4/5 stars

Foster Treherne is rich and an artist, initially part of a group called ‘The New Painters’ but he alone has had great success. There is jealousy that he is the one who has made a name for himself as he gets a series of unpleasant anonymous notes making various accusations. Foster never knew his parents as his father Charlie disappears near a glacier in Switzerland before he is born and his mother commits suicide when he’s a baby. He’s raised very much at arms length by his maternal grandparents. A preserved body is found in a glacier revealed by boulders from an avalanche which proves to be Charlie. Following an oddity from the post mortem, Foster is determined to learn what he can about how and why Charlie died. It’s a fascinating truth seeking journey into his father’s university life and membership of a tight knit group known as The Pirensi Group with Indiana Jones aspirations. It is also a journey of self discovery.

I’ve read several books by Kevin Wignall and enjoyed them all. This one is especially clever as it’s a very understated novel about identity, in seeking to learn about his father and give him an identity he discovers more about himself. It’s also about abandonment, loneliness and a sense of belonging which understandably Foster has always felt. Where does Foster belong? Maybe the search for his father’s identity will give him roots somewhere and settle an itch he didn’t realise he had. This part of the novel really pulls at your heartstrings as no one really cares for him or shows him love as he grows up and yet despite this he becomes a fine, likeable man with a strong moral code. As he digs into his father’s background and tracks down members of the Pirensi group there’s a definite air of tension and rank closing as they wish to conceal and bury the past for ‘Those who disappeared ‘ which is so intriguing. The storytelling takes you in unexpected directions and into some wonderful settings. There are moments of tension and menace especially from the note sender and a good atmosphere builds as the mystery of Charlie deepens. He does get to the truth on both counts which gives him some closure and the ability to move on with his life and find happiness to accompany his success.

Overall, a good novel with multiple strands which keeps you interested throughout.

With thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the arc for an honest review

A well-written interesting story involving young man’s search for the truth—or perhaps, truths. When his father’s body, lost for years, is found, Foster begins a quest to learn about the death, his father, his mother, and their friends , who seem to be keeping secrets.

I received Those Who Disappeared from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Those Who Disappeared is an adequate story, but it's not much of a mystery and not a strong story. The main character, Foster, investigates, but he's too reliant on people telling him what happened rather than figuring it out in other ways. The telling is a problem with the story. Mysteries become bland when they have several characters simply telling what happened. Also, from pretty early on it becomes clear who did it, and then why is filled in fairly shortly after the who. The end only confirms it.

Where the book shined is the exposure perpetrator, what he'd done to a victim, and how Foster grapples with and settles his mind around it to shift his focus from the perpetrator to the victim. I think that could have been a better focus of the story than the mystery element.

Daniella's character felt unnecessary. Her role in the investigation could easily have been better fulfilled by other, more realistic characters, and her role as a love interest was boring and did nothing for the story.

I'd recommend this to someone who likes simple mysteries. It's short and quick to read, so it doesn't feel like a wasted effort, especially given what works in the story. I'll look from more from the author, because I think there are some strengths in his writing that may be the star of another book.

This was a really interesting, well written mystery. But it was more than that - it was a story about family, and about friendship. I enjoyed the story, and escaped into the world that Kevin Wignall built.

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC, which did not impact my review.

Those Who Disappear is a beautifully woven mystery and a compelling story of one man's relationship with the Father he never knew.

A glacier gives up a body - accident is assumed but the answers lie in the past, when a young man and his close knit group of friends are just beginning to come into their own.. until tragedy strikes.

I love the way the author layers his characters and offers up a lot to think about...whether or not there is foul play involved is very much secondary to the human drama playing out on the page. The resolution is emotionally resonant, the setting is described with perfect intensity and overall this was an absolutely excellent read.

Recommended.

I really liked the hero in this book, there was more I would have liked to know about his art, but that is a minor part. Having never known his father, dead before he was born, or his mother, who killed herself months later, he has struggled to understand his family and where he came from.
When the body of his father is revealed after decades, his search for meaning becomes more urgent and mysterious. Pursuing more info brings more questions than answers, initially.
By the end, the threads of the story come together in a satisfying manner-
This was a very pleasant book to read, will look for more by this author. 4;5 stars

Not my normal type of read and thought I might abandon it how ever continued to the end and found it intriguing. An interesting read.

Kevin Wignall never disappoints! “Those Who Disappeared” is a well-paced mystery with some great characters. Foster Treherne never knew his father who disappeared in a mountain-climbing accident 30 years prior. When Charles Treherne’s body is found, Foster begins the search for who his father really was. Was Charles’s death really an accident or was it murder?

Foster is an intriguing character who I wouldn’t mind meeting again in a future book. I couldn’t put this down and finished it in a single day. Some might find the pacing a little slow but it’s a book that will keep you guessing until the end.

I’m delighted to have been afforded an advanced reading copy via NetGalley and having read this novel to review and recommend it without reservation.

My opinions are my own and could not be influenced in such a process but I have to declare at the start that Kevin Wignall is one of my favourite authors and I have read his many books with interest and pleasure.

Those who disappeared is a wonderful story. It is written with great skill that engages the reader throughout. Whether this tension is wrapped up in the narrative or just my imagination I’ll leave you to judge. For this is unlike his previous works where secret agents, contract killers, nefarious plots with spies, government duplicity and double-cross fill the pages.

It is about a successful artist who grew up not knowing his parents. His mother took her own life shortly after his birth and his father disappeared some months before that, having ventured alone on a mountain walk. Foster has grown up without any real sense of belonging; his staff team has almost become his family and his art a place of solace and comfort. All this changes when an incident within a glacier reveals a body which is believed to be his dad. Frozen in time within the ice for some thirty-two years.

The book is a clever story about the casual nature of fame Foster has, as an artist, while having no clear identity of who he really is due to a fractured childhood. He has always felt abandoned by his mum. He was rejected by his maternal grandparents which compounded this disconnect. He had always believed his dad had been indisposed by events or delayed on a secret mission but would one day return for his boy.

Along with the body a perfectly preserved journal of his father was discovered. The book is about his interpretation of those writings, unexplained issues about the state of the body, insufficient to merit an investigation or to suggest anything other than accidental death from a fall.

In searching for some closure; answers to what may have happened, his father’s state of mind and relationship with his mother. Foster hunts down his dad’s post graduate friends who were part of a secret society. This becomes frustrating as each one seems to be concealing things and spinning half truths that mean his grasp of his father becomes muddled. In a sense this is mirror to his own life where he once was part of a group of talented artists who never quite made the break through he achieved.

Within this story are tensions from his father’s past with questions of why the surviving members appear to be closing ranks and avoiding him while Foster’s own past seems to be threatening his immediate success. This dual tension leaves the reader always on edge regarding individual’s motives and intent towards Foster, who he can trust and if he himself is in danger.

Hopefully others may see this within a novel that is about identity, the need to face the truth and the true worth of friendship. In the process we are taken to many wonderful locations and touch the world of art, frat houses and smell conspiracy. In the end the author asks whether it is more important to seek the truth or take revenge.
Wignall also demonstrates that without points of reference, we can lose more than memories when we bury the past. The symbolic unearthing of his father’s body from the glacier is also the catalyst to garner the truth and see oneself in that revealed light.
Those who disappeared is reclaiming those that are lost, forgotten and ignored. In this sense it is a grown up novel by an author who tells a good story but until this point has just thrilled and entertained.
This novel has those qualities still but provides a deeper response that resonates with my whole being. This is why I will continue to enjoy his books and easily recommend then to others.

How well do you really know your friends? Well enough for them to hide a terrible secret for you? Foster Treherne, in Kevin Wignall’s ‘Those Who Disappeared,’ knows all too well about the extent friends will go to keep something buried. You’ll have to wait until March 4th, 2021 to find out what Foster already knows. It’ll be worth the wait. It was for him.

Imagine growing up not knowing your parents and not experiencing love nor having a relationship with your paternal or maternal grandparents. What if you didn’t even know if your father was still alive? That’s the burden Foster has been living with since the day he was born. His father, Charles, disappeared 32 years ago on a glacier hike in the Bernese Alps when his girlfriend was 3 months pregnant. He was never found. His mom, having returned to England after meeting Charlie on a vacation in Italy, committed suicide a year after her son was born. Foster has grown into a charming man and a famous and well-respected artist. One day a visitor comes into his gallery and utters the words he’s been wanting to hear his whole life – we think we’ve found your father.

Wignall has written an exceptional story. Not only is it filled with unexpected twists, sharply written and evenly paced, it’s also believable. It’s more than just a story about a guy with a tragic background who is looking for his father; it’s about exploring the issue that we can become lost and alone even when surrounded by people. Wignall’s mystery reminds us not to believe everything we hear, and that oftentimes what we see on the surface is not what lurks below. This superbly written book begs to be made into a movie!

Thank you to Kevin Wignall, Amazon Publishing UK, and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

*Thanks to netgalley and Amazon publishing UK for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review*
Ok, let's begin.
First of all, i really liked the story, the idea was well written and easy to make you feel hooked from the beginning.
The protagonist was a really good character, he was relatable and real, he was a down-to-earth artist and a good person overall, i liked the pace of his thoughts and the transition from an idea to another.
About the writing, in some places the book felt a little bit stretched, like it can lose some paragraphs.
The pace was good in general, the writing craft is impeccable, the author has a good way with his words.
Overall, a good read.

This is an interesting read featuring a young man with a tragic past. Foster Treherne is a well respected artist who never knew his father and his mother committed suicide when he was a baby. His father had disappeared on a hiking trip and never returned. Imagine Foster’s surprise when his body is finally discovered....entombed in a glacier. This sets him on a journey to learn about the father he never knew and to investigate the idea that his death might not have been an accident.

This book begs the saying, “be careful what you wish for.”