"The Temple House Vanishing" is an atmospheric, gothic-style mystery about an un-solved disappearance from a private girls' school in 1990. A journalist decides to revisit the case with a series of articles on the 25th anniversary, and finds herself unable to let it lie.
This was an engrossing read, although it focused more on the personalities and relationships of the characters than on the actual mystery. It is definitely not a police procedural or hard-boiled detective story. I enjoyed it, although some of the characterizations of the school and the relationships did not strike me as very realistic, or even believable. Because of that, I thought it read a little like a YA title, but perhaps that is also because much of the story is about teenaged girls.
Would recommend to the right reader, but not an unreserved favorite.

25 years after student, Louisa and her art teacher, Mr. LaVelle disappear from the secluded, girls-only private school never to be seen again, a local journalist tries one more time to uncover the truth. The "girls" of the now defunct boarding school are all grown but are still keeping their secrets. Which of them is actually telling the truth and which are falling back on the cover story they created all those years ago? Did the student and teacher run off together? Why hasn't anyone been able to track either one of them down, especially now that the Internet makes people-finding so much easier? Is former best friend, Victoria - an outlier at the school and who fancied herself running away with Mr. Lavelle, really telling all she knows about that night? Now a powerful business woman, is she willing to throw it all away to finally rid herself of Louisa's "ghost?" Teenage angst runs amok in the power struggles within the school leading to deadly consequences. The author creates a complete picture of the grounds, the nuns and the student body but perhaps hinted too soon as to the significance of a certain location which gave this reader enough of a clue that I concluded what had happened to Louisa. The fate of the art teacher was a surprise, but rather a let down after the huge build up about his nomadic ways.

The author, Rachel Donohue has written a page-turner! Louisa, a student attending a Catholic Boarding school on a scholarship befriends Victoria as well as everyone's favorite teacher, Mr. Lavelle who teaches art. One night Louisa and Mr. Lavelle have gone missing and 25 years later, the mystery is still unsolved. This story is told through past and present voices. A journalist who has a connection with Louisa is determined to learn what happened that night. This was a quick read, enjoyable and engaging. My heart hurt for Louisa and yours will too.

I typically like boarding school plots, but I’ve read a lot lately and this one fell flat in comparison.

I had trouble sinking into this book. The premise was very intriguing, but the book simply didn't capture me. For those who have an interest in private school/boarding school stories where charismatic teachers are at play, this is a must.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Not without merit, even if it does lean too heavily on the introspection of overwrought teenagers. The journalist is extremely annoying. She has a habit of explaining how good she is at getting people to talk then either not listening to them at all or changing the subject when they're on the verge of saying something important.

A brilliant daughter of recently divorced parents, Louisa is accepted into Temple House's walls as a scholarship student under a new initiative to revitalize the elite all-girls Catholic boarding school. There she is dismissed by snobbish students - particularly the head girl - and feels isolated. But she is befriended by fellow misfit/cool girl Victoria and falls under the influence of the young, handsome art teacher, Mr. Lavelle. One day both Louisa and Mr. Lavelle disappear, never to be found again. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of their disappearance, a journalist who grew up on the same street as Louisa decides she will finally be the one to uncover the truth of the Temple House Vanishing.

This is your fairly standard boarding school thriller with a misfit (read: poor, scholarship) student and a charismatic teacher, set in an exclusive and semi-mysterious academy. What set it apart from other, similar books is the present-day storyline from the perspectives of the journalist who is seeking to solve the mystery and Louisa herself. Donohue doesn't spend enough time building either storyline - present or past - to draw me in. She throws some oft-recycled plot points at the reader - Louisa is poor, but brilliant! the other students are all rich snobs! the handsome art teacher has a quirky instructional style and picks favorites! - and expects them to carry the weight of the book. Even the present-day storyline is worn thin: woman journalist has personal connection to sad story/crime/mystery, feels compelled to solve it to understand her own life better. Maybe I'm being a little harsh? I didn't dislike Donohue's book, it was just ... eh. I've read it before. Dozens of times. I was intrigued by Lousia's present-day voice, but the resolution is pretty anticlimactic. Lots of readers will enjoy this book or think it's just fine. But I would have preferred a novel that took a few risks or involved a little more innovation.

This was a terribly sad story about love. Love as felt and needed by a teenage girl.  A young girl discovers her parents are separating and questions how this breakup affects their love for her.
Accepted at a private’s Cathoic girls school on scholarship, she is looked down on by the other students of higher socioeconomic level, dashing any hopes being accepted . She discovers  a “friend” there who she loves on so many levels and will do anything to maintain this relationship. But she is cast aside, the many plans that were made for their future together dissolve—another delusion.
Then there’s the good looking teacher who shows an interest which she misreads as love in her naiveté and again is rejected.
Intertwined in the story are the egotists,  acts of backstabbing and jealousy among the students, the religious requirements of a catholic school and the nuns who ran it, and past histories of students and teachers. As a reader, you recognize all the expectations what a young girl hoping to fit in will do for love.  But as you meet the characters, you can predict it’s not going to go well. You want to reach out and be the advocate she needs….  an engrossing and tragic story.

I devoured this book in one ling morning. Victoria, a student at a Catholic boarding school, has an obsessive desire for her young art teacher. Jealousies and secrets are revealed as the obsession comes to light. Massively entertaining.

Temple House School is a boarding school for the richest and smartest of girls. Victoria has the brails but not the money, so she’s attending Temple House on scholarship. The other girls look down their noses at her and as a result, Victoria forms a close bond with Louisa, a girl who breaks all the rules, pushes all the wrong buttons at this tony Catholic school. But then Louisa vanishes, along with handsome young art teacher, Mr Lavelle. The two seem to have disappeared into thin air and twenty five years later, conspiracy theories are still bandied about. Then a journalist, a woman who grew up near Louisa decides to take a fresh look at the case, digging up old secrets and deadly rivalries. This is a gothic masterpiece, perfect for reading under the covers on a cold winters night