Vanished Book Review

Title: Vanished

Author: James Delargy

ISBN: 9781471177569

Pages: 496

Source: Review copy from Publisher

The Kane family, Lorcan, Naiyana and their young son are desperate to move their young family far away from the hustle and bustle of modern city life in Perth.

The abandoned town of Kallayee, an abandoned mining town in the Great Victoria Desert, seems like the perfect getaway: no one has lived there for decades. It will be peaceful. Quiet. Secure.

But life in Kallayee isn’t quite as straightforward as they hope. Lights flicker at night. There are noises in the earth, mysterious shadows and tracks in the dust as if their presence is breathing new life back into the long-dead town.

Lorcan and Naiyana refuse to leave. No one can talk sense into them.

And now, no one can talk to them at all.

They’ve simply vanished.

Official Summary

This book provides an exciting reading experience that leaves the reader transported to the Great Victoria Desert. The story draws you into the lives of the Kane family, their struggles in an abandoned town and their lack of trust in one another.

The author tells the story from the different characters point of view. Revealing little pieces of the puzzle from one chapter to the next while jumping from past to present. This makes for wonderful reading that allows you to see into all the characters minds. Revealing the truth piece by piece until the final mystery is brought to light. I absolutely loved reading this book and found myself completely hooked.

When a few bad decisions turn daily life dangerous, Lorcan and Naiyana decide it’s time to hit the road. They end up hiding away in an old, deserted mining town. However, the perfect isolation proves not to be the solution to their problems. Before long, the family has disappeared. Detective Emmaline Taylor slowly pieces together the facts to find out what happened to them.

Vanished left me wondering how far I would go to protect my family. The idea of running away to an abandoned town sounds rather appealing, however, after reading this book and living through Lorcan and Naiyana’s mistakes, the unexplained noises and loss of faith and trust in each other – I can say that I will be steering clear of anywhere to isolated.

The characters in this book were a colourful cultural mix. I enjoyed Naiyama and her ever-changing attitude, Detective Emmaline Taylor, a tough woman with a razor-sharp tongue left me smiling with some of her comments. As for Lorcan, well the man frustrated me. There were times while reading this book that I found myself wanting to reach into the book and just slap the man. Especially when he sends his wife to deal with bad situations because he is too scared to. The author managed to create a man that was easy to dislike. Little Dylan was adorable, I enjoyed the detail about Dylan’s mining site.

This is a LOVED IT – book for me. I simply could not read this book fast enough – I simply had to find out how it would end. The story was brilliantly crafted, and the ending was not predictable at all.

I have already added 55 – another book by James Delargy to my wish list. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

When reading the blurb, I thought there might be some kind of supernatural element to this book, there wasn’t. This book is creepy, exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. You know something weird is going on – but when you discover the truth – it’s not what you expected.

Mystery and thriller fans will find this book right up their alley. Truthfully, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is jam-packed with all the elements that make for a nail-biting read. Be sure to add this book to your TBR – you will not be disappointed.

About the Author

James Delargy was born and raised in Ireland and lived in South Africa, Australia and Scotland, before ending up in semi-rural England where he now lives. He incorporates this diverse knowledge of towns, cities, landscape and culture picked up on his travels into his writing. His first novel, 55, was published in 2019 and has been sold to 21 territories to date. Vanished is his second novel. Find him on Twitter: @jdelargyauthor

This book was refreshingly different, thank you, Penguin Random House South Africa for this review copy. Get your self a copy of this book and share your thoughts when you have read it. I look forward to hearing what you think. Until next time…. Happy Reading!