This was a great read. Gripping with twists and turns. A real page turner. Would definitely recommend

I had not come across the author R.M. Ward’s work but am very glad I was gifted a copy of ‘The Girl who Vanished’ to review. This is a thriller that is very much of its time as society in general is becoming more and more aware of the subtleties of suppressed trauma. The nove’s female protagonist is Frances a resident of Bath, who is afraid she is developing early onset dementia as her mother did, because she feels various threads of her life are slowly disintegrating. One night, Frances receives the type of phone call every parent dreads: her daughter Naomi has been hospitalised in London after a potentially life-altering accident. During her harrowing rush there by car, Frances witnesses what she perceives as the attempted abduction of another young girl. She is forced to make a harrowing decision: try to prevent the kidnap or continue to Naomi’s hospital? But is her daughter’s accident real? What will happen when Frances unexpectedly sees the other girl once more? And are Frances’s recollections of her life experiences to date genuine or altered by the trauma she has suffered?

It is easy to dismiss this novel as a fast-paced, ‘race through at night’ thriller but I found that Ward’s writing blows open several doors into the human psyche and our understanding of human trauma in general. I will definitely look out for more of Ward’s work as it is published. I would like to express my special thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free digital ARC that allowed me to read this novel ahead of publication in exchange for this honest, unbiased review.

With all the 4 and 5 star reviews, I'm honestly wondering if I read the same book as everyone else ... There was so much potential in the premise of the book - I expected it to focus on solving the mysery of a missing girl. I expected some twists and turns to keep me guessing. Instead, I got a half-hearted story about a woman who thinks she saw a missing girl, but while trying to get to the truth, she's distracted by a secondary plot line that takes over and overshadows what I thought was the main storyline. And unfortunately, this secondary storyline was just way too far-fetched and unbelievable to me. After finishing the book, I found myself again wishing that the author had stuck to the original plot, and developed it into what I think could have been a really great mystery and family drama story.

I love a good “who dunnit”, am a sucker for the mystery and thriller genre and found this to be a good one, indeed!
I’m rating it 3.5/5 stars! Thank you!

Wow, this book was unputdownable, I read it in a day. It was so creepy and twisty and my imagination was running riot whilst I was reading this. Brilliant. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thanks netgalley for my early review Copy.

From the first page to the end I was gripped.

The two main characters are well written so much so u become them.

This was a wee bit confusing. I was hooked from the beginning but it was too slow to unravel more details. Good writing but I actually did skim towards the end to see what happened. Meh.

Very much a middle of the road read for me. It was fairly obvious what was going on from quite early in the story and unfortunately I simply couldn’t work up much anticipation. Francis was a nice enough character but the whole thing just seemed a bit predictable.

My New Favourite Book!

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and R.M Ward for this ARC.

I have read a few books lately that haven't quite hit the mark, but this book had me hooked from the beginning! I was instantly in love with the main character and was cheering her on throughout.

A couple of the characters really irked me, but I think that this was the point. I couldn't wait to see if my suspicions were true and I was pretty spot on, but this didn't take away from the story at all.

I would recommend this book to anyone, it was quite fast-paced and twisty. I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley and HQ Digital, for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not the best narrative I have read, but it kept me entertained. Recommended.

Thanks net galley for letting me read this book, it was ok I found it rather slow it gathered pace in the last quarter of the book.
Frances thinks she is loosing her mind, her mother has dementia and Frances fears she too has it.
Frances has one daughter Naomi who is pregnant, and her husband but they are separated.
She keeps doing silly things leaving heating on, Bath tap running and sending telephone calls to her husband.
Until one day she sees a little girl being kidnapped and the little girl needed help.
Frances then was determined to find out about this child, which helped her finding out about her own life.

A very fast paced read, it started really well and was quite intriguing. It slowed down to wards the middle and turned more character driven domestic than a thriller read, however it did pick up again towards the end and back into the thriller category.
There was one twist that came as a surprise but the main one seemed quite obvious to me from quite early on. The characters were interesting and you really did root for Frances.
Overall an easy read with some good writing.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

What a roller coaster! I really liked the book because of its unique premises. It kept me glued in my seat for the first part. As the book went along the intensity was not as strong but I still did not see the twist(s) and could not see how it will end.

The end is not as strong but overall, it is a good mystery. I would definitely read this author again.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange of my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy.

I live thrillers and this was no exception

This was a good thriller one that kept me guessing. However it wasn’t unique or the most memorable I’ve read before

Frances receives a phone call every mother dreads, her daughter has been in a life threatening accident.
As she races to the hospital, Frances catches a glimpse of a child in another car, the girl is screaming for help.
Should she follow the car and risk delay or do nothing and live with the fact she didn’t help the child.
A compelling read, with lots of clues throughout.
Jaw dropping twists kept you hooked right till the end.
Thanks @rachelwardbooks @HQStories & @netgalley for the eARC

Thank you to #NetGalley and HQDigital for the copy of #TheGirlWhoVanished by #RMWard
Frances keeps reliving the telephone call telling her Naomi her beloved daughter had been in an accident.
Frightened that she is following on her mothers footsteps with Huntingdon’s Disease, she battles on as best as possible.
But then she sees something, and her life spirals out of control. Although one of the plot twists was telegraphed early on others weren’t.
A very good compelling read. I will definitely be reading this authors next book.

I couldn’t put this down.
A well paced thriller which keeps you desperate to keep turning the pages. Lots of twists and turns which keep you thinking that you’ve figured things out and it then goes off in another direction.

A great read!

Absolutely loved this book.
Nice short chapters. I found it hard to put this down.
An amazing mystery with lots of action and surprising twists. Told from different points of view but you will start doubting yourself about what is real and what isn't.
My first read by this author but definitely won't be the last.

The Girl Who Vanished is a cracking read. As the reader, you going in to it with certain expectations (from reading the blurb), but boy, you are not prepared for what's going to happen.

Frances faces a moral dilemma, when she received a phone call to say that her daughter has been in an accident. As she races to be with her, she sees a girl in a car asking for help. Should Frances stop? Will she forgive herself if something happens to the girl?

Its not as straightforward as that though, as you twist and turn through the narrative, told from the perspectives of Frances, her daughter and the girl.

I devoured this book, it was utterly brilliant and I can't stop recommending it!