Minna Larson has been missing since 1972 and has never been found. Around the same time she went missing, sister Franchesca Pepitone, who also was Minna’s teacher at school, was murdered.
Are the two cases connected? The police say no, but Minna’s neice maggie thinks otherwise, and is determined to prove it.

This thriller was a quick read for me and kept me engaged the whole time. I really enjoyed the twist at the end where we found out that sister Franchesca was a twin, and that changed everything we knew about what happened that night in 1972.

I enjoyed the character development in this book and thought the author did a great job with the surprise twist at the end.

A shocking thriller that takes you on journey to find the truth behind the story of a missing nun, a teen and the secret that connects them. Great read that kept me up reading late.

I received an ARC of this book from Headline via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. This was a very enjoyable mystery. I agree with one of the previous reviewers who mentioned that the pace was exactly as it needed to be - I was never bored or thought it dragged, despite there being some periods where not much happened. It seemed realistic; if these were people in real life, this is how their investigation would go, getting some clues, taking the steps to work them out, etc. A lot of mysteries and thrillers dip into the unbelievable with CSI type of investigations, and this one felt truer to life. I also did not guess any of the twists, which always impresses me.

Ms. Smith created a vivid small town with all its typical issues. If I had to nitpick one thing (and it is really not important), it would be regarding Maggie's move from the USA to the UK. I don't think it would be realistic for a teenager to suddenly gain a British accent, and sometimes the slang seemed inaccurate (speaking in American English when it should have been British). But this is really not relevant to the story, just an observation. I will certainly seek out more books by this author.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

This was a super fun thriller. It was a great summer read. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I didn't see the twist coming. I really enjoyed it!

#Thriller! This book was a thriller from start to finish! It had me on the edge of my seat waiting for the twist to keep coming! Family secrets, small towns, one cover up after another! Jessica Smith hit the nail on the head!

When Maggie returns for her grandmother’s funeral, she discovers an aunt who she never knew existed. Missing for decades, suspiciously around the time of the murder of a local nun, Maggie is determined to discover the truth.

This book gripped me from page one. It was addictive to read and I love how both the stories and characters develop as the plot progresses. I really enjoyed the author’s writing style - it had me gripped. A must read for crime/thriller fans for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley, Headline Books and the author for a sneak peek of this book to read and review!

Hometown girl, Maggie, returns for the funeral of her grandmother to uncover a family secret she never knew existed ... and of course she won’t rest until she gets some answers! This was a classic "small town hides all the things" slow burn mystery that just got better and better the deeper into the book I read. Every new reveal along the way truly kept me guessing. And the ending? Ya, I never saw that coming!

Nicely done debut! Excited to see more from this author in the future!

#TheSummerSheVanished #NetGalley
Awesome.
Summer, 1972. Sister Francesca Pepitone was found strangled in a parking lot on the outskirts of Boweridge. A week later, seventeen-year-old Minna Larson disappeared. No one has seen or heard from her since. The cases were never linked, and neither was solved. For some, it was a scar that never healed. Others simply forgot. Now, over forty years later, Minna's niece Maggie learns that days before vanishing, Minna was telling people she knew who had murdered Sister Fran, and that she had the evidence to prove it. Except no one believed her because there was one thing everyone could agree on .
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for giving me an advance copy.

Sometimes you come across a book and it really blows your mind a little, for me The Summer She Vanished did just that.

It's not often I read something and can't pick a single thing wrong with it. Maybe I didn't like a character, worked it out all too easily or even felt it was too fast paced or slow. But The Summer She Vanished was just perfect. The pace was good, slow when it needed to be giving me those extra details and clues (Sometimes red herrings). But not so slow it bored me. The characters, real and life like. I can envisage them. Although admit Ted, was a little flatter than the rest which was a shame (Maybe that why this isn't quite 5 stars). As for the mysteries of who killed Sister Fran and what happened to Minna.... That's where this book gets everyone of its 4.5 stars in my opinion.

I love a good mystery, especially when it isn't heavy on police procedural and this story gave me just that. As mentioned in the book 'armchair detective' and I feel that's a really good summary of Maggie and her friends (I say friends as I believe that's exactly what they grow to be). Maggie was fairly likeable but there was one thing I think that the author left us to make up our own minds and that was regarding Simon. I don't know if I missed it, but I 'got' the gist I think, but it was never confirmed what happened. No spoilers as always and that one thing will not ruin your enjoyment of this book.

If you want a good mystery, with a whole host of characters spanning 40 years then I highly recommend The Summer She Vanished by Jessica Irene Smith. I believe this is her debut novel and if this is how she's starting things then I cannot wait to read more books! A solid 4.5 stars for a mystery I was guessing at till the VERY end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This is basically a book about cover up in the Catholic Church. The priest was abusing girls at the school and nuns covered it up. I did not finish it.

The Summer She Vanished is an engaging slow burn mystery thriller with a small town and a family full of secrets. I loved all the characters and their interactions and I thought this was incredibly well written. I really enjoyed following Maggie on this mystery journey and I think this will be a big hit for a lot of people.

Four decades ago, a small town in the US suffered a double tragedy. A nun, Sister Francesca, was murdered - and shortly thereafter a 17-year-old girl named Minna Larson disappeared. The cases were not believed to be connected, and neither was ever solved.

Fast forward to the present, and Maggie - Minna's niece - has returned to America for a funeral. However, whilst staying with mother and step father, and finding out more about her mother's dysfunctional family, Maggie becomes increasingly preoccupied with the two cold cases.

From what she learns, Maggie feels convinced that there is in fact some kind of connection between the strangling of Sister Francesca and whatever happened to Minna.

Especially since, shortly before she disappeared, Minna had been insisting that she knew who was responsible for Sister Francesca's death. Unfortunately, Minna was known to be a liar, so nobody took her seriously at the time.

And what can Maggie do about it now, all these years later?

This was a story that took some time to gather its momentum, but once it took off, there was no looking back. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone interested in small town mysteries and complicated family dynamics in general, and the reinvestigation of cold cases in particular. This gets 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit! This is a slow burn mystery, with a lot of family secrets and dysfunction. I enjoyed reading about all the characters relationships, and now they had been impacted over the years from events in the past. I also found the mystery the main character was trying to solve very compelling, and I really liked our main character Maggie. I found the final twist of this book to be slightly unbelievable, but overall enjoyed this one.

This was a slow burn, but once it started burning, it didn't let up. Small towns hold secrets. Some have been forgotten, and some just swept under the carpet. When Maggie comes back for her grandmother's funeral, she finds out that she has an aunt she never knew about. Her mother's older sister disappeared 40 years prior, the same week a beloved nun was murdered. Everyone assumed she ran away, but did she? And after so many years, can Maggie ever find out what happened?

Thank you Netgalley and Headline for this smart, twisting thriller ARC!

Her grandmother’s sudden passing means Maggie must drop what she’s doing at university to fly to America and hold her mother’s hand through the misery. But right after getting there, Maggie discovers something that might make this trip more bearable—a long-lost aunt? Who is the girl in the photo that looks just like Maggie, and why do they share the same name?

Just a bit of sleuthing tells her the girl was her aunt—her mother’s eldest sibling. Or she was until she vanished without a trace. And no one wants to talk about her or even acts like they care. But Maggie does and she vows to get to the bottom of it no matter who tries to stop her.
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This one’s a bit hard for me to rate. On one hand, I found the plot super compelling and I liked how it developed. But on the other, the pace was just so slow for me and the chapters were incredibly long-winded. While I appreciated that the plot was so intricate and clearly deeply thought of, I felt like the book could’ve been 100 pages shorter and still would’ve gotten the point across. I think I’m being nitpicky though because overall I did enjoy how everything got resolved. I feel like others would like this but it just sadly didn’t do it for me.

This was a slow burn but in a good way. I love the mystery aspect and happy that I stuck through the end. Solid read, enjoyed the book.

This is my first read by Jessica Irena Smith and it made for a good mysterious read.

I did find in parts to be quite slow paced and my mind was wondering but I did stick with this novel and I am glad that I did as the plot was great.

We meet main character Maggie who is back home in America for a family funeral, having decided to stay with her mother and step dad we get to learn about the dysfunctional family of Maggie and her mother.

I enjoyed reading about Maggie and found her an interesting character. She learns about a murder in the town many years ago and how it may connect to a disappearing young teenager - this happened many years ago and Maggie becomes intent on solving this mystery. Maggie works tirelessly to try and solve the age-old mystery and its quite a journey.

A great read if you like a mystery novel, thanks to Netgalley, Jessica Irena Smith and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel.

I found this to be a slow burn of a read and at times wanted to give up. However I stuck with it and was cavern glad I did as the ending was excellent.

So many secrets. The mother drove me insane.
Sadly it took me forever to get through this book i found myself constantly reading and then putting it down.
There was a lot to take in and i did feel as if the story went on for far to long.
The most memorable part for me was the shock ending.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.