I really enjoyed The Disappearing Act overall. It was a good mix of humor and mystery and I enjoyed the main character. I appreciated the combination of British/California culture (although it is much more a depiction of show business lifestyle within LA than it is of southern CA). It was nice that the character remained consistent to who she is, despite the change in location. Being a British actress, she still said 'car park' throughout the book, as opposed to adapting to what Americans call 'parking lots', for example. It was a fun and suspenseful plot. I found some of the end to be a little far-fetched, but thrillers often are, so it didn't deter me too much. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I'm so happy I was given the chance to read early for an honest review.

I wasn’t able to put this book down. I finished it in 2 days! What a thrill ride. I will definitely be recommending this to friends!

What a page turner! I did not want to put this book down; Catherine Steadman had me hooked on page 1. The book was a quick read, well written, and kept you guessing the whole time. I was a little worried it would be predictable but I was wrong! The ending was a little extreme but still great nonetheless. The Disappearing Act is the perfect beach read this summer.

Mia Elliot, a British actress who is flown to L.A. in hopes of catching her big break, after being unceremoniously dumped by her partner of several years. Things are going well until she starts to realize things turn up missing or misplaced within her apartment, after she is assured that only she has access. What really freaks Mia out is when Emily Bryant, an actress she met at a screen test fails to turn up after Mia holds her keys and wallet for her. Mia starts digging into Emily’s past and finds just how intertwined they both are.

I enjoyed this one a lot. The writing was well done, with good character development. The one thing I struggled with was WHY Mia decided to get so involved, when it really wasn’t that concerning to begin with. She didn’t even know Emily & she is spending so much time creating a mystery. It felt a little over the top to me. I liked the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, and enjoyed reading all of the details regarding the sought after life of movie stars.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

When Mia, an up-and-coming British actress, travels to L.A. for pilot season, she expects drama and excitement. New opportunities, maybe even a once-in-a-lifetime role. She doesn’t expect danger. However, when she meets Emily at a casting audition, that’s exactly what comes her way. When Emily turns up missing, Mia feels an unexplained obligation to help find her, to ensure her safety - even if it ends up jeopardizing her own.

Twisty and turny in the most unexpected spots, this one was excellent! I love an ending that I don’t see coming and Steadman definitely delivered! I really enjoyed the characters in this novel, as well. Mia would be the coolest bff - I just know it. A super fun Hollywood setting also makes this thriller enjoyable.

Recommend? Yes - cozied up in a favorite fuzzy blanket in front of the fireplace on a “me” night. Pub date: June 8, 2021.

Huge thanks to Catherine Steadman, Ballantine Books, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

The Disappearing Act was full of twists and turns. Kept me entertained and turning the page from the first until the last! My first book by Catherine Steadman, but this author will now be on my list! Definitely recommend!
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

•A R C•B O O K•R E V I E W•
2021 Book #43 out of 80
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THE DISAPPEARING ACT by CATHERINE STEADMAN
Publication date: June 8, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars
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QUICK SYNOPSIS:
Starting out as a British actress, Mia Eliot decides to make some changes in her life after a bad break-up. Mia makes her way to Hollywood to audition for a role that will help boost her career and help her recover from her broken heart. During one of Mia's auditions, she meets Emily, another actress seeking fame, and they quickly bond through this similarity. After Mia does a favor for Emily, Emily suddenly disappears. This leaves Mia questioning herself and the paranoia grows.

STORYLINE & THOUGHTS:
~ Steadman did a wonderful job building the characters, their development, and the plot. It was very intriguing to get the behind-the-scenes experience in the actress's addition process.
~ The book was a quick read and I was mostly engaged, until the end of the book. I had a slight moment of feeling bored, but overall reading it was enjoyable.
~ There was a moment of surprise for me when what I had thought was going to be the ending, clearly did not become the ending. Instead, something even more unexpected happened.
~ Although Mia was overall a good character, I would not want her as a friend. Unfortunately, I found myself rolling my eyes at some of her choices and actions that she made. Clearly, I have interesting (odd?) expectations for my friends. You'll understand this more once you read the book, so for now, don't judge me unless you've read about Mia and her actions.
~ Overall, the book was alright. Not a top favorite of mine, but I would definitely recommend this book to the book reading community.
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Thank you to @netgalley and @BallantineBooks for this ARC Ebook. All reviews are fair and honest reviews. All opinions are my own.
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Catherine Steadman's latest thriller, The Disappearing Act, is a fast-paced thriller that locks you in from the first page and I could not put it down.

Mia Eliot, a British actress on the cusp of stardom, escapes to Los Angeles to focus on her career and avoid dealing with a messy breakup. She makes fast friends with a fellow actor named Emily, who abruptly vanished. All too suddenly, Mia finds she cannot prove that Emily ever existed and begins to question her own sanity.

The Disappearing Act is full of twists and turns and was not at all predictable. Mia's predicament and experiences in the Hollywood Hills (and sitting in traffic on the 101!) felt relatable and all too real. In the era of #MeToo, Mia's discernment and persistence serve as a beacon of hope for women everywhere that there are people out there who will not be deterred, no matter the cost.

I loved every second of this novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced copy!

Intriguing, fresh premise but the execution fell flat.

It's a rather fast read with a singular timeline, a sweet but naive main character and underlying dread from the start. The first couple of chapters flowed well and piqued my interest, but as the story progressed, the writing thinned out. All the characters sound the same (in particular, the American characters speaking with British slang/mannerisms bothered me), various plot points feel forced/don't flow naturally and is awkward and clunky to read, it reads like a second draft and not close to being polished.

Again, fascinating premise with an eerily familiar setting. I was curious enough to read until the end, but it felt cumbersome the whole ride there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine Books for providing me a digital ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow, I've read both of Catherine Steadman's books: Something in the Water and Mr. Nobody and with each book, she is getting better and better. The Disappearing Act may be her best one yet, at least in my opinion. I honestly sat on the edge of my chair while I was reading this because I was that on edge.

I loved the fact that this has to do with the dark side of Hollywood. Two actresses meet at an audtion. Mia and Emily. The two have an instant connection as far as friends go. But as in most thrillers, things (and people) aren't always what they seem.

As always Steadman is able to built up characters and create a atmosphere that is both instense and creepy all at once.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC

An in depth look at the life of an actor. Mia , a rising star,is dumped by her boyfriend in London. To get over her breakup her agent sets her up on multiple auditions in Hollywood, that's when everything takes a dark turn. We are thrown into some deep gas lightening with missing actresses, actresses acting like the missing actress and actresses hoping for a giant payoff. A good premise with a lot of unraveling to get to the truth. I certainly do not envy the life of an actor.

I was hooked from the moment I read the blurb on this book, and read it SO quickly. I was intrigued by the insider looks we were granted into the audition process and the inner workings of the Hollywood/acting lifestyle. And the mystery of Emily (who she is, and what happened to her) is full of twists and turns - and I did not see the final explanation/ending coming! I cannot recommend this book, or Catherine Steadman as an author, enough. This is the second of her books that I've read, and I absolutely loved both!

I thought this thriller was really fun and the "hook" of this book (Hollywood starlets and mystery!) drew me right in. I read this really quickly, and it was fun not knowing who to trust that kept me eagerly flipping pages. Overall, I think this is going to be a really popular summer beach read!

WOW! This book was really good. Unlike anything that I had read before or maybe it was and the writing was just that good that I didn’t notice. I would like to think that the author used some of her experiences either on the hunt for a part in show/movie or just out and about in LA to help write this! I don’t want to overdo the review, as I tend to not read the long ones myself, but just picture this... London actress goes o LA to audition for a few parts and somehow gets herself into a what just happened/what did I get myself into mess. And the more she digs, the more she gets involved without even knowing. The whole time I keep telling her to ‘stop digging’ because we all know nothing good ever comes of that. And this book doesn’t disappoint. Trust me it’s good. I was guessing until the end.

It was so interesting to get an inside look at the acting world. It was fun to follow Mia as she escaped London and her breakup to explore LA and discover the mystery of what happened to Emily. I would definitely recommend this book!

Absolutely LOVED this book! Kept me guessing and I loved how authentic the "Hollywood" vibe felt. Some of it did feel predictable - but I still couldn't put it down. And then to learn the author is a real actress? Well, no wonder it felt authentic - I feel like I got a glimpse into a world I will most likely never see first hand. Engaging and engrossing - highly recommend this read!

3.5 stars rounding up to 4. This was an entertaining and suspenseful psychological thriller that will keep you guessing. I found the character of Mia to be a little too naive and trusting but otherwise very likable. Catherine Steadman's experience as an actor definitely adds the the believability of Mia's experience in Hollywood. This will make a great summer vacation read and I can definitely see it be made into a movie or miniseries. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.me.

I really Enjoyed this book, I really enjoy these kinda books, but rarely read them, I read Catherine Steadman's first book and enjoyed it.

Here's the pro's of this book:
- Catherine Steadman's writing is really dazzling, the way she wrote about LA and London were really First rate.
- It was a quick read and I came back to reading it whenever I had a free second!

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on: June 18, 2021

A very interesting intriguing mystery read! It wasn’t as fast paced as I expected but the plot lures you in and you can’t help but continuing to flip and find out what is going on!

It starts with introducing Mia and her rising career as an actress in her country but while she receives great news that her name is getting heard, her boyfriend of six years has found someone else and leaves her. This is the stepping stone she needed to take off to Hollywood where the story begins.

She meets a girl named Emily during an audition in LA and long story short she disappears. Mia becomes concerned and overly interested in what happened to her.
She gets police involved and they are nonchalant about the situation. I’m not from LA but I can’t imagine that if what happened was reported an officer would just say oh well. The twists and turns begin but there was a slight lag between the reveals. Mia seemed to overthink a lot and she didn’t seem to have the best common sense but she was written to have strength so it was amusing to watch. In the end I enjoyed the closing albeit it did seem too perfectly wrapped up with a bow.

Thank you Random House Publishing - Ballantine and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

First, thank you Ballentine Books and Netgallery for this ARC.

I have never read Steadman's work until this novel. I was tickled by the blurb and had to get my hands on it. I'm not a big fan of Hollywood or celebrities in general, but boy do I love a good jaunt in solving crime--especially a missing person case.

This story takes readers back stage, behind the scenes of the Hollywood we are privy to as fans and onlookers. That intrigued me and pulled me into this story. A lot of things pushed me back out--weak and unbelievable characterization, implausible happenings, a plot that both fell flat and was full of holes, and an ending the left too many things unanswered.

I wish I had better things to say about this novel, but unfortunately, I didn't much enjoy it. I don't think I'll be picking up any more of Steadman's works.