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A review by kamin8882
The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.75 stars for me.
Well that escalated quickly. Mia is a British actress who Is well known for her role in "Eyre", a Jane Eyre retelling. After her boyfriend, George, leaves her unexpectedly for another actress (Naomi) she is very lost and confused at what the next step should be in her life. With the push of her manager Cynthia, she heads to the US to audition for the role of a lifetime, but she is not the only one after this part. During one of her auditions, she meets Emily, another actress trying for the same part. When Emily's turn is called, she hurriedly hands Mia her wallet and keys and goes into the audition. When Mia comes back out, Emily is no where to be found, her car is still in the parking lot and no one has seen her. Although Mia shouldn't be to concerned, she still has Emilys wallet and car keys and starts to worry about her after she doesn't turn up to retrieve them. Finally, "Emily" comes to get her things, but Mia knows 100% that this person is not the real Emily. This than starts her mission to find out who this person was and where Emily really is.
I liked the concept of this book, however it took a little while to get into anything exciting (about 40%). The first half was background information about Mia's life and such. Once the story got rolling, I couldn't put it down. It was very exciting and made me nervous wondering what was going to happen next. I think the ending could have also ended with more of a punch for the intensity of the situation. The author really was able to show what females specially feel like they need to do to get ahead in the business.
Overall, the story and characters in the book were very interesting. I think it was a slow build thriller, which aren't my personal favorite. I liked to be hooked right from the beginning. Once you get to the thrilling part, it was definitely that...thrilling and exciting. The parts of the book around that weren't as thrilling as I would have hoped. I will definitely be trying another Catherine Steadman book in the future !!
Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Well that escalated quickly. Mia is a British actress who Is well known for her role in "Eyre", a Jane Eyre retelling. After her boyfriend, George, leaves her unexpectedly for another actress (Naomi) she is very lost and confused at what the next step should be in her life. With the push of her manager Cynthia, she heads to the US to audition for the role of a lifetime, but she is not the only one after this part. During one of her auditions, she meets Emily, another actress trying for the same part. When Emily's turn is called, she hurriedly hands Mia her wallet and keys and goes into the audition. When Mia comes back out, Emily is no where to be found, her car is still in the parking lot and no one has seen her. Although Mia shouldn't be to concerned, she still has Emilys wallet and car keys and starts to worry about her after she doesn't turn up to retrieve them. Finally, "Emily" comes to get her things, but Mia knows 100% that this person is not the real Emily. This than starts her mission to find out who this person was and where Emily really is.
I liked the concept of this book, however it took a little while to get into anything exciting (about 40%). The first half was background information about Mia's life and such. Once the story got rolling, I couldn't put it down. It was very exciting and made me nervous wondering what was going to happen next. I think the ending could have also ended with more of a punch for the intensity of the situation. The author really was able to show what females specially feel like they need to do to get ahead in the business.
Overall, the story and characters in the book were very interesting. I think it was a slow build thriller, which aren't my personal favorite. I liked to be hooked right from the beginning. Once you get to the thrilling part, it was definitely that...thrilling and exciting. The parts of the book around that weren't as thrilling as I would have hoped. I will definitely be trying another Catherine Steadman book in the future !!
Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Suicide