Print Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: September 27, 2016
Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
Synopsis:
Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life. She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips.
What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her. As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely.
The Vanishing Year combines the classic sophistication of Ruth Rendell and A.S.A. Harrison with the thoroughly modern flair of Jessica Knoll. Told from the point-of-view of a heroine who is as relatable as she is enigmatic, The Vanishing Year is an unforgettable new novel by a rising star of the genre.
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My Review:
5 STARS!!
An intelligent, twisty psychological thriller that kept me up all night! I’ll try not to reveal too much about the plot because it is a shocker! Zoe is a stunning Manhattan socialite, living in a world of charity dinners, beautiful apartments and gorgeous vacation homes. She has everything she could want at her fingertips: a designer wardrobe, a private cook and romantic getaways with her perfect husband, Henry.
“I stop protesting his indulgence, when he buys me clothing and shoes and jewelry. I stop looking for the catch. There doesn’t seem to be one. So what do you do?”
But right from the beginning, there are cracks in Zoe’s perfect life, and we don’t know whether it is from her damaged past or from someone or something in her current life. She is growing bored as Henry’s wife, and longs for her younger self, when she had a job, friends and freedom to do whatever she wanted. She begins to chafe in her perfect little bubble.
“I can prepare dinner and I have on occasion, but he always insists we ask Penny, which irritates me. I have all day in this echoing apartment, my own voice bouncing off the sterile, bare walls and marble floors. Sometimes I wonder if uselessness can kill a person.”
Zoe is witty, sarcastic and smart, and all of the characters were engaging and interesting. I loved her connection with Henry, and even though she was in love with him, she never quite felt that she really “knew” him at all.
“Henry is a product of a traditional household and paternalism runs deep in his veins, which I find both charming and a little infuriating, depending on the day.”
But is Zoe just imagining things where they do not exist? Henry is the perfect husband and all he wants to do is please her. The author did a great job at creating characters I really cared about. With all his odd mannerisms, Henry seems to be in love with his wife and do everything for her. After a charity event, Zoe begins to question her past and seeks out certain people that she had thought were long gone from her life. I don’t want to give anything away because this book is full of surprises and fantastic twists and turns. I absolutely loved Zoe’s slow awakening from a bored housewife to a woman with a purpose. The author kept me guessing for the whole book!
‘The Vanishing Year’ has been called a “domestic thriller”. This is a perfect description. It is an edgy, sexy, exciting story that kept me guessing until the very end. The little clues sprinkled here and there, the red herrings, the gorgeous Henry all added up to the perfect thriller for me! Don’t miss this one. I can’t wait to read more books by the amazing Kate Moretti.
Favorite quote:
“It wasn’t that long ago that I found this sort of convenient arrangement of our lives to be charming, like a party card trick. A sleight of hand here, a simple misdirection there, and Voilà, here’s your dinner. Now, it crawls under my skin and festers there, like a chigger, and the whole thing makes me itch.”
(ARC provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.)