Reviews

How to Disappear follows a family which is torn apart after their 14-year-old daughter witnesses a gruesome crime and they are forced to enter into witness protection. It's a crime family drama which focuses primarily on the characters' experiences and their familial dynamics, but is set against the back-drop of the crime and witness protection.

Usually, thrillers aren't my go-to books but I'd seen positive ratings and reviews for this book, so when it appeared on Kindle deals for 99p I thought why not. Unfortunately, it didn't hit the spot for me. I found the plot to be dry, predictable and boring, particularly considering it's a thriller. Although witness protection is an important topic to explore the difficulties Gillian McAllister had in her research (which she herself admits in the authors note) meant that there were some inconsistencies and as a reader, to be able to enjoy it properly I needed to suspend disbelief constantly.

The characters were flat and dull. Each of them had one defining characteristic - Lauren likes baths, Aidan is an IT whiz, Zara is a social justice warrior, Poppy is a young carer - and they were hammered over and over. None of them were fleshed out and since there was so much focus on the characters, more work needed to be done to make them more authentic, relatable and sympathetic. What added to my dislike for the characters was that all of them acted so illogically that it got me like:

Example:

Spoiler

Wife goes into witness protection because her and her daughter are in a life threatening situation, she has to sign a contract to give up her identity, move to a new location and cut off all contact with the people in her life. Within DAYS of going into witness protection she's calling her husband, then when her location is breached and she has to move she can't understand why.

I can't handle the stupidity. I'm not disputing that it would be impossibly difficult to cut all contact off with your spouse and entire family, but when your child's life at risk, perhaps it's something you should take a little bit more seriously?

Reading this book just confirmed for me that this type of book simply isn't for me. It doesn't tick any of the boxes for what I look for in a book. It was a mildly entertaining and easy read, but that's about as much praise as I can give it. The "twist" at the end was underwhelming and the overall ending was cliche and a "meh" ending to a "meh" plot with "meh" characters. In fact, that's the crux of this review - it was just...meh.

booksonawednesday's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A gripping psychological thriller about a mother and daughter who are forced into witness protection after the daughter witnesses a crime.

Lauren’s character was fun and chaotic - her funny quips were one of the best things about the book.

It didn’t feel very realistic at times, but I know nothing about how witness protection works, so who knows?! Some of the character’s choices frustrated me at times, but their emotions were really well written. I know I can trust Gillian McAllister to write a good thriller.