Author: Kimi Cunningham Grant
Published: 2024
Rating: 4/5
Janessa is missing. The #vanlife social media influencer and her boyfriend, Bush, haven’t posted or been seen in over a week. Janessa’s estranged best friend, Emlyn, sees the story flash across CNN in a crowded diner.
Emlyn tries to reassure herself that everything is okay, but her instincts tell her otherwise. Tyler, Janessa’s best friend and Emlyn’s ex-boyfriend, soon teams up with Emlyn to try to find Janessa and Bush in the wilderness. It’s not long before things go awry.
The setting of The Nature of Disappearing is just as compelling as the prose and complex characters that Grant has created. The imagery transports the reader to stunning vistas and pristine mountain lakes deep in the wilds of Idaho without ever having to leave the comfort of the couch.
The plot is face-paced and exciting, a mystery and adventure tale rolled into one that brings to mind the recent high-profile real-life disappearance of Gabby Petito. Interwoven in the present are flashbacks that shed light of the complexity of the relationships between the characters and the events leading them all to these fateful moments deep in the middle of nowhere.
With more twists and turns than the Snake River itself, The Nature of Disappearing is a masterful thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat right until the very end.