Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley, Janelle Brown, Random House Publishing Group and Spiegel & Grau for providing Booked Up Blog with a free digital copy of Watch Me Disappear, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.  All thoughts are honest and my own.

A mother is missing, presumed dead.  As the first anniversary of her death looms closer, Billie’s husband, Jonathan, is finding it hard to let go as he continues to work on his memoir about the loss.  Their daughter, Olive, begins seeing visions of her mother, telling Olive to come find her.  Did she really die in a hiking accident, or has she disappeared out of their lives on purpose?  As Olive investigates, Jonathan’s doubts begin to cloud his every thoughts.  He learns that Billie may not have been completely truthful about her weekend hiking excursions, thinking that she may have led a double life.  Full of twists and turns, I couldn’t believe the ending to Janelle Brown’s mystery.  It’ll leave you staying up way past your bedtime to find the next clue to Billie’s disappearance and the truth behind her identity.  (I speak from experience because that’s exactly what happened to me several nights in a row.)  Read more to let me tell you what I loved, and why I’m adding this the “Page-Turner” Club.

I love a nice twisty mystery, and that’s exactly what Brown gave me with Watch Me Disappear.  I was hooked within the first chapter after Olive had her first vision of her mother, imploring Olive to find her.  The dynamic between her and Jonathan, her unbelieving yet intrigued father, really added to the suspense of finding out the truth behind Billie’s life.  We see Billie as who she was as a mother and wife, but also who she was before they were in her life.  Billie’s life (and death) are surrounded by mystery, and I couldn’t get enough of the information that both Jonathan and Olive were uncovering individually.  Brown does a great job of working within the confines of a family’s grief to show how each revelation impacts their view of Billie and their relationships with each other.  Brown eventually leads you to ask yourself if your friends and family are showing you the true versions of themselves.

This definitely earned a well-deserved place in the “Page-Turner” Club.  Brown gives you just enough information to keep you interested, but not so much that you are overwhelmed.  As Jonathan and Olive learn about Billie’s past, so does the reader, allowing you to feel like you’re a part of the story with the characters.  The supernatural element isn’t overpowering, and is balanced well with the other characters’ honest reactions to hearing their loved one is having visions.  It does drive Olive’s storyline, but it wasn’t enough to turn me away from reading it.  

I really enjoyed the ending and the journey it was to get there.  Brown does a great job of tying up loose ends, but she also leaves you guessing to the very last sentence.  My only wish was that one piece of information regarding Olive would have been either ignored, or fleshed out a tiny bit more in the beginning.  (If you’ve read it, let me know so we can discuss.)  

I think Janelle Brown has worked her way into my heart as one of my favorite twisty mystery writers.  I even told my roommate that this was better than a James Patterson series we’ve been reading together.  That’s high praise in our household, so she knows I’m going to put this one on her TBR.

I don’t want to spoil anything else for you for this new release, so I’ll tell you that this is a great read for those of you looking for a twisty mystery.  There’s plenty to discuss, so grab your friends and get booked up!  

TL/DR: You’ll be turning the pages looking for answers, but be patient.  The answers will come and you’ll have plenty to think about even after you’ve closed the back cover.

Rating: ⅘ stars

Title: Watch Me Disappear
Author: Janelle Brown
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
ISBN: 0812989465
Format: Ebook / Hardcover
Source: NetGalley / Random House Publishing Group and Spiegel & Grau