Wow loved this book gripping a page turner great plot the characters were so good I like a few of them plot just hooked a great read love it recommend to them all

I hadn't realised this book is part of a series which is why I couldn't get into it. It is very slow and the characters didn't have any depth. I would have known more if I'd read the previous 2 books. The story is written in 2 timelines - Lily as a child and as a recent widow. Much is half-told or hinted at which left me more bored than intrigued. This book is definitely not a stand alone.

I hadn’t read the previous books but seemed to get the idea of some of the books before.

Lily come forward to claim her husband’s wages but her claim is challenged is the marriage legal or is the marriage certificate a forgery the men who are tasked to find out the truth of it or not. Adam Williamson is one of the men and seems to want to believe her. We see her life when she was a child to the present and her lost love. The ending I certainly wasn’t expecting that and thought it was a nice way to end it.

It was an interesting read around the Jacobite time and the suspense of the mystery was really good and well written.

The Vanished Days was all I could have asked for and more. Great characters, a mystery to solve, fantastic history and a beautiful setting in Scotland. I was hooked from the very beginning with Lily and Adam’s story. The dual timeline flowed beautifully and as we got to know more of Lily’s backstory, Adam’s narration pulled everything together seamlessly.

Thank you to #NetGalley for my advance copy of #TheVanishedDays by #SusannaKearsley
I could not get into this book at all. The cast of characters is huge and the storyline tedious.
There wasn’t a character interesting enough to keep me reading.

I didn’t realize this was part of a series when I requested this, but it worked fine as a stand-alone. I’ve read one book, Mariana, from this author before but that was about 20 years ago. I remember liking it, but memories are a bit hazy though… So I was interested to see how this turns out.

Lily Graeme claims to be a widow of a Darien sailor and has come to collect her husband’s wages. However, people don’t believe that she was married to this guy. They were from very different stations of life for one matter. Adam Williamson finds himself entangled in the task of finding out if Lily speaks the truth.

We have a dual timeline with Adam’s pov in the present and Lily’s in the past. The story starts when Lily is a child so there are about 20 years in between. I didn’t know about the Darien scheme or that Scotland tried to establish a colony in Caledonia. So a lot of new stuff. The book is set during the Jacobite risings in Scotland (The Old Pretender).

I liked both Lily and Adam. My one problem was that in the present day, which is from Adam’s pov, there is very little about Lily. Mostly it’s Adam talking about Lily with someone.

I liked the Scotland setting and the writing. Some people have complained about the slowness, but I didn’t have that problem. I’m definitely reading more from the author. Hopefully sooner than in 20 years this time…

he Vanished Days takes us back in time to Scotland when a shadowy Jacobite presence lingers and for those who are caught up in politics it is a time to be watchful. In 1707, the new, and rather fragile, union forged between England and Scotland, is viewed with distrustful eyes, and there are enemies on both sides of a great divide.

The story opens as Lily Aitcheson, a young widow, is seeking recompense for the loss of her husband's wages in the failed Darien expedition which took place years before. However, Lily must first prove that she was legally married, which for those investigating is more of a difficult task than at first imagined. In something of a twist we go back in Lily's life and see the events which shaped her early years. Switching between the years of the late 17th and early 18th century we gradually build up a complicated picture of a divided nation which runs alongside Lily's complex connection to the story.

Meticulously researched as all of Kearsley's novels undoubtedly are, The Vanished Days takes a long hard look at the events which shaped the early part of the Union between Scotland and England whilst, at the same time, unfolding a love story which has deep roots. As I have said the story is complex and coming in at around 600 pages reading it makes for quite an investment in terms of time and concentration. Bringing the complex nature of Scottish Jacobite history to life is what Kearsley has done so well in the Slains trilogy and I feel that The Vanished Days certainly adds weight to the series. It's complex, complicated, but so beautifully written, and researched, that history comes alive, with formidable characters who tell their stories in meticulous detail.

Whilst is it perfectly possible to read The Vanished Sea as a standalone historical adventure I think it helped in that I had already read The Winter Sea, which is the first book in this clever trilogy, with The Vanished Days being the prequel to this first story

The Vanished Days, Susanna Kearsley’s latest book, is a prequel to The Winter Sea, which happens to be one of the few Kearsley novels I haven’t read yet! However, it didn’t matter at all as this is a completely separate story and works perfectly as a standalone.

The novel opens in 1707, the year of the Act of Union between Scotland and England. A few years earlier, Scotland had been involved in the unsuccessful Darien Scheme – an attempt to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Panama – and as part of the union settlement, England will pay compensation to those who had lost money due to the failed venture. When a young widow, Lily Aitcheson, comes forward to claim the wages owed to her husband Jamie Graeme, who was killed during the Darien expedition, Sergeant Adam Williamson is asked to investigate her claim. There is some doubt as to whether Lily and the man she insists was her husband were really married – and unless she can prove that their marriage was valid, she won’t be entitled to the money.

As Adam begins his investigation, searching for witnesses to the wedding or anyone who can say that it ever took place, he finds himself becoming more and more attracted to Lily. And, in chapters which alternate with the 1707 ones, we go back to 1683 and follow Lily through her childhood and the sequence of events that lead to her arriving in Edinburgh and claiming to be the widow of Jamie Graeme. Unlike most of Kearsley’s novels, which either involve some form of time travel or are set in two completely different time periods, one contemporary and one historical, this book is entirely historical, with the two threads of the story set just a few decades apart. There are none of the other supernatural elements that often appear in her novels either, so this one has a slightly different feel.

It was interesting to read about an aspect of Scottish history that doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention in fiction. Although I was aware of the Darien Scheme and some of the events leading to the Act of Union, I’m not sure if any of the historical novels I’ve read have actually covered this subject. Some real historical figures appear in The Vanished Days too and Kearsley explores some of the political and religious tensions building in Scotland during this time – a reminder that the Jacobite rebellions are on the horizon. The focus, though, is on Lily’s personal story, whether seen through her own eyes or those of Adam and the people he interviews who once knew her.

This is quite a long book and I found it a bit slow for a while in the middle, but I was rewarded by a great ending with an unexpected twist. It was something I hadn’t seen coming at all and the sort of thing that makes you want to read the whole book again to see if there were any clues. I won’t do that just yet, but I will definitely try to read The Winter Sea soon, along with the other two Kearsley novels I still haven’t read, The Shadowy Horses and Bellewether.

Oh how I long to return to the landscape of Scotland.....
This is a wonderful historical novel of an era and battles which many readers may not be familiar. I only had a basic grasp f the facts. However Kearsley has interwoven a truly believable romance into the mix.
The sweeping glens and lochs set a beautiful but ferocious backdrop to the Jacobite Rebellion which then on the Borders tore through that ongoing Scottish/English rule of King..or Queen.
This is in contrast to the world of Edinburgh itself an intellectual hub into which the monarch's commissioners and also maybe traitors become involved.
The wider international context with the disastrous Darien expedition (of which I had not heard) showed how nations with their cruelty still endured abroad even when they were at odds with each other just across a few miles in Britian.
So good after Kindle I've bought the book for a friend in Scotland!

4.5 stars
This story gradually took hold of me until I had just had to keep reading until the end. The story was told from the viewpoint of Sgt. Adam Williamson and includes the story of Lily. Oh gosh, how I felt for Lily! There was a lot of historical detail included in the story to add detail and background for some of the characters. I must say I didn’t see how things would pan out but it does have a very satisfying ending. I found the author’s notes at the end very interesting. This was an engaging read that I really enjoyed. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Sweeping Tale set in Turbulent Times
This story is told like a memoir and flits between several time periods. Basically it is the story of fictional Lily Aitcheson’s life and the people she interacted with both real and imagined. We have plots, secrets, tragedy, injustice and an unending love, plus a twist which I didn’t see coming at the end of the book and which while it tied things up neatly, I did find hard to believe. At 540 pages this is not a quick read and it took me some time to get into the story but from the halfway point I was truly hooked and read on until I finished it.
Note: I found the author’s notes at the end of the book about the real life characters mentioned in the book extremely interesting and enlightening.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Vanished Days is set during the turbulent period of the revolution that saw the Stewart king James replaced by William and Mary and the later union of Scotland and England. The story follows the investigation by Adam Williamson into Lily Aitchesons claim to her late husband wages after the failed Scottish colonisation of Darien. There is more to the than meets the year as Lilys life is picked apart and in the background is the constant Scottish rumours of rebellion against the crown in support of the old pretender.
Kearsley combines history, romance, an investigation and what makes a damilyvwith a mix of fictional and real life characters.
An engaging read and I didn't see the final twist in the tale!

I really wanted to read this book but for some reason it didn't hold my interest, it seemed to jump about a lot and I couldn't seem to hold the characters in my head

This in amazingly well researched and moving historical novel. It covers the time of Queen Anne in the 18th centuary.We look at the story that encompasses the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland. Enemies from the Highlands and the Borders in Scotland come together to try and stop the union of Scotland and England in 1707.This is a dual timeline story that works very well in both time periods. Lily is trying to claim her widow’s pension later on in the 18th century. The story is dramatic and moving and beautifully told. It works beautifully up to and including the dramatic ending of the story. This novel stands on its own but it is so engrossing that you will want to read other books written by this author.

Another great story from a compelling storyteller.
The Vanished Days is the story of Lily, who is denied her dead husbands wages. Full of intrigue and danger, this is fictional history at its best. Great characters means that the reader becomes involved in their world. and makes compelling reading.

Whilst this was beautifully written it was too slow moving for me. Maybe it was because it’s not a period I am familiar with. I’m sure others will love it.

The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley, published 28th April 22

I love a good sweeping historical fiction and this book certainly gave me that. Set in Scotland in the late 16 early 1700's, the book starts with an inquisition regarding whether or not widower Lily Graeme was actually married to the man she claims she was. Leading the case is a man named Adam who's perspective along with Lily's is the main pov of the book.

In the backdrop of political upheaval where Scotland and England are unifying and a Jacobite rebellion is taking place Lily's life from a young age is turned upside. She must leave her childhood home and negotiate circumstances such as death, sexual harassment and a growing romance.

The story is told in dual timeline from present to Lily's time as a child and adolescent. Why is it that this inquiry is taking place, who is Adam and how are their lives connected?

I must admit, this book has taken me months to read and thinking back, there is so much packed into the story and a lot I'm sure I have forgotten. I did end up enjoying the book in the end but it did feel like a long slow slog at times.

This book is a prequel I believe to The Winter Sea, which I have not actually read but if you enjoy a Scottish backdrop, plenty of intrigue, Scottish history and a sprinkling of romance then you will likely enjoy The Vanished Days 😊

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @simonandschuster UK for the review copy of this book.

As a lover of historical fiction and being Scottish there was no way this book was not for me.
I felt it was a bit slow to start but the pace picked up and I thoroughly enjoyed the plot line and the characters.
I enjoy historical fiction set in this time and the author has clearly done a lot of research which provided a rich setting for the book.
Great storyline and I will need to go back and read the previous two novels, although I believe this could be a stand alone novel without any issues.
Would recommend to those who enjoy historical fiction written well.
Thanks to the author and publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review

I made the mistake of reading this one without having read the previous ones, as this is the third on a series... I thought that wouldn't be a problem. Regardless, I just couldn't get into it.

Due to the miscalculation and mistakes on my part while requesting this book; as this is a continuation from a previous book in a series, I won't be able I provide any feedback in the time being until I get a hold of the first book. Thank you.