A Disappointment in Disguise

"Vanished" by Theo Baxter, published by Inkubator Books, left me feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied. From the deceptive cover to the misleading blurb, this book failed to live up to the expectations it initially set.

At first glance, the front cover and blurb suggested a tale of dark mystery, a missing child, and a family torn apart by secrets. However, as I delved into the story, it became clear that these elements were nothing more than a facade, designed to draw readers in. The reality of "Vanished" turned out to be quite different from what I had been led to believe.

The narrative follows Maggie, a young mother to eight-year-old Isabel. Maggie's past is marred by an abusive father and a tumultuous teenage relationship that led to her daughter's birth. As the plot unfolds, Maggie's increasing paranoia takes center stage, overshadowing any potential for a gripping mystery. Her descent into irrational fear and obsession dominates the storyline, making it difficult to invest in the characters or their struggles.

Predictability plagued the book's progression, with the central plot becoming apparent to me by the time I had barely begun reading. Despite my hopes for a surprising twist or a revelation that would redeem the story, I found myself disappointed by the book's lack of originality.

The characters' development, particularly Maggie's, felt incomplete and disjointed. Her actions and reactions were often difficult to comprehend, given the circumstances. Equally perplexing was the town's response to Maggie's concerns, including the strange behavior of her neighbors and the local priest. These interactions failed to ring true, further distancing me from the narrative.

While the book held potential, the execution fell flat. The author's heavy-handed foreshadowing detracted from any sense of mystery, and the lack of subtlety in revealing crucial plot points left much to be desired. Instead of allowing readers to engage in deciphering the puzzle, the story felt like a mere recitation of events that were evident from the beginning.

In conclusion, "Vanished" by Theo Baxter, published by Inkubator Books, was a disappointment from start to finish. Its misrepresentation through the cover and blurb, along with its failure to deliver a compelling mystery, left me unsatisfied. While the concept had promise, the execution and character development needed significant improvement. I want to express gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read this book, even though my experience with it was ultimately disappointing.

Wow! This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was fantastic! I was hooked almost instantly and had to keep reading until I was finished! The times I had to put it down, kept me wondering what was going to happen next and I couldn't wait to pick it up again!

I will definitely be reading more books by Theo Baxter.

Thank you for letting me read this book .

I really enjoyed this book! I think it's a very clever story and I enjoyed how uniquely it ended. Overall, I enjoyed this and will be checking out more books by this author! Special Thank You to Theo Baxter, Inkubator books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, even if it was difficult to read at times. Be sure to check the trigger warnings before picking this one up. The pacing was a bit slow in places, but it still kept me engaged with the story.
I am interested in reading more books from this author.

I am an avid reader of psychological thrillers as I have an interest in the subject myself. I had the main premise figured put by the second or third chapter. All I had to was read more than half the book to wait for how she figured it out herself. There were a lot of contradictory details, dialogues did not match the characters or go with the theme and not to mention that I could not wait for it to get to the point.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
This was longer than it needed to be and used a mental condition called PTSD as its overarching theme. However, PTSD does not present itself like this at all. The plot was too surreal and honestly having the whole town play along with a delusion is a bit too far fetched. And where are social services or the police? I find it a bit too difficult to believe that finding a baby dead in the crib and a man missing didnt warrant a search of the house?! Also, when she killed her boyfriend and hid her bloody shirt under the bed? There are several inconsistencies and loose threads.

I was disappointed after spending hours to finish it and waiting for it to get any better.

Single mother Maggie Conner struggles to raise her young daughter, Isabel, in a household ruled by her own abusive father.

Terrified for Isabel’s safety, Maggie realises that neither her cold, distant mother nor anyone else in town seem willing to help them.

Then Isabel starts to disappear for long periods, returning with no idea of where she has been or why.

And when Maggie tries to get outside help, doctors and psychologists seem strangely reluctant to get involved in Isabel’s case. Is someone threatening them so they’ll stay away?

Desperate to save her daughter, Maggie searches for answers. But the more she digs, the more she is forced to confront the secrets buried deep in her own past.

Vanished is a quick, fast paced thriller that I stayed up in to the night to finish!
I can’t wait to check out more from Theo Baxter.

Thanks to net galley for this arc
4 stars

This book was a slower read for me compared to what I am used to. With that being said it struggled a bit to hold my attention, but it is not by any means a bad one. Theo delivered a different plot filled with plot twists that kept me wondering what was going on. He made me question what I was reading and who to trust.

Maggie knows someone wants to hurt her daughter. So why will no-one help?

This book gave me anxiety. As a woman, not being believed when something terrible is happening to me is a constant worry. I was on the edge of my seat.

This book follows Maggie who is trying to get help for her daughter, while everyone else is trying to help her!
You are drawn in from the first page of this book and every five pages I found myself taking a moment to see if I was going crazy or if it was Maggie! I did enjoy this book but you could guess the twist quite close to the beginning and Maggie just ignores a lot of the signs, so can become a little frustrating and made me want to skip to the end.

Overall I rated this book 3 stars because I found myself continuously thinking about this book, but I think the reader should be left guessing a bit further into the book and I wasn’t aware that it would involve some question of the paranormal.

This was my first book to review so thank you very much NetGalley!

This book was very intriguing and I couldn’t put it down. This book has a lot of triggers though, so please read those before choosing to read or not.

This book is about Maggie, her abusive father, her mother and her daughter Isabel. She’s stuck living with her parents after she gives birth to Isabel and the baby’s father ends up passing away. Maggie is forced to do things around the house while her father verbally abuses her and physically abuses the mother. I had no idea about the family and why Maggie was acting the way she was. I liked the way this book was written, it kept you guessing and wondering if this family was real or not.

I received this book for free from netgalley in return for my honest opinion and thank you to publishers for a chance to read this arc.

I was first drawn to this book because of the cover. I’m a sucker for the spooky bits and the red balloon was a nice touch. When I wasn’t at home reading, I was at work willing the hours to go by so I could get back to this book! Maggie was struggling to raise her young daughter Isabel, all while living with her abusive father. She constantly searching for a way out and answers to ease her sanity. There were many times where I found myself questioning my own! It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions but I can’t wait to read more by this author!

First it caught my attention because of the cover, and if you judge a book by it, you wouldn't go wrong with this one. Vanished is a book I loved from start to finish. The dark and unpredictable plot kept me attentive and expectant throughout the reading, and made me try to guess what was going on, but keeping all the time doubting my predictions. A perfect mix of suspense, horror and drama. I would recommend it without hesitation, especially to those who enjoy the creepy kid trope.

I just finished this and I loved it! If I wasnt reading it I was thinking about it! I love this plot. I love that we are given information at a pace that lets you speculate and make assumptions. I ended up being wrong and I thought I was getting good at predicting twists. I did predict somethings but not the biggest ones!

I'm a massive fan of the author so had high hopes and once again, he has surpassed them! I'll never understand how he writes so many stories and each one is completely unique with the plot and had an original cast of characters aswell! It's never a rehash of the other books which blows my mind. This starts off on such a tense note and the atmosphere doesn't let up. I was hooked til the very last page. It's got twists and turns, strongly written characters and a really good plot. What more could you want?! Absolutely loved it

Vanished by Theo Baxter.
Maggie knows someone wants to hurt her daughter. So why will no-one help?
Single mother Maggie Conner struggles to raise her young daughter, Isabel, in a household ruled by her own abusive father.
Terrified for Isabel’s safety, Maggie realises that neither her cold, distant mother nor anyone else in town seem willing to help them.
Then Isabel starts to disappear for long periods, returning with no idea of where she has been or why.
And when Maggie tries to get outside help, doctors and psychologists seem strangely reluctant to get involved in Isabel’s case. Is someone threatening them so they’ll stay away?
Desperate to save her daughter, Maggie searches for answers. But the more she digs, the more she is forced to confront the secrets buried deep in her own past.
As Maggie’s whole world begins to unravel, can she find the strength to face the terrifying truth?
Omg. Theo has done it again. Absolutely brilliant. Twisty and gripping. I loved Maggie. I had a theory but I was partly right. Very surprising. Love this author. 5*.

I came across this author on NetGalley who sent me an arc of this book. Vanished is a quick, fast paced thriller that I stayed up half the night to finish! This book will definitely have you questioning your sanity at times. I can’t wait to check out more from Theo Baxter.

Wow! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. What a wild ride, a true psychological thriller (with a tip to the side of paranormal thriller). You know what’s going on, or at least most of it at the beginning of the book. You ride the emotional rollercoaster with Maggie as she unravels what is going on in her life. You feel sympathy for her, you get mad at her, you want her to open her eyes and her ears to take in what is really going on around her. As the story goes on, you take in the “gaps” of her memory, and again, although you as the reader know essentially what is going on, are captivated and waiting for the moment she catches on,
I will definitely be looking to read more from the author.

Spent the entire afternoon engrossed in this book, my second book read by this author.

Enjoyed the storyline and the setting, and will look out for more titles from this author. Really
Nice twisted thriller full of suspense.

I really enjoyed this classic psychological thriller. It's the type of book that got me interested in this genre in the first place.
The story is quite predictable. You know from the very beginning which way this is heading. And yet the process of getting there is a real treat. I loved getting inside the MC's head and into her twisted thoughts. There are some brilliantly spooky scenes such as the one where she was polishing the floor with blood. The author does a great job setting the atmosphere. In fact I would call this a genre-bending novel that even veers towards the paranormal.
The resolution was expected and yet refreshing. We know what's going on here but it was still thoroughly satisfying to discover how the MC got to this point.
The book did drag towards the middle. :some scenes are long and dragged out where you tap your feet and say in your head - just open the door already! But I didn't mind. I just wanted to keep turning the page.
The MC is very well written. I was solidly in her corner throughout. I was rooting for her and really felt for her awful childhood. This is a mark of a job well done for an author.
Overall great book!