Cover Image: The Summer She Disappeared

The Summer She Disappeared

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Member Reviews

I loved this book it follows the story of a young girl whose life is turned on its head when she meets a new friend during a visit to her family’s summer home. As she finally finds someone she fits with she has the best summer ever but as the years h change so does their friendship and on the last summer together something happens which change their lives for ever. When she returns to complete renovations on her family’s place before selling it dark secrets from her past threaten to ruin her new life as someone knows the truth about what she did that summer.

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Willow Roberts inherited the lake house she and her parents went to every summer. There she became best friends with Kathi Jo, a local teen. But one fateful summer changed everything. It was twenty years ago and yet; it feels like yesterday to Willow.

Willow is looking for a fresh start. Twenty years ago, her best friend Kathi Jo ran away and was never heard from again. Coming back to the lake house to make improvements, Willow is reminded of all the long-lost summers she spent there. She receives a call informing her that a body has been found in her newly inherited home. She goes and can't believe what awaits her. Her past comes rushing back as do the memories. Knowing someone has been in the home and is watching her, Willow goes on a mission to find out who it is and why her friend ran away so long ago.

I devoured this book in one day. It is equal parts gripping and tense. It proved to be a very fast paced and hard to put down work. I did my own super sleuthing along with Willow trying to find out what is going on in the present as well as what happened in the past. This book is told in duo timelines. The current day and the last summer Willow spent with Kathi Jo.

The Summer She Disappeared kept me in the edge of my seat and turning the pages. There are some twists and reveals which kept things interesting. I enjoyed both timelines and how things played out. There was never a dull moment in this book. I look forward to reading more of Carissa Ann Lynch's books in the future.

Gripping, tense, fast paced and hard to put down!

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I thoroughly enjoyed Carissa's Flocksdale File books, they were very good (If not exceptionally dark) so had to try her new book The Summer She Disappeared.

Told mostly from Willow's point of view, we go between time lines to find out what happened one Summer while Willow was at her Summer vacation home and what become of her best friend, Kathi Jo. I have always enjoyed dual time lines as I find we get a deeper grasp into the characters and how events shaped them. Willow's life hasn't been great and inheriting the old summer home which holds some great memories, but also some bad ones too is an interesting idea.

The story is a quick read and I found at times that was one of my issues with it. Usually with Carissa's books I find them so thorough, I can almost taste the air, smell the scents. But with this book I felt it was more condensed. Great for those who don't read like I do probably, but this only took me a few hours. I wanted more. More characters development (Especially with the other boys), more into the time working at the shop, maybe even more stories of times spent with Kathi Jo. I just felt some things were washed over quickly. The mystery was clever and I admit until near the end when I knew what Willow's secret was I didn't know what had happened to Kathi Jo. It's not an obvious 'mystery' and that's something I've come to expect with Carissa's books.

This was a solid 3.5 stars, I enjoyed it but as I said wanted a little more. I think this would be the perfect travel companion story for someone, or a commuters read due to how quick the story is - although feel you may struggle putting it down too!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

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I received an ARC of this book from Harper Collins via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. Having read Carissa Ann Lynch's novels before, I was excited for this one. It definitely lived up to her reputation for great twists and a swift pace. This is really a quick read. I enjoyed the chapters alternating between the past and present. I especially enjoyed the pop culture references during Willow's teenage years, since these were also my teenage years! I think this is an element that a lot of readers will enjoy. We have to wait till basically the last page to find out what exactly happened to Kathi Jo, but I would be surprised if anyone can predict all the little twists involved. This is another solid thriller by Ms. Lynch!

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Willow has returned to her parents summer house. It’s where she first met her best friend. The place holds good memories but also leaves questions as to what happened to her friend that summer so long ago.
I thought this was another good book by this author. It kept me engrossed from page one and surprised me at the end.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

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Willow Roberts visits the family lake house each summer with her parents. One summer she meets her new next door neighbours, Isabella and her daughter Kathi Jo. The young girls hit it off immediately and soon become firm friends, even when Willow returns to her main home the girls continue to be in touch and they eagerly await each summer until they can meet up again. The second time line brings us to present day, where a grown up Willow has inherited the lake house from her deceased parents. During renovations a body is found in a closet. This brings back all old memories, some good but also a lot of bad ones.

This is a very quick book to read. Told from the POV of Willow, set across two timelines, with the characters from both intermingling. Bit of a twist at the end, but no great reveal.

The blurb for the story was good, but didn’t live up to my expectations. I did not care for the writing style and the characters were very flat, with few redeeming features. There were lots of ideas in the plot, but few fulfilled. And Cinderella? Really?

I did finish the book but found it hard to engage with lacklustre characters and plot.

Thank you NetGalley.

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Inheriting a house was supposed to be the perfect escape for Willow Roberts. But the house is in a town she hasn't been to since childhood, when her friend ran away. Twenty years later, willow is back. Nothing has changed, but everything is different. Then a body is found, and Willow knows exactly who it is.

What a thrilling read this book was. The story is told in the past, twenty years ago and the present-day format. I liked the authors style in writing this book. We are slowly drip fed the backstory leading us up to the events taking place in the present day. The pace is steady. I was hooked after reading a few chapters, needing to know what had happened. There's a mixed bunch of characters, not all of them are likeable. This is an easy book to follow.

I would like to thank #MetGalley #HafrperCollinsUK #OneMoreChapter and the author #CarissaAnnLynch for my ARC of #TheSummerSheDisappeared in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a quick and easy read but it wasn’t the gripping thriller I’d hoped for. I enjoyed the dual timeline and the plot was sort of OK but I couldn’t bond with any of the characters. The writing was good and it was an interesting storyline but it somehow fell a bit flat for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the electronic copy.

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I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller. It was a short read but it packed a punch. It definitely kept me guessing right up until the end.

The story is told via dual timelines, alternating between past and present. I love this style of story telling where you are dripfed the backstory and can gradually put the pieces together.

I liked the childhood friendship between Willow and Kathi Jo and how it changes once a boyfriend is the scene.

This is definitely a believable thriller that I would recommend if you're looking for a quick and fast paced read.

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A nicely twisty thriller about a woman who discovers dark secrets at her parents' lake cabin. Willow has come back to the lake after twenty years to clear out the family cabin, a place where she found a friend in Kathi Jo, who later disappeared without a trace. Much to everyone's surprise, a dummy made to look like Kathi Jo is unearthed, which sets off even more questions. This moves back and forth in time between the summer when Kathi Jo disappeared and the present- which works well with the scenario. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I was surprised by the answers Willow finds, making this a good read.

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The summer she disappeared was a fantastic thrilling read. This will be a perfect summer thriller. Told between past and present Willow returns to her families summer home to renovate and sell its but twenty years ago her best friend went missing. I thought i figured it out and I was wrong. This will have you guessinv until the end

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I’ve never met a Carissa book that I haven’t loved and this didn’t fail me either. With two fast paced storylines that ,I’ve seamlessly between the past and present I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Willow inherits a home from her family but sometimes we forget or bury why we left places. Going back and it triggering all our memories and maybe even bringing danger and mystery to our present time of life makes it all the more scary. Just remember nothing is as it seems when it comes to what you think you know and your memories.

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This book is written by a new author for me, what a great read! A fast paced suspenseful thriller with a dark feel, written in a dual timeline scenario.
The storyline is innocent enough, teenagers who spend summers together in their lakeside cabins. Willow meets Kathi Jo and they remain friends until Kathi Jo disappears without a trace!
Willow returns when she inherits her parents cabin, only to uncover more questions about a carefree but not so happy time! The twists and turns as truths are revealed give an insight into the main characters and their secrets.
I felt the emotions of each character, then and now, there’s plenty of pieces to this puzzle! The mystery of events from long ago are concluded after delving into each character’s story!

Thanks to Harper Collins UK, NetGalley and Carissa Ann Lynch for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Thank you for the advanced readers copy

This is a story about a woman named willow who inherited her parents summer home. While renovating the workers find a body to which she believes is her childhood friend. Only to find out it was a mannequin made to look like her friend. Now to find out who would do this to her , and what happened to her friend

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This was quite a suspenseful book fully of mystery especially the first half . It was interesting the way it went back and forward from the murder to the present day to keep the reader on edge . I was a bit disappointed with the ending though . No surprises for me finding out whodunnit , I had already guessed the direction the book was going . I would recommend this book though .

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Suitably Atmospheric..
A new start, a new home, old secrets in this multi layered mystery. Willow Roberts has inherited a house - the only trouble is that it is in her old home town and a town that she hasn’t returned to in twenty years. Now Willow is back and a bizarre occurrence is about to make her face the truth. A deftly drawn cast populate a slow burn plot relayed effectively with a dual timeline, an underlying thread of menace and a firm sense of place. Suitably atmospheric.

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I received an advanced copy of this book from HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter via NetGalley.

A secret has been kept for twenty years, until now. Inheriting a house was supposed to be the perfect escape for Willow Roberts. But the home is in a town she hasn’t been to since childhood, when her friend ran away. What really happened the summer her friend disappeared?

The author pulls the reader in at the beginning of this book with all the intrigue and mystery surrounding the disappearance of Willow's childhood friend and why it is coming to light now after so many years. I was intrigued by why someone would be taunting Willow when it had been twenty years since the incident happened.

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The Summer She Disappeared is a short suspenseful thriller told in dual timelines, the present and twenty years ago. Willow inherits her family lake house and is shocked at someone from her past finding of a body in one of the closets. This propels her back to her coming-of-age years in the small lake town when she hung out with a group of friends, especially over one summer in particular. Something caused one of the group, Kathi-Jo, to leave town, never to return. The group of friends drifted apart. Layer upon layer of mystery and deception unravels. Everyone has secrets and Willow is determined to find out who is creeping her out and why. She encounters unexpected run-ins and goosebump situations.

Though suspenseful, I did not enjoy this book as much as I had anticipated. None of the characters are likeable and Willow is very juvenile in her thoughts and actions, even as her adult self who is a teacher. I do like that there are a few well-woven storylines which heightened the angsty atmosphere. The ending was satisfying.

My sincere thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this book.

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When the first words in chapter 1 are "there's a body in the bedroom closet", you just know it's going to be a good book.

Willow has inherited the lake house and is having it renovated. And you guessed it the contractor found a body in the closet.

Twenty years ago, Willow's best friend disappeared and is now convinced it's Kathi-Jo's body.

Dual timelines show how the two girls met as children and current day. I enjoyed getting to know them through the years. I didn't always agree with their choices, but that is expected with most teenagers.

A coming of age story involving all the expected ups and downs of the journey from childhood through the teenage years.

I enjoyed the characters, well most of them. What is wrong with the parents in this book. Not a good set in the bunch.

I thought the big reveal come up suddenly, but otherwise a solid read.

Thanks to netgalley and One More Chapter for the arc.

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I thought this book was okay, but it didn't grab me .There was nothing wrong with it, I wasn't keen on the main character, maybe that put me off. I hope other readers enjoy it more.

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