge fan of Joel Dicker and have read his previous English language publications
He can certainly tell a story and keep you hooked.
No hesitation in recommending as this kept me guessing pretty much all the way to the end.
Already looking forward to his next publication.