Book Summary and Reviews of The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin

Reader Reviews

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Deborah G. (Black Mountain, NC)

New Zealand Intrigue
Zoë Rankin's The Vanishing Place is a location where fear, isolation, and complex family secrets reign. Who is the young girl caught frantically devouring strawberries at a grocery store in Koraha, New Zealand in 2025? What is her relationship to Effie, who currently lives in Island of Skye, Scotland? We piece this together from flashes of Effie's experiences in New Zealand in the early 2000s and her 2025 return to help police locate her childhood home in the bush in hopes of determining the girl's identity. Switching back and forth between snatches of the past and present is an effective way to build suspense, but the author's introduction of a third timespan about three-quarters of the way through the book adds confusion with many new twists and turns. In the end, it is the depth of the young girl's and Effie's characters and their relationship that make this novel worth reading.

Borderlass (Belmont, MA)

A Gripping Debut
Beginning at its first page, the writing captures the reader with its pervasive atmosphere of suspense and foreboding. For a debut, this is simply amazing in both its subtlety and starkness. As someone who has been well "off the beaten path" a time or two, the wilderness scenes and psychological twists and turns are convincing. This gripping tale takes its reader to many dark places while offering much affirmation of love and examinations of loyalty in its many guises, placing this thriller on a higher plain.

Rebecca G. (Havertown, PA)

Amazing
Wow, what a book. The story begins with Effie watching as her mother dies from childbirth. As her father becomes more and more distant Effie is left trying to raise her baby brother along with her other siblings. Fast forward to Effie living a life as an adult far away from New Zealand and her difficult childhood. But another child wanders out of the bush in New Zealand and Effie is called back to try and discover how this child might tie into her past and to finally discover what became of her father and siblings. The ending is powerful and unexpected. I truly went through the gamut of emotions with this book.

Debra F. (Cudjoe Key, FL)

The Vanishing
Set in New Zealand, which I know nothing about. It was a wonderful thriller! Secrets, the consequences of those secrets. One Girl Lost. One Girl Found, it says in the description and the story that unfolds is compelling.

I'm a sucker for dual timelines & loved the way the story unfolded. There were surprises & just when I thought I had it all figured out...I was wrong. Happily.

Thank you BookBrowse for an arc of this book. Highly recommended!

Sharon P. (San Diego, CA)

Intriguing setting and plot line
I love when you read a book in a unique setting and your mind works wonders to picture it all. It's a good sign of descriptive writing. The characters were mostly believable but the end twist left me wanting to a bit more foreshadowing (I won't reveal any clues). The main character, Effie, was wonderful and well developed. Now I want to go visit New Zealand!!

Janet T. (Westford, MA)

The Vanishing Place
From the first page, The Vanishing Place captivated the reader. There is a dual timeline but it was presented in a very understandable way. I couldn't wait to keep on reading the story. Each timeline provided a hook so the reader wanted to know more about that time period. A good part of the story made the reader cringe but the cringes were erased by a constantly changing narration of what was happening. Plot twists all over the place, none of which this reader guessed. Excellent read, a book that the reader will think about over time and will want to read again. The reader is sorry that the story is over. I want more of these characters.

...15 more reader reviews