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ashleighvercholuk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
someonetookit's review
4.0
Wasn't sure how I would feel about this one but it was actually pretty good.
Throughout the novel there was a constant sense of dread, you knew you were missing something but you couldn't quite out your finger on it.
Due to the fact it jumped back and forward through time, it was a little hard to keep up with at times and occasionally it changed POVs half way through a chapter.
Overall the story was intriguing, involving an abandoned town that took on a life of its own and a family that held secrets from the world as well as each other. Good for fans of Chris Hammer and J D Robb
Throughout the novel there was a constant sense of dread, you knew you were missing something but you couldn't quite out your finger on it.
Due to the fact it jumped back and forward through time, it was a little hard to keep up with at times and occasionally it changed POVs half way through a chapter.
Overall the story was intriguing, involving an abandoned town that took on a life of its own and a family that held secrets from the world as well as each other. Good for fans of Chris Hammer and J D Robb
opalleaves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mpr2000's review
4.0
Since the first moment I could see this book in my mind, a family with problems that is searching for a fresh new start. But, let me be honest, a remote town where everything seems abandoned, it’s not my dream, instead is more likely my nightmare! As I expected, the fear has been present throughout the story because, of course, they will not be alone as they think and their worst nightmare is waiting for them around the corner. The story is told between different characters and times, the past, where the family arrive in Kallayee and the present, where a detective is called to investigate the disappearance of the family.
This is a slow burning story, I liked that everything moved slowly, it made the story more gripping and hunting. Also, the short chapters were perfect to keep you addicted to the story, just a little bit more… and without noticing you arrived at the end! I really don’t want to make spoilers of the story, but it was interesting seeing the story within the two timelines, how the detective shows us a cold vision of the family while Lorcan and Naiyana show us their struggles and problems.
This is not a book to like/dislike the characters, this is a book to hunt you and fear what will happen next, and that’s why I loved it! It was a delightful (and scary) book to keep my mind occupied these last days, fear is always a good distraction!
This is a slow burning story, I liked that everything moved slowly, it made the story more gripping and hunting. Also, the short chapters were perfect to keep you addicted to the story, just a little bit more… and without noticing you arrived at the end! I really don’t want to make spoilers of the story, but it was interesting seeing the story within the two timelines, how the detective shows us a cold vision of the family while Lorcan and Naiyana show us their struggles and problems.
This is not a book to like/dislike the characters, this is a book to hunt you and fear what will happen next, and that’s why I loved it! It was a delightful (and scary) book to keep my mind occupied these last days, fear is always a good distraction!
balthazarlawson's review against another edition
1.0
There are two time lines in this story, post something happening and the event that lead up to what happened.
The book starts, as does one time line, with the police starting the hunt for a family that has vanished from a small ghost town in outback Western Australia. The second time line is the family arriving in this small abandoned mining town. Ultimately the time lines join up in chapter 135, yes, 135, and than the book ends.
An interesting premise but badly executed.
At first I was enjoying the story but then my enjoyment turned to loathing and hatred of all the characters, even the little kid. I couldn't wait for it to be over and almost gave up. At times it seemed to lose it's way. The constant popping back to Perth I found totally ridiculous. It just lost me.
Australia doesn't have gas stations, they have servos or petrol stations.
The book starts, as does one time line, with the police starting the hunt for a family that has vanished from a small ghost town in outback Western Australia. The second time line is the family arriving in this small abandoned mining town. Ultimately the time lines join up in chapter 135, yes, 135, and than the book ends.
An interesting premise but badly executed.
At first I was enjoying the story but then my enjoyment turned to loathing and hatred of all the characters, even the little kid. I couldn't wait for it to be over and almost gave up. At times it seemed to lose it's way. The constant popping back to Perth I found totally ridiculous. It just lost me.
Australia doesn't have gas stations, they have servos or petrol stations.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘A family was missing. They had been in the town and then they weren’t.’
Lorcan Maguire, his wife Naiyana and their six-year-old son Dylan arrive in the abandoned Westen Australian gold-mining town of Kallayee, on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert. They are looking to escape from life in the city of Perth. The skeleton of a kangaroo provides a marker, and they have their choice of houses to live in. They just need to choose one that is not entirely derelict.
But life in Kallayee is not what they were expecting. Dylan hears strange sounds at night, and car tracks appear where the family has not driven. If they are not alone, then who else is there?
They are advised to leave but choose to stay. The cracks in their marriage widen and they spend less and less time together. And then, they cannot be contacted. They appear to have disappeared.
Detective Emmaline Taylor is tasked with investigating their apparent disappearance. What she finds is puzzling: a house on the brink of collapse, ransacked, with smears of blood apparent. There is a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, but that seems to be all. Until she finds a body, savaged by a pack of dingoes on the outskirts of the town.
‘That something had happened here. Something bad. And that, for a town that had been dead for forty years, a lot of blood had been recently spilled.’
The story shifts, between before and after the Maguires disappear, and between different characters. As we learn more about the past, we see more reasons why the Maguires chose to move to Kallayee. But where are they?
Mr Delargy maintains the tension throughout, through a series of quite bizarre events, with a few unexpected twists through to a satisfying but quite shocking conclusion.
‘We all have secrets.’
Recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Lorcan Maguire, his wife Naiyana and their six-year-old son Dylan arrive in the abandoned Westen Australian gold-mining town of Kallayee, on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert. They are looking to escape from life in the city of Perth. The skeleton of a kangaroo provides a marker, and they have their choice of houses to live in. They just need to choose one that is not entirely derelict.
But life in Kallayee is not what they were expecting. Dylan hears strange sounds at night, and car tracks appear where the family has not driven. If they are not alone, then who else is there?
They are advised to leave but choose to stay. The cracks in their marriage widen and they spend less and less time together. And then, they cannot be contacted. They appear to have disappeared.
Detective Emmaline Taylor is tasked with investigating their apparent disappearance. What she finds is puzzling: a house on the brink of collapse, ransacked, with smears of blood apparent. There is a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, but that seems to be all. Until she finds a body, savaged by a pack of dingoes on the outskirts of the town.
‘That something had happened here. Something bad. And that, for a town that had been dead for forty years, a lot of blood had been recently spilled.’
The story shifts, between before and after the Maguires disappear, and between different characters. As we learn more about the past, we see more reasons why the Maguires chose to move to Kallayee. But where are they?
Mr Delargy maintains the tension throughout, through a series of quite bizarre events, with a few unexpected twists through to a satisfying but quite shocking conclusion.
‘We all have secrets.’
Recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
shelleyrae's review
4.0
“A family was missing. They had been in the town and then they weren’t. What they were even doing therein the first place wasn’t yet known. No one should have been there. No one had for close to fifty years.”
James Delargy has followed his impressive debut novel, 55, with another compelling thriller set in Australia’s unforgiving outback, Vanished.
Tasked to investigate the disappearance of the Maguire family, Lorcan, his wife Naiyana, and their six year old son, Dylan, from Kallayee, an abandoned town on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert, Major Case Squad Detective Emmaline Taylor is puzzled by what she finds left behind - a home on the brink of collapse, its contents ransacked; blood smears, though not enough to suggest a fatality; a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, a dead end, like all their leads seem to be, until she finds a body being savaged by a pack of dingo’s on the outskirts of town.
Unfolding from multiple perspectives, shifting between before and after their disappearance, it soon becomes apparent that the Maguires left Perth to set up home in the remote West Australian ghost town not in the spirit of adventure, but because they had few alternatives available to them.
Though the Maguire’s tell themselves they are in Kallayee to become closer as a family, the cracks in their marriage are obvious. They lie to themselves as much as they lie to each other and eventually neither Lorcan nor Naiyana are particularly sympathetic or even likeable. If not for the presence of Dylan I’m not sure I’d care much what happened to them. I liked Emmaline a lot though, she’s smart, determined and interesting.
Clever plotting ensures there are several possibilities, from the benign to the ominous, that may explain the family’s disappearance. Even though we are privy to information Emmaline is not, Delargy doesn’t share everything with the reader, subtly undermining what we think we know, allowing for surprising twists.
Short chapters ensure a good pace, and the author effectively builds the suspense in both timelines. The desolate, broken landscape creates a claustrophobic, hostile backdrop to the story that adds to the tension.
Vanished is a gripping, atmospheric thriller with an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
James Delargy has followed his impressive debut novel, 55, with another compelling thriller set in Australia’s unforgiving outback, Vanished.
Tasked to investigate the disappearance of the Maguire family, Lorcan, his wife Naiyana, and their six year old son, Dylan, from Kallayee, an abandoned town on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert, Major Case Squad Detective Emmaline Taylor is puzzled by what she finds left behind - a home on the brink of collapse, its contents ransacked; blood smears, though not enough to suggest a fatality; a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, a dead end, like all their leads seem to be, until she finds a body being savaged by a pack of dingo’s on the outskirts of town.
Unfolding from multiple perspectives, shifting between before and after their disappearance, it soon becomes apparent that the Maguires left Perth to set up home in the remote West Australian ghost town not in the spirit of adventure, but because they had few alternatives available to them.
Though the Maguire’s tell themselves they are in Kallayee to become closer as a family, the cracks in their marriage are obvious. They lie to themselves as much as they lie to each other and eventually neither Lorcan nor Naiyana are particularly sympathetic or even likeable. If not for the presence of Dylan I’m not sure I’d care much what happened to them. I liked Emmaline a lot though, she’s smart, determined and interesting.
Clever plotting ensures there are several possibilities, from the benign to the ominous, that may explain the family’s disappearance. Even though we are privy to information Emmaline is not, Delargy doesn’t share everything with the reader, subtly undermining what we think we know, allowing for surprising twists.
Short chapters ensure a good pace, and the author effectively builds the suspense in both timelines. The desolate, broken landscape creates a claustrophobic, hostile backdrop to the story that adds to the tension.
Vanished is a gripping, atmospheric thriller with an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
steph_w_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Death
beckylej's review against another edition
4.0
A family has gone missing and the police have a growing suspicion that foul play is involved.
Lorcan, Naiyana, and their young son, Dylan, have been making a go of living in an abandoned mining town in rural Australia. According to Lorcan's parents, they last heard from the family at Christmas and the lack of contact since is definitely abnormal.
When the police arrive, they find the family's commandeered house abandoned and no evidence of anyone in sight. Alive that is. They find blood, a vehicle with slashed tires, and a barely charged phone hidden in the dirt.
It seems apparent that something bad has happened to the family. It also becomes apparent that the family weren't just roughing it for fun—they were hiding from something.
What a fabulously fun thriller!
The book alternates between Detective Emmaline Taylor, who's been called in as one of the officers investigating the disappearance, and the family themselves. So the how and why plays out in parallel to the actual missing persons case.
It's a clever format because it means the reader gets to see what's going on with the family and experience their points of view leading up to the actual disappearance while also following the detectives and discovering clues alongside them.
The pacing was also pretty brilliant. We meet Lorcan and Emmaline when they arrive in Kallayee and there are only hints of why they're actually there. Much of the earlier chapters are their attempts to fix up the house, find water, and chronicle those efforts for YouTube views and a possible book. But there's a dark cloud that's clearly hanging over everything.
Meanwhile, Emmaline herself proved to be probably my favorite character in the book! A single woman in her twenties, pressured by her family to settle down, but perfectly happy as an investigator moving up in the police ranks!
This is a great example, too, where setting becomes a bit of a character itself. An abandoned mining town that was the scene of a collapse that resulted in the deaths of a number of miners. Rickety falling down buildings and dirt and dust as far as the eye can see. The skeleton of a dead kangaroo greets the family and later becomes a landmark for the police as well. Reading this in the midst of a spring snowstorm couldn't prevent me from almost being able to feel the sun and the grit on my own skin!
Vanished is my introduction to Delargy's work and I absolutely cannot wait to read more!
Lorcan, Naiyana, and their young son, Dylan, have been making a go of living in an abandoned mining town in rural Australia. According to Lorcan's parents, they last heard from the family at Christmas and the lack of contact since is definitely abnormal.
When the police arrive, they find the family's commandeered house abandoned and no evidence of anyone in sight. Alive that is. They find blood, a vehicle with slashed tires, and a barely charged phone hidden in the dirt.
It seems apparent that something bad has happened to the family. It also becomes apparent that the family weren't just roughing it for fun—they were hiding from something.
What a fabulously fun thriller!
The book alternates between Detective Emmaline Taylor, who's been called in as one of the officers investigating the disappearance, and the family themselves. So the how and why plays out in parallel to the actual missing persons case.
It's a clever format because it means the reader gets to see what's going on with the family and experience their points of view leading up to the actual disappearance while also following the detectives and discovering clues alongside them.
The pacing was also pretty brilliant. We meet Lorcan and Emmaline when they arrive in Kallayee and there are only hints of why they're actually there. Much of the earlier chapters are their attempts to fix up the house, find water, and chronicle those efforts for YouTube views and a possible book. But there's a dark cloud that's clearly hanging over everything.
Meanwhile, Emmaline herself proved to be probably my favorite character in the book! A single woman in her twenties, pressured by her family to settle down, but perfectly happy as an investigator moving up in the police ranks!
This is a great example, too, where setting becomes a bit of a character itself. An abandoned mining town that was the scene of a collapse that resulted in the deaths of a number of miners. Rickety falling down buildings and dirt and dust as far as the eye can see. The skeleton of a dead kangaroo greets the family and later becomes a landmark for the police as well. Reading this in the midst of a spring snowstorm couldn't prevent me from almost being able to feel the sun and the grit on my own skin!
Vanished is my introduction to Delargy's work and I absolutely cannot wait to read more!