The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde: The spellbinding mystery from the Richard & Judy bestselling author of The Glass House

I love books where houses connect story lines from different times. In such stories the problem can be that one story (usually the past) is interesting, but the other (often the present one) fails to captivate. Fortunately, even if I did find Jessie more irritating than the teen girls from 1959 (they were teens, of course I felt more lenient), I did end up liking both. And ending had just right amount of feel good elements.

This is the second of Eve Chase’s books I have read and yet again I feel I have been manipulated and beguiled by a master storyteller. Told from two timelines, the first in 1959 and the second, fifty years later, we see the lives of those who lived at Applecote Manor. Following the disappearance of their cousin Audrey, four sisters are invited to the sprawling country house to live with their grief-stricken aunt. Audrey is never far from their thoughts and the mystery surrounding her loss seems to taint everything. When fifty years later, a young dysfunctional family move into the manor looking for a fresh start, they find that even after all this time, the house has retained its secrets. This is actually a very simple story and the mystery is barely that but the rich prose and coming-of-age element of the story makes one forgive the author for any fancy tricks and twists. I ate this delicious offering in a day and will go on to devour anything else written by Chase in the future.

Fantastic book, lent to several people no one could put it down, and read it in one or two days, brilliant

I am not an indepth book reviewer, preferring to write a shorter honest review - there are always some very detailed reviews so hopefully mine will be a useful addition. I have a lot of health issues, and meds give me brain fog. Recently I just haven't been able to hang on to anything in depth or challenging at all, but I really don't like reading drivel. I've been charging through middle of the road novels with mixed success. I have just finished this book and enjoyed it more than I expected to. I've read some of the author's previous novels and quite liked them. I'd class The Vanishing as that cliché of 'a beach read', except sadly we haven't been on the beach, so it's a garden step read. It's easy to read, the changing time lines are straightforward, characters are distinctive (some more engaging than others), and it's well written. Yes it's all a bit of a cliché itself - lovely old house, hints of mysterious dark goings on, mothers and daughters, but it works. The theme of sisters dominates and at times is a bit overly familiar. Yes, it's full of coincidences. Just go with it. Don't expect a masterpiece, just relax and enjoy an easy read with a bit of substance. Thanks for reading, I hope you find this review helpful.

I'm always wary whenever an author brings out a second book, especially when the first has been so wonderful. Thankfully though, my fears here were un-founded. This is another terrific read from Ms. Chase. Set in the 1950s and the present, the Wilding sisters come to stay at Applecote Manor 5 years after their cousin Audrey vanished. Their aunt and uncle have struggled ever since and the sisters find a house of sadness. Over the course of the summer, they learn the secret of what happened to Audrey. In the present, Jessie, newly married to the widowed Will, moves her family to Applecote hoping for a fresh start, but her troubled relationship with her step-daughter Bella and the secrets the house contains threaten to overwhelm her. Like her first book, "Black Rabbit Hall", this was such a joy to read.