A moody boarding house mystery set in Ireland, perfect for fans of dark academia with a 90's twist. Donohue's nameless journalist narrator unravels a mystery from her childhood while Louisa, the object of the mystery, spins the doomed story from the other side.

Very interesting dark academia book, the setting was well described and you were easily transported to the boarding house, and the characters were very realistic and lifelike. The story itself was a little confusing but as a suspenseful thriller it works perfectly and the ending is great! Love the cover art design.

A book I won't soon forget. It is very reminiscent of the crime podcasts I listen to and creates the same feelings of dread for the characters. Engaging right up to the end.

I didn't download in time but I bought a copy and damn was I disappointed

I really wanted to love this book since the synopsis sounded so so good. And I was intrigued and hooked to start but quickly that changed. If got so slow and nothing was holding my attention especially since my expectations were high.

Honestly, this book was rather dull. Less of a mystery than the title would lead you to believe it was.

I really wanted to love this book because the synopsis sounded like something I’d love. The beginning got me invested, but that quickly dwindled. While the setup was interesting, the story moved a bit slower than I could handle. I was reading at a snail’s pace by the end. Maybe my expectations affected my experience with this one.

The audiobook and the two narrators were fantastic and I loved the first half of the book. But the tense atmosphere quickly gave way to catty characters and an underwhelming ending.

For a debut novel it's a great effort and it turned out that saving it in my TBR pile until this time of year was kind of perfect, and so were the Secret History vibes. As a whole, the book was just okay for me. I liked the atmosphere, but found that the plot moved a little too slowly.

This was a good debut novel. There is great atmosphere, which is something I love during the autumn and winter seasons. This story is set at a boarding school but the atmosphere is the main vibe that is portrayed rather than dark academia (which is what I was expecting). Overall I enjoyed the story although it helps to know that this is a slow burn rather than traditional thriller.
Recommend to those seeking great fall vibes but beware of the flip/flop in time and the slow plot development.

#TheTempleHouseVanishing #NetGalley #AlgonquinPress

More brooding goth than academic but overall a good mystery with a great ending. The wriing was good so i will look for more from this author.

All you campus novel fans out there, walk don't run- a chilling and suspenseful review with incredible setting!

This atmospheric story was good, but moved a bit slow for me. I wanted to connect with the characters but it just wasn't happening.

I wish I had the words to describe the dialogue in this book. To me, they don't sound like teenagers in the 90s storyline but that could just be me. This book was a slow creep but the ending was predictable. Still an enjoyable read though. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

A slow, intriguing novel, The Temple Hosue Vanishing is a good mystery debut from Rachel Donahue.

The novel jumps between the past and the present. It's more gothic than dark academia. The writing is flowing, sometimes a bit too flowery. There is an essence of mystery, with plenty of hints toward the ultimate ending.

Well executed, intriguing, with an air of ennui.

Thank you Algonquin and Libro.FM for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked: The lyrical writing and the extensive sense of place. Also liked that a cold case was solved.

Other than that, let's get into it:

It is always hard for me to hear "dark academia" in a book description and not think that the author is trying to go down the same path as The Secret History. I am guilty of always immediately putting them up against on another.

So in my opinion- this is another wannabe.

When I think of dark academia, I think of college professors and students - not catholic boarding school girls and their teachers. To me, this is more gothic than dark academia.

This one is the standard 25 year old cold case that hinges upon the go-to, "let's blame this on the new student from the 'wrong side of town'" vibes right from the start along with zero likable characters. Can a rich kid be the one thrown under the bus from the fellow students for once?

The lyrical writing set up a stage for an interesting plot, however it dragged. The catty high schoolers just left me annoyed and uninterested. I had completely lost interested in the disappearance of Lousia and Mr. Lavelle. Also didn't really care about the reporter with the loose connection to Louisa even though she did move the plot along and help the case come to a conclusion in the end.

I would love to pick up another book from her though because her lyrical writing was gorgeous. However, lyrical writing does not equal a gripping plot line.

Another The Secret History wannabe in my opinion.

The Temple House Vanishing is an interesting book but I have to confess it didn't entirely work for me. I think it's a great idea but for me the execution just wasn't a hundred percent there. 3.5 rounded up.

(3.5 stars) Decent debut mystery novel from Rachel Donohue. The novel switches between present day and 25 years earlier, at a private Roman Catholic school, mainly for upper-class society, where two friends, Victoria and Louisa first meet. Louisa struggles to fit in as she is one of the few scholarship students who grew up in a very different socioeconomic background than most of the other students. Victoria is from an upper-class family and has developed a relationship of sorts with the bohemian art teacher, Mr. Edward LaVelle.

This was a slow, intriguing, suspense novel. I enjoyed how the story switched back and forth between the two main characters, Victoria and Louisa while they are students at The Temple House, as well as the "journalist" who is left with the task of reporting the story during present day. There were inconsistencies in the plot that frustrated me and the ending was satisfying but left me feeling a little let-down. Overall, 3.5 stars for a decent, brooding mystery.

Thank you to Rachel Donohue, NetGalley, and Algonquin Books for an advanced eBook copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ho hum, another shopworn boarding school mystery.

I don’t have especially high standards for the genre because it’s my favorite, so I will read and often enjoy books of this nature even if they’re flawed and derivative.

I wouldn’t call this book flawed (it’s well written and the plot is structurally sound), but there’s nothing we haven’t seen before here, and it lacks the secondary elements a book like this needs in order to be successful when the story is not particularly original.

I’ve seen this classed as Dark Academia, which feels like a significant miscategorization considering it is almost entirely devoid of academic content and has next to no atmosphere.

And that’s the real issue for this book: It’s a bleak book that is missing the good part of bleakness in a book, which is the atmosphere. The school, the grounds, the girls’ activities are vague and banal, rather than richly steeped in the kind of dark atmosphere that takes a book like this from readable to truly good.

The characters too often feel half-formed. Louisa is well-written and an exception to this, but Victoria (clearly meant as mysterious and admirable) comes off as shrill and petulant well before her character is intended to be revealed as such.

The teacher they all obsess over seems like a vague panoply of traits rather than the object of admiration he is clearly meant to be. In truth Helen is probably the best-realized character in the story, and the most fitting for the setting that the author was aiming for.

If you just love boarding school mysteries, this is passable and certainly moves well enough to keep you interested. But it’s not really Dark Academia, and it’s nothing we haven’t seen many times before.

While this is well-written and ticks many boxes in the suspense genre, the story did not keep my interest. I had a tough time finishing it, possibly because I did not connect with the characters. Granted they were teenagers, the most self-involved species on our planet but they were quite unlikable. Not that I have to relate to a character to enjoy a story but could they not have some redeeming quality; at least, their abhorrence should lend some intention. The book also moved very slowly to where I often found I wasn't sure if the narrative served any purpose.

On the plus side, the writing hit the mark on fulfilling an 0atmospheric quality. It felt like an eerie, spooky place where nefarious going-ons occur routinely.

I wish to thank Netgalley and Atlantic books for my electronic ARC in exchange for my review.

There is pretty clearly a trend in my reading patterns. I claim to have a varied and eclectic bookshelf, but let's be honest, historical mystery is my first love, and apparently, specifically those set at boarding schools with "dark secrets."

An up and coming journalist is assigned to cover the impending anniversary of the disappearance of a teacher and student from the venerable and elite Catholic boarding school, Temple House. Her tangential connection to the missing girl draws our protagonist to explore a deeper understanding of the mystery and the people involved and this exploration will lead to the explosive and long-hidden truth of what happened.

The story shifts between the present day and decades ago when our missing girl, Louisa, arrives at Temple House as a scholarship student. Her status at the school is repeatedly made clear to her by the elite girls who are part of legacy families and who don't rely on scholarship money. She meets the mysterious Victoria who never treats her as less than, but Victoria has secrets, and Louisa may not be prepared to know what they are.

Then of course there is the charming and handsome Mr. Lavelle, the art teacher. He's not like the other teachers, he's a cool teacher (wink, wink, nod, nod). All of the girls are in love with him, obviously, though maybe some of them would never admit it. And Victoria and Louisa presumably share a special connection with the young man. He goes missing the same time as Louisa - is he involved? Is this a classic case of a teacher taking advantage of a student? Temple House knows, but it's a secret everyone is prepared to take to the grave.

First things first, Donohue really knows how to set a scene. This novel is best described as atmospheric. Temple House is practically it's own character, offering important context for the actions and beliefs of all of the players. You can sense Louisa's discomfort at trying to find her way, and Victoria is clearly an outsider at Temple House despite her privilege.

I really enjoyed this one. I will say that if this is a genre you love (🙋🏼‍♀️ hi, hello!) and read often you'll likely start to guess at the ending, like I did. But there is enough tension and suspense to keep you second-guessing the version of events history wants you to believe. The characters are really well developed and so whether you like them or not, they invoke a pretty strong feeling one way or another. I was also impressed with the pacing - the story never really dragged or felt drawn out. Every interaction and action served the overall story.

Generally speaking, a great mystery, well-timed, and kept me on the hook right up until the end. I look forward to more from Rachel Donohue!

Thank you to Netgalley and Algonquin Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.