Mia travels to London for an audition and by chance meets Emily who asks her to hold her things. Only Emily never returns, leaving Mia to try and find her. While I felt that narrative was compelling, I felt it hard to relate to Mia who made very questionable decisions. This was a twisty thriller, but I kept asking myself--what stranger would go through all of the trouble for someone she met for 5 minutes? The book had me riveted but the entire premise bothered me.

Catherine Steadman never fails to write thrillers that keep me entertained and up at night. Is it a book I will remember for my lifetime? Probably not. But I did find myself not being able to put it down while I was reading. Steadman was able to use her knowledge and background in Hollywood to really produce an immersive story which made it all the more thrilling.

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman is an engaging, interior mystery that grabbed me from the first page. The story is told by Mia, a rising British actress who received critical acclaim for her role as Jane Eyre. She recently went through a humiliating public break up with her long-term boyfriend and is happy to be sent by her agent to Los Angeles for auditions for her next big role.

While at one of her first auditions, she meets and connects with Emily, a fellow actress. During their encounter, Emily disappears leaving her belongings with Mia. Mia makes it her mission to find Emily, becoming increasingly fascinated by and scared for her. I loved the unexpected twists and Hollywood setting which compels actors to pursue fame and success at great cost. I really enjoyed this isolated, interior novel and could not stop reading. This is one of my favorite mysteries of 2021.

Thank you Ballantine Books/Random House and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

With this book, Catherine Steadman has become an auto-read for me. Compelling from the first pages, cleverly plotted, and well paced throughout. Highly recommended as a quick summer read!

Catherine Steadman’s best yet!!

I absolutely adored this story of mistaken identity in Hollywood. The author’s writing just keeps getting better and better. The pacing was perfection, keeping me on the edge of my seat, desperate to know what the hell was going on. I cannot wait for her next novel!

I think I only put this down twice! I had to know where it was going. I was roped in immediately, and while at times I wanted to smack Mia for some poor decisions, I was quite intrigued by the overall story. Plus, it is a fun and interesting “behind the scenes” of acting, auditions and the audacity of Hollywood! I like books that make me question every character and their intentions and everyone Mia met had me doing that.

What a premise! A British actress travels to LA for pilot season where she meets another actress who then disappears. Another woman turns up claiming to be her. Sounds twisty and fast paced. But honestly? This book was so slow and reading it felt like a chore. I used to enjoy thrillers so much more, but they all really seem the same lately. Formulaic, forgettable, and with twists that can be spotted a mile away. Dull writing, dull characters. A major disappointment.

This book is a thriller that follows Mia, an actress from London who travels to LA to audition for a new-- hopefully breakout-- role. At one of her auditions, she meets Emily, another actress, who leaves Mia with her keys and wallet. When Emily seems to vanish, Mia will stop at nothing to figure out what happened to Emily even if it puts herself into danger.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I was curious as to what happened to Emily. Was she still alive? Was it really Emily at the audition or someone else? There was a lot of mystery throughout the story. I also really enjoyed the “acting” aspect of the book. It was very interesting to get a behind the scenes look at auditions and Hollywood. This is also different from other thriller books that I have read, which was refreshing. The Disappearing Act also had twists and turns that I didn't see coming-- which made for a very fast-paced, suspenseful read. I also really enjoyed the last few pages of the book. Those pages left a reader with the final information that they were craving from the end of the book.

I would definitely recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading Catherine Steadman’s other work.

This book grabbed a hold of me from the start and didn’t let go the whole time. This is a fantastic thriller with lots of twists and suspense.

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman was interesting look at the cut throat life of actors, especially during pilot season.

British star Mia Eliot is making the trek for the first time now that she has some successes professionally in England. Steadman does a great job of pulling us into what the roll calls are like and the pressure to come out of the season with something. Unfortunately for Mia, she is befriended by a young woman at one of the auditions, Emily, a friendly young woman whom Mia thinks she could socialize with but disappears while Mia is in her audition. In a strange twist, Mia is left holding Emily's wallet and car keys. Mia feels a huge responsivity to find Emily to return her property. This is where the author starts to lose me, I don't know anyone who would go to the lengths Mia goes to find Emily and solve the mystery of her disappearance, not for someone she knew for 5 minutes. It becomes clear that Emily was wrapped up in something nefarious, yet it didn't stop Mia from playing detective. I wanted to scream at my kindle and tell Mia to go back home, no good will come from following someone into a dark parks and up into the Hollywood sign. Sane people don't do these things and I believed Mia was a sound, intelligent person.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this honest review.

Unfortunately, THE DISAPPEARING ACT was a DNF for me at 68%. I do, however, look forward to reading what Steadman comes up with next.

Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books (Random House) for loaning me an eGalley of THE DISAPPEARING ACT in the request for an honest review.

I am a humongous fan of her first book, SOMETHING IN THE WATER. When I heard about her newest release, I just had to get my hands on it! Steadman is a talented writer and I’m also a big fan of her audiobook narration.

Unfortunately, THE DISAPPEARING ACT did not have a plot that truly grabbed me. In fact, I never really got a good sense for where this book was headed, which would normally add into the mystery here. Sadly, I just felt a little confused.

Honestly, my biggest complaint is I wanted more! More mystery, more action, more big reveals. This book just didn’t deliver those things. This is why I’ve rated this one 3-stars.

This is not a bad book, but nothing extraordinary either. Although I will continue to read her work in the future, I’m not so sure I’d recommend this book to others.

Thank you @netgalley and @RandomHouse for my advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book swept me off my feet. I had been reading books that just couldn't grab my attention, and this one fixed my reading slump! I was on edge most of this book because I was so nervous Mia was going to end up in way more over her head than she already was. Hollywood can be a dangerous and shady place in a normal time. When you throw in a missing woman and unheard of circumstances, you know things are going to go off the rails. I thought Mia was an excellent if too curious character. I would have flown home long before she even considered it! This is a book that definitely won't disappoint, and I screamed out loud when I realized it's going to be a series. I am impatiently waiting for the next one to be released!

I was very excited to pick up this book with what seemed to be a promising premise of a book. I was eager to break open this book, but was sorely disappointed pretty quickly. The story dragged on and it was super choppy. I didn't enjoy the character development and you couldn't tell who was who and what was going on because there was so much back and forth. I felt irritated and extremely underwhelmed with Mia as a main character and the story that she was tied up in was EXTREMELY unrealistic. This book ultimately fell flat for me and didn't enjoy any of it sadly.

The Disappearing Act had me guessing from page one! Mia has achieved success in her own country but after an unexpected breakup with her boyfriend decides to give LA a chance. She has all kinds of auditions lined up for pilot season - the time of year where studios are looking for actors/actresses to be in their movies and their new tv shows for the season. On the first day of auditions she meets Emily who is trying out for the same part. She ends up with Emily's keys and wallet and after she auditions Emily is no where to be found! While she is trying to track her down she starts to doubt herself and if she ever even met her. No one else knows who she is talking about and this leads her on a dangerous journey of the darker side of Hollywood!

Catherine Steadman does not disappoint. I listened to the audiobook (narrated by the author), and loved the twists she includes. While I think her first novel, Something in the water, was more suspenseful and entertaining, I enjoyed this audiobook, which is definitely enhanced by her excellent narration.. The only issue I have with Steadman's female characters is the choices they make that put them in danger. They lack common sense, which can get annoying. But overall, another great book by Steadman.

3.5/5 Stars

TW: Rape

I would like to thank @netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a digital copy of this book.

British star Mia Eliot heads to L.A. in hopes of landing a bigger role to jumpstart an international career. Arriving in Hollywood she is overwhelmed with back to back auditions, the horrors of L.A. traffic and also recovering from watching her ex through social media happily move on with his new co-star. While in wait for yet another audition she meets Emily, another up and coming actress looking for the same opportunity. What starts as a simple favor spirals out of control once Mia realizes that Emily is missing and she is the last person to have seen her. As Mia tries to focus on her auditions, she is suddenly thrown into a game of cat and mouse desperate for answers while suddenly finding her own life in danger when she realizes she is caught up in something bigger than she had ever expected.

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I really enjoyed the setting in this story! I felt like this was a great point of view of what it is like as an actress trying to make it big in Hollywood and it was very interesting insight on the reality of auditions and the movie business. The author herself is an actress which I feel like she must have pulled from her own experiences giving this story a real authentic touch and feeling. The storyline kept me interested throughout however near the end I sort of got a little confused and I feel that was partly due to the twist sort of being rushed at the end. It was a unique twist and there was plenty of build up but I feel like it should have been a more detailed reveal. This was an interesting thriller that shows how far some people are willing to go for money and fame.

I enjoyed this even though I found many of the details farfetched. I found the main character to be a bit too naive and I didn't entirely buy the premise of the book. However, once I suspended my disbelief it was very readable and I kept flipping the-ages to see what happened next.

It was a strange experience, because while it wasn't entirely satisfying, I really liked the writing style and enjoyed how the story was told. I felt all the different threads didn't quite come together, though I still liked following the threads?

Basically, if you're ready to suspend disbelief, but you're ready for a hook-y, commercial mystery, I think you'll enjoy this.

I think this is a great thriller for people who are new to thrillers or people who really enjoy Hollywood or famous people books and movies.

I think I have finally come to the realization that I really don't care about those things. But this was still an interesting read. It was slow to start and then picked up closer to the end.

I really enjoyed Something In The Water by Steadman so I will read anything she writes now. And I think she is a great beach read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballatine for the eARC.

This book is available now.

Mia Eliot is a British actress who is looking to for her next big role. She gets sent to LA after receiving an award nomination. She has press events and auditions scheduled and is excited to take on LA. She meets Emily at an audition and then all of a sudden Emily is no where to be found. Mia involves herself in trying to find Emily and has to avoid trouble, the same type of trouble Emily is in.

This was a suspenseful read but was not as dark and twisty as a psychological thriller. It was interesting to learn about the audition process and I loved that the author is an actress herself. I really enjoyed the writing, characters, storyline and mystery. My one tiny critique is there was a scene that involved a lot of detail and intensity. I was having a difficult time picturing the situation so it wasn't as intense as it maybe could have been. That is probably more of my own issue than an issue of the writing.