What do readers think of The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin? Write your own review.

The Vanishing Place
by Zoe Rankin

I was completely absorbed in this tense, atmospheric thriller from the prologue to the last paragraph. The book is set in the remote, dangerous New Zealand bush country and the storyline moves between the present and events that have taken place over the past 25 years. The characters are memorable and slowly become more fully understood as the plot twists and turns and dark secrets are revealed. I read over 100 books a year and this one will certainly rank in this year's top 10 as one that was scary, completely unique and impossible to put down. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers and mysteries and who isn't afraid to stay up late reading long into the night.

This debut novel set in the at once enthralling, yet dangerous bush country, of New Zealand is a clever and fantastic thriller. The characters each hold secrets deep in their souls and Rankin masterfully constructs their personalities to go along with the consequences of such secrets. There are twists and turns and a few moments when you hold your breath, as the author winds a tale of cultism, violence, love, faith, family, and sadly deceit from those you should be able to trust the most. There were a couple of sections that were a little confusing, but quickly became clear. Rankin's writing is spot on and her descriptions of the bush put you there. I know I will be seeing the face peaking from the plant covered tree for a long time! Unlike most new books in this genre, Rankin's novel is not the same overused trope of thriller. It is unique and truly scary on more than one level. Plan on being up all night reading this one! Thank you Berkley Publishers, Bookbrowse.com and Netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think one word best describes this book: engrossing. What a story, what a cast of characters, what a setting! Zoe Rankin is the Kiwi Harlan Coben. I hate to exercise and I rode my stationary bike for an extra 5 minutes to finish a chapter of this book. It is excellent.

First and foremost this novel is a mystery within a mystery: who is the young girl who shows up in a town and looks exactly like a woman who left this town 20 years before?
Once this woman returns to town she delves into who this child is, all the while reliving her own history and how it may interconnect with the young stranger.

The novel does move back and forth between past and present while highlighting individual characters and their relationship to each other. I felt at times like I needed a timeline and a list of all of the different characters and their connection to each other.

This mystery opens up with the mysterious appearance of a child in the present day and cuts back and forth to a family growing up in the wilderness areas of New Zealand. This gave it a different twist to other mysteries. I enjoyed the characters and the overall plot twists. I think the story could have been tightened up a bit in the middle when it spent a bit too much time with the back and forth and I would have liked it to get back to the present day mystery a bit faster. But once it did I was fully engaged. Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good missing person/murder-type mystery in a different setting.

The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin is a thriller almost horror story in the bush country of New Zealand. Effie is the oldest of four children and is often left in charge of her siblings as her father disappears for weeks at a time. Her mother has died in childbirth and this last child is named Four.

The story goes back and forth in time which might be confusing to some, but doesn't bother me. Effie managed to get away from the family and is a police woman in Scotland. A child appears from the bush who looks like the young Effie and she returns to solve the mystery of where she is from. There is a double murder that creates questions from the past.

The mystery in my mind was always about the father. What made him leave the family so often? Was he an abuser? Did he have another family? The twists and turns kept me reading. New Zealand is an unknown country and I was glad to be reading an ebook so I could check tree and plant name. Thanks to Bookbrowse for this advance reader copy and look forward to discussing with friends.

I wanted to read this book because I recently spent a month in New Zealand. My time there really enhanced the experience, as I could picture many of the locations, fauna and flora. It was perhaps easier to understand the isolation of the bush and the characters' attitudes.

This was an interesting but flawed novel, jumping back and forth in time periods. First, the main character's present time and childhood are explored, and later in the book, several other characters are introduced who are ultimately connected.

I am not sure that I totally bought into the motivations of the characters; the religious fervor seemed a stretch. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did if I hadn't felt a connection to the locale.

This is one of the most unusual books I've read this year. The experiences of the family living "off the grid" in New Zealand are horrifying and grip the reader immediately. The novel is arranged in mostly alternating chapters between the present day of 2025 and a period about twenty years in the past. The descriptions of the "bush" and the events that happen there are masterfully written.

Effie, the oldest child of the family, is the main character and has become a policewoman in Scotland when she is called back to New Zealand to investigate a murder that seemingly involves her family. This brings back many difficult memories since she had moved away years before to escape the trauma of her childhood.

The book has many characters, and switching between the different time periods and viewpoints gets a bit confusing. I really enjoyed the first three-fourths of the book, but the last fourth was difficult to read through. The alternating chapters became very short, and then a much earlier time period with a different set of characters appeared. I kept thinking the book was ending, but then it kept going. The author must have been determined to include the extra plot points as well as complicated feelings emerging between Effie and an old friend. I think the book would have been better if the book left the reader less weary at the end.