Phew, let me catch my breath! Gillian McAllister is one of my favourite authors but I think even by her high standards she’s excelled herself with this one! What a rollercoaster, breathtaking, phenomenal read. I don’t want to say too much about the plot but the story starts when Zara witnesses a fight in which a homeless man dies. Two young men, about to sign up for the full squad of Premier League Holloway FC are charged with murder. It goes to court but the case falls apart as Zara gives evidence as Girl A. After this, some people are baying for revengeful blood on social media, Zara is identified and she and her mother Lauren go into witness protection, leaving stepfather Aidan behind as he cannot leave his daughter Poppy from his first marriage. The story is told in alternating perspectives by Lauren, Zara, Aidan and Poppy.

This story is action packed from start to finish. There’s danger at every turn for the whole family, there’s bravery as their life implodes and changes irrevocably and I like the way the author explores the personal ramifications for the main characters. One very strong theme is love, especially love for your child and the sacrifice you are prepared to make is a core theme and there is also tremendous resolve, strength and determination to see something through no matter the personal cost. The characters are excellent, Zara has an amazing moral code, she’s bookish, anxious, a bit of a loner but has internal steel. Lauren is sunny, optimistic, full of fun but these events test her to her limits, her resolve wavers and at times she struggles. Aidan is a stress head, he faces a rotten dilemma but he is stoic and he too finds his inner brave and goes above and beyond for his family. The effect on Poppy is interesting as she is close to Zara and Lauren and she is pivotal to a lot of what unfolds. At times the story is emotional and reflective, at others there’s threat and danger, there are shocks as we learn more about what lies behind the original crime and then the story zips in a direction you don’t expect which can be surprising, very chilling and scary. You feel the characters anger, fear and emotional turmoil. As for the ending - don’t you just love it when you don’t see that one coming???

Overall, a fantastic book with a perfectly paced plot, with believable dialogue, characters you can like and invest in and some jaw dropping moments. What more can you ask for??!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the ARC.

OMG – my heart is still pounding, my sphincter is still clenching and my breath is still ragged and I can’t express how much I loved this book, but as I am a blogger and you are here to read my reviews I will try….

This is Gillian’s latest standalone books and like her previous books How to Disappear has a clever and unique legal theme with a major moral dilemma. In How To Disappear the author creates the most unimaginative situation that you can’t help but imagine.. does that even make sense? (It sounded better in my head) and I was taken on a seriously scary journey putting myself in the characters shoes and trying to work out if I would do the same.

Mum Lauren is incredibly happy, blissfully married to Aidan, raising her teenage daughter Zara and co-parenting Aidan’s teenage daughter Poppy in their Islington home. Their blended family works perfectly and harmoniously until the day Zara witnesses a horrific and violent crime. When the case goes to trial everything falls apart and Zara’s life is in danger. The only option left is to go into Witness Protection.

Here lies the moral dilemma. Aidan loves his wife and step-daughter, but he also loves his daughter Poppy who lives with her mum and can’t leave them behind, so he makes the almost unimaginable decision to let Lauren and Zara go – shattering his world and heart into a tiny thousand pieces, leaving him a broken man.

Lauren doesn’t want to leave Aidan – he is her soulmate, her better half, her best friend, but her daughter Zara is in mortal danger and so she reluctantly leaves her family, friends, job, home and entire life to ensure Zara is safe.

Honestly, I can’t stop thinking about this book. The characters were so believable and the situation they were thrust into was so awful that I defy any reader not to feel some sort of emotion or reaction.

I am not going to go on and on.. although I probably could but I will say that this is definitely going into my Top Ten of 2020 and that I 100% recommend it to everyone and don’t get me started on THAT ending!!!

This is a stunning thriller which kept me reading for hours. Relationships are at the heart of this and Aiden. Lauren, Zara and Poppy are all well depicted and believable characters. I found Lauren to be very annoying; impulsive and immature, unlike her daughter, who shows real strength, even though she is not a particularly confident person. The situation that they find themselves in is unique and horrendous and affects them all in different ways. But the author is not telling us everything and there are some twists along the way. The plot is not totally believable but who cares - it is a great read!

Secrets and corruption spin a web of misunderstanding and lies in Gillian McAllister’s twisted tense tale, How To Disappear.

After witnessing the murder of her homeless friend Jamie in a foul act of football-initiation-gone-wrong, Zara becomes Girl A - the discredited witness who lied in court faced with a death warrant. She finds herself swept off to the Lakes with her mum Lauren under a strict witness protection programme.
Meanwhile in London, her stepfather Aiden infiltrates the football gang to track their knowledge and throw them off Zara’s scent.

This novel is a psychologically thrilling. There are some breathtaking moments and others where you find yourself on the edge of your seat.
The third person narration leaves you seeing for yourself the misinformation being passed from person to person into a web of fatal misunderstandings.

Gillian McAllister gave me the ending I was hoping for, and I was brought to tears of relief by the end of the novel.

How to Disappear is a stellar novel and I wish it all the success it deserves.
(I would have rated it 5* but my ebook file was misformatted in places which slightly impaired my reading experience.)

Thank you to Michael Joseph, NetGalley and Gillian McAllister for this advanced copy of How to Disappear in exchange for an honest review.

I swear Gillian is a genius. Every book she writes just gets better and better. This was SUCH a fantastic read with so many impossible questions at the heart of it. What would you even do in the same situation?!
Sublime storytelling, amazingly well drawn characters and a plot that packs a hell of a punch, YES. I. Loved. It.

Thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tense, twisty and literally unputdownable - 5 star brilliance. When an author like Gillian Mc Allister consistently produces first-class novels you begin to expect an inevitable dip in quality. Authors are humans, after all, and the well of creative inspiration is far from bottomless. We can all name those writers that have become a bit 'meh'. Left to remember the greatness of early forays into the field of literary endeavour, that can no longer be replicated, we seek out new novels, new writers. This is not the case with Gillian McAllister who has produced another stunningly compelling thriller. 'How to Disappear' is another of McAllister's literary efforts that should come with the advisory warning of 'must-read'. It is essentially the tale of young girl, forced into witness protection, along with her mother, after testifying in a murder trial. This is just the beginning of what is to follow in this edge-of-your-seat reading experience. After all, it is one thing to take on a new identity, quite another to keep your old identity hidden forever. This is the unenviable task for Lauren and her witness/daughter, Zara. Things go wrong, as they inevitably should in a story of this type. Decisions are taken, mistakes are made, Lauren and Zara face mortal danger. From thereon, you may think you know what will follow, but you could be wrong. I know I was. Suffice to say, if you pick up this book you won't be disappointed in giving your imagination over to the natural-born storyteller that is Gillian McAllister. This is quite simply a superb read.

This was a real page turner and one that had me gripped from the start! I liked every character in the story - each with their own personal problems. The story is written from different perspectives which adds to how good a read it is and touches on key topics, some of which I could relate to. How to Disappear is based on Zara's experience as a young teenager witnessing a horrible crime and being forced into witness protection for her safety.
I was surprised to feel so emotionally invested in the characters and was pleasantly surprised by the ending which I was not expecting!

WOW
Not sure I need to say much more.

I have loved all of Gillian McAllister’s previous books and rated them 5* but this one blows even those out of the water.

Zara only known as Girl A due to her age witnesses a murder...now her identity is out.
Her and her mother, Lauren need to disappear and leave everything and everyone behind.

The story had me from page one, I loved the idea and it really got me thinking what would I do? Could I just disappear like Lauren and Zara? The characters are believable and behave exactly as I would have expected them to even though I was cringing and shouting at them in parts.
The whole book was fast paced and kept me gripped and wanting to turn the pages from the beginning.
BRILLIANT you must read it.
I’d give more than 5* if I could.

What a brilliant book! Lauren has to go into witness protection after her daughter Zara is found to have lied during a murder trial of a homeless man by two young footballers. Lauren leaves her husband and step daughter behind to go into hiding and the injustice of what happens to her and Zara is just heartbreaking. The power of social media is examined and the way people can manipulate it is actually quite terrifying.
Extremely relevant topics are explored in this book and it is a brilliant roller coaster ride which I certainly couldn't stop reading. I would highly recommend this book.

Wow!! Action packed from start to finish it had me clenching my teeth, so tense I was reading it until the early hours as couldn't put it down.
Lauren and Zara are taken into witness protection, Lauren's husband Aidan can't leave his daughter Poppy. Can they ever return to a normal family life, people are trying to find them to kill them but Zara isn't finished yet with trying to get justice
All the characters are believable and really come to life. I hated the ending but then I didn't!!!!

I’m a big fan of this author so it was a given that I’d enjoy this book, I underestimated just how much! I intended to read it as soon as I was accepted but life got in the way of reading for a few days. I finally made a start on it last night and couldn’t put it down until I’d finished.

What a book! I didn’t think Gillian could better what she’s already done but I was wrong. This had so much tension throughout and my heart was in my mouth at times. The characters were believable and I was really invested in them. The ending when it came was completely unexpected. I had to read the epilogue twice to take it in. Absolutely amazing book!

I already have this on pre-order and will be one I read again and again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I’m definitely on a roll recently, with terrific books from some of my favourite authors - Gillian McAllister being one of them.

When 15 year old Zara witnesses the murder of a young homeless man Jamie, by two up and coming footballers about to sign with a Premier League club, she believes that the evidence she gives at their trial will put them behind bars for a very long time, but everything turns on its head during the trial, leading to threats on Zara’s life, so she and her mother Lauren are left with no option but to enter witness protection, with Lauren having to leave her husband Aidan (Zara’s stepfather) behind.

Can you imagine having to give up everything you know? Yes everything, - your husband, home, job, family, friends, and Bill Gates the dog, who follows Lauren everywhere -loyal devoted Bill, who’s soft silky ears Lauren loves to ruffle, unconsciously comforting, and done without even thinking. This forfeiting of everything you know, is what happens when you enter the witness protection program, and what a frightening scenario Ms McAllister has painted. It’s not only the ones being protected that are in danger, but also the ones they leave behind.

I’m not going to give away any more details, as I would hate to spoil it for other readers, but OMG the tension! the fear, the twists, and the raw emotion that this storyline elicited! Well just WOW is all I can say. An absolute page turner, and just for the record, I think this is probably my favourite book so far this year, and I’ve read some really good ones. Don’t miss this one!

Belting 5 stars from me! I love Gillian McAllister and this did not disappoint. Aidan and Lauren have to make a heartbreaking decision after Lauren’s daughter witnessed a crime and lies about it. When the guilty are freed because of her lie, significance threats are made against Zara and the family go into witness protection - leaving Aidan and his daughter Poppy behind! This book shows mob mentality and social media at its worst! Shocking at times, but really easy to relate to - this had me gripped from start to end! Outstanding!

A fantastic read! If you need a book to take your mind off everything that is going on, this is the one! I really like Gillian McAllister’s books and this is my favourite so far. Aidan and Lauren have a terrible decision to make after Lauren’s daughter Zara witnesses a murder. The family is broken apart. It’s such an exciting read, I couldn’t put it down and felt part of the story. The characters are realistic and likeable. I have read very little about witness protection but it all seemed real - and terrifying -to me. The excellent writing propels the story along at a cracking pace. Definitely one of my favourite books in a long time!

For me a different book with a different theme for the story. It is absolutely brilliant and should not to be missed. I think that the ending is probably one of the best I have encountered. The book builds in suspense bit by bit but you don't really know how it will end. The book cleverly mixes social media, tracing the whereabouts of someone and the presumed intricacies of witness protection. It is easy to criticise characters for making 'silly' errors' but you have to ask yourself 'would I do the same'?
Well worth any expense and time on your part if you decide to read it

This is one of those psychological novels that you have to keep putting down to delay the traumas you know are surely coming!
Zara and and her mother have to go into witness protection and take on new identities, after Zara becomes ‘Girl A’ as the witness to a murder.
But will they really be able to leave everyone they love, and the past, behind them?
The aftermath is a rollercoaster ride. Who can you trust? Will they be found by the gang hunting them?
I’d really recommend this for fans of fast-paced thrillers: think Gone Girl.

Gillian McAllister gets better with each book but I can't see how she can top this one.
After Zara witnesses the murder of a homeless man you would expect the trial of the offenders to be a formality but Zara has made one mistake. She told a lie, and that lie would change her life forever. Witness protection is her only escape and she and her mother , Lauren, have to leave everything and everyone in their past behind to escape revenge. The ending left me reeling as it took me by surprise, so unexpected. A page turning thriller that i found difficult to put down.

This was the first Gillian McAllister book that I have read and it certainly won't be the last. It had everything that I crave in a psychological thriller. Thrills, spills, a brilliant plot and well drawn characters who you believe in and are credible.

The action is non-stop and the book drew me in from the beginning. This really was good.

Heavily recommended.

I absolutely adored this one! I'm a massive Gillian McAllister fan and this is her best yet. Have raved about it on YouTube already!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher and of course the author who everything she has written has bee fabulous. If you want a thriller with twists and turns and great characters you will really enjoy this book. I loved it.