Loved this spooky thriller! It was just the right amount of creepy and the mystery really caught me off guard!

When She Disappeared is one that will keep you up all night reading. Twisty and full of atmosphere which comes to life more with the diary entries. It's a multi layered read that keeps you engrossed.

The plot grabbed me straight away and the book started off very well. But then I felt that the book fell a bit short in the middle. I liked the ending though. My problem with this book was I predicted it and I love unpredictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After the death of her mother and the disappearance of her high school friend, Jessie, Margo left her hometown of Lake Moss fifteen years ago and never looked back. Now she's headed home, running from her failed marriage and using her father's knee surgery as an excuse to leave the life that had just exploded behind. When Margo arrives back in town, news breaks that the local "secret" swimming hole has been her friend's final resting place all these years.

Looking at the rest of the reviews, I'm the odd man out. I liked the premise of the story, a typical thriller/mystery set up with an interesting set of circumstances. However, after about the 50% mark I had a hard time. Margo, despite being in her 30s, came off as being super young in the way she spoke an acted (a trauma response? Maybe.). When she joined up with Austin to help on the documentary about Jessie's disappearance, it was odd because I occasionally had a hard time telling exactly who was speaking. Their voices were very, very similar.

It's hard to truly give a full review of this book without revealing the ending. I will say, though, that there were a lot of, in my opinion, unnecessary elements to the story that distracted from the actual whodunnit of the book. There's a lot of time spent talking about Margo's reaction to her husband's affair that didn't feel like it served a purpose, and her stalker in town got...odd, as did the amount of time spent analyzing the rich boy in town. All of this extra time could have been better spent, again, in my opinion, working to make the ending more coherent and satisfying.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange of a honest review.
Unfortunately, I did not like this book and I found it quite boring and repetitive. Overall, it was poorly executed. When she disappeared centers around Margo, whose best friend Jessie disappeared almost 15 years ago. Margo returns to her hometown to take care of her father after a surgery and as she arrives, the body of her friend is found on a lake. The plot then follows how Margo and Austin, a former friend from her youth, try to uncover who killed Jessie. The premise sounded amazing, but unfortunately, it did not deliver. Besides a great opening scene (when Jessie’s body is found and which is creepy AF), the story lacks any redeemable qualities both in plot and execution. Some of the issues I had with this book include:

1. Immature characters. Starting with Margo, all of the characters seemed to not have been able to overcome their teenage years, including grudges and immature behavior. They seemed to have no personality and kept dwelling on things that happened more than 15 years ago. There were literally no likeable characters, including Jessie. She was a victim but as the story unfolds, it’s hard not to think she deserved what happened to her. Sorry.

2. Margo. She was annoying, period. She had mental health issues but I do not thing the authors did a good job in presenting her story. Margo had everything to overcome her traumas and she knew it, but chose to ignore them. I know mental health issues are serious but believe me, she was not bipolar nor anything of the sort.

3. Repetitive writing. The story could have been 200 pages shorter. The authors overused the descriptions and there is an abundance of meaningless dialogue. To be honest, I skipped quite some pages and still was able to understand the story. For me, it was frustrating to read about what had happened in the past and learn none of the characters was slightly interesting in terms of personality. Worst of all, we have to read about all those who had a potential motive to kill Jessie and in the end –I’ll just say none of it mattered.

4. The ending. This story has no ending –it is too open, and it made me wonder why we had to go over 400 pages just to find that Jessie’s killer had a mental breakdown and that was it.

Jessie Germaine went missing years ago but finally her body is found by teenagers answering the question of that happened to her but not why or by whom. Margo is back in town and caught up in the investigation but what is the truth and why do people want to keep her quiet.

This was an interesting murder mystery though I did have an idea who the killer was pretty early on. I was right but the reasoning for it was well put t9gether. The plot is a steady build without a dramatic conclusion but it works for the book. Margo isn't instantly likeable and she has a lot of issues herself. I did however like Austen. The writing is descriptive and gets the creepy scenes really well. A good read but can be solved quite easily.

Initially this book gripped me and kept me wanting more. However, it tended to get a bit more predictable as the book went on. I felt like I've heard this storyline before. Nonetheless, the authors do write well together and I feel if the ending of the book was a bit different it would have stood out to me more.
Thank you to Steph Mullin, Nicole Mabry, NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was pulled into the mystery of the story and I was intrigued to find out more but the ending fell flat for me. I feel that the build-up of the story was great but the ending was very typical.

This story follows Margo who is returning to Lake Moss to take care of her father. Upon returning, she discovered that her childhood best friend, Jessie, has finally been found after she went missing fifteen years ago. There were a lot of excitement and accusations as Jessie’s case is reopened. Margo volunteers to help her friend, Austin, with his true crime show as he re-examines Jessie’s disappearance that led to her death. Margo has ulterior motives for helping Austin as well as she had secrets of her own to uncover but someone is determined to keep things quiet. How far will they go to keep their secrets buried?

I love small town settings in a mystery where everyone knows who you are and everyone has a secret to hide. How can the killer hide in plain sight for so long without getting caught? All the secrets were revealed one by one and there were plenty of them and it was fun trying to figure out which one of them really did it. There were plenty of clues that gives away the plot of the story so I figured it out pretty early on but there were also twists that kept me interested throughout the story.

This is a slow paced mystery where twists and clues slowly builds up the story. Despite the ending, I still enjoyed reading this.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books for the arc.

Margo, a school student in Lake Moss, Her friend Jessie went missing after a school pep rally one night in the woods and Margo left town and never wanted to look back. Until, her father had knee surgery 15 years later and she came back to Lake Moss. While back, there were kids playing in a watering hole and they stumbled upon Jessie's body. That has been there for what could be the last 15 years now. I enjoyed the concept of this book and the way it was written. A nice mystery novel where everyone is blaming Margo for the murder of her friend.

About 30 or so pages in, I felt like I’ve read this book before. Jessie’s body is found in a swimming hole after being missing for 15 years. Her best friend Margo is going to help interview possible suspects. It started to get unrealistic. I didn’t care for Margo or Austin. Felt juvenile for an adult thriller.

Although I guessed a significant plot development quite early on in the story, this was still an enjoyable read from this writing pair. I liked the previous book by these authors so I knew this tale would be a developing burner with plenty of twists and turns.

Margo’s return to her home town coincides with the discovery of her best friend’s body, who has been missing, presumed dead, for many years. Although she says she is returning to Lake Moss to help her dad recuperate after surgery, it is evident that Margo has left her own home for very good reasons. They soon become clear in the story and this develops a sub-plot to the narrative that explores Margo’s mother and demons that run in the family. When Margo’s dad reveals more truths about her mother, I found it interesting to draw parallels between mother and daughter. I think it would have added an extra element of suspense if this was developed further in Margo’s character.

Early on, Margo bumps into an old childhood friend, Austin, who is filming with a television company about Jessie’s disappearance. With her body discovered, Austin and the production team are revisiting key suspects in Jessie’s case, interviewing them to help uncover key evidence. Margo tags along to these pre-interviews, making notes and keeping on top of the re-opened case, trying to find out what actually happened to her best friend during that fateful night.

Therefore, the majority of the story follows Margo and Austin as they interview different characters. Revisiting their old circle of friends, the list of suspects does not seem to narrow as further questioning reveals that so many people could have held a grudge against Jessie. Coupled with the fact that Margo is receiving threatening messages and keeps running into old enemy, Charlie, this investigation shows that there are plenty of people who have truths to hide. I liked this ambiguity because the writers make it clear that no one can be trusted and they all seem pretty squeamish during their interviews.

However, having deduced a major plot development, I did start to grow frustrated at how long it took to reach this revelation. Yet, when the writers do reward readers with this, I found the plot really started to pick up pace with many unexpected developments. Therefore, I would consider this to be a slow-burner of a tale but it is worth persevering for the final truths towards the end of the novel. Some of them were quite unexpected and I think this part of the novel echoed more of the previous book and show cased their suspenseful writing.

I liked the concept of old school friends being interviewed because, despite many years passing, there are still grudges and a desire to withhold the truth. Although the characters have aged and are at a different stage in life, there are still criticisms towards one another, giving enough fuel to question who was really behind Jessie’s murder?

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was too much of a slow burn for me. I enjoy unreliable narrators, but did not like the way they attempted to pull it off. The ending was the best part of the book.

Returning to her old home town to help her father after surgery, Margo is not pleased to be back. At the same time, a high school party at the quarry leads to a discovery of Margo’s old friend Jessie’s body. Jessie went missing about 15 years ago, turns out she wasn’t far from home at all. As an old crush and grind returns to town completing a show on Jessie’s case, he asked Margo for her help. Together they try to untangle the web of lies surrounding Jessie’s closest friends on the night she disappeared.

I found this to be incredibly predictable. I had an idea from the start after we’re were introduced to the main characters who the murderer would be and 8 was correct. I found it incredibly obvious and I hope it wasn’t as obvious for others because I found myself not wanting to continue because I was so convinced I was right.

Margo has returned to her home town of Lake Moss, the town her mother died in and the town her best friend disappeared from, after many years away to help care for her Dad who is recovering from surgery. Coincidentally, her remains of her best friend are discovered whilst she is there. Being back triggers childhood nightmares from Margo and old secrets and grudges are renewed. There are many suspects as to who killed Jessie and one of them seems to be after Margo. Whilst I wouldn't really deem this to be a thriller, it was a good read with a few twists and turns before the killer is revealed.

Creepy, tense, and utterly gripping. expertly weaves the past and present through the eyes of a complex, beautifully drawn protagonist. This book is divine. It's exactly what I love about suspense books. Twisty, creating a distinctive mood and kept me guessing until the end.. The writing is vivid and twisty, with an undercurrent of dread, and the lead character is so well-developed that her struggles and fears leap off the page and burrow in your skin. I savored every superb word of this hypnotizing, unpredictable thriller.

An enjoyable psychological thriller wherein the disappearance of a teenager is revisited by a documentary team decades later.

An intriguing small town vibe and a character driven mystery keeps you turning those pages and overall this is an addictive and engaging read that holds the attention throughout.

The one personal downside for me was the predictability of it, I did think that the perpetrator was obvious very early on but it was still an entertaining read.


Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

I'm always interested when authors co-write books. It can go wrong so easily, but Steph Mulin and Nicole Mabry did well with When She Disappeared.

It's not quite as fast-paced as books written "in the now" rather than in a series of flashbacks, but I love a good opportunity for mystery. When She Disappeared pulls you in from page one, and you won't want to put the book down.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon publishing for the opportunity to review this book.
Absolutely loved the twists in this tale and definitely didn’t see the end coming.
A fast paced page turner worth the expression’One more chapter’
I highly recommend.

This thriller is built on the familiar foundation of a female heroine who returns to a small-town setting she has avoided for many years due to tragic events. The heroine this time is Margo, who arrives in her childhood town just as an investigation into the murder of her former best friend Jessie opens. Will the TV crew already in town, operating under the original premise of investigating Jessie’s disappearance, be a help or a hindrance? And is it wise of Margo to become involved with their documentary, especially when her contribution starts to attract anonymous letters? Written in precise, often clipped and clear-cut prose, this is a thriller that fans of the genre will enjoy. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC that allowed me to read this novel and to produce this review that represents my honest, unbiased opinion.

The first book I have read by these authors.

A tense thriller that kept me turning the pages.

Atmospheric at times

A great read

When She Disappeared is a good thriller, with its own twists and turns. I enjoyed it.
This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Avon Books UK and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own