I really enjoy the previous work of Claire McGowan, so I was thrilled for the opportunity to read and review "The Vanishing Triangle." While this is a departure from her works of fiction, I love true crime, so I happily dove in. There are definitely some interesting highlights in the book - I truly appreciated getting a better understanding of life in Ireland in the 1990s. It was such a tumultuous time in the country's history, and reading a first-person account of life there was fascinating.
The women who went missing in the "Vanishing Triangle" and beyond during this time absolutely deserve a look at their disappearances, their lives, and the system failures that kept them from justice. This was obviously a project McGowan felt passionately about, and it shows.
I did think that this book could have used more in-depth research, and better organization. There was a good amount of jumping around that would be easily solved with a different structure.
Regardless, as someone who knew nothing about these cases, I was fascinated and engaged by McGowan's input.

This is an important piece of research into the unsolved murders of young women in Ireland. It begs questions about why the police did not pursue some of them more actively. It is more a historical record than a story likely to capture readers’ attention. At times it can be upsetting.

A mixture of young and older women go missing in 90s Ireland the author tells about the investigation and hunt for these women.The news is dominated by The Troubles so non -political and sexual violence is very easy to ignore.The author tell a story of buttoned lips and silence and inadequate policing.
A different book by the author well written and heartfelt at times difficult to read my only moan would be it was maybe a tad to long and parts were repeated.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for the ARC

Ireland in the 1990s seemed a safe place for women. With the news dominated by the Troubles, it was easy to ignore non-political murders and sexual violence, to trust that you weren't going to be dragged into the shadows and killed. But beneath the surface, a far clearer reality had taken hold. In this candid investigation into the society and circumstances that allowed eight young women to vanish without trace = no conclusion or conviction, no resolution for their loved ones = best selling crime novelist Claire McGowan delivers a righteous polemic against the culture of secrecy, victim-blaming and shame that left these women's bodies unfound, their fates unknown, their assailants unpunished.

I had no knowledge of these murders until I read this book. There's lots of violence and it tells of the fears the women have while facing the justice system. There's a lot of repetition which could be irritating. It's more about the authors thoughts and opinions rather than true facts. The terrorism of the Troubles in Ireland would have hindered the investigations. Parts of this book were really interesting, but there were other parts that were irrelevant.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AmazonPublishingUK and the author #ClaireMcGowan for my ARC of #TheVanishingTriangle in exchange for an honest review.

Crime writer Claire McGowan has grown up in a small town in Northern Ireland which she always perceived as a safe place despite the Troubles. Of course, the news daily reported about bombings and people killed but what she hadn’t been aware of was the incredibly high number of girls and women who were abducted or simply vanished in both Northern and the Republic of Ireland. Some of the cases happened close to where she lived, happened to girls her age who roamed the same places when she did but she has never even heard of it. Only rarely was a suspect arrested and even more seldom convicted for rape or murder. How could the country have such a high number of women murdered and except for their families nobody seems to care?

I have enjoyed Claire McGowan’s crime novels for some years now, not only because the plots are suspenseful and complex, but also because she manages to capture the atmosphere of a place, to create a special mood that can only exist there. With her deep understanding for the people and the places they live and which shape their thinking and acting, I was curious to read her true crime investigation of femicides.

What her enquiry uncovers is not the Ireland that has attracted tourists and business for decades. It is a country that was shaped by the Catholic church and whose legislation was far behind other European countries in terms of women’s rights. With the Troubles, it was often safer not to have seen anything and, first and foremost, not to say anything, thus atrocious crimes could happen in broad daylight in front of everybody’s eyes. The deeper she digs the more cases she finds and can link to a small area, the so called “Vanishing Triangle”, where an astonishing number of woman have disappeared and whose cases remain unsolved.

McGowan tells the women’s stories, lists the evidence and also provides reasons why their bodies are still missing or why prime suspects still walk free. All this grants a look in the country’s state in the 1980s and 1990s – a lot has changed since, but still society and police often fail female victims today.

A read which is as interesting as it is disturbing. I really enjoy listening to true crime podcasts thus the topic attracted me immediately. What I really appreciated was that Claire McGowan did not take a neutral position towards her account but you can sense her anger and the incredulity with which she looks at her findings and which makes you wonder why not more people shout out because of this.

The Vanishing Triangle by Claire McGowan

I normally love reading Claire McGowan books but I must admit that I have only read her fiction novels. But The Vanishing Triangle is not my cup of tea.

The Vanishing Triangle is a none fiction book about the murders and disappearances of girls in Ireland in the 1990s and how it was kept very hush hush with the police not seeming to care very much.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Amazon Publishing UK for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

From bestselling suspense author Claire McGowan comes a nonfiction book about missing women in 1990s Ireland. Multiple women, mostly young, went missing in an area that came to be known as “The Vanishing Triangle.” Most of their disappearances are still unsolved today. Despite growing up in the same area, Ms. McGowan didn’t learn how widespread these crimes were until many years later.

The disturbing subject matter makes this a hard book to read, but the author does a compelling job of introducing us to the missing women and making convincing cases that their disappearances were the result of foul play. What is particularly well done is the author’s social commentary on violence toward women and the skillful way she puts the crimes into political and social context – inadequate police response, attitudes toward women, victim-blaming, and the wide-reaching effects of religion. Although a bit repetitive and at times confusing to a non-Irish reader, this book is a fascinating and well-researched look at these women’s cases, and it is clear how deeply they affected Ms. McGowan.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Review of Advance reader’s Copy/Uncorrected Proof eBook

In 2018, as a young woman got off a bus in Carlow, someone snatched her, stuffed her into a car, and drove away. Eighteen years later, a similar attack occurred, but a witness with a mobile phone called the police, and the attacker was located. A bloodstained note revealed the location of the victim; however, the twenty-four-year-old woman was dead . . . raped, and strangled . . . she’d died within forty-five minutes of her abduction.

Sadly, these events weren’t unusual in Dublin, Ireland where between 1993 and 1998 eight women disappeared in an area some eighty miles surrounding Dublin . . . the “vanishing triangle” referred to in the title of this true crime publication.

Was a serial killer at work in Ireland in the 1990s? Why, when so many women vanished, were the Gardia unable to solve any of the cases, unable to locate the missing women, even years after they’d vanished?

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The author, who grew up in Northern Island, reveals how several women vanished, but no one in authority seemed to care. Cases went unsolved, often for years, until the discovery of a body. But, for many of the families, there are no answers, no bodies to bury, no person to hold accountable.

There are no answers for the families of the missing, but the author provides the socio-political context for those years, a time of social upheaval, a time when women had no access to contraceptives, when abortion was illegal, and when, according to the author, “homophobia and intolerance remained rife.”

The stories of so many women missing, with little or no effort to find them, make this a difficult book to read. It is dark and disturbing, especially when the reader realizes that, at its heart, the culture, the society, and the politics of the time are a large part of the problem. Blaming women for what happened to them is nothing less than an insidious excuse for a failure of due diligence, a failure to conduct proper investigations for the missing women. Justice for the missing, and for their families, requires a significant change in the manner of investigation.

The stories of these women are compelling; the book, thought-provoking. There is much here for readers to consider, much that will remain with them long after turning the final page.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Amazon Publishing UK, Little A and NetGalley
#TheVanishingTriangle #NetGalley

This was a fascinating read. I had never heard of these cases and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about them, though the information is quite shocking! If you are a fan of true crime, this is for you. I can definitely picture this as a series on Netflix, and I hope the extra attention brings closure for these families!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Amazon Publishing UK and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

An interesting story about the disappearance of women in Ireland. It’s a different read emotionally, but well worth it.

A real eye opener of a book. The sheer amount of women who have gone missing in Ireland is shocking, particularly when combined with the information on how little effort was put into finding the perpetrators. McGowan gives an interesting viewpoint as someone growing up in Ireland during. The height of the troubles and also whilst women her own age were being raped and killed in mysterious circumstances.
As this is nonfiction there are no final conclusions, grand reveals of a serial killer nor a sense of finality, however it does make you think about how vulnerable women are and how much of a man’s world it was in these times (and sadly to some extent still is). I would recommend for anyone interested in this time period or finding more out about the vanishing triangle in Ireland.

This tackles issues in Ireland that I have been unaware of until now. Everyone knows about ‘The Troubles’ and the violent deaths, but this issue of the many missing, presumed dead women and girls is largely unknown. Even the author, who hails from near this ‘triangle’ hadn’t heard of many of these cases. I was shocked also to read the dates when abortion and homosexuality became legal, far later than would be assumed. The church, the police and the generally male centric society have not merely glossed over the problem, but in many ways have blamed and shamed the victims. A lesson for us all here.

A different type of bok from Ms McGowan as in it is fact based.
The book presents a tale of failings in society and police procedurial work during the later part of the 20th century in both sides of the Irish border that allowed numerous women to be abducted, raped and murdered.
This is by no means a graphic book and the gory details are kept to a minimum.
It does however set the reader thinking as to how there could have been such a high level of incompetence and with the links between the cases having bene identified, how many innocent lifes might have been saved.

The Vanishing Triangle by Claire McGowan troubles my heart and made this night to restless for me to sleep.
The book was difficult for me to follow, but told in a straight forward way.
I found it hard for me to keep track of the areas and people involved and kept getting things muddled up in my mind.
The book is set in Ireland where young and old women disappear from their home, car or simply walking down the street.
Where a few bodies are found, but even more never discovered and few killer’s brought to justice.
Some people think a family member being murdered is the worst thing that can happen.
I think the worst thing is never recovering your loved one’s body and solving the case.

I really enjoyed this book, I’m from the same area as the author and a lot of the places, her memories, and what she talks about are very familiar to me. I loved all this authors books and I can’t wait on the next one.

Many thanks to netgalley and Claire McGowan fir the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

My thanks to Net Galley and Amazon UK Publishing for the chance to review this book about a group of women missing in a triangulated area in Ireland.

Author very well researched the information in this book and clearly told all of the women's stories along with historical content of Ireland at the time. My only issue was the author put a lot of her on perceptions and speculation as to what happened to these women. Tough content but good read .

After reading and loving The Push I was intrigued to be invited to read and review Claire’s new book, especially as it was nonfiction.
The Vanishing Triangle is the game given to an area in Ireland, similarly shaped to a triangle that hides the truth about a number of women who have vanished without a trace within its boundaries. Claire has thoroughly researched a number of these cases, and discovered even more that she was unfamiliar with, to discover that many are still unsolved, undiscovered and unknown even to locals living close by. Claire grew up in Ireland and admits that some of the cases were given such little publicity that even she, as a girl/young woman living locally, had no idea of the existence and subsequent disappearance of a number of these females.
I found the stories of these women compelling, especially when combined with the storytelling behind their last movements and sightings which are told poignantly in the book. As a woman and a mother, quite a few hit home and along with the statistics of violence against women and recent news stories, made me wonder why more isn’t being done to protect half of the population from the other half.
A very thought provoking and objective read. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

I don't usually read any type of true crime but having grown up in the same area as the author, albeit a few years earlier, the subject matter was of great interest to me. In the 90s I was in my twenties, working in Belfast and travelling over the border for nights out. I was always aware of the chance of getting caught up in a bomb, you couldn't grow up in Northern Ireland during the troubles and not know the risks. But I didn't realise that my nights out in Dundalk could have left me vulnerable to a more insidious threat. I had heard talk of bodies being found in the Wicklow hills but it was almost an urban legend. I had certainly never heard a news report confirming this. It was only about 5 years ago on a break in Dublin that I caught a documentary on RTE, the national Irish TV channel, about the fact that so many women had gone missing in the same area during the 90s. I was horrified that this had not been reported at home which was only a couple of hours drive up the road. In fact, until I read this book, I had never heard of it again.
I think Claire did a wonderful job with this book. As a novelist she knows how to capture the reader's attention from page 1 so she was able to tell this story without it feeling dry and boring. I loved the way she pointed out clumps of what could be coincidence or may be something far more sinister. My only criticism, and it's more of a suggestion, would be that some kind of map or timeline would make it easier to follow the individual cases, especially if a reader doesn't know the area. This book has really got me thinking about just how small Ireland is yet the media acts as if the North and the South are oceans apart. These terrible events could have just as easily taken place on either side of the border. Hopefully one day these womens' disappearances will be solved but sadly in many cases it is already to late for their families.

I love Claire McGowan as a crime writer-her books have always felt well researched and authentic so I was curious about this as it’s something of a departure for her. Although saying that, it’s incredibly obvious that this book means more to her in someways than her fictional work-it positively radiates with her personal penchant for the truth about the real life crimes contained within its pages. The author knows that there are other books out there about the horrific murders and disappearances that took place very near to where she was born and raised and she decides to concentrate on the social and emotional fallout from that period in time that now feels completely at odds with our current social media driven society. A lot of information is given very quickly and the only thing I would say is that it would have been useful to have had some sort of timeline/graphic to refer to where all of the women were grouped together in one place. This would have made it easier for me to process each case as often the narrative came back to victims several times. Saying that, I did love the way everything was finely chopped down and then reconstructed in different ways to look at coincidences and similarities until all the pieces were there but with too many missing to complete the puzzle, this was never going to be a “grand reveal” true crime expose and I’m glad of that.
Fascinating, deeply disturbing and thought provoking-highly recommended.

In the 1990s a number of women vanished in Ireland. They were all from the same general area which became known as the vanishing triangle. The author carefully investigated each of these disappearances, the people who were looked upon as suspects and the faults of the Police. It is well reported but my problem was all the speculation regarding what may or may not have happened to these women (some just girls). Many of her conclusions make sense but have no proof of any kind showing why and how these conclusions were reached. Her suggestions for improvements were spot on. Many of these women remain missing today. Their families deserve better. Thanks to Net Galley and Little A for an ARC for an honest review.