This was a compelling, albeit, slightly underwhelming tale of Hollywood aspirations and violence told from the perspective of a young British actress who is on the verge of stardom.

Our main character has just gone through a bad breakup while simultaneously reaching the pinnacle of success in London, so she decides to hop the pond over to LA to work with American studios during "pilot season" and stumbles upon the seedy underbelly of Hollywood and just how far some people will go to achieve success.

The main plot of the story was compelling enough, but the story seemed to drag on at times, held back by a protagonist who was frustratingly incompetent and who never quite did much. The author did achieve her goal of a suspenseful plot, but the ultimate conclusion felt rushed and left me feeling underwhelmed.

There's slow burn, and then there's S. L. O. W. burn... I believe the wood was completely soaked with this one. I've read and enjoyed some of this author's other works, but this one was not it for me.

I really enjoyed this! Catherine Steadman writes such immersive, twisty mysteries and I loved this look at the inner workings of Hollywood. The lore of Old Hollywood added such a great atmosphere to this story about ambition and identity. Such a captivating read!

Catherine Steadman is an auto buy author for me and she never disappoints! The Disappearing Act was a fun, twisty read and best of all it was unpredictable!

DNF - could not get into this story. Could not connect to the characters. Will give it another try in the future.

I adore Catherine Steadman's writing voice--and literal voice. I ended up reading this one on audio, and it was just fantastic. Loved the Hollywood setting and slow burn with a big finish. I was screaming a bit at the MC to be more careful, but, hey, that's half the fun!

I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would. I just love the way this author writes. I never want to put the book down. I will read everything this author writes!

Thank you Netgalley for this thrilling book! My review is unbiased and my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Balantine Books for providing me with an electronic advance reader copy.

In "The Disappearing Act," Mia, an actress based in London, makes a journey to Los Angeles following an unexpected breakup. In Hollywood, she encounters Emily, another actress, during an audition. What begins as a simple favor for Emily in the audition waiting room takes a mysterious turn when Emily goes missing. A woman claiming to be Emily surfaces, bearing a striking resemblance, but Mia senses something amiss. Amidst pursuing potential roles in LA, Mia finds herself drawn into the enigma surrounding Emily's disappearance and grapples with the challenge of staying focused.

While intrigued by the unfolding narrative, I couldn't shake the feeling of annoyance at Mia's swift immersion into a stranger's life after just meeting her. Recognizing that this serves as the story's catalyst, I couldn't personally relate to such a deep dive into someone else's affairs so quickly. Although I correctly anticipated some plot elements, others caught me by surprise.

Obsessed is an understatement. This was such a fun read. I loved the dark side of LA trope coming through. The beginning was a little bit of a slow burn, but it set up the ending so nicely; it was definitely worth it. I feel like the main character, Mia, could have been a bit better developed, but overall she was still fun to read! This is definitely one you should pick up if you’re on the fence!

Mia Eliot jets off to Hollywood, hoping to make her acting dreams a reality. But when she meets Emily and is the last person to see her before she disappears, things take a dark turn. As Mia searches for answers, she starts to question her own sanity and reality.

Catherine Steadman's The Disappearing Act may seem like your standard Hollywood thriller, but it's anything but ordinary. The story grips you from start to finish, throwing in a twist that'll leave you reeling.

While some aspects of the plot are predictable, the insights into the movie business and literary illusions make for an engaging read. Mia is a likeable character, although her questionable decisions can be frustrating. But overall, this is a well-written and enjoyable page-turner that's sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!

thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the much appreciated arc.

I thought this book was just an average thriller, though it did have a twist I didn't see coming. I liked the main character, Mia and I also liked learning more about the ins and outs of Hollywood.

This story takes you on a wild ride about the lengths people will go to for stardom and fame. It was a very fast-paced read.

A London actress is visiting Los Angeles for auditions when she becomes entangled with a missing woman and soon risks her career (and life) as she seeks to uncover the truth. This is the sort of psychological thriller that seems straight forward at first, only to become more complicated and twisted until the final shocking chapter. The Disappearing Act is Catherine Steadman at her finest as she proves again that she can bring the drama from theater to her writing with stunning results!

Plot and Structure

Narrated solely from the perspective of the lead character Mia Eliot, an up-and-coming actress who has traveled to LA from her home in London for auditions. The structure of the book is deceptively straight forward—there are no alternating timelines or perspectives, and no mysterious narrators. It was such a breath of fresh air to have a thriller that is really built on a single character in a single timeline trying to unravel what is happening to her.

As the book begins, Mia has recently split with her partner George and is going through the stages of processing the break up as George has left her for a younger actress without much closure. Mia has been critically recognized for her portrayal of Jane Eyre and is nominated for a BAFTA award. Capitalizing on her rising stardom (and open to taking a break from her apartment where a mutual friend has come to collect George’s things), Mia’s agent sends her to Los Angeles to audition for several big upcoming film roles.

From the moment Mia arrives in Hollywood, there is an unsettling edge to the trip. LA is glittery and glamorous on the surface, but beneath the shiny exterior there is a gritty underbelly to the industry that she was protected from in London. Everyone wants what someone else has, and Mia muses at one point that no one seems to define what will happen when they get to the top of the ladder.

As Mia starts the audition circuit, she soon discovers that she is regularly interacting with the same general group of actresses who meet the same general type as her. At one audition, Mia befriends another actress named Emily and offers to take care of the meter for Emily’s car for her while she is in auditioning. After her call time is done, Mia realizes that she can’t find Emily and still has her keys and wallet. Leaving a note for her with both the casting assistant and on the car itself and sharing her concerns with a handsome stranger she meets near the car, Mia dashes off to her next audition

By the next day, Mia becomes increasingly worried that something has happened to Emily when she learns that the actress never returned to her car. Meanwhile, Mia has a lead on the role of a lifetime and is doing her best to prepare for what may be the biggest audition of her life. Still, she can’t get Emily out of her head.

When Mia finally does hear from Emily, she’s relieved until she goes to drop off her belongings and realizes that a different woman has shown up claiming to be Emily. Mia can’t imagine why someone would pretend to be Emily, but she’s certain this is a different woman. As Mia looks into what happened to Emily and who the woman was that showed up for her things, more mysterious and troubling events unfold and Mia starts to wonder if she should have never come to LA after all…

Reflection

I found this book to be nearly flawless. As I said upfront, it was such a nice change of pace to have a thriller solely told from one point of view and timeline and still keep me fully engaged. Mia is an interesting character—she lacks a lot of the narcissism and raw ambition of other actresses, but she makes up for it with talent and preparation. It’s clear she is a perfect fit for specific types of roles, and Mia doesn’t seem to be the sort who will do anything to succeed.

Early after she arrives in LA, Mia learns about an actress who took her life plunging to her death off the Hollywood sign after she lost the role of a lifetime to another actress (who later became Kathryn Hepburn). The day after her death her studio called indicating they had a different opportunity for her, but the actress had already passed away. Mia becomes somewhat fixated on this story and on the Hollywood sign, which she begins to refer to as resembling tombstones.

The story is a shadow hanging over the novel and seems to represent the weight that Hollywood puts on success and beating others. Mia often muses that no one seems happy even though they have the success and life that they thought they wanted. Mia is so clearly different from the LA scene, and multiple people wonder why she would offer to help Emily in the first place, let alone try to help find her after she goes missing. It is a stark contrast between the kindness Mia shows to others and those around her who take from others and manipulate them to get ahead. Mia is one of the true purely good people in the book.

I was so engrossed in the story that often I felt surprised when I stepped away from it to realize that I’m not in Hollywood or running the audition circuit. Catherine Steadman has a gift with building not just settings, but scenes. The entire book could be a movie—I could picture everything so vividly without her going overboard with descriptive text.

Without question this is my favorite book I read this year. It feels so pure without losing any of the nail-biting suspense that makes it a top psychological thriller. All the credit to Catherine Steadman for her work on The Disappearing Act!

Thanks so much for the review copy. I think Something in the Water is still my favorite by Steadman but I did learn a lot about Hollywood and pilot season. Looking forward to reading other books by her.

While not much about Catherine Steadman’s "The Disappearing Act" surprised me, what did surprise me is how engrossing it is.

There’s no bells and whistles to it – it’s your standard Hollywood thriller involving a missing actress. But what makes it not so standard is the way the story gripped me from beginning to end and threw me with a twist I never saw coming.

A few caveats, though –

1. Steadman only got me the one time; most everything else about the plot is predictable.

2. Mia, our lead character, is intelligent but makes some really poor decisions.

3. Certain aspects of the story are far-fetched, though not as far-fetched as I expected based upon the reviews I skimmed. Disbelief, however, does need to be suspended at times.

The fact that I never seem to tire of reading about Hollywood likely increased the enjoyment factor, too. For some reason, acting and the city of Los Angeles always appeal to me.

All in all, a great read. "The Disappearing Act" is my kind of thriller.


My sincerest appreciation to Catherine Steadman, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

Started off promising, but rape revenge is played out and unimaginative at this point. It seems more like a tactic to make the reader invested or shocked but ends up just uncomfortable.
And Emily's friend didn't actually end up caring about her, she just wanted her big role.

I have completely enjoyed both of Catherine Steadman's books I have read, so she is an author I will continue to seek out in the future.

In The Disappearing Act, Mia is an actress in London who travels to LA after an unexpected breakup. Once she arrives in Hollywood, she meets another actress, Emily, at an audition. Emily asks a simple favor of Mia in the audition waiting room, and Mia accepts, but then Emily goes missing. Another woman turns up, claiming to be Emily and while they look similar, Mia knows deep down, it’s not the same woman. Mia begins to question herself and investigate the mystery surrounding her, while also trying to stay focused on the potential roles she’s traveled across the pond to pursue.

I was interested to see where the story went but couldn’t help being annoyed that Mia so instantly felt the need to deep dive into a stranger’s life after only just meeting her. I realize this is essentially the taking off point for the story, and maybe I’m too self-absorbed but there’s just No way I’d go to these lengths for someone I only just met. I predicted some of the plot elements correctly, but not all.

Catherine Steadman, the author, is also a good narrator. I enjoyed Something in the Water on audio, and the print version of The Family Game a little more, but The Disappearing Act was an easy audiobook listen.

Witty. sentences like "But it's hard to not think the worst when you're trying not to think the worst." well plotted

This was my first book of this author’s. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to but I’ll be sure to try out some of her other works.