I liked the investigative style of this book, but I wouldn’t necessarily brand it as a “thriller”. I think it could be better marketed as a psychological suspense or a mystery. However, I do love the cover as it captures the story in a hauntingly beautiful way. The summer vibes of the story and the unique way that the plot unfolds are definitely strong points for this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the character development and atmospheric setting. Overall, I rated this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars. Definitely above average for me!

<i>thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc! all opinions are my own.</i>

this is the exact kind of literary fiction i crave: a straightforward contemporary written like something <i>other</i> is happening just outside of where we can see, as if at any moment it could turn into a thriller or fantasy or horror. the conceit of having the story told to kathy (the dead sister) worked for me all the way through and never felt like a gimmick. it gave sally room to wax poetic or else be almost painfully colloquial, switching between different dictions as her situation / age called for it.

the relationships all felt painfully real, all messy and complex and presenting each character not as someone who needs to learn or grow, but as individuals existing in spite of all they've been through. i also appreciate stories about deeply sad or serious things that have levity, specifically in sally's strange sense of humor. it was fun watching her develop from a kid who never quite got anything anyone said, to the person saying all the weird things. also, her banter with billy was pretty peak.

main reason this is a three and not a four is because of the ending. it is abrupt in a way that both ties everything up while also shrugging its shoulders to say, "well, that's just life! you don't get all the answers!" which, don't get me wrong, i'm all for ambiguous endings. i eat that shit for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. but there is a build-up in the final section that makes it feel like it should be 50 pages longer, as if those final pages were just left out of my arc. this includes a symbolic hurricane that could have been a lovely, extended meditation on sally's grief, but instead felt nipped at the bud. this diminished whatever power the novel had over me, and i just find myself enjoying the experience less in retrospect, knowing what it comes to.

overall, a solid read! recommended for lit fic readers with slice-of-life-y vibes / a sense of suspense for literally no reason.

3.5/5 stars

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach is a character driven, deep and touching coming-of-age family drama. It's a powerful and relatable story of love, loss, and everything in-between. The writing is beautiful and the narration a powerful choice. I don't want to say too much or add any spoilers, just know you're in for great read.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for my advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I highly recommend it! Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance is out now.

This book wasn't quite what I expected but a few pages in and I got really into it.

Sally isn't a very likeable character but I found I was sympathetic because she's so socially awkward. Even after losing her sister, she carries on her obsessions.

This was a dramatic coming of age story - no thriller here.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I mistakenly thought this book was going to be a thriller/mystery based on the title. Instead, it’s a family drama centered around grief and coping with an unexpected tragedy.

The first 1/3 of the book was okay, but I wasn’t blown away. The book reads like one long letter by one sister, Sally, to her older sister, Kathy. I listened to this one (thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy), and it was challenging to follow since there weren’t traditional chapters or breaks in the story. While there were glimmers of thoughtful prose and reflective commentary on family and grief, toward the end I found myself zoning out and ready for the whole thing to wrap-up. I went back and forth with liking Sally as the main character. At times, she was wise beyond her years. In other instances, her immaturity was cringy and exhausting.

Overall, it’s not a bad book. Just not one of the GREATS, for me.

My deep appreciation to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a recounting of her sisters death and what happened afterwards. I liked this book, it made me so sad and made me think of my own sister. This is one of those books that'll make you think of it days after you finish it. It was funny at times. This book is so good.

This book was not what I was expecting. It would seem I made an assumption so many other reviewers made based on the cover and title -- that this was a mystery/thriller and that Sally's sister had vanished, not died. I think the title gives the wrong impression and doesn't fit the story. I just didn't connect with these characters, and found Sally to be confusing. And this is a silly thing to get stuck on, but as a person who graduated high school in the late '90s, I couldn't figure out why the author had named her characters Kathy and Sally. Those names would have been hopelessly outdated at that time. Anyone named Katherine would have been called Kate or Katie, and Sally hasn't been popular since the '70s.

This entire book is a love letter to Sally’s sister Kathy who was in a tragic accident in her junior year of high school. Written approximately 15 year after Sally reflects in the events leading to the incident and the aftermath of her and her family’s life.

Sally details all her life and all of her inner monologue that goes along with it. We witness a broken family as they try to pick up the pieces. Sally also deals with her love for Kathy’s boyfriend who is just as broken if not more than Sally.

This read’s like a diary most of the time. There are really no chapter breaks at least it felt that way in the Audio version. Reader’s will feel that you are entirely in Sally’s mind, a sad, broken woman, especially as she surpasses her sister in milestones.

This book has started to show up on lot’s of summer reading lists and it is entirely worth the hype. There is sadness, but a lot humor that Espach provides. So glad I received a copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Henry Holt and Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I really really enjoyed this book. Such a refreshing approach with a perfect POV. Told with grit and persistence that never let’s go. I loved the premise and characters. This book had me hooked from page one and kept me engaged every second.
Highly recommend

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

I absolutely adored this book. The author has such a beautiful, captivating way of storytelling. I really feel like I felt all of the character’s feelings and I really enjoyed the main character, Sally’s humor.

I originally thought this would be more of a thriller, but this book is more of a deep character study, which I was pleasantly surprised by!! Honestly, this has been one of my favorite books I have read lately and I cannot recommend it enough. I cannot wait to read more from this author!!

This might be a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”, but I struggled to finish this one. I don’t do well with character driven books, but I enjoyed the first 1/3 so thought it might be the rare exception. However, the last 2/3 just felt so repetitive and not much happened. For some reason I went into this one thinking it would be much more mystery heavy, almost thriller-ish even but not at all. Instead we spend 15 years in the main character’s head.

What a story. A quiet but moving coming of age story. It took me awhile to get used to how it was written but I very much enjoyed - it's bittersweet and sad, but I couldn't put it down. Will definitely stick with me for a long time. 4-4.5 stars

Not quite what I thought the book was supposed to be about, but it was an interesting read. I’d read more from this author.

I could not have loved this quirky romantic mystery about grief more. Narrator younger sister Sally talks reverently to her beautiful older sister Kathy. The story starts out in the 80s in a small Rhode Island town when Sally is 13 and Kathy is 17, all Sally ever wanted was to be her big sister, and all their mom wanted was for her girls to live forever and ever. The story continues past Kathy's death until Sally is 28 and living in NYC; it's as much about Kathy's boyfriend Billy Barnes as it is about the entire Holt family. There is psychology, philosophy, weather and wisdom. Author Alison Espach is amazing, I can't wait to read more of her work.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance follows Sally, whose sister was accidently killed by her boyfriend in a car accident. This book really is one big long letter, from Sally, to her dead sister Kathy. Sally then becomes very close to Billy, Kathy's boyfriend. They both feel like only the other can understand exactly what they are going through, by missing Kathy. This book spans the years from before the accident, to when they are both grown and in different relationships. Somehow, Sally and Billy keep getting drawn back to each other, and the connection that they think they have is realized.

This book is definitely not what I thought it would be. For some reason I was expecting more of a "mystery" or "thriller" and this is neither of them. This is more just a general fiction book, or women's fiction book, that may not appeal to all audiences. I think that the title and the picture on the cover really. led me in the wrong direction for this genre. That being said, although this isn't necessarily my favorite genre of book, I did enjoy reading it, overall. Some parts were a little slower, but they all came together in the end, making for a really cohesive, touching book.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company, Alison Espach, and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance is a poignant yet hopeful often witty look at how one family deals with death and grief over a span of fifteen years though it's not a straightforward novel like you might expect. It's a story told through "notes" or vignettes, about the tragic death of Sally Holt's sister, Kathy, how it affects her and those around her, and the lasting impact it has.

I looked at some other reviews and I have to say, I'm really quite surprised. I had such a hard time putting this down once I'd started. The narrative flows and the writing style just pulls you in. The characters, especially Sally, are so real that your heart breaks with them and for them.

This is a character driven coming-of-age novel. It's one of those books about nothing yet everything at the same time. Where all the little mundane details are just as interesting as the big events. While the novel deals with issues of death and grief, the main focus is on our connections with other people and how they change us - for better or for worse.

The story is told in the rarely used second person narrative and does so quite well. It is written as though Sally is telling Kathy stories of things that are happening and have happened, and we the reader are Kathy listening to them. Sally's voice felt convincing; at times she sounded like a child and others like an adult.

NoYSD reminded me a bit of Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. Both are heartwrenching, insightful stories of people experiencing loss and grief and learning how to move on.

4½ stars rounded up to 5 stars
Recommended for fans of: contemporary fiction, literary fiction, general fiction, women's fiction, romance, Jodi Picoult, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance is a coming-of-age story about a family who is touched by tragedy. The story is set in the 1990s and follows sisters Sally and Kathy. The narrator, Sally, loses her sister as a young teenager, and we see how it effects everyone close to her. I really liked the writing style, but found the story a little repetitive and moved slowly. It is largely a slow burn, interior novel, similar to the style of Celeste Ng. The characters are written in a very honest way. They're not always likeable, but they feel very real. I found it compelling to learn how the lives of each person changed after tragedy. I listened to the audiobook which was perfectly narrated by Jesse Vilinsky.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

It has taken me a bit to write this review, mainly because I had such mixed emotions when I finished it. And I still do. Overall, I really did enjoy the book.

This story follows Sally Holt across her childhood (up to adulthood) and documents, through her own words, the aftermath of her sister’s (Kathy) sudden death. (And while sister did technically disappear from Sally’s life, the title was a little misleading as I thought it was going to be a runaway/abduction scenario). The book gives insight into how Kathy’s death effected those closest to the family, including her boyfriend (Billy), who was the only other person present besides Sally at the time of her death. Sally and Billy have a bond for life that no one else can seem to understand.

I genuinely loved the writing style. I loved that it was told entirely through Sally’s perspective. Sally is witty and had me giggling quiet a bit. I do feel myself wanting so much more after the ending though and that is why I am struggling to give this book a solid 4 stars. There are so many unanswered questions, and I understand that was the authors point, but there was no closure for me.

I think people who enjoy a good ‘growing up’ and growing out story would really enjoy this one.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was quite an awkward tale. The relationship between the two girls when they are very young reminded me of my own with my sister. Much was far too familiar. It crossed a weird line in the older chapters. A little cringy.