Happy Publication Day!

<b>TW/CW: Language, anxiety, sexual assault (attempt), cancer (mention), cheating, divorce, depression, drinking, bullying, toxic relationships, drug addiction</b>

<b><big>*****SPOILERS*****</b></big>
<b>About the book:</b>
Emlyn doesn’t let herself think about the past.

How she and her best friend, Janessa, barely speak anymore. How Tyler, the man she thought was the love of her life, left her freezing and half-dead on the side of the road three years ago.

Her new life is simple and safe. She works as a fishing and hunting guide, spending her days in Idaho’s endless woods and scenic rivers. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer, her closest friends a handsome and kind Forest Service ranger and the community’s makeshift reverend, who took her in at her lowest.

But when Tyler shows up with the news that Janessa is missing, Emlyn is propelled back into the world she worked so hard to forget. Janessa, it turns out, has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife adventures with her rugged survivalist boyfriend. But she hasn’t posted lately, and when she does, it’s from a completely different location than where her caption claims to be. In spite of their fractured history, Emlyn knows she might be the only one with the knowledge and tracking skills to save her friend, so she reluctantly teams up with Tyler. As the two trace Janessa’s path through miles of wild country, Emlyn can’t deny there’s still chemistry crackling between them. But the deeper they press into the wilderness, the more she begins to suspect that a darker truth lies in the woods―and that Janessa isn’t the only one in danger.
<b>Release Date:</b> June 18th, 2024
<b>Genre:</b> Thriller
<b>Pages:</b> 304
<b>Rating:</b> ⭐

<b>What I Liked:</b>
1. Enjoyed the writing style
2. Liked the friendship between Emlyn and Janessa

<b>What I Didn't Like:</b>
1. Why are there so many weird names
2. Emlyn being "not like other girls"
3. Toxic relationships with toxic men
4. Book just being romance
5. Terrible ending
6. Not a thriller

<b>Overall Thoughts:</b>
<b><i><small>{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}</small></i></b>

Okay so we have a toxic ex-boyfriend that left her in the woods who had a drinking and possible drug addiction. So she has to reconnect with him to find out what happened to Janessa. I am really hoping this doesn't turn in the same vein as silent in the woods, because I absolutely despise that book. Honestly I'm worried that this author promotes unhealthy relationships with toxic male characters. This whole time Emlyn is just pining over him and talking about how much she misses him despite what he put her through. Does every thriller <i>need</i> a romance?

Love that Emlyn is given pain medicine aka Oxys but Janessa takes them away from her because it takes the pain away too much. What kind of friend would do that? So what that her appendix is bad and she's supposed to have Tylenol? Nah dude they gave her pain medicine because it's painful.

Waiting for some mystery other than a missing person because that's every thriller. Luckily Tyler and Emlyn are a short distance from where Janessa says she was at.

Tyler holding onto Emlyn's hand despite her not wanting to hold his. Gag!

It's pretty exciting that the thing that bothered Emlyn is that Tyler left her in the woods and here we are so happy to go in the woods again. What are the chances? I keep thinking it's Tyler that did this. What if Janessa isn't even in danger and Tyler's just trying to get her alone? Unless unless Janessa was cheating on Bush and Bush found out and killed her.

Is it ever explained to us how Emlyn knows about cars? She doesn't even have a car. She's just able to help Tyler on the side of the road by knowing what's wrong with his car in like 5 seconds. It could have been anything that went wrong but she just knows it's the starter solenoid.

So Janessa would not give Tyler Emlyn's phone number and Emlyn does not think this is weird but not weird like something could be wrong with Tyler, but that Janessa is being too protective. So she gets in his car on the side of the road after meeting him one time. Again her best friend whom she trusts her opinion of would not give this man her number, but she gets in a vehicle with him in the middle of nowhere.

Thank God Tyler gets the chance to show Emlyn what a good guy he is by giving the homeless man a sandwich.

Speaking of Evelyn I don't really understand how she got into tracking. During the whole time she's in school she never mentions that she's interested in going to the mountains and doing anything with that. It's only when she follows Janessa out into the mountains and stays with her family that she seems to take on that role.

Why is it that Tyler has this whole business that deals with like climbing and camping and mounting stuff and he doesn't even know anything about anything? He's the most brainless character. His lack of knowledge is just so Emlyn could show how much more knowledgeable she is. I am finding this absolutely annoying.

You see this is what women are like Janessa actually gives her a warning and tells her he's no good but does Emlyn believe her? No, Emlyn just thinks that Janessa is being jealous. Janessa has known this person since she was a child so she would know if he was no good. But Emlyn seems to think that Janessa is saying that Emlyn is no good she isn't as good as Tyler. It's also ridiculous. Like listen to your friend. She's never reacted like this before when Emlyn has been interested in someone so why would she get this heated and emotional if something wasn't wrong. Emlyn even points out all the nice things that Janessa has done for her and how she's been a great friend to her, but then she thinks that all this stuff was just ways to trap her. God. Yeah I'd be real mad too if my rich friend bought me stuff and let me go on ski trips. All because she says I can't date this one person suddenly I want to throw away my whole entire friendship with this person.

Of course we hear about how great Emlyn is that when she was training for being a mountaineer they plopped her in the middle of the mountain and she was the first one to return. She's just that great. Honestly Janessa saying that Emlyn has self-esteem and I'm over here shaking my head thinking there's no way. She's always talking about how good she is at things.

There is zero way that Tyler is not behind this. He made sure that she came along and even knows that she didn't get a chance to tell anyone where she was going. And then she left it in his hands to radio it in that they were going out into the mountains but she doesn't know if he really did that. Then we come around this weird scene of animals suffering and dying off and she suddenly thinks that it's Bush but like what about that weird guy that walked by too telling them to not go that way.

What does 23 year old Emlyn do for a living? It just seems like she's just hanging out with zero worries of money or anything she has to do.

Cool so we're in conversation number 900 when Tyler talks to her about why he left and what happened. We get it we do not need to have this conversation over and over and over again. This feels like it's not even a mystery. Do they even care about finding this person? I feel like they spend more time just talking about their past relationship than actually being worried about where the hell this girl is. You would actually think that this mystery of Janessa missing doesn't matter. 200 pages in and all we know is that Tyler is still in love with her and they have kissed. We have only 100 pages to find out about Janessa and if she is okay.

We find out that Tyler actually had an oxycodone addiction so I'm assuming that's why Janessa freaked out on Emlyn for having them when her appendix ruptured. Oh and Emlyn blames herself for giving Tyler Oxy pills while they were hiking and hurt his leg. That caused him to spiral into his addiction and leave her at the end. Not sure that she should blame herself for any of that considering he never told her that he had an addiction problem.

So this storyline was completely pointless. With 80 pages left Janessa is perfectly fine and she just wanted to be left alone for a little bit and in typical rich person way just decided she didn't need to let anyone know this - but wait is Bush really holding her hostage she gives Emlyn the hair sign that she's not safe.

So the plot twist is Bush is a drug dealer who is running drugs and Janessa found out. She wanted to take Bush down (not sure why it had to happen in the woods where he has an advantage). Janessa has an agent that's out there right now but was willing to risk her putting her life in danger to get this man. Not only that but Bush has also blasted his face all over social media all while being a drug dealer and he doesn't care? Like he didn't want to stay in the shadows and remain a mystery? Bush even has his own YouTube. And and Tyler thought it would be a wonderful idea to drag Emlyn out into this even when he knew what has happening, because Janessa sent him a message about it. Proving again how much of a piece of crap Tyler is to Emlyn.

Even worse now we learned that Tyler actually left her in the middle of the Woods in a middle of a snowstorm with no water. Not sure why she couldn't just wait for the snow to accumulate and then melt the snow to drink but I digress. After learning this I'm even more mad that she kissed him in the woods and was willing to give him another chance. Wtf. Someone leaves me to die in the woods I would not be giving them another chance.

Tyler's working with Bush. Janessa mentions that Bush was working with a partner, but Tyler mentions he knew Bush from before.

Bush is the person who gave Tyler his first drugs in high school. Janessa sets out to date him years and years later randomly to catch him. Now I'm just convinced that Tyler and Janessa are actually in love with each other because the extent and levels they'll go for one another is like two lovers. She's willing to risk her life to bring down the man that started Tyler on his drug addiction and he's willing to drag Emlyn into this to save Janessa.

Skimmed the last 30 pages because I stopped caring and just needed it to end.

Emlyn biggest thing is that Janessa is always telling her what to do and how to live, but if you read the story then you'll notice that Emlyn has never taken care of herself. She always just does whatever someone wants. She after she lives Janessa she then does whatever Tyler wants. After Tyler she does what Rev wants for staying in town.

It's mentioned Amish romances - which in my profile is what I refuse to read.

Where is the danger? Bush poisons them but not enough to kill them. He leaves them alive in the woods and let's them live. He doesn't come back for them at all.

She brought hairspray while hiking?

Good coming off that traumatic experience with Tyler Emlyn then briskly enters into a relationship with Barden. And they live happily ever after. Gag. Thank good none of that messed with her. Love that this author just always has random convenient relationships lined up.

<b>Final Thoughts:</b>
Emlyn is like a Swiss army knife. She just has endless talents and knows everything
• Fixes cars
• Expert mountain tracker
• Expert fisher
• Amazing at vocabulary (she used to read a dictionary)

This book feels more like a romance than an actual mystery. All you do is get endless conversation on why Tyler left emlin and it all feels so repetitive

This is the second time this author has written a book that I have read where the female character falls in love with a very toxic and dangerous man and it's romanticized that a woman should just forgive the man for these indiscretions. I don't believe toxic relationships between a man or a woman or a woman and a man should be romanticized. It's disgusting. I don't think it's hot that Tyler left her out in the woods to die and their attraction was so hot that she had touch him and kiss him and even still had feelings for him.

It's weird I ended up not liking this book at all but when I was first reading this book I was really enjoying where we were going and learning about the character, I loved the friendship between Emlyn and Janessa. It was sweet how her friend was there to always support her help her. She treated her like a sister, but all that is ripped away when Emlyn meets a man and you would think she's never seen a penis the way she reacts to her friend.

In conclusion I don't believe this author is the one for me and this will be the last book I read by her.

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<b><small>Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A suspenseful read!
Set in the wilderness, the author's description of the character's surroundings had me feeling like I was there. Told in dual timelines with well-developed, complex characters.
Emlyn, a fishing and hunting guide, sets out to find her estranged friend Janessa who is a social media star documenting her time in the wilderness until she disappears.
A captivating mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great book, reads well but can be slow at parts. I did like the drama and the contrast with personalities. There was a lot of buildup and focus on nature which was nice. Emlyn is able to search for her former close friend with her ex. During this the reader is taken from past and present where we lead up to seeing the big accident and what caused Emlyn, Janessa, and Tyler separate. I loved how this book was able to take the reader through the woods and exploring the thrilling side of camping. I did find the narrator a touch boring so it took me a bit longer to listen than I may have read it. Overall, I would recommend to those who want a thriller but a slow burn. Solid 4/5.

Recommend to those:
Like Past/Present
Want slow burn
Enjoy wildlife/camping

I feel a lot of the conflict could have been avoided had Jenessa just told Emlyn why she shouldn't date Tyler. This story is heavy on Nature and less so on the Disappearing. The excuse for the disappearing seemed a little weak to the story line for me. Heavy on the topic of opioid use, so trigger warning for that issue. The description of the scenery was magnificent and I felt like I was hiking with the characters, the story was a little slow to start, but once everyone came together it wrapped up pretty quickly. The narrator was excellent. She captured the characters perfectly.

the nature of disappearing by kimi cunningham grant 🥾 thank you minotaur books for the finished copy and box of essentials to explore the wilderness 🍂✨🪵

a wilderness guide must team up with the man who ruined her life years ago when the friend who introduced them goes missing 👀

this story switches between past and present timelines, explaining how this friend group ultimately fell apart. while I liked the adventure of hiking into the unknown mystery within the present storyline, the past felt too slowly revealed as there wasn’t as much going on.

emlyn was a good mc to follow but for as strong-willed of a character as she was, at times she was portrayed as a very *insecure girl* which didn’t make much sense. as characters started showing their true motives & nerves started picking up towards the end, I ultimately wanted more within the final chapters. everything ended SO abruptly, we never truly got answers about what happened in the moment or a few months from now… we were just left to assume.

this audiobook was TRULY well done! I don't think I would've been able to get through this book without pairing it with this narration!

moral of the story: don't let anyone back in your life who as ever wronged you, even when it’s the most tempting. 3.5 stars ⛰

Reminiscent of recent headlines this is the story of a woman whose friend goes missing. Overcome with memories from the past she is left searching for her friend with the man that she thought she would love forever until he left her abandoned in the woods half frozen to death. They are forced to work together as they trudge through the wilderness uncovering clues and reliving the past as they narrow in on the location of her missing friend.

I had no idea where this story was headed. Just when I thought I knew, it would take a different turn. I enjoyed the tension and uneasiness the story created. The atmosphere was described perfectly as were the challenges that one faces in the wilderness. This was a slow building story with alternating chapters from the past that gave insight to the relationships between the three friends. This is very well written but I had a difficult time relating to the characters or becoming emotionally involved in the story.

3 ⭐️

Emlyn works as a nature guide in the wildness of Idaho. She fell into the work after being stranded in the small Idaho town three years ago, unconscious and near freezing, left out on her own by her then boyfriend, Tyler. Fortunately, a Forest Ranger, (a sweetheart of a man!) found her, took her in and she stayed, healing and moving on with her life. Unfortunately, her ex-Tyler has shown up asking for help finding Janessa, the best friend that introduced them. Janessa’s gone dark after documenting her vanlife adventure with her survivalist boyfriend on social media. Emlyn is torn over helping Tyler, getting involved by helping track Janessa down, she understandably doesn’t trust Tyler, but Janessa waded in when Emlyn needed help, and even though they are now estranged, Emlyn doesn’t want to abandon her friend if she is truly in danger.

The Nature of Disappearing is the second story I’ve enjoyed by Ms. Grant. Her writing is beautiful, almost poetic without being overly flowery and slowing the pace. The Idaho wilderness sounded gorgeous, and I almost felt like I was there.

This is a mystery, both in finding Janessa, and in what happened to Emlyn in the past with Tyler abandoning her, and what led to Emlyn and Janessa falling out. The story explores some of the insecurities that led Emlyn to almost dying three years earlier. The years away did her good, but the journey she took to find Janessa was cathartic even if dangerous. I wouldn’t say the story was an edge-of-your-seat listen, more quietly captivating with an underlying tension building. I was hooked from the first chapter and enjoyed every minute!

Emily Pike Stewart did a fantastic job bringing the story and characters to life! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

I adored this book. The narrator did a marvelous job.

The author of THESE SILENT WOODS has written another unforgettable story. In this one you will get lost in the wilderness. Go fly fishing in freezing cold rivers. Find a true forever friend. Fall in love. In real love...

When Emlyn wakes in a stranger's cabin she has no idea how her life is going to change. She's been through a lot and it's time for her to face it all. To accept that she is a good and decent person who is worthy of love and being heard. She has been through so much for another. It's time for her to live life for herself now. At least that is what I got out of this story.

A beautiful heartfelt story of a young woman who fell in love. She fell in love with the wrong boy. But no one, not even her best friend, could tell her that. And to be honest her best friend didn't really try that hard. What she experiences for the next five or more years is her story. She tells it all too. You get all the details and meet some pretty awful people. But you also meet the kindest, most caring people too.

This story is about a young woman who is really searching for something. And when she finally finds it it is so beautiful. So honest and loving. When she finally accepts that she is worthy of hope. Of a normal, caring, relationship.

I loved this story. It's filled with a lot of tension. A lot of thrills. A bit of love. It hits on drug addiction. Lies. Maybe a bit of abuse but in a way that is not what you think. It's a story of hope. Hope in it's truest form. Somewhere in Idaho there is a couple living a good life. I believe that now. I'm happy for them.

Thank you #NetGalley, #KimiCunninghamGrant, #MacmillanAudio, #StMartinsPress, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars. It's that good.

A captivating mystery thriller.

Emlyn has come a long way since Tyler ruined her life and she lost her best friend, Janessa, over him. Now she works as a wilderness guide living alone in a trailer in Idaho backcountry. She's cautiously made some friends, including a Forest Service ranger named Varden. Slowly she is trying to come to terms with her situation and to find some peace, but all of that is shattered when Tyler contacts her because Janessa has gone missing. Janessa was documenting her van life on social media with her boyfriend, Bush, and suddenly went silent. Against her better judgement, Emlyn allows herself to be drawn back into Tyler and joins him in his desperate search for their friend.

This was beautifully written and the narrative shifts back and forth in time as we learn Emlyn's history with Tyler and Janessa. The descriptions and details of the vast wilderness that Emlyn inhabits creates an atmosphere and setting that matches Emlyn's inner turmoil. Some twists and turns provide the suspense, and nothing is quite as it seems. Emlyn struggles with her self-perception and experiences some true growth as she faces the truth. I could relate to Emlyn as a main character and the story was very poignant and realistic.

I listened to the audiobook while following along with the e-book ARC (both provided by the publishers) and enjoyed the narrator though there was not much differentiation in her tone and pitch for the various male and female characters.

Definitely this would make a good choice for a book club to discuss the whole nature of finding yourself, starting over, and getting beyond your past.

⛧The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham - I really enjoyed this one! I loved the authors previous book but was a little disappointed with the lack of thriller elements, but this one had a bit more of those elements, so I liked this one even more. The authors writing is beautiful, which makes it so easy to get sucked in the story.

This audiobook is narrated by Emily Pike Stewart

•Thank you to @minotaur_books & @macmillan.audio

What a great book about friendship, romance, tragedy and mystery set in the wilderness. I listened to the audiobook and it was amazing. The narrator, Emily Pike Stewart did a great job making this story come to life.

This story is about two women and their friendship that started in college. There are positive and negative sides to any friendship and this one has them too, but they are overlooked for years. There is also a strong friendship between two characters that started as children when their families were neighbors. Both of these friendships form the core of the book. This is a book about trust and how important it is in any relationship and what happened when it is lost.

The author does an amazing job of providing detailed descriptions of wilderness survival, which makes this book stand out. The book is well written and flows between times in the lives of the main characters. There is an amazing love story that weaves its way through the book. The author does a great job of controlling the amount of information the reader is given about the characters. In fact, at first they all seem like great people. But as the story goes on, we get more and more information about what went wrong in the lives of each character.

I really enjoyed the combination of the romance, wilderness, mystery and friendship that made up this story.

This mystery had all my favorite things. Wilderness trek, mountains and streams, missing persons, found family, reckoning with the past, choosing a new future. I loved the descriptions of the natural wilderness that the characters lived in. I loved the character growth of Emlyn, and that we discovered so much about her in the flashback chapters. I did predict some of the twists, but that didn’t take away from this captivating story. I hope to read more from this author.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Macmillan Audio for the alc to listen to and review. All opinions are my own.

I was a huge fan of Kimi Cunningham Grant’s 2021 release These Silent Woods. I loved the mixture of beautiful writing and a complex father/daughter relationship. I was so excited to see what The Nature of Disappearing gave us.

Once again, the debate about what should be considered a ‘Thriller’ has arisen. I love Thrillers, but I think slapping it on every mystery or book with some suspense does these books a disservice. Similar to These Silent Woods this is an atmospheric story in nature with a slow burn mystery plot. There, now you’re ready to read this book with correct expectations. I digress.

There were multiple things I really loved about this book. I was quickly invested into the story, and I think Grant is such a fabulous writer, especially when it comes to depicting nature. It’s not a very long book so it can be read quickly; but at 304 pages it was a slow burn plot wise.


Plotwise, I struggled. It wasn’t as put together as I would have liked, and there were quite a few things that felt forced. While Emlyn is described as a highly skilled/trained wilderness guide and highly intelligent, she makes a ton of dumb decisions, and I just couldn’t seem to connect at all with her. Her ex and current ‘love interest’ both felt like subplots trying to bully their way into relevance and it just didn’t work for me.

The Nature of Disappearing really failed to provide any suspense for me and didn’t feel fully flushed out. There were too many avenues trying to take center stage and closed with an ending that felt rushed and out there. If you’re looking for a well written story and are more interested in the atmosphere, then this one is for you; but thriller lovers will be disappointed.


The Nature of Disappearing comes out June 18, 2024. Thank you to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.

★ 3.5 Stars (rounding down) ★

I previously read "These Silent Woods" by this author and found it captivating, so I jumped at the chance to receive her latest ARC, "The Nature of Disappearing." Kimi Cunningham Grant is an excellent writer who captivates her audience with eloquent prose.

This novel, with its past and present timelines, vividly describes the atmospheric and mesmerizing setting of the Idaho and California wilderness. It introduces characters who, despite their flaws, feel familiar. Although I was prepared for a slower-paced read, this story felt slightly wordy and drawn out. The lack of suspense until towards the end of the book might have been a significant factor. Even though this book wasn’t my cup of tea, I’ll definitely try her upcoming adventures.

Thank you to the author and Minotaur Books for providing an eARC through Edelweiss. Macmillan Audio also provided an audiobook through NetGalley. Finishing a slower-paced book in audio format is easier, and these narrators were very entertaining! All thoughts are my own and shared voluntarily.

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I was intrigued by the short chapters that I read in the Minotaur sampler so requested the full book, thank you Minotaur, to follow the rest of the Janessa mystery. The first half of the book felt less like a mystery than a character study and the back and forth of the timeline was a bit confusing, but Grant did a good job laying out the underlying conflicts within the relationships. While I mostly enjoyed the story, I did have a problem with some of the decisions made by the main character, Emlyn, as we're told that she left her prior life to live in nature and became self sufficient yet she makes some stupid decisions both in the woods and with the untrustworthy man she's trekking with that she just didn't need to be so wishy washy about after supposedly becoming a strong woman who stands on her own two feet. Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Minotaur, and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinioin.

I had really enjoyed These Silent Woods so I’ll admit that I went into this with high expectations. I do think the synopsis nails it when it says a novel of suspense. There is a very slow burn mystery and combined with the lush descriptions of the wilderness, it made for an intriguing read at first. I really enjoyed some of Grant’s nature writing and all the parts about surviving in the wild were fascinating. The novel builds up to explain the enigmatic behaviors of the missing friend, and despite all that build up, I found myself having to suspend some disbelief as the mystery unfolded. There were definitely some twists I didn’t see coming that added some last minute intrigue.
The plot worked well as an audiobook and Emily Pike Stewart’s narration worked well with the atmospheric vibes of the novel. Overall I enjoyed the survival/nature parts of this one more than the mystery but still thought it made for an entertaining read.

I loved Kimi Cunningham Grant's 2021 release, These Silent Woods, so I couldn't wait to read The Nature of Disappearing. But while Grant's new novel shares some traits with her previous one -- complex characters, a past and present timeline, rich atmosphere and luminous prose -- I found The Nature of Disappearing to be a much less compelling book overall.

This book centers on Emlyn, who lives a simple and solitary life in the wilds of Idaho, working as a hunting and fishing guide. Three years ago, Emlyn's boyfriend Tyler abandoned her in the wilderness, upending the trajectory she thought her life would take. But when Tyler shows up with the news that Emlyn's former best friend, a rising social media star named Janessa, is missing, Emlyn reluctantly agrees to help Tyler track her through the wilderness. As Emlyn and Tyler follow Janessa's trail, Emlyn can't deny the chemistry that still exists between them, even as she struggles to resist the pull of their complicated past.

Despite an exciting turn of events in the last few chapters, The Nature of Disappearing is not a thriller. What it is, instead, is a melancholy and poignant character study about fraught relationships and complicated personal histories. The book feels modern in its plotting, but timeless in its themes. Grant's writing is nuanced and profound as she unflinchingly explores Emlyn's life experiences. The book has a strong sense of place, too, with vivid and lush descriptions of the Idaho wilderness that made me feel like I was on the trail with Emlyn and Tyler.

What I often struggle with in past and present timelines (and struggled with here) is that I am almost always much more invested in one timeline over the other. In The Nature of Disappearing, the timelines felt unbalanced. I wanted more about Emlyn's present-day life and the people in it; the past unfolded much too slowly, with not a lot of substance. And the thriller-like conclusion of the book felt unearned, and a bit of a let-down.

I think I was just hoping for a reading experience as special as These Silent Woods, and The Nature of Disappearing felt too normal in comparison. Emily Pike Stewart did a wonderful job with the audio version and kept me engaged even during the slower parts of the narrative. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the early reading opportunity.

It was immediately apparent to me that this story was very inspired by the Gabby Petito case. I appreciated that it wasn’t an exact retelling (to the degree that we know) because that would’ve retracted from any shock value.

I loved the setting and how atmospheric this story was. The plot twists were shocking but not to the point that I had to totally suspend my disbelief. Ultimately though, I felt this was a little too slow for my liking. By the end, I had become a little disinterested in the characters.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

Emlyn thinks she has successfully escaped her past until an old acquaintance, Tyler, shows up in her small town asking for her help. Reluctantly she offers her skills to track down her former best friend, Janessa, who has seemingly disappeared into the wilderness.

The Nature of Disappearing is a well-crafted, emotional suspense novel. It alternates, almost every other chapter, between past and present. While this style can be difficult to follow, it helps to establish solid backgrounds for each of the characters, especially Emlyn. Emlyn’s history seems to be one traumatic event after the other and when she finally gets comfortable, something/someone comes in to upset the order of things. The pace is a little slow to start but once it got going I was captivated. I was genuinely surprised by the twist.

The audiobook is solo narrated by Emily Pike Stewart. She brings a somberness that really shows Emlyn’s mental state as the story progresses.

This is the first book that I have read/listened to from this author but I plan to check out more of her work in the future.

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Nature of Disappearing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed the book. You will fall for the characters & their strength and courage. It kept me turning the pages & wanting to know the outcome. It was a great story.
Thank you NetGalley!!