I found the premise of the book to be interesting, however felt that the actions taken to find the lost actress were just completely ridiculous. I did end up enjoying this book and really like the writer's overall style and imagery though. There was a great level of suspense and I liked that the Emily character and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Well... I think I’m going to be the outlier one this one.

I really really struggled with this book and skimmed the majority of the book. I just couldn’t get into the characters or plot at all.

I think this just wasn’t my cup of tea. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

I have become a huge fan of Catherine Steadman since Something in the Water. This book was fantastic! It had so many twists I didn’t see coming which I really appreciate.

Mia is a British actress in the cusp of making the “big time”. She travels to LA to audition for several big upcoming films. At an audition she meets a fellow actress named Emily and she becomes very concerned when Emily disappears after her audition. No one else seems worried but Mia can’t let it go. Especially when someone begins sneaking into her apartment and hacks her email. What will
Mia find in her search for the truth? It more importantly, who?

If you enjoy thrillers, definitely pre-order this one. It’s out June 8.

I was provided an advanced ecopy of this book from @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Catherine Steadman.

I’ve never read anything by this author so I was really excited to get my hands on this ARC! I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more by this author!

I read an advanced digital copy of this novel courtesy on the publisher through NetGalley. Review available on goodreads.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for a honest review of The Disappearing Act. This review will be posted on Goodreads and a longer review will be on an upcoming bookstagram post.

I was hooked on this book. I had to read the whole thing in a day because I had to find out what was going on. I loved that this book wasn't one that I could piece together and figure out what was happening ahead of time. I was on the edge of my chair until the very end of the book.

This book is the perfect mix of Hollywood glamour and suspense. Even in scenes that do not add much to the actual mystery at stake, readers are swept into the world of acting, a fun jump into escapism. Quickly, the novel jumps into the mystery of disappearing Emily. Where did she go? Who returned in her place? Where is Emily now? If you're looking for a thriller that will have you pondering until the end, and that meshes California sunshine with creepy chills, this book should be added to the top of your TBR stack.

WOW WOW WOW! Did I love this book! I love a good psychological thriller, but rarely do you find one set in the confines of Hollywood & all its glamour! I absolutely adored the main character Mia. I was swept up into her storyline right away & became completely absorbed in everything she was doing. As the summary plot promises, the dark truth of the entire book is more than Mia can imagine & it left me breathless up until the very end.

I absolutely loved the setting of modern day Hollywood for the book, especially considering the background of Catherine Steadman. I did not realize she was the actress who portrayed Mabel Lane Fox in "Downton Abbey" - one of my favorite series! If you haven't read her works before, I definitely recommending picking up this book when it hits shelves June 8!

The Disappearing Act is one of the best thrillers I’ve read all year! The book starts off quickly and I knew within a few pages I’d be hooked. There are constant twists and turns making the entire book exciting. I loved the ending and didn’t see it coming. I will be telling everyone about this book!

3.5 rounded up - I didn't really like the ending(s) and there were parts that felt like they were going in circles that could've been edited out, but I had a whole lot of fun reading this one. I loved Mia as a character. She made some dumb decisions but also did rational things like call the cops, file reports, and tell people what was going on. For those of who've read dozens and dozens of these psychological thriller mysteries, that's unheard of and refreshing and relatable..

I love it when a book deposits you in a world that you know nothing about (Hollywood) and all your preconceived ideas that are based on what you read through the media are really the final stop from a long journey to become a successful actor.  It’s a who you know, who has the power, who is aggressive, who has the best agent, etc etc, which we all basically aware of but to read it as part of the storyline makes you very sympathetic to wannabe actors. It’s a tough job with few opportunities
.    A British starlet here in LA reading for a role, while very famous in England, has a lot of education in regard to the way Hollywood functions and as a result finds herself in a scary and a result, fatal situation. Even though things are different here it’s hard to believe she can be so naive as she plays sleuth and not expect a problem.
   How Hollywood works allows for twists in the plot because no one questions the activities/ assistants/courriers/drivers that are all in service and come and go.
   As I was reading I found myself trying to coax the starlet to rethink her involvement in her potentially bad decisions which means that the author certainly had me involved in the book. The author did have me going down a totally different path with one of the characters and had me dangling til the end. Loved that.
   Totally enjoyed it.

Book Review for The Disappearing Act
Full review for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

TDA will for sure keep you on your toes! The writing was great but for me the mystery to this story fell short!
I was intrigued, and interested but I wanted more! The twists were there, but lagged in my opinion!

This story will draw you in and keep you up all night! Mia Eliot is a British actress a very down to earth, hard working b level actress potentially about to break into a level movies. From the very first page you are drawn to her sorry. She is very real and likeable..

Mia is invited to LA during pilot season. While nervously waiting her turn at a actor’s call she meets another actress who sets her at ease. Emily seems equally engaging and down to Earth. She asks Mia to hold her keys and her wallet and goes for her call...and disappears

While hoping to close on a movie deal, Mira desperately searches for Emily and the search takes her to the darkest side of Hollywood. She is unsure who she can trust and who Emily really is

Aside from the drama of the story, It was fun to learn about LA’s Pilot Season. I never heard of Gifting suites” and enjoyed living vicariously through Mia’s new reality in LA complete with an expensive car and apartment

The story was a bit implausible but such a thrill ride! Recommended if you are interested in mysteries and thrillers and Hollywood stories of any kind

The Disappearing Act had me hooked from the very beginning. Catherine Steadman’s writing is eloquent. She paints a clear picture of LA and Hollywood that pulls you in. The story takes so many twists and turns and keeps you guessing until the very end. I couldn’t wait to get back to reading to see what would happen next. I have read Catherine Steadman’s books, and this book did not disappoint.

Thank you to Net Galley, Random House, and Catherine Steadman’s for the ARC.

Y'all, I love Catherine Steadman.  Something in the Water was an absolute thrill ride.  Mr. Nobody was definitely good, but not quite as great.  So when I saw her next novel up on NetGalley, I had to have it.  And it did not disappoint.

The Disappearing Act was LaLa Land mixed with a "what the hell is going on here?!" thriller.  I loved Mia and found it so easy to root for her.  I loved that she wasn't a screw up or the classic "unreliable narrator".  I loved that she was strong and bold and went for (and got) what she wanted.  And the story itself.  I could not figure out what was going on until the closing pages.  It kept me guessing throughout and I could not stop turning pages.  So yes, we have another winner from Ms. Steadman.

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

I have to say - I did not expect this. It was vastly different from the author’s previous thrillers. But it was so brilliant. It exposed the nitty gritty Hollywood that lies behind the curtain. It made me think of old school, noir Hollywood, and made me itch to visit and see it for myself. It was hypnotic. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and wishing I could also watch it as a series or a movie. If you can get your hands on this, read it!

Thank you to Catherine Steadman, NetGalley and the publisher for this thriller.

I have to hand it to Steadman, she is one of the few psychological thriller writers today who is able to get a traditional deal writing about working heroines who aren't drug addled, depressive housewives or have memory problems. I suspect her success as an actress in a popular show called Downton Abbey has helped her write what she likes, so kudos, because I'm sooooo tired of the pill popping memory blitzed housewives.

Here we have an actress named Mia who is in LA auditioning for some new roles. In the UK, Mia has managed to break through starring as Jane Eyre in a new adaptation that is apparently so popular that it (unconvincingly) has footballers watching it. Mia arrives wide-eyed in LA and begins her audition rounds. At one of them she meets a fellow actress - same age, same looks, auditioning for same role - named Emily. Emily asks Mia to hold her car keys and personal effects and then promptly disappears. Mia begins a journey to find out what happened to her.

So, like I say, I'm so glad that Steadman writes about women with jobs, who aren't evil, who have a bit of a sense of humor, etc - REAL women - in the psychological thriller space, because it's rare to find them. Mia was a pleasant enough personality, plucky, likable. Not super compelling, but I didn't mind spending time with her. I'm a sucker for anything Hollywood, and you could immediately tell that Steadman's real life career came in handy here. She knew what she was talking about, and the delineation of LA auditioning rounds was quite fascinating. I found myself wishing that this was more chick lit than thriller for the sole reason that we meet Emily for five minutes before she disappears, and in that five minutes, she doesn't say or do anything particularly interesting. So I found it tough to really care what had happened to her. About the halfway mark, things take a much darker turn and the pace picks up. The plot revolves around sexual assault, which I wasn't expecting, and wouldn't have picked up had I known that (I don't need triggers, but I have no interest in reading about rape).

The ending gets a tad blurry and meandering, and I wasn't quite sure what had happened. That could be me.

Steadman is a very skillful writer, and with a bit of weeding of some of the repetitiveness of the prose (and an editor who would catch all those released breaths Mia didn't know she was holding) would have shined this book up even more.

I say if you like Hollywood and psychological thrillers, it is most definitely worth a look.

You know how when you're reading a thriller and you end up getting frustrated with the story because the main character avoids all of the obvious solutions like GO TO THE POLICE or LEAVE THEM A NOTE? Or maybe the author waves away some of the more tedious details of the story, assuming that no one will care and it is best to leave those things off-the-page?

I CARE ABOUT THE TEDIOUS DETAILS.

Or at least I do in this kind of a contemporary story. It’s going to drive me absolutely nuts if the main character isn’t doing the small-but-obvious things like checking the car’s registration to get the name of the person she is looking for when she has, 1) the car, and 2) the car keys. And this is something that I respect about this author (in this book and in Something in the Water): she’s not afraid to spend some time on the details to show how these crazy circumstances would play out in real life.

This was a fun book. The mystery kept me interested, and there is a lot of “behind the scenes”-type looks into the life of an actor, based on the author’s own experiences. I love books about rich people things—there’s a moment where the main character is randomly gifted a lavish vacation and it is somehow never mentioned again and this exactly the type of ridiculous over-the-top stuff I love to read about. I can’t explain it.

I enjoyed this book a ton, but there were a couple of tiny things that kept it from being a five-star. The ending was solid, but didn’t reach that top-tier level for mystery/thrillers. I also have some opinions about the romance, but I’ll keep those to myself to avoid spoilers.

Recommend to anyone looking for a fast-paced mystery/thriller that still has time for fun details about being a rich celebrity.

*eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman was every bit as engaging as her other two books. This read like a fast-paced mystery movie, thanks to the excellent character development, which includes the other-world of Hollywood itself.
It is in this strange place that British actress Mia lands while waiting for her big win back home and escaping the demise of her relationship with gorgeous and smarmy actor George.
One she begins to audition she steps right into a staged mystery and I flipped through this book dying to know what would happen and why Mia was in the middle of it all.
Five star read! Thank you to NetGalley and author Catherine Steadman’s publisher for the ARC copy.

To tell you the truth I tired to pick up Somebody in the Water multiple times and for some reason just couldn't connect. With that said, after reading The Disappearing Act I believe I will be giving her another change at making me finish that book! She is very clever and has her thumb on the pulse of the thriller genre. Hollywood almost seems like a snow globe and I feel like Steadman just picked it up and shook it and we are left wondering "What the heck is going on?!"