Thank you so much to Netgalley and random house children's for the arc!!

In a whirlwind of expectations, I found myself hyperfocused by Holly Jackson's storytelling skills. From the first page, I was hooked, unable to tear myself away from her immersive storyline. Even when life pulled me away from the book, its grip on my mind remained unyielding. Jackson's writing style is nothing short of mesmerizing, weaving a tale that is atmospheric, suspenseful, and undeniably compelling. Every twist and turn left me reeling, and while the ending may have been the happiest yet, it still managed to evoke tears of both joy and betrayal.

To sum up the story: women rule, men drool !

This was a fun one! The prose got to be a little much for me, but it is YA and I realize its the type of thing I would have gone crazy for as a teenager, which is obviously the audience this is for. I think the ending was a little too casual, even for YA. There's something about just casually discussing the murder you committed with apparently zero psychological effects that sets a bit of red flag for me with what we're letting teens read- this is not normal behavior. Not to mention the second protagonist's mother walking away from the child she'd raised for the last 16 years without blinking. That said, it definitely kept me engaged and I have no doubt it'll do the same for our teen patrons.

I'm begging you to put this at the very top of your to read list. I've been a big fan of Jackson since I read A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and this one absolutely didn't disappoint. This standalone is hard to compare to the entire AGGGTM series since that had more books to develop the characters --and is it even possible for me to love characters more than I love Pip and Ravi?--but this one is absolutely in my top 10 of all time and definitely a five star read and I can already tell a top read of the year. I absolutely could not put this one down and definitely stayed up hours past my bedtime to finish it. If you like mystery this is a MUST READ! I love the characters and the twists and turns but most of all I loved that I never knew who to believe or trust, including the MC. The closer it got to the end the more and more I needed to know. Jackson's ability to make us question everything and build a sense of suspense and "not right-ness" shines in this one. My heart was beating out of my chest along with the MC as she discovers the truth and hunts for answers. There aren't enough positive words to describe how I feel about this one. It's a must read and a must-have for any classroom or secondary school library or public library.

This one started out a bit slow. The plot dragged and not much happened in the beginning. I also found the main character, Bel to be really childish and unlikable. I know this is YA, but she was just really hard to relate to because of how she treated people.

Towards the end, the pacing picked up and there were so many shocking twists and turns I did not see coming. Overall, this was a pretty entertaining YA mystery despite the slow start:

This is a family-centered thriller filled with Hollywood intrigue! Perfect for true crime fans and of course, fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Bel’s mother Rachel disappeared, and she was the only witness.

But as they film a documentary about her mother, Rachel appears again.

Now, Bel has to figure out what happened and who she can trust.

I really had a hard time predicting what would happen next here, which was most excellent. (Perfectly twisty!)

And Bel is a perfect POV character, smart and utterly relatable. I wanted to validate her so badly!

It’s hard not to spoil, but I’ll say this — I really enjoyed this wild ride.

By the end of the book, I had experienced the entire spectrum of emotions, but closed the book ultimately thrilled that I had the opportunity to read this.

I will say that this is a little different from my usual reads, in a most refreshing way. This has more of an emphasis on family love than romantic love, and I enjoyed it!

Is your mood reading taking you in a true crime direction, and do you want a narrator you will adore?

Then pick this one up! You won’t put it down until you’re on the last page.

I have read some Holly Jackson and generally liked them. This fell into that category; it was enjoyable and entertaining. It's not a book that I walked away from knowing i would think about it for a while. I finished it and was content, and that was all. I think it served it's purpose in that regard, it was exciting and enjoyable. 3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! The twists and turns took me places I didn’t expect, but it was a fun ride! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes domestic thrillers and mysteries. I received this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review

BEL PRICE YOU COULD NEVER BE PIP FITZ-AMOBI

so rachel is bel's mom, who's been missing for 16 years. no one knows what happened to her. her body has never been found, literally disappeared from the face of eart--or at least that's what it looks like.

the mystery brought up again because it's going to be made into a family documentary. and the main character is bel. half the reason why I didn't enjoy this book was the fact that bel was REALLY rude. she had zero respect for anyone, even toward her family or older person. she acted like everyone owed her something and won't hesitate to elbow her way to get whatever she wanted.

and the other the reasons were
1) after knowing pip's thorough and careful investigation, bel's method felt too unserious. she didn't have the detective finnesse in and her approach was accusing everyone until they're proven innocent. also have I mentioned that she's so reckless? yeah.
2) the reveal was so absurd??? like okay technically it made sense to the plot but realistically it's weird. but maybe i'm just not a true crime story consumer idk.
3) the closure was messy and IMO. put pip in that town and see what happens

in short, i didn't enjoy this book. but at least it managed to keep me reading until the end (even though the ending isn't worth it)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an eARC of The Reappearance of Rachel Price in exchange for my honest review!

As a massive fan of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, I'm happy that The Reappearance of Rachel Price has turned out to be such a riveting thriller. It gets me connected with the resolute, clever, and brash Bel in a manner that feels just a bit evocative of Pippa Fitz-Amobi from AGGGTM. At the end of the day, though, these two mystery-solving protagonists are separate human beings who wrestle with different baggage. Bel specifically comes across as more thorny than Pip while contending with the chaos, suspicion, and inconsistencies that her mom's astonishing return from the dead stirs up.

I've seen criticisms from a few other reviews that focus on the plot being capable of dragging too much and coming off like filler. I myself think this is compelling throughout the plot, though, and even when I reflect on some bits and pieces that perhaps could have been trimmed down, they don't stand out as major weak spots. I just keep on rolling through this thriller as it unveils its twists and turns, as it reaches a third act that whips me around and ties up the narrative on a moving and satisfying note.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Reappearance of Rachel Price 4.25 out of 5 stars, which I'll round down to 4 stars on Goodreads. This is the first Holly Jackson book I've ever read outside of her AGGGTM series, so I'm glad to see she remains a reliable author. Now I'll definitely have to pick up Five Survive, another Jackson book, soon.

Bel is participating in a documentary about her missing mother Rachel Price, which Rachel suddenly reappears. Bel is suspicious due to the timing but also because Rachel's story doesn't seem to add up. She joins up with one of the documentary's crewmembers to find proof that Rachel lied, but it leads somewhere she didn't expect and unearths a secret that affects her whole family. Overall, a twisty mystery that keeps you guessing. While the pace started out a bit slow, the reveal in the end was satisfying.

Holly Jackson is a master of her craft. I couldn’t predict a single second of this book. Nothing happened the way I wanted it to or thought it would, but in the end it felt exactly right for the characters.

I started to like Holly Jackson after a good girls guide and have really enjoyed her stuff ever since. This didn’t disappoint. I would recommend.

My students love Holly Jackson, and I think they will like this title as well. I thought it started a little slow, but as the story moved on the pace picked up.

By far my favorite book of Holly’s! Let me tell you I was 1000% convinced I had it figured out. Holly said nope not today sweetheart 🤯

The twists, turns and when everything starts coming together will blow your mind! I absolutely loved the FMC Bel. She is so snarky & witty!

Go read it!

5 Reasons to Read

Mystery

When I think of listening to podcasts I always go for the one’s with disappearances or missing persons. I find it the most fascinating facet of true crime because they make you wonder. This book did exactly that but with the twist of a Reappearance. You will spend one part of the book wondering about the mystery around Rachel’s disappearance and the rest wonder about the mystery around her reappearance. It was so well done!

Secrets

Secrets. So many secrets. Bel has them. Her father has them. Rachel has them. Her aunt and uncle have them. This book is full of them and just when you feel all secrets have been revealed you’re left shocked to find more!

Dark Pasts

As the secrets unravel a dark past is revealed. A marriage that looked fine on the outside may not have been so picture perfect. When Rachel comes back Bel’s father starts to act differently than she expected. He always talked about her being the light of his life before Bel came along but now she’s home and he’ll barely look at her. He starts staying out later and later or has excuses for not coming home when he used to be so routine and reliable. Bel’s the only one who seems to think what Rachel’s told her about her past isn’t really what happened. Where was she all those years because she couldn’t possibly have been kept in a basement the whole time.

Amateur Sleuth

Bel is the ultimate Amateur Sleuth in this one! I loved the beginning when it was all about a documentary with the opening scene portraying an interview between Bel and Ramsay, the person directing the documentary. The Rachel Price case was never on his radar but now he’s come to offer money in exchange for the first ever exclusive interviews of Rachel Price’s family. The before, during, and after her disappearance facts. But when Rachel shows up Bel takes over and starts to investigate Rachel with the determination of unraveling everything. It was fun to see her work with Ash, Ramsay’s nephew, as she drags him along from clue to clue. I thought I loved Pip and her podcast in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but this one was even better!

Twists & Turns

If you haven’t picked it up by now but this book is full of all the twists and turns! I had so many theories while reading that I started to wonder if there was a disappearance at all or if it was just in Bel’s head the entire time. It was so well done and the story developed that the ending was a shock. I wish we could see Bel again but it wrapped up nicely leaving no unanswered questions. This is hands down one of the best YA Thriller’s I’ve read in a very long time. It will keep you guessing all the way through!

This was my first book by Holly Jackson, and I was hooked on this YA thriller from the beginning. I love the concept of the documentary following the case, it allowed for the plot to take many unique turns and added fun characters and depth to the story.

I pride myself on being able to pick up clues and foreshadowing in books, but this book had so many twists and turns I kept being shocked until the very end of the book. And I loved Belle’s personal journey of growth and mental health representation woven into the story.

Thank you to PRH Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook. Thank you to Delacorte Press, NetGalley, and TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with a digital copy of this book. This review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price is another twisty mystery by Holly Jackson. Fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Five Survive will enjoy her newest mystery. We have already purchased copies for our classrooms!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: YA Mystery 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
This one was okay, it just took me forever to get into. The ending was good though!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Intriguing reads
All the twists
Dysfunctional family dynamics
True crime documentaries
Side of romance
Strong FMC
Mommy/abandonment issues

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
I didn’t see the ending coming

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Started off slow
Felt a little rushed and could have used a little more depth
So I might have been hating on this one a little bit until I realized it was YA and then it all made sense lol oops

Numerous things occurred. I had high expectations, some of which were fulfilled and some of which were not, but overall, it was an amazing experience that I am sure I will want to have again. Sincerely, there is something about Holly's writing style that makes it impossible for me to read one of her books without being engrossed in it and feeling as like I must put all of my other books down in order to complete this one. I knew this was going to be an exciting journey from the first page, and I was not disappointed by the way she writes. Her use of language is exquisite and captivating. I would have read if I had more time, I swear to God.

This author gets weaker with every book. The dialogue was often stilted, and it needed a tighter edit overall.