tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘A family was missing. They had been in the town and then they weren’t.’
Lorcan Maguire, his wife Naiyana and their six-year-old son Dylan arrive in the abandoned Westen Australian gold-mining town of Kallayee, on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert. They are looking to escape from life in the city of Perth. The skeleton of a kangaroo provides a marker, and they have their choice of houses to live in. They just need to choose one that is not entirely derelict.
But life in Kallayee is not what they were expecting. Dylan hears strange sounds at night, and car tracks appear where the family has not driven. If they are not alone, then who else is there?
They are advised to leave but choose to stay. The cracks in their marriage widen and they spend less and less time together. And then, they cannot be contacted. They appear to have disappeared.
Detective Emmaline Taylor is tasked with investigating their apparent disappearance. What she finds is puzzling: a house on the brink of collapse, ransacked, with smears of blood apparent. There is a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, but that seems to be all. Until she finds a body, savaged by a pack of dingoes on the outskirts of the town.
‘That something had happened here. Something bad. And that, for a town that had been dead for forty years, a lot of blood had been recently spilled.’
The story shifts, between before and after the Maguires disappear, and between different characters. As we learn more about the past, we see more reasons why the Maguires chose to move to Kallayee. But where are they?
Mr Delargy maintains the tension throughout, through a series of quite bizarre events, with a few unexpected twists through to a satisfying but quite shocking conclusion.
‘We all have secrets.’
Recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Lorcan Maguire, his wife Naiyana and their six-year-old son Dylan arrive in the abandoned Westen Australian gold-mining town of Kallayee, on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert. They are looking to escape from life in the city of Perth. The skeleton of a kangaroo provides a marker, and they have their choice of houses to live in. They just need to choose one that is not entirely derelict.
But life in Kallayee is not what they were expecting. Dylan hears strange sounds at night, and car tracks appear where the family has not driven. If they are not alone, then who else is there?
They are advised to leave but choose to stay. The cracks in their marriage widen and they spend less and less time together. And then, they cannot be contacted. They appear to have disappeared.
Detective Emmaline Taylor is tasked with investigating their apparent disappearance. What she finds is puzzling: a house on the brink of collapse, ransacked, with smears of blood apparent. There is a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, but that seems to be all. Until she finds a body, savaged by a pack of dingoes on the outskirts of the town.
‘That something had happened here. Something bad. And that, for a town that had been dead for forty years, a lot of blood had been recently spilled.’
The story shifts, between before and after the Maguires disappear, and between different characters. As we learn more about the past, we see more reasons why the Maguires chose to move to Kallayee. But where are they?
Mr Delargy maintains the tension throughout, through a series of quite bizarre events, with a few unexpected twists through to a satisfying but quite shocking conclusion.
‘We all have secrets.’
Recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
shelleyrae's review
4.0
“A family was missing. They had been in the town and then they weren’t. What they were even doing therein the first place wasn’t yet known. No one should have been there. No one had for close to fifty years.”
James Delargy has followed his impressive debut novel, 55, with another compelling thriller set in Australia’s unforgiving outback, Vanished.
Tasked to investigate the disappearance of the Maguire family, Lorcan, his wife Naiyana, and their six year old son, Dylan, from Kallayee, an abandoned town on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert, Major Case Squad Detective Emmaline Taylor is puzzled by what she finds left behind - a home on the brink of collapse, its contents ransacked; blood smears, though not enough to suggest a fatality; a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, a dead end, like all their leads seem to be, until she finds a body being savaged by a pack of dingo’s on the outskirts of town.
Unfolding from multiple perspectives, shifting between before and after their disappearance, it soon becomes apparent that the Maguires left Perth to set up home in the remote West Australian ghost town not in the spirit of adventure, but because they had few alternatives available to them.
Though the Maguire’s tell themselves they are in Kallayee to become closer as a family, the cracks in their marriage are obvious. They lie to themselves as much as they lie to each other and eventually neither Lorcan nor Naiyana are particularly sympathetic or even likeable. If not for the presence of Dylan I’m not sure I’d care much what happened to them. I liked Emmaline a lot though, she’s smart, determined and interesting.
Clever plotting ensures there are several possibilities, from the benign to the ominous, that may explain the family’s disappearance. Even though we are privy to information Emmaline is not, Delargy doesn’t share everything with the reader, subtly undermining what we think we know, allowing for surprising twists.
Short chapters ensure a good pace, and the author effectively builds the suspense in both timelines. The desolate, broken landscape creates a claustrophobic, hostile backdrop to the story that adds to the tension.
Vanished is a gripping, atmospheric thriller with an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
James Delargy has followed his impressive debut novel, 55, with another compelling thriller set in Australia’s unforgiving outback, Vanished.
Tasked to investigate the disappearance of the Maguire family, Lorcan, his wife Naiyana, and their six year old son, Dylan, from Kallayee, an abandoned town on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert, Major Case Squad Detective Emmaline Taylor is puzzled by what she finds left behind - a home on the brink of collapse, its contents ransacked; blood smears, though not enough to suggest a fatality; a tunnel littered with chocolate bar wrappers, a dead end, like all their leads seem to be, until she finds a body being savaged by a pack of dingo’s on the outskirts of town.
Unfolding from multiple perspectives, shifting between before and after their disappearance, it soon becomes apparent that the Maguires left Perth to set up home in the remote West Australian ghost town not in the spirit of adventure, but because they had few alternatives available to them.
Though the Maguire’s tell themselves they are in Kallayee to become closer as a family, the cracks in their marriage are obvious. They lie to themselves as much as they lie to each other and eventually neither Lorcan nor Naiyana are particularly sympathetic or even likeable. If not for the presence of Dylan I’m not sure I’d care much what happened to them. I liked Emmaline a lot though, she’s smart, determined and interesting.
Clever plotting ensures there are several possibilities, from the benign to the ominous, that may explain the family’s disappearance. Even though we are privy to information Emmaline is not, Delargy doesn’t share everything with the reader, subtly undermining what we think we know, allowing for surprising twists.
Short chapters ensure a good pace, and the author effectively builds the suspense in both timelines. The desolate, broken landscape creates a claustrophobic, hostile backdrop to the story that adds to the tension.
Vanished is a gripping, atmospheric thriller with an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
steph_w_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Death
beckylej's review against another edition
4.0
A family has gone missing and the police have a growing suspicion that foul play is involved.
Lorcan, Naiyana, and their young son, Dylan, have been making a go of living in an abandoned mining town in rural Australia. According to Lorcan's parents, they last heard from the family at Christmas and the lack of contact since is definitely abnormal.
When the police arrive, they find the family's commandeered house abandoned and no evidence of anyone in sight. Alive that is. They find blood, a vehicle with slashed tires, and a barely charged phone hidden in the dirt.
It seems apparent that something bad has happened to the family. It also becomes apparent that the family weren't just roughing it for fun—they were hiding from something.
What a fabulously fun thriller!
The book alternates between Detective Emmaline Taylor, who's been called in as one of the officers investigating the disappearance, and the family themselves. So the how and why plays out in parallel to the actual missing persons case.
It's a clever format because it means the reader gets to see what's going on with the family and experience their points of view leading up to the actual disappearance while also following the detectives and discovering clues alongside them.
The pacing was also pretty brilliant. We meet Lorcan and Emmaline when they arrive in Kallayee and there are only hints of why they're actually there. Much of the earlier chapters are their attempts to fix up the house, find water, and chronicle those efforts for YouTube views and a possible book. But there's a dark cloud that's clearly hanging over everything.
Meanwhile, Emmaline herself proved to be probably my favorite character in the book! A single woman in her twenties, pressured by her family to settle down, but perfectly happy as an investigator moving up in the police ranks!
This is a great example, too, where setting becomes a bit of a character itself. An abandoned mining town that was the scene of a collapse that resulted in the deaths of a number of miners. Rickety falling down buildings and dirt and dust as far as the eye can see. The skeleton of a dead kangaroo greets the family and later becomes a landmark for the police as well. Reading this in the midst of a spring snowstorm couldn't prevent me from almost being able to feel the sun and the grit on my own skin!
Vanished is my introduction to Delargy's work and I absolutely cannot wait to read more!
Lorcan, Naiyana, and their young son, Dylan, have been making a go of living in an abandoned mining town in rural Australia. According to Lorcan's parents, they last heard from the family at Christmas and the lack of contact since is definitely abnormal.
When the police arrive, they find the family's commandeered house abandoned and no evidence of anyone in sight. Alive that is. They find blood, a vehicle with slashed tires, and a barely charged phone hidden in the dirt.
It seems apparent that something bad has happened to the family. It also becomes apparent that the family weren't just roughing it for fun—they were hiding from something.
What a fabulously fun thriller!
The book alternates between Detective Emmaline Taylor, who's been called in as one of the officers investigating the disappearance, and the family themselves. So the how and why plays out in parallel to the actual missing persons case.
It's a clever format because it means the reader gets to see what's going on with the family and experience their points of view leading up to the actual disappearance while also following the detectives and discovering clues alongside them.
The pacing was also pretty brilliant. We meet Lorcan and Emmaline when they arrive in Kallayee and there are only hints of why they're actually there. Much of the earlier chapters are their attempts to fix up the house, find water, and chronicle those efforts for YouTube views and a possible book. But there's a dark cloud that's clearly hanging over everything.
Meanwhile, Emmaline herself proved to be probably my favorite character in the book! A single woman in her twenties, pressured by her family to settle down, but perfectly happy as an investigator moving up in the police ranks!
This is a great example, too, where setting becomes a bit of a character itself. An abandoned mining town that was the scene of a collapse that resulted in the deaths of a number of miners. Rickety falling down buildings and dirt and dust as far as the eye can see. The skeleton of a dead kangaroo greets the family and later becomes a landmark for the police as well. Reading this in the midst of a spring snowstorm couldn't prevent me from almost being able to feel the sun and the grit on my own skin!
Vanished is my introduction to Delargy's work and I absolutely cannot wait to read more!
alid431's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
rhirhireader's review
3.0
This is my first read by the author and I'd really like to read more.
The Kane family are on the run. From what we don't know.
Mum, dad and little Dylan land in the dead town of Kallayee, somewhere in the depth of the Victoria desert down under.
At first I was quite (pleasantly) confused as I thought I'd stumbled upon a horror as oppose to a thriller.
I felt evil vibes come off of the father Lorcan!
When they first arrive at the town and explore the run down house they are about to make a home, I thought Lorcan was turning a bit crazy. Somehow I began to imagine him as Jack Torrance from The Shining! I think it was his mad demeanour and the fact he had brought his wife and young boy to a secluded spot and that he was writing. But this time is wasn't snow but smothering heat!
It wasn't long before it turned on its head and became the thriller I had been expecting.
The detective investigating the disappearance of all 3 family members has a story all of her own and I can imagine her life could be a book on its own.
I liked this, loved how it began, but it did slow down for me after those innitial 100
I love a book set in Australia, and this one had what I wanted, dangerous dingos, humid claustrophobic conditions, and a l murder to solve.
The Kane family are on the run. From what we don't know.
Mum, dad and little Dylan land in the dead town of Kallayee, somewhere in the depth of the Victoria desert down under.
At first I was quite (pleasantly) confused as I thought I'd stumbled upon a horror as oppose to a thriller.
I felt evil vibes come off of the father Lorcan!
When they first arrive at the town and explore the run down house they are about to make a home, I thought Lorcan was turning a bit crazy. Somehow I began to imagine him as Jack Torrance from The Shining! I think it was his mad demeanour and the fact he had brought his wife and young boy to a secluded spot and that he was writing. But this time is wasn't snow but smothering heat!
It wasn't long before it turned on its head and became the thriller I had been expecting.
The detective investigating the disappearance of all 3 family members has a story all of her own and I can imagine her life could be a book on its own.
I liked this, loved how it began, but it did slow down for me after those innitial 100
I love a book set in Australia, and this one had what I wanted, dangerous dingos, humid claustrophobic conditions, and a l murder to solve.
stealingpages's review against another edition
2.0
When Anne reached out to me with this book it really grabbed my attention. Having family who worked in the mining industry in Kalgoorlie I just had to get my hands on it.
Having had the opportunity to visit a Kalgoorlie mining site on my only visit to Australia to date I could picture very clearly the sort of run down abandoned town where this novel was set.
Kallayee is an abandoned mining town which has laid empty for years. The Maguire family have fled Perth for various reasons and are trying to lay low in the rural town until things blow over. Expecting to be alone the put the nightly rumbles down to crumbling in the old mines and brush off their child’s sightings of people as being over dramatic...until they encounter 3 “miners” working by torch light each night.
The short sharp chapters in the book kept me saying “just one more” and made for a pretty quick read.
The first chunk of the book fell a little flat for me and for all I kept turning page after page I didn’t quite get the hook that I needed to get me fully invested. I was waiting for the one moment to get me on the edge of my seat.
That moment finally happens when tensions between the family and the miners reach an all time high and desperation on both parts takes over.
How far would you go to protect your family?
Having had the opportunity to visit a Kalgoorlie mining site on my only visit to Australia to date I could picture very clearly the sort of run down abandoned town where this novel was set.
Kallayee is an abandoned mining town which has laid empty for years. The Maguire family have fled Perth for various reasons and are trying to lay low in the rural town until things blow over. Expecting to be alone the put the nightly rumbles down to crumbling in the old mines and brush off their child’s sightings of people as being over dramatic...until they encounter 3 “miners” working by torch light each night.
The short sharp chapters in the book kept me saying “just one more” and made for a pretty quick read.
The first chunk of the book fell a little flat for me and for all I kept turning page after page I didn’t quite get the hook that I needed to get me fully invested. I was waiting for the one moment to get me on the edge of my seat.
That moment finally happens when tensions between the family and the miners reach an all time high and desperation on both parts takes over.
How far would you go to protect your family?
raven88's review
3.0
I thoroughly enjoyed James Delargy’s previous book 55, so no hesitation in picking up his second, Vanished, once again transporting us to the Australian outback, and into the grip of an intriguing mystery…
The absolute hook of this book throughout is the use of location, and how Delargy depicts this totally inhospitable, bleak and uncomfortable landscape to such great effect throughout the book. The abandoned gold mining town of Kallayee (use the skeleton of dead kangaroo to navigate your way there- how creepy is that?) is a gem of a place to set a deeply unsettling and dark mystery, with its biting sense of desolation and emptiness, punctuated by strange noises, mysterious overnight visitors and the overall creepiness of this barren location. The idea that any family would want to locate there, whatever they are running from, does beggar belief, but that’s just what Delargy’s characters do. More fool them. This is a haunted town with a dark history, with blood in its very foundations, and as the plot unfolds, there will be more bloodshed and death of that you can be sure…
Told through the contrasting viewpoints of the family members, Lorcan and Naiyana, the detective Emmaline Taylor tasked with investigating their sudden disappearance, and some additional characters that I can’t reveal for fear of spoilers, the story takes the reader on a journey from a crime committed in the big city, to a family on the run. Delargy’s characterisation is assured and I liked the way he played with the strength and weaknesses of his main protagonists, subtly manipulating the reader’s feelings towards them. There did feel like a little bit of box ticking in terms of a couple of his characters, especially Detective Emmaline Taylor with the superficial emphasis on her being a woman of colour, which wasn’t really developed with any particular nuance throughout the book. We do, however, perceive how professionally she conducts her investigation, and her reluctance to let others overshadow her, and to dictate the course of her actions. I thought overall she was the strongest voice in the book, and really held the plot together in the shadow of the bizarre events playing out around her, and would love to see her return in future books maybe with her strident character and attitude.
Along the way in Vanished we meet a small band of badly behaving characters who threaten the family’s safety, but how much can this family really trust one another? And there’s the rub, as Delargy pulls us in different directions, undermining our belief and trust in the characters he portrays, until the book hurtles towards a host dark and violent reveals, some of which will surprise and unnerve you. I will be completely honest, and say that I didn’t completely buy into some of the plot twists, with the ending giving me somewhat of a furrowed brow, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride overall, and the claustrophobic atmosphere of this tale saturated with rapacity, violence, lust and dastardly betrayal. Worth a look if only for the trip to the truly creepy town of Kallayee. Mwhahaha…
The absolute hook of this book throughout is the use of location, and how Delargy depicts this totally inhospitable, bleak and uncomfortable landscape to such great effect throughout the book. The abandoned gold mining town of Kallayee (use the skeleton of dead kangaroo to navigate your way there- how creepy is that?) is a gem of a place to set a deeply unsettling and dark mystery, with its biting sense of desolation and emptiness, punctuated by strange noises, mysterious overnight visitors and the overall creepiness of this barren location. The idea that any family would want to locate there, whatever they are running from, does beggar belief, but that’s just what Delargy’s characters do. More fool them. This is a haunted town with a dark history, with blood in its very foundations, and as the plot unfolds, there will be more bloodshed and death of that you can be sure…
Told through the contrasting viewpoints of the family members, Lorcan and Naiyana, the detective Emmaline Taylor tasked with investigating their sudden disappearance, and some additional characters that I can’t reveal for fear of spoilers, the story takes the reader on a journey from a crime committed in the big city, to a family on the run. Delargy’s characterisation is assured and I liked the way he played with the strength and weaknesses of his main protagonists, subtly manipulating the reader’s feelings towards them. There did feel like a little bit of box ticking in terms of a couple of his characters, especially Detective Emmaline Taylor with the superficial emphasis on her being a woman of colour, which wasn’t really developed with any particular nuance throughout the book. We do, however, perceive how professionally she conducts her investigation, and her reluctance to let others overshadow her, and to dictate the course of her actions. I thought overall she was the strongest voice in the book, and really held the plot together in the shadow of the bizarre events playing out around her, and would love to see her return in future books maybe with her strident character and attitude.
Along the way in Vanished we meet a small band of badly behaving characters who threaten the family’s safety, but how much can this family really trust one another? And there’s the rub, as Delargy pulls us in different directions, undermining our belief and trust in the characters he portrays, until the book hurtles towards a host dark and violent reveals, some of which will surprise and unnerve you. I will be completely honest, and say that I didn’t completely buy into some of the plot twists, with the ending giving me somewhat of a furrowed brow, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride overall, and the claustrophobic atmosphere of this tale saturated with rapacity, violence, lust and dastardly betrayal. Worth a look if only for the trip to the truly creepy town of Kallayee. Mwhahaha…