In the Vanishing Hour

This was an impossible to put down book! I loved every haunting moment of this book. Will definitely be recommending to everyone I know and meet!

Detailed story telling is the catalyst for this remarkable book about the depth of the human spirit. I was instantly taken in and enjoyed it immensely.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC.

In the Vanishing Hour is set over two timelines, twenty years apart, both laced with mystery and death.

I did find the start a bit slow, but I think that's expected when establishing a foundation for two mysteries and found myself engrossed with the second half. I did however guess one of the reveals as there were a few clues hinted at.

Overall, I'd recommend reading this mystery - it allowed me to escape into the 1950s and 1970s and into a small town with intrigue, loyalty and secrets.

4.5 rounded up
Loved the characters. So realistic and endearing. Great story with haunting atmosphere and lots of twists and turns. Quick read, couldn't put it down. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I found In the Vanishing Hour a difficult slow to get going read.. Once i had got into the story i found it an intriguing tale that went between two timelines with plenty of twists and turns.
Well worth reading if you can get past the early part of the book.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my early copy.

In the Vanishing Hour is definitely a gothic tale full of mysteries both civic and familial. This is not a light of heart read. The story kept me going because I could not predict where the author would take me. It was such a tragic story with a bittersweet ending.

The story unfolds over 3 time periods that are often interwoven. The complexity was challenging for me until the majority of the oldest story was laid out. The telling then shifted to primarily the more recent past with a few chapters of the present mixed in. I appreciated that the author left some clues that allowed the reader to figure out parts of the mysteries while keeping some of the answers to the major mysteries until the very end.

This is a great read for fans of Realistic Fiction.

Such a well crafted novel, compelling enough to pull you through and very quick read. I enjoyed it so much from the first page till the end.

Sarah Beth Martin's In the Vanishing Hour reminds me of a longer Alice Munro story. It's a slow burn of a story, where the plot is laid out, and the characters are introduced over two timelines. We know they will eventually meet and somehow one will hurt the other, but how will soon be revealed.

Harris and Frances are growing up outside of Boston in the late 1950s. Frances works as a dresser at the local department store. She lives at home with her parents and deals with the grief of her brother's death years before. Harris is a few years older and works at the local hardware store and reluctantly hangs out with his bad boy friends, The Lizards.

Frances briefly meets Gwen, a new model at the store who resembles her. Gwen was kind, much nicer than the others. She shared a moment of kindness with Frances, giving a few makeup tips and a smile. Then Gwen vanished.

Harris suffers with stress and guilt for weeks, eventually leaving town for a better life. In a future timeline, Harris has returned and is working on a new construction project that brings back the secrets of that past.

This is a story of lost people and small towns. It's about grief and guilt, and lost innocence and hope. This is beautifully written and I could have read 100 pages more about both Frances and Harris.

In The Vanishing Hour is such a great mysterious and haunting story.
When more than one person mysteriously dies in the same way people start to take notice. Frances meets a man, Harris, who seems to be connected to these disappearances, one being her brother. Do others see the connections, could it just be a coincidence? Frances will not stop until she finds answers.

The characters are really caught my attention. We get the opportunity to see them introduced over two timelines, a favorite viewpoint of mine. The story line and writing are great. The authors way of describing the characters and the story line kept me interested in what was going to happen next.

This is a great book for anyone who loves a story with twists and turns. I will be recommending it.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

A quiet, beautifully written mystery that I read in one sitting. I was immediately endeared to Frances and enjoyed her POV chapters the most. I loved the setting, which added to the overall atmosphere of the plot. Five stars!

In 1959, Frances is still grieving the drowning death of her brother Mac, afraid to stand out, feeling herself rather plain. At her job as a stylist, or "display", dressing mannequins, she meets Gwen Mann who looks exactly like her, only better. Curious, she befriends her but when Gwen is found dead in that same river, Frances takes on her likeness and insets herself into the case, trying to get to the truth.
I liked the different POV of the characters that help reveal clues and secrets into the mystery. It was a bit of a slow burn, but once you really get into the story, the pacing was perfect. I thought it was a great portrayal of small town American life for the time period.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Love the cover of this one!

I really enjoyed this book. It was strange, atmospheric, mysterious, and exquisitely written. Told in dual POVs and dual timelines, the mystery of what happened to cause two peoples deaths is slowly revealed. The characters are well written and multi layered. The plot is a slow burn that feels like you are taking a boat ride down a long and winding river in summertime. A truly beautiful read that I can't recommend highly enough!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

I LOVED the haunted, creepy atmosphere of this book. It was a little out of my comfort zone genre wise but I'm so glad i went for it!

Cue the alarms and someone hand me a megaphone...

I have an announcement to make.

Listen up folks, if you do not have a copy of In the Vanishing Hour, you are missing out on one heck of a book.

There is still time, head on over to your favorite bookstore and BUY this book.

Talk about an atmospheric setting, I was completely immersed in the New England surroundings, teleported into a different era. Secrets, mystery and suspense, this book is anything but slow and will have you speeding though the pages, eager to connect the dots.

Sarah Beth Martin, is an author to keep an eye on, I see big things in her future. .

Teaser :

Massachusetts, Summer, 1951: When a boy drowns in the Charles River, a family is devastated, and the town of Norumbega is changed forever.

Eight years later, Frances Adams lives in the shadow of her dead brother, Mac. At her window dresser job she befriends model Gwen, who inspires her to reinvent herself. When Gwen vanishes into the river, Frances is devastated, and Mac's death comes rushing back to her. She becomes obsessed with Gwen's memory, and transforms herself into her likeness.

An investigation begins, and the police question three young men. Frances and friend Iris follow them to the local riverside park, where one of the men—the suspicious Harris—mistakes Frances for Gwen. Frances is intrigued to haunt him, and continues to pursue him in secret. As the mystery unravels, shocking revelations about its connection to a long-past family tragedy come to the surface.

Set in the haunting atmosphere of 1950s and 1970s New England, In the Vanishing Hour weaves suspense and mystery into a story about loss, identity, and the secrets best left untold.