After a Valentine diner that didn’t go so well, Pippa and her friend Nathan are in the middle of a bombing. He told her he’s going to help but after that he’s gone. What happened with him is a mystery until she meets his brother and slowly everything unravels.
Entertaining story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this story, this review is my honest opinion.

"Survivor. Hero. Liar."

The Night He Disappeared by A J Wills is a fast-paced thriller filled with action and drama. If you like thrillers that grab you from the first page and don't let go, definitely give this one a read!

What was supposed to be a romantic Valentine's Day dinner quickly devolves into chaos for Pippa and Nathan. Pippa is a well known social media blogger and has been seeing Nathan for a little less than a year. When Nathan surprises Pippa with a romantic Valentine's date and a very public proposal, Pippa turns him down. Humiliated and rejected Nathan storms out of the restaurant. As Pippa chases after him an explosion rocks the Tower Bridge causing utter chaos and potential mass fatalities. Nathan runs off to help with the aftermath of the explosion, but once the dust has settled he is nowhere to be found. Pippa is frantic, she has no way of contacting Nathan (he left his phone with her) and she doesn't know if he had gotten injured or worse. But when Nathan's brother Ryan tells Pippa to "walk away, you don't know what you're getting involved in" , Pippa realizes she might not know Nathan at all...

This definitely started out fast paced and eventful. The multiple POVs really help to get insight into what the characters are experiencing. I really liked how the angle of social media was used in the narrative. I'm not really sold on our MC Pippa though. I felt like she was absolutely blinded when it came to what was going on, but I can also see how that made her character real and relatable. Overall I found this book to be an enjoyable read and would definitely consider checking out more work by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, A J Wills, and Cherry Tree Publishing for this ARC!! Publication date is April 28th 2025.

Pippa, and her boyfriend Nathan, are perilously close to an explosion on Tower Bridge that kills several people and injures more. Nathan sets out to render aid to victims, but he never returns to where he left Pippa waiting. He seemingly disappeared into thin air, but Pippa believes that Nathan's brother knows more than he is saying.

This book is well written, and much of it is engaging, but the ending was just a bridge too far (no pun intended). Nathan's motives were bizarre, and his behavior even more so, to the point of incredulity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Omg, this book is amazing. It had me in suspense the whole time with the thrilling storyline. Highly recommend reading.

Loved this story about Nathan and Pippa. They go out to dinner on Valentine's Day and then end up taking a walk right into a bombing. Nathan disappeared to go help the victims but never returned. This started several days of anxiety for Pippa but after checking with Nathan's brother Ryan things started to make a little more sense (at least she knew Nathan was still alive). There were lots of twists and turns to follow and things just got stranger and stranger. I couldn't put this one down until I found out what happened. I highly recommend for anyone who likes thrillers.
Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this remarkable book in exchange for my honest opinion .

The Night He Disappeared by A J Wills

3⭐️

An interesting concept. I couldn’t relate to main character, Pippa and Nathan was a complete dirt bag. Pippa ignored every red flag until it was too late!

I liked The Night He Disappeared a psychological thriller by A.J. Wills but thought it rather long drawn out but the latter part of the book more than made up for it.

Nathan works in insurance and Pippa is a blogger for Instagram, TikTok and Youtube and earns more money than Nathan who is jealous of Pippa's success

Nathan treats Pippa to a romantic Valentine meal and propses to her but Pippa declines as they have only been together for eleven months. Nathan feeling both rejected and humiliated leaves Pippa still sitting at the table whilst he leaves the restaurant. Pippa catches up to him when suddenly a huge explosion is heard and Tower Bridge has beeen damaged causing fatalities.

Nathan informs Pippa that he needs to go and help with the carnage after the aftermath of the explosion but he has disappeared and she has no way of contacting him as he had left his phone behind with her.

Pippa seeks out Nathan's brother Ryan in case he has been staying with him but to no avail and Ryan's parting words 'Walk away Pippa. You don't know what you're getting yourself involved in.' rings through her ears.

Then James, Pippa's ex turns up out of the blue and between him and Sam, Pippa's sister and Pippa they try to find out where Nathan has disappeared to.

Unbeknown to Pippa some of the closest to her are hiding secrets from her and someone she thought she knew turns into a Dr. Jekly and Mr. Hyde persona and Pippa's life is under threat.

I really liked the premise of this book but just found that I didn’t gel with it. The descriptors of Blakeney were fabulous and really out you there but for some reason I just didn’t really like Pippa and found her too gullible. Nathan was a despicable character but what I thought was good was how easy it is for an event to completely change someone and the path their like takes. A decent read but there are better versions out there.

Pippa and Nathan are on their way to a valentine celebration, when an explosion happens. Nathan hurries off to help people and is not hear from again, Pippa tries desperately to find him, but learns she is not the only one trying to find him.

wow wow wow. i was not ready for how good this book was going to be. why didnt anyone tell me id need far more time to absorb the pages of this book!
this story was gripping. it was tense it was realistic. it was filled with flawed characters but human characters. the storyline had suspense and had grit. it was just one of the best thrillers and plots ive read in a while.
the story hits from the very start. pippa turns down the proposal of her boyfriend. and this starts events that will change both their lives. for on their sudden way home a terrorist attack strikes london. Nathan runs off saying hes going to help the victims. but he vanishes into thin air. noone knows what happened to him and seemingly noone seems to care enough. but Pippa isnt about to let this go she doesnt even know if hes alive.
the arrival of her ex James adds more mystery. is he there to help or is he there to stir. and jsut how is he involved in whats going on with Nathan?
this books was brilliant. the differnt Pov was compelling as you got to learn many points of view.
Pippa was also all so real. because she was blinded in her task to find out what happened, it was like she just had to no and nothing else mattered. and often this felt so raw for her that she wasnt thinking straight.
a fantastic read. so much better than i thought going in which made me love the book even more. and it really did grip my attention and having me guessing literally all the way through. by the end i had to know the truth just as much as Pippa.

Gripped from the first page I couldn’t put it down, I just wanted to know what would happen next. I enjoyed the storyline from the different pov’s and it had twists galore. Intrigue, emotional trauma and suspense, this book had it all and I certainly wasn’t expecting the ending. I think this book would be great made into a movie. A great book by this author, I highly recommend.

The story starts with a romantic Valentine’s night in London when a sudden explosion turns everything into chaos. Pippa and her boyfriend Nathan survive the explosion, but soon Nathan rushes off to help the victims only to vanish into thin air. No one knows what happened to him, if he’s even alive or not. Pippa sets out to uncover the truth about his disappearance.

This one sucked me right in, and I was hooked from beginning to end. Every chapter is filled with a new mystery. By the end, I thought I had figured everything out, only to realise I was completely wrong. The final twist blew me away. There were some scenes that made me hold my breath, wondering what would happen next.

The entire storyline was great, and the multiple POV style gave it depth. I loved how social media was included in the plot. Its use in the book perfectly shows how it can make or break everything for you.

Pippa, as a protagonist, is someone I have complicated feelings about. Her loyalty and love make her a character you want to relate to, but soon that love blinds her. Her choices made me question everything and scream at her not to make such dumb decisions. But all of this is what makes her character feel so real.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. If you love thriller books, you should definitely give this one a try. Huge thanks to the author and netgalley for giving me an ARC of this fantastic book

The Night He Disappeared- A J Wills

Valentines night, a proposal and an explosion.
Quite the opening to this novel. Certainly grabs your attention.
Pippa and her boyfriend Nathan are out to dinner on Valentine's night. When she turns down Nathan's proposal infront of a packed restaurant, he storms outside and into a life altering event.
Pippa and Nathan are fortunate survivors of a terrorist attack. Nathan runs off, saying he is going to help the injured, but doesn't come back. No one has seem him. He's no reported dead or injured. Just vanished.
Will Pippa find out what has happened to Nathan? And what secrets will she uncover along the way?

This is a well written novel with lots of twists and turns throughout the plot. I like the use of multiple narrators as it really rounds out the story and gives us different perspectives of events. I also like the transcripts from the podcast interviews that add another layer to the story.
While I didn't dislike the book and I finished it in a number of hours, I'm not totally enamoured by it. I didn't really warm to, or connect with any of the characters. I wasn't particularly rooting for any of them, which would be unusual for me. I found the ending of the book, along with a lot of the plot points, underwhelming. It was an easy but not overly enjoyable read. This is my first book from this author but I don't know if I would be rushing to buy the next offering.
Always grateful for the opportunity to read and review books so thank you as always to @netgalley
Getting to read and review books from so many gifted authors is something little, 7 year old bookworm, Sarah could only have dreamed of.
⭐️⭐️

I was gripped from page 1, the multiple pov style gave this depth. At its heart its about how one moment change your life forever in ways you never expected. A rejected marriage proposal a busy restaurant leads to an ill timed walk along tower bridge where an explosion occurs. Suddenly Nathan has gone to help and disappears. Is he dead or alive and so begins the journey of truth seeking. Except nothing and no-one is as they seem. I loved the way reality and relationships are spun together to create twists and turns that had me reading long into the night. Every time i thought id worked out the truth queue a curve ball. Nathan was a complex guy but fatally flawed and i loved the way complex issues were dealt with and humanity was still there. The chance of redemption or survival was strong. Part way through the book I did guess there was more to James than met the eye but the final twist blew me away. I enjoyed the fact that social presence was treated as a plus that sometimes people really do matter to them even if there are just on the screen. The journey of realisation to what happened and what kind of man Nathan was was raw emotional and so real This is a highly recommended 5 star read. Thank you so much netgallery, publisher and author

Pippa, a well known social media blogger, is dating Nathan…. He seems like the perfect guy until he arranges an incredibly romantic public proposal and Pippa turns him down because they’ve only known each other a short time. On their way home from the restaurant , a terrorist incident takes place and Nathan in his quest to help, goes missing. Pippa spends the days after frantically searching for him and in the meantime her ex from years prior, James, gets in touch having seen a live update from Pippa about the incident. Pippa enlists his help to try track Nathan down all the while worried that the police don’t seem to be taking the fact that Nathan is missing, seriously. This was a great page turner and my first from this author with an interesting twist at the end! I’d recommend this one. Thanks to the author & publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was such a gripping and exciting thriller, I could hardly put it down as I was constantly wanting to know what would happen next! Full of shocking twists and turns, and a brilliant ending. Fantastic, absolutely loved it!

I absolutely love this book. I tend to gravitate towards thriller books. The book was super fast paced. You have your jaw on the floor with the amount of emotional traumas the couple went through in the story. I finished this book so fast. I loved it so much.

This is gripping intense and a really good read.

When an explosion occurs, Nathan rushes to see if he can help anyone then he disappears.

Pippa is frantic wondering where he is, It's Valentines day and she has just turned down his marriage proposal and is unsure if she will ever see him again.

She soon discovers there are things she didn't know about Nathan and as his secrets are uncovered she wonders if even she is safe.

This is a pacy read and I loved the plotline. I can see several actors in the title roll if it ever becomes a film, which I would love as it fill with drama, quite action packed and a solid tale.

Thank you Netgalley and Cherry Tree Publishing for the ARC.

I'm not exactly sure what to think. It is a fast-paced thriller surely holding your attention. Just like Pippa, I really wanted to know what has happend to Nathan. Was he dead? Or did he just vanish?

Using all the mixed media throughout the story was also a nice touch, but I did not like it as much as I would have expected. It was still a good book, told from the POV of Pippa and her ex-boyfriend James, who, surprisingly, wants to help Pippa in her search for Nathan. If you also want to find out now what happened to the guy, I would suggest go and read the book once it does come out!

Nathan proposes to Pippa in a crowded restaurant, and she says no.

On their way home, a bomb in a fast moving van explodes and there are many fatalities and injuries. Nathan runs off to assist the injured and vanishes.
Pippa is frantic, and does everything she can to find him, then spots him in a packed pub,but he disappears before she can get to him.

This was a page turner from the first chapter. I just had to know what happened to Nathan.
There should be a couple of trigger warnings.
I think Nathan needed serious help, I think he ended up believing the lies he made.

Massive twist at the end. Who would have thought!!