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kaci422's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
kiwimachete's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Almost DNF this book because the beginning was a bit boring, really glad I stuck it out, the last few chapters were so wild!
taybird95's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bennificial's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I liked the book. It kept me reading. I thought there were too many threads while still somehow being fairly predictable. I wouldn't recommend it.
judithdcollins's review
5.0
THE VANISHING YEAR, Kate Moretti’s latest is a tale of dark secrets, shocking lies, deception, and a dangerous obsession.
Top 50 Books of 2016!
The perfect example of “Good books don't give up all their secrets at once.” Patience. It is WORTH the wait, as the web of deceit unfolds in this grip-lit domestic suspense. Unputdownable.
2014—New York City: Zoe Whitaker is married to the handsome and charming Wall Street tycoon, Henry Whittaker. Manhattan’s finest. From clothes, jewelry, travel, luxury. The finest wine to a Tribeca penthouse and a four bedroom lake house in the country. He offered security, lifestyle, and money. He had been easy to fall in love with. Possibly too easy.
However, she is divided with Henry. What did she bring to the table anyway? At times she loves his authority and strength. His opinions are not merely suggestions. Or maybe it’s just that he was so different from her. Decisive and definite. He chooses her hair style, jewelry, and clothing.
Zoe was not always Zoe. Other names in between. She was born Zoe Griffin. She was poor. Her biological mom, Carolyn, whom she never met. Evelyn, her adopted mom loved her and taught her everything she knows. However, she died and she did not even have enough money to give her a proper burial. Her mom worked as a housekeeper by day and a hotel maid by night. They struggled to make ends meet.
She dreams of finding her real mom, now that she has the resources. What was her story? Why did she give her up? However, each time she mentions it, her husband objects, since he feels her mother rejected her and no sense dwelling on the past. Nothing good would come of it. This is her life now with him.
Henry believes in a straight path, filled with to-do lists and goals. Meandering was for slackers and dreamers. Mulling over what has been was a fruitless effort since you could not change the past.
Yet here she is in this house, with this man, and this life. She is insecure. Henry is charming and well versed in current events and politics. He is great is social circles. Henry is a product of a traditional household and paternalism runs deep in his veins, which she finds both charming and a little infuriating, depending on the day.
Zoe fled from a dangerous past. A new identity. She came to New York and worked in a high-end florist shop. There was an event. This is where she met Henry. A quick whirlwind romance and he swept her off her feet. Then marriage. She knows little of her husband’s past. He does not know her past. Trouble ahead.
She has always been attracted to elegance and her mother Evelyn had a fascination with money and dreamed of the finer things. Zoe even tried giving back with a charity, CARE, Children’s Association for Relief and Education.
However, beneath this façade, Zoe is afraid, someone will discover the real life she left behind. Hilary Lawlor. One night it happens at a charity event. She is always so careful. She cannot afford to have anyone from her past to learn, her new identity.
2009 San Pablo California It was five years earlier and this had only happened twice. She left her roommate in college in the middle of the night and never came back. Some evil men she was trying to escape, a sex trafficking ring, and drugs and a Grand Jury. Had they come back for her?
Between weird things which are happening, someone is on her trail and out to kill her. A reporter from the Post, Cash is her only ally (LOVE him) an old ex-friend Lydia, a mysterious housekeeper, Penny which she does not trust, and Detective Maslow from her past.
Finding her mom Carolyn involved admitting on some level who she was before, either online or with a private investigator. She would have to use her old name in order to get there.
“To move on to continue to live, I had been forced to leave my life with a giant chasm that held Hillary on one side and Zoe on the other. There was no bridge back, not in my mind.”
She yearns for a career versus to sit at home doing nothing with her life. Henry does not like her to have friends or think of going back to work. He wants their life the way it is- without drama or interference. She has to go behind his back to search for answers.
With a life made up almost entirely of secrets. Before there was Hilary, there was the baby Zoe, abandoned in a Connecticut hospital. After there was Hilary, there was a grown-up Zoe, living in an ivory tower. She wonders how all them can possibly fit in her one body.
She is not who people thinks she is. Everyone knows bits and pieces of the story and can she tell it to Cash, the only person which may be able to help her. Someone has come back for her. She has no one. Her ex-friend thinks she is pathetic and she has no family.
Except maybe now, someone cares enough to try and kill her.
When her past and present collide, she may have more to fear that her evil shady past. Soon layers of lies and deception begin to peel away, leaving Zoe helpless and fighting for her life.
You can run, but you can't always hide. Twisty, Mysterious, and Complex, an "Outstanding" Domestic Psycho-Thriller!
Moretti cleverly pulls you smack into Zoe’s world and holds you in her grip until the book's final satisfying ending. A Sleeping With the Enemy with a modern psychological twist!
Fans of Mary Kubica, Paula Treick DeBoard, Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Paula Daly will enjoy this twisted dark suspense, with a woman’s desperate search for her mother, and her own identity- combined with a present-day suspense mystery which you "do not" see coming! Perfect ending.
My first book by Moretti and quickly buying her back list! Fans of B.A. Paris' Behind Closed Doors (which I adored) will love THE VANISHING YEAR.
A special thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 Stars +
JDCMustReadBooks
Top 50 Books of 2016!
The perfect example of “Good books don't give up all their secrets at once.” Patience. It is WORTH the wait, as the web of deceit unfolds in this grip-lit domestic suspense. Unputdownable.
2014—New York City: Zoe Whitaker is married to the handsome and charming Wall Street tycoon, Henry Whittaker. Manhattan’s finest. From clothes, jewelry, travel, luxury. The finest wine to a Tribeca penthouse and a four bedroom lake house in the country. He offered security, lifestyle, and money. He had been easy to fall in love with. Possibly too easy.
However, she is divided with Henry. What did she bring to the table anyway? At times she loves his authority and strength. His opinions are not merely suggestions. Or maybe it’s just that he was so different from her. Decisive and definite. He chooses her hair style, jewelry, and clothing.
Zoe was not always Zoe. Other names in between. She was born Zoe Griffin. She was poor. Her biological mom, Carolyn, whom she never met. Evelyn, her adopted mom loved her and taught her everything she knows. However, she died and she did not even have enough money to give her a proper burial. Her mom worked as a housekeeper by day and a hotel maid by night. They struggled to make ends meet.
She dreams of finding her real mom, now that she has the resources. What was her story? Why did she give her up? However, each time she mentions it, her husband objects, since he feels her mother rejected her and no sense dwelling on the past. Nothing good would come of it. This is her life now with him.
Henry believes in a straight path, filled with to-do lists and goals. Meandering was for slackers and dreamers. Mulling over what has been was a fruitless effort since you could not change the past.
Yet here she is in this house, with this man, and this life. She is insecure. Henry is charming and well versed in current events and politics. He is great is social circles. Henry is a product of a traditional household and paternalism runs deep in his veins, which she finds both charming and a little infuriating, depending on the day.
Zoe fled from a dangerous past. A new identity. She came to New York and worked in a high-end florist shop. There was an event. This is where she met Henry. A quick whirlwind romance and he swept her off her feet. Then marriage. She knows little of her husband’s past. He does not know her past. Trouble ahead.
She has always been attracted to elegance and her mother Evelyn had a fascination with money and dreamed of the finer things. Zoe even tried giving back with a charity, CARE, Children’s Association for Relief and Education.
However, beneath this façade, Zoe is afraid, someone will discover the real life she left behind. Hilary Lawlor. One night it happens at a charity event. She is always so careful. She cannot afford to have anyone from her past to learn, her new identity.
2009 San Pablo California It was five years earlier and this had only happened twice. She left her roommate in college in the middle of the night and never came back. Some evil men she was trying to escape, a sex trafficking ring, and drugs and a Grand Jury. Had they come back for her?
Between weird things which are happening, someone is on her trail and out to kill her. A reporter from the Post, Cash is her only ally (LOVE him) an old ex-friend Lydia, a mysterious housekeeper, Penny which she does not trust, and Detective Maslow from her past.
Finding her mom Carolyn involved admitting on some level who she was before, either online or with a private investigator. She would have to use her old name in order to get there.
“To move on to continue to live, I had been forced to leave my life with a giant chasm that held Hillary on one side and Zoe on the other. There was no bridge back, not in my mind.”
She yearns for a career versus to sit at home doing nothing with her life. Henry does not like her to have friends or think of going back to work. He wants their life the way it is- without drama or interference. She has to go behind his back to search for answers.
With a life made up almost entirely of secrets. Before there was Hilary, there was the baby Zoe, abandoned in a Connecticut hospital. After there was Hilary, there was a grown-up Zoe, living in an ivory tower. She wonders how all them can possibly fit in her one body.
She is not who people thinks she is. Everyone knows bits and pieces of the story and can she tell it to Cash, the only person which may be able to help her. Someone has come back for her. She has no one. Her ex-friend thinks she is pathetic and she has no family.
Except maybe now, someone cares enough to try and kill her.
When her past and present collide, she may have more to fear that her evil shady past. Soon layers of lies and deception begin to peel away, leaving Zoe helpless and fighting for her life.
You can run, but you can't always hide. Twisty, Mysterious, and Complex, an "Outstanding" Domestic Psycho-Thriller!
Moretti cleverly pulls you smack into Zoe’s world and holds you in her grip until the book's final satisfying ending. A Sleeping With the Enemy with a modern psychological twist!
Fans of Mary Kubica, Paula Treick DeBoard, Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Paula Daly will enjoy this twisted dark suspense, with a woman’s desperate search for her mother, and her own identity- combined with a present-day suspense mystery which you "do not" see coming! Perfect ending.
My first book by Moretti and quickly buying her back list! Fans of B.A. Paris' Behind Closed Doors (which I adored) will love THE VANISHING YEAR.
A special thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 Stars +
JDCMustReadBooks
doublearegee's review
4.0
It's like someone who was a fan of Vertigo watched Ringer and saw what it could be so they decided to combine the two into a book.
hsrudolph's review
2.0
I can't say I wasn't entertained by this book, but in the end I felt that very little about the story and the characters was relatable or realistic and it left me with nothing but a big sigh.
paigepages's review
3.0
Loved the domestic thriller aspect of this book. It did feel a bit obvious at times and the ending was a little of a let down, but overall I really enjoyed reading this. Very quick.
paigeann4's review
3.0
Loved the domestic thriller aspect of this book. It did feel a bit obvious at times and the ending was a little of a let down, but overall I really enjoyed reading this. Very quick.