Synopsis:
IF I DISAPPEAR
When her favorite true crime podcast host goes missing, an adrift young woman plunges headfirst into the wild backcountry of Northern California and her own dangerous obsession.
Sera loves true crime podcasts. They make her feel empowered in a world where women just like her disappear daily. She’s sure they are preparing her for something. So when Rachel, her favorite podcast host, goes missing, Sera knows it’s time to act. Rachel has always taught her to trust her instincts.
Sera follows the clues hidden in the episodes to an isolated ranch outside Rachel’s small hometown to begin her search. She’s convinced her investigation will make Rachel so proud. But the more Sera digs into this unfamiliar world, the more off things start to feel. Because Rachel is not the first woman to vanish from the ranch, and she won’t be the last…
Rachel did try to warn her.
THE PERFECT GUESTS
The USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair returns with another delicious, twisty novel–about a grand estate with many secrets, an orphan caught in a web of lies, and a young woman playing a sinister game.
1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she’s truly part of the family…until they ask her to help them with a harmless game–and nothing is ever the same.
2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It’s strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she’ll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose.
In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she’d imagined–even with damage from a fire decades before–but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone…including her.
My thoughts:
IF I DISAPPEAR
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my digital copy.
Ohhh the true crime podcast trope. I’m a little tired of it/intrigued by it!
This one is a little more behind the scenes. And the unusual 2nd person narration definitely made it more immersive and creepier (I’m looking at you Caroline Keepnes).
Rachel’s parents were extremely weird characters and ranch hand, Jed-just so weird that it’s kinda off putting?
Everyone kept saying that the ending was just WOAH. I have to agree on that point… it worked and at the same time it really didn’t.
For those epilogue lovers- this one throws everything you just read out the window.
Mashups: every true crime podcast out there and YOU.
P.S. JUST LOOK AT THAT COVER THOUGH!
THE PERFECT GUESTS
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my digital copy.
Well hello another soap opera episode!
This one drew me in with the gothic vibes, murder mystery party and the author. While I did enjoy her previous work (The Au Pair), I got so tangled and confused with how all the characters interconnected.
The Perfect Guests was the same. With seemingly even more lies and secrets. Seriously you’ll need a bulletin board with family pictures and that red string to connect everyone.
The dual timelines definitely made it more suspenseful and after a while I just needed to know what would happen!
Mashups: The Au Pair, the movie Now and Then and a murder mystery party.
Both books are available now! Get them here:
Did either of these catch your eye?
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