Estranged from her family Nicole only returns to her hometown when her younger sister goes missing. At the age of 15 Nicole's friend Lori is murdered but her body never found and Nicole had a breakdown soon after. But already suspicious about her father, Nicole is worried he has something to do with Aimees disappearance too. And when the remains of Lori are found Nicole's mind goes into overdrive.
Whilst I enjoyed the storyline and felt it was a rollercoaster of a ride with plenty of red herrings to throw me off course, I found myself frustrated with some of the characters and felt the book could have been condensed a bit. It's quite a long read with a very quick ending. I felt there were a few loose ends that could have been addressed in an epilogue. But overall a solid book and I'm sure it will be a further success.
3.5 rounded up to 4

Where to begin! First, thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy for my opinion.
Second, the twists and turns !! Nicole is estranged from her family due to her best friend going missing when they were teenagers. She felt her dad had something to do with it. She comes home because her mom calls and tells her that her younger sister is missing, and expecting a baby!
This started a bit slow, but it was needed to get the back ground of all involved. Then it took off and boy, oh boy! I say read this!

2-2.5.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had such an interesting concept, but it was bogged down with simplistic writing and some of the most insufferable characters I had ever met. The parents felt so wildly inconsistent - her mother comforts her and then in the next breath says her sister’s disappearance is Nicole’s fault, and it was such a jarring sentence. I’m not saying shitty parents who would blame their children don’t exist, but the way it was written felt so wildly out of the blue and abnormal. It’s like the author couldn’t decide if the parents were keeping secrets because they were dicks or protective, and kept flip flopping.

Nicole was annoying to me as well. We get constant mentions of how bad it was living in that house but then no actual clarification on what happened? Nicole jumps to the most bizarre conclusions at all times (they all do actually, half the murdering wouldn’t have happened in this book if people weren’t so bad at communicating, which sure happens in real life but good lord). She blames everything on her parents, including not talking to her sister for 12 years besides a few letters and it’s like…girl…phones exist. You literally have one. Write your sister and say “hey! This is a bit outdated when we both can text. What’s your number?” Nicole expresses some regret at not contacting her sister online but seems to place almost all blame on her parents and like cmon, at a certain point you have to take some responsibility. She avoids her hometown doesn’t make any effort to meet with her sister because her parents are sooooo bad but then also gets upset because she thought her parents would be graceful about it to her sister? Be fucking for real.

There’s also just the massive police corruption and one of the characters just being a blatant predator. We don’t really get to see the fallout because the book basically ends, but I hate the insistence that things were consensual. It wasn’t, straight up, that was grooming. It felt almost like the book wanted us to sympathize with these characters and I wasn’t here for it. I don’t want to give spoilers away so I’ll try to say this as vaguely as possible but I don’t get why certain characters opted to hide what they did when they could have hidden a rock lol. It would have been simpler, less messy, much less stupid, and saved people a lot of grief.

I wish Lori’s chapters were more consistently written. It was really cool reading them, but they were like 5 chapters placed in between 65 other chapters, so whenever they showed up it felt very inconsistent. There weren’t nearly enough flashbacks for me to get why Nicole was so angry, even with the information we were told.

The ending came together nicely however. I definitely had a lot of suspects and missed the one it ended up being, but the final suspect made sense, so I do appreciate that ig.

It's 3am and I have stayed up to finish this absolute whirlwind of a book! How is this my 1st time reading a book by Wendy Dranfield?!

What an absolute amazing read! There are so many twists and turns. My head was spinning and my jaw was on thr floor.... if that's even possible at the same time. Its so well written the writing just flows and races you through this absolute whirlwind of a story. The characters are a bit annoying and don't always make the best decisions but hey, who does! Plus it is a fiction so we don't always have to make rational choices. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to lose myself in the back catalogue

I loved this book! It was so exciting and I could not put it down! I wanted more and read it all in one night. Pick up this book if you can get it ASAP! a solid 4 star read!

This book give me headache. Secret after secret, all of it can be avoided if Nicole parents talk to her, If Nicole try to listen and not get impluse, If Kurt be brave and move on, If Aimee not so sensitif. Yup all the chaos because of misunderstanding and miscomunication. I really enjoy this headache lol.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#TheNightSheVanished #WendyDranfield #Bookouture #NetGalley #ARC

Nicole hasn't been back to her small hometown of Henderson in 12 years. She told herself she would never go back but now her little sister is missing and she is sure her parents have something to do with it. Years ago her best friend vanished and Nicole knows her parents had something to do with that as well. She cannot let the past repeat itself.
I love psychological thrillers, but it's the rare one that truly surprises me. This one had so many twists and I was definitely not expecting the ending! You keep wondering who is telling the truth and who you can trust. This was my first book by this author but will definitely not be the last!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

There was a lot I liked about this book, but some of it felt unrealistic. The parents' attitudes toward Nicole didn't seem realistic. Some of the characters felt one-dimensional and not fully developed. Good read overall, just not great.

This is a must read!! A woman returns to her home town 12 years after her best friend is murdered and days after her younger sister goes missing. She has been estranged from her family and her return brings old issues back to the service. This was a page turner that was so well written. I did not see the end coming. All of the red herrings fit well, but everything tied up nicely and made sense in the end. I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

Nicole is called home by her estranged parents when her younger sister goes missing.

Nicole has been suspicious of her family since her best friend went missing many years ago.

Now, with her sister missing, she doesn't know what to expect.

I have enjoyed every book I've read by Dranfield and this one is no exception. Loads of twists and turns and not knowing who you can trust. Kept me glued to it until I finished it in one day.

I love how easy Dranfileld's books are to read. The main character frustrated me at times, but I liked her anyway. Some points didn't ring quite true at the time but were explained later on.

I great whodunit by a great author.

Thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the arc.

"The Night She Vanished" is a psychological thriller following MC Nicole, who returns to her hometown she left 12 years ago when her estranged parents notify her that her younger sister is missing. Soon after she arrives, the remains of her best friend that was murdered 15 years prior are found. She story jumps through multiple POVs and timelines as Nicole and her childhood friend Kurt try to find out where her sister is and who killed their friend all those years ago.

This book absolutely captivated me! With many twists & short chapters often ending with cliffhangers, I definitely just wanted to keep reading so I could find out what the heck was going on.

With that being said, there were quite a few things that just... didn't make sense to me? I think despite being a longer book, there was still a need for further explanation or exploration of things. Without giving too much away, Nicole's horrible relationship with her parents is a key plot point. She leaves her hometown as soon as she graduates high school and never looks back. It is frequently mentioned that people don't know what growing up in "that house" was like, but I feel like nothing was really said?? You find out about some allegations and rumors made about her father, but even so, the deep hatred and awkwardness with her parents never fully seemed to make sense to me. There is explanation at the end, but it doesn't exactly feel like it was *enough*. Also, I felt the writing to be a bit simple - it was reminiscent of Freida McFadden.

Overall, I do feel that Dranfield tells quite the story and despite some annoyance with character thoughts/actions, I kept reading because I needed answers! And the ending was definitely a twist that I 10000000% didn't see coming!

I give this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Dranfield, And Bookouture for this ARC. I was like Whaaaaat, No way, Holy…..let me tell you when you get a chance, READ THIS BOOK! I loved loved loved Nicole’s story. There are so many twists and turns I kept questioning myself. I will definitely check out more of Wendy Dranfield’s books.

This was my first book from Wendy Dranfield and I absolutely loved it!! I’m kicking myself for not reading her books before now, but now that I have read THE NIGHT SHE VANISHED, I have so many of her other novels to look forward to!! And that’s exciting because there’s nothing better than finding a new author you thoroughly enjoy!

From the moment I picked up my Kindle to read this book, I knew I’d have a hard time putting it down. The story grabs onto you from the very beginning and does not let go. It’s a fascinating read surrounding family dynamics and family secrets, showing how far people are willing to go to keep the past buried. The character development is brilliantly written by the author, further immersing the reader into a world of family estrangement and dysfunction. Whom can you trust? Who is telling the truth and who is lying? These are questions you’ll be asking yourself time and time again until the very end. And there are so many twists and turns you won’t see coming, you’ll feel like you’re on a roller coaster — and how fun are roller coasters?!

So if you enjoy psychological thrillers with a captivating plot, wonderfully rich characters, and a decades-long mystery to solve, you will definitely want to read Wendy Dranfield’s new novel. But be warned — once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop until the last page is turned!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Dranfield, and Bookouture for gifting me the ARC of this book! I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!!

The Night She Vanished is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller. Nicole left her home town at the age of 18 and has never returned. She wants nothing to do with the place from where her best friend, Lori, had disappeared. Even more, she can't stomach the thought of seeing her parents, since she believes that Lori was murdered and the murderers were her parents. However, when her younger sister goes missing, Nicole is forced to face her nightmares and return home.

The Night She Vanished is full of surprising twists and unexpected reveals. I thought I had figured out what had happened both in the past and present to realize I was totally off a few pages later. The story is told through multiple POVs, mainly Nicole and Kurt in the present and Lori in the past, with a few snippets from Aimee (Nicole's sister). I thought the multiple POVs and the past/present timeline added to the overall storytelling. The one issue I had was that I don't think Nicole's reasons for believing her parents to be killers are developed enough. I don't think the case is made for why she is so certain that her parents killed Lori. Other than that, I enjoyed the book - it was a fast read and kept me guessing .

This was an ARC. I had never read this author. The writing is not bad, but not that great. Somewhat simplistic. The book was not a bad read. 2.5 stars

The Night She Vanished is the first book that I've read from Wendy Dranfield.

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy and this is my honest review.

The blurb intrigued me from the start. Nicole's friend is murdered when she's 15, and Nicole thinks her parents did it. The book is set roughly 15 years from the event, and Nicole's younger sister is now missing, forcing her to return home.

Positives:
- Loose ends tied up neatly
- Somewhat happy ending
- Enough happening to keep me reading
- Multiple twists and reveals

Negatives:
- Despite the length of the book, the characters didn't feel developed enough to care for
- It felt like the suspicions of the parents were unfounded. It could have done with more tension and build up through sinister scenes
- Due to the above, the twists felt flat

This was another book that kept me awake late because I couldn't put it down! The plot twists had me second guessing myself until the ending caught me by surprise. The characters were well written. Their history with each other explained, some during the plot and some in 'flashbacks'. I couldn't decide who I actually wanted the culprit to be as each secret was revealed!

Another brilliant book as usual from this author, a great storyline with good characters that kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning until the end with a 'never guessed' ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

The Night She Vanished by Wendy Dranfield
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: March 14, 2023

The Night She Vanished is a standalone mystery by Wendy Dranfield. This book was filled with so many twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat. I actually could not go to sleep until I finished this book because it was so good and I needed to see how everything unraveled.

Wow, just wow! The Night She Vanished is probably my favorite book so far this year. I was drawn into the story on page one and couldn't believe it when I made it to the final page. I was able to read this in one day because it was so good and I could not stop reading it.

This book was captivating and engaging. The characters were fascinating and brilliantly developed. Trying to figure out what actually happened and who was responsible for what was so well played. Every time I though I knew what had happened another layer was revealed and I was left wondering what else could happen.

I highly recommend reading this! You will not be disappointed.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another great read from this talented author. The book is primarily a rollercoaster ride of a brilliant thriller but it’s equally a great look at family estrangement and who you can and can’t trust in your life. Once your trust is tested you’ll believe the worst of those closest to you even if it’s unfounded. A great twisty turny tale that you’ll not want to put down.