Billie has lived many different lives. Most recently, she was married to Jonathan and mother to Olive. Wanting to be everything for her family and saddened at losing the closeness with Olive as she grows up, Billie begins throwing herself into extreme sports. A planned solo hike in the Desolation Wilderness has Billie disappearing with only one hiking boot left behind. This tragedy throws Jonathan and Olive into a spiral where Jonathan begins drinking too much and Olive retreats within herself, leaving her friends behind and seemingly giving up on her schoolwork.

One year after Billie's death, Olive started having visions that her mother was still alive and wanted her to find him. Jonathan was concerned for Olive's mental health and asks her to see a psychiatrist, though something she says makes him wonder if she is telling the truth. The journey that Olive embarks on to find the truth about her mother is nothing she was prepared for.

4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the opportunity to review - this was an interesting concept but slightly overwrought. I'd be interested to see a deeper edit.

Strengths

Compelling Mystery: The central mystery surrounding Billie's disappearance keeps you hooked. The narrative throws out red herrings and unexpected twists, making it hard to predict where the story is headed.
Vivid Character Portrayals: While Billie is initially presented through flashbacks, she becomes a complex and intriguing character. Jonathan and Olive are also well-developed, each struggling to navigate their grief and the unraveled fabric of their family.
Exploration of Family Dynamics: The novel delves into the complexities of family relationships, particularly the strained dynamic between Olive and her mother. It explores themes of grief, loss, and the importance of communication.
Weaknesses

Unlikable Characters: Some readers may find Billie to be an unsympathetic character, making it difficult to connect with her story.
Shifting Narrative Style: The book alternates between past and present, which can be jarring for some readers who prefer a linear narrative.

This book was suspenseful and I appreciated the ending but the whole arc felt a bit dull and empty. Enjoyable enough but there are more enticing titles out there.

a great ride of a book with loads of twists and turns and a great murder mystery at the core of it. I look forward to more books by this author

I felt like this book was all over the place. There are pieces of it I really enjoyed, but I also felt disconnected from the characters the entire first half of the book.

I'm a BIG fan of Janelle Brown and especially loved I'll Be You and Pretty Things, so I could not wait to get my hands on this one. And it did not disappoint.

It’s been a year since Billie Flanagan—a Berkeley mom with an enviable life—went on a solo hike in Desolation Wilderness and vanished from the trail. Her body was never found, just a shattered cell phone and a solitary hiking boot. Her husband and teenage daughter have been coping with Billie’s death the best they can: Jonathan drinks as he works on a loving memoir about his marriage; Olive grows remote, from both her father and her friends at the all-girls school she attends.

But then Olive starts having strange visions of her mother, still alive. Jonathan worries about Olive’s emotional stability, until he starts unearthing secrets from Billie’s past that bring into question everything he thought he understood about his wife. Who was the woman he knew as Billie Flanagan?

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a fast and fun page-turner. I would absolutely recommend it,

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. This mystery is a fair book. It is a slow start. But once it gets to the stage where things are being revealed it picks up speed. I think if you like mysteries, this book will appeal to you.

I went into this book thinking a hard core mystery, but left with a disappointing taste on that front. But, that's not to say the story that was written was bad....on the contrary, I liked it a lot. It was a pleasant surprise and I'm glad I stuck with it.

Janelle Brown is an excellent writer, she pulls you in from the very beginning. The story itself had a very interesting plot, I just wish that everything didn't have an answer. Leave more to the reader to come up with their own answer or leave a little out there.
This book does seem to be geared more towards a young adult audience and I got my daughter to read it. She loved it as well. I will be looking for more books from this author.

What an enthralling and quick read! WATCH ME DISAPPEAR is a meticulously woven family drama of a search for answers to Billie’s disappearance. Alternating perspectives of Jonathan and Olive makes the story robust and compelling. Just when we think we know everything about Billie and her worldly and colorful past, we are surprised again and again. A stunning story about the secrets we keep from those we love the most.

I love when a book takes you in one direction and then in another and then bam! I had this book figured out several times but wrong, or maybe not. Great narration. Loved the character development of the husband and daughter left behind.

I liked Watch Me Disappear, but I did go in expecting more of a murder mystery type of book than a family drama. A large part of the story is about the family's inner thoughts and feelings. Billie, the missing mother, wasn't particularly likable, which made me less invested in finding out what happened to her. I did like her daughter and husband, and seeing how they each handled their grief differently. The writing style was also very well done. Overall, 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Come read the story about Jonathan and Olive Flanagan as they grieve their wife and mom , Billie. It's been one year that Billie has disappeared on a solo mountain hike and Jonathan is ready to close the book and have Billie declared dead. But it's around the same time the Olive is having visions of her mom asking her to look for her. As Jonathan and Olive start digging through Billie's history more and more secrets are revealed until most questions are answered.
I really enjoyed the story building in this book , moving from the past to the present and from multiple POV slowly details emerge and we find out the truth about Billie.

A quick and riveting read for thriller fans!

This book is not as much of a heart-pounding mystery as an examination of the relationship between a mother and daughter. I enjoyed this book and was glad that I received an ARC from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Some of the characters were difficult to like - a characteristic of a great author. I'll read moe by Janelle Brown - and I hope you will too.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Billie Flanagan disappeared almost a year ago while hiking by herself. Her husband Jonathan and teenage daughter Olive have been dealing with the grief and uncertainty. Then Olive starts having visions of her mother and becomes convinced she is still alive somewhere. And Jonathan starts discovering secrets about Billie he had no idea about as he does research for the memoir he’s writing. They begin investigating these different avenues to see if they can find out once and for all who Billie is and what happened to her.

This book was very well-written; good pacing, impressive vocabulary. It was definitely thought provoking about our relationships with loved ones and that people’s lives and personalities are not just black and white. However, I just didn’t love it. I didn’t love some of the choices characters made, I couldn’t fully connect with any of the main characters, and some aspects of the ending were disappointing. Some were nice, though. There was also a fair amount of bad language throughout. Not enough to abandon the book but enough that it bothered me. I’d give this book 2 1/2 stars, but I’ll round up to a 3 since the writing was above average. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

This book seemed to take me foREVer to read. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. The characters were not all that likeable and some of their actions were hard to understand. Overall the story was good and I will probably look for more by the author.

Such a compelling story about a daughter’s grief over her missing mother and the bond between mothers and daughters. I couldn’t stop turning these pages.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.