NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Sunday, January 31, 2021

If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier

 "Murder, Missing, Conspiracy."

Sera Fleece is adrift after her recent divorce. Lying in bed day after day listening to true crime podcasts by her favorite host, Rachel Bard. Suddenly the podcasts stop and there are no updates. Rachel has gone dark on all of her social media accounts after saying on the last episode, "I'm destined to disappear."  The completely obsessed Sera has no choice but to take up a search for Rachel because she has decided that she's the only one who cares enough to try to find out what happened. Sera heads to the ranch where Rachel lived and broadcast from -- Happy Camp, California. NO SPOILERS.

This was a mind bending and crazy mystery thriller that is, at times, hard to follow. I had a difficult time with the character of Sera, who is definitely a bit wacky and also a somewhat unreliable narrator. I could not fathom why Sera stayed on the property with those very weird people in such a strange situation. Sera's obsession with Rachel, with murder, and with disappearances made her seem nearly psychotic but certainly the reader knew that something odd was going on though the ending might come as a surprise if you're not paying close attention. I was very disappointed in the way that the revelations at the end were almost rushed and the conclusion was a bit of a let down especially when it abruptly just stopped.

I'm not sure why, but this short book (304 pages) took me a couple of days to finish and I wasn't exactly rushing to pick it up at every opportunity. The structure of the narrative was unusual and added to my reading pleasure, but I just couldn't really connect with Sera and buy into the story. Can't wait to see what others think.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this e-book ARC to read and review. 

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - mystery, thriller, crime,

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