Cover Image: Those Who Disappeared

Those Who Disappeared

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Member Reviews

Such an interesting concept and very well executed. The journey of the protagonist to find out more about his roots is one which will no doubt resonate with many. I loved the part where the journal is found and thought it would lead to more resolution than it actually seemed to. A moving book which manages to bring together both an adventure and emotional insights.

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New characters from Kevin Wignall, but teh same high standard of intrigue and mystery to be resolved

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I thought the writing was great but I didn't find the book very exciting. I wasn't invested in the book and I didn't connect with any of the characters.

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This was the first book by this Author I could not get into it to start with but aa I read through the book it grabbed my attention & I really wanted to know who the killer was I would read another of this Author's book I liked it & enjoyed it was a quick easy read I gave it 4 stars rating

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Foster Traherne has been alone his whole life. His mother killed herself shortly after his birth and his father disappeared during a storm on a Swiss glacier over thirty years ago. As a child Foster would imagine his father had survived and came back for him, and even thirty years later he still has hope that could happen. But when his father's body is found encased inside the glacier, that hope disappears. What's worse, during the autopsy, it's discovered that it may not have been an accident. Now Foster is on a mission to track down his father's friends and get the true story of what happened the day his father died.
While this story did contain some twists that kept me guessing, it's not exactly the action packed adventure story I was expecting. I was glad Foster finally got the truth, but the ending just seemed too anticlimactic for me.
I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

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A well written, well developed storyline with interesting characters.

A body is found preserved in a glacier, his son tries to find out what happened on the mountain that day before he was born.

An interesting read about the lengths people will go to in order to protect themselves and each other. Just how many secrets are your friends keeping from you, how well do you really know each other and what do they really think of you?

**Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to this book in return for an honest review.

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Those Who Disappeared by Kevin Wignall was a really good read and especially as Kevin is a new author to me, I was hooked within the first few pages and couldn't put this book down. It starts off with a body being found in a glacier and later on within the book you find out it's Charlie Treherne who went missing 30 years ago prior. Foster, who is Charlie's son jumps at a chance to find out what happened to his dad who he never met. Foster, goes and views the body of his dad and notices there was slights signs of a struggle. He has all his dad's journals, belongings and a photo. Immediately he starts finding each person in the photo to try and get some insight on his parents and is determined to find out what happened to his dad. .Someone knows what happened to his dad and Foster will find out how he died!

Big thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the arc for an honest review

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This book is about a son who after thirty years learns that his father's body has been discovered and he decides to go investigate. This is a things aren't always what they seem type of book. I enjoyed the storyline. There was enough happening that I stayed interested the whole time.

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For this book I must say the writing was much better than the plot.
Author did a good job, has a good writing style but sadly overall plot didn't thrill me at all. I was quite bored and thought of giving up (which does not happen to me often) but made it to the end.

Novel started with the body found, interestingly body of a man who was gone for 30 years. So far so good. We learn that the body is a father of a famous artist Foster Treherne. Who should observe and identify the body, but the doctor tells him there are small details which don’t fit with the suicide as was initial death cause said to be. Foster gets his father dairy and founds his old friends, to which Charlie refers only by initials. All characters in this book lie and lie and lie, although there is almost no reason (which angered me pretty much when I read the book till end). Anyway each person who was hiding something more or less decided to give up all their secrets.

At the end we learned what happened and why Charlie had to die and everyone lived happily. This book is not overall bad, but if you are searching for a thriller which is better than average, then you should pick something else.

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I really really enjoyed this book. I read it quickly after half way through as I was just really loving it. I loved the tension that was building and just loved how it was written. Although I found it a bit of a slow start. The ending was well written but was somehow hoping for more.

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Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Interesting storyline that kept me reading. Enjoyed the concept of investigating Foster's parents history and trying to work out how the story was going to come together. Would recommend for anyone who likes a short, sharp mystery.

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A rare gem of a book. This story had a clever plot with a message of identity.
Many thanks to Amazon UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant young artist is faced with the discovery of his missing father's body. Although the experts believe the death to have been an accident, the son is compelled to research his father's life and look for possible motives. Hid discoveries lead him to a better understanding of his own talents.

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this was a great premise for a mystery, the atmosphere really hooks you in from the beginning. It had great characters and I had a fun time reading this book.

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Wonderful suspense novel which kept me guessing until the very end. Enjoyable characters, wonderful narration, great atmosphere all amounted to a novel I couldn't put down.

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Those Who Disappeared tells the story of Foster Treherne, an incredibly successful American artist with a tragic upbringing. Foster's father disappeared in the Swiss Alps before he was even born and his mother died shortly after he was born, leaving him to be raised by distant grandparents and a nanny. Foster is now in his thirties and living in Europe when his father's body is finally found in a glacier. Finally finding out what happened to his father should bring Foster some closure but ends up leaving him with more questions then answers. Convinced that not all is what it seems in regards to his father's death and armed with the journal his father kept leading up to his death Foster begins to look into his father's past to try and find out what really happened.

What worked for me: This is my 2nd Kevin Wignall book and I must say I really enjoy his writing style. I thought the book was well written and there were some lines in the book that were so perfectly poignant; they got to me. I would also say that Wignall does a good job of introducing his readers to concepts they may not be familiar with. I know nothing about the art world/scene or mountain climbing but whenever there was something I didn't recognize/understand the author was good about explaining it some way. Some of his methods were maybe a little heavy handed but still effective so I didn't mind them. I would say his ability to make things realistic and make sense really speaks to the author's writing skill.

I also really loved the concept and the characters here. I went in to this expecting a full blown mystery and while there was certainly a mystery underlining the book and there were mystery like elements I would say this is more of a general fiction novel. This book really is a character study on Foster, it does a deep dive into his identity and what has built him into who he is today. While he's trying to figure out what happened to his father he is also seeing parallels in his own life and as he learns more about his parents it really makes him question what he's always known about himself. I thought it was really well executed in that regard and Foster is an incredibly sympathetic character to read about. His loneliness really draws you in and I honestly just wanted good things for him. There were some parts of his development that might have been a little rushed but ultimately I still enjoyed it.

Also the setting(s), I don't have a ton to say here but I did like all the different places the book went and the glimpses we saw of different locations.

What didn't work for me:the mystery elements are the weakest to me so I think trying to bill this as a mystery/or looking at it through the lens of "is this a good mystery novel" is a mistake. That being said, the way the mystery is handled pretty much my only complaint. There were parts of the mystery that felt rushed, like they just had to be put out there so the story could continue and I felt like the mystery did take a back seat at times. I definitely don't think the mystery was the most important part of the story so I probably wouldn't emphasize it/sell it to someone that way. It's also pretty obvious from the beginning that there's more going on so it didn't really feel like a big reveal when we finally find out the what.

The book flew by so I have no complaints there but I honestly think this book would have benefited from being longer. There were some things that I felt could have been more developed and I think an extra 50-100 pages would have really helped there.

Overall: I'm a little torn on how to feel about this because while I really enjoyed it I also just wish there could have been more so we could see everything get fully developed. This is probably a 3.5ish star for me and while I think the first book I read by Kevin Wignall is still my favourite I really liked this one and I absolutely want to check out more of what he's written.

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This book started at a slower pace but hints and suspect made it a burning mystery.

Foster grew up with his grandparents, his dad disappeared 32 years ago on a glacier hike. He was never found. He thought that his father will walk into his life at some point.

A later incident within the same area his father disappeared reveals a body, believed to be his dad. They also find a passport and journal wrapped in bag with his bag.

Overall a good plot and I enjoyed the premise of the book. A reminder that not everyone is your friend. The end fell a little flat for me but overall 4/5

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Great writing, decent story, just not as climactic as I would have liked it to be, but still an enjoyable read.

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I enjoyed this one a lot. One man's journey to learn more about his father and what happened to him years ago. I wouldn't say this was an "edge of your seat" type of mystery. But it was well written, engaging, had interesting characters. And kept me interested throughout. 👍👍

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Kevin Wignall has a knack for picking unconventional protagonists for his crime novels, and Those Who Disappeared is no exception. Foster Treherne is a famous artist, and when his father’s body is recovered on a mountain in Switzerland 32 years after he went missing, Foster’s convinced it wasn’t an accident. On the surface, it isn’t surprising that Foster wants to learn more about the father he never knew, since his father died months before he was born. Foster’s grown up without any real family, since his mother committed suicide when he was one, and his grandparents seemed to want nothing to do with him.

Foster’s personal growth arc feels organic and fresh. Initially, he doesn’t feel much about his father’s body being found, because he never knew him. When the emotions do start to take hold, they’re complex. He begins to discover who his father was through a journal that was recovered with his body. I found Foster’s actions believable. Given his wealth and privilege, it wasn’t surprising that he started to take the time to investigate his father and the mysterious group of friends his father had. Since the friends don’t seem to want to give Foster straight answers, it only serves to fuel his conviction that his dad’s death wasn’t a hiking accident, and he starts looking through boxes of his father’s belongings to learn more about him.

Meanwhile, Foster’s receiving anonymous threats and has a private investigator trying to determine who’s responsible. The threats ultimately remind Foster of a group of people he once knew, like his father’s college friends. His history with those friends, his failure to help them achieve success, and his dad’s group of college friends prompt some self-evaluation, which contributes to his natural growth arc.

It isn’t surprising that Foster’s the type of person who keeps people at arm’s length and has difficulty committing to relationships, but when he meets Daniela Herrera, even that seems to change. The more he learns about his father, the more he’s prompted to evaluate his own choices to decide what kind of person he wants to be and what he wants from life.

Those Who Disappeared is what I’d call a quiet story. There are no car or foot chases that get the protagonist’s adrenaline pumping. This is a story about unraveling truths and poking and prodding until you get the answers you need. It may not appeal to those who love action-packed stories, but it will appeal to readers who’re drawn to character-driven stories.

To avoid even the hint of spoilers, I’ll address one element in greater detail under a spoiler link, so those who don’t mind spoilers can read it if they choose. I’ll only note here that there’s a point where the story takes a hard left turn, and it led to a powerful resolution that was both heartbreaking and beautiful.

Wignall has a fluid, effortless style that draws readers in and carries them through the story. I was immediately invested in the protagonist and interested in this journey, and wasn’t disappointed. This is another strong crime novel from Wignall. It avoids the trappings of many amateur sleuth stories and the structure of procedures while telling a personal story that’s as much about a man coming to terms with his own loss and disappointment as it is about what really happened on a mountain in Switzerland 32 years ago.

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