Bel is participating in a documentary about her missing mother Rachel Price, which Rachel suddenly reappears. Bel is suspicious due to the timing but also because Rachel's story doesn't seem to add up. She joins up with one of the documentary's crewmembers to find proof that Rachel lied, but it leads somewhere she didn't expect and unearths a secret that affects her whole family. Overall, a twisty mystery that keeps you guessing. While the pace started out a bit slow, the reveal in the end was satisfying.

Holly Jackson is a master of her craft. I couldn’t predict a single second of this book. Nothing happened the way I wanted it to or thought it would, but in the end it felt exactly right for the characters.

I started to like Holly Jackson after a good girls guide and have really enjoyed her stuff ever since. This didn’t disappoint. I would recommend.

My students love Holly Jackson, and I think they will like this title as well. I thought it started a little slow, but as the story moved on the pace picked up.

By far my favorite book of Holly’s! Let me tell you I was 1000% convinced I had it figured out. Holly said nope not today sweetheart 🤯

The twists, turns and when everything starts coming together will blow your mind! I absolutely loved the FMC Bel. She is so snarky & witty!

Go read it!

5 Reasons to Read

Mystery

When I think of listening to podcasts I always go for the one’s with disappearances or missing persons. I find it the most fascinating facet of true crime because they make you wonder. This book did exactly that but with the twist of a Reappearance. You will spend one part of the book wondering about the mystery around Rachel’s disappearance and the rest wonder about the mystery around her reappearance. It was so well done!

Secrets

Secrets. So many secrets. Bel has them. Her father has them. Rachel has them. Her aunt and uncle have them. This book is full of them and just when you feel all secrets have been revealed you’re left shocked to find more!

Dark Pasts

As the secrets unravel a dark past is revealed. A marriage that looked fine on the outside may not have been so picture perfect. When Rachel comes back Bel’s father starts to act differently than she expected. He always talked about her being the light of his life before Bel came along but now she’s home and he’ll barely look at her. He starts staying out later and later or has excuses for not coming home when he used to be so routine and reliable. Bel’s the only one who seems to think what Rachel’s told her about her past isn’t really what happened. Where was she all those years because she couldn’t possibly have been kept in a basement the whole time.

Amateur Sleuth

Bel is the ultimate Amateur Sleuth in this one! I loved the beginning when it was all about a documentary with the opening scene portraying an interview between Bel and Ramsay, the person directing the documentary. The Rachel Price case was never on his radar but now he’s come to offer money in exchange for the first ever exclusive interviews of Rachel Price’s family. The before, during, and after her disappearance facts. But when Rachel shows up Bel takes over and starts to investigate Rachel with the determination of unraveling everything. It was fun to see her work with Ash, Ramsay’s nephew, as she drags him along from clue to clue. I thought I loved Pip and her podcast in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but this one was even better!

Twists & Turns

If you haven’t picked it up by now but this book is full of all the twists and turns! I had so many theories while reading that I started to wonder if there was a disappearance at all or if it was just in Bel’s head the entire time. It was so well done and the story developed that the ending was a shock. I wish we could see Bel again but it wrapped up nicely leaving no unanswered questions. This is hands down one of the best YA Thriller’s I’ve read in a very long time. It will keep you guessing all the way through!

This was my first book by Holly Jackson, and I was hooked on this YA thriller from the beginning. I love the concept of the documentary following the case, it allowed for the plot to take many unique turns and added fun characters and depth to the story.

I pride myself on being able to pick up clues and foreshadowing in books, but this book had so many twists and turns I kept being shocked until the very end of the book. And I loved Belle’s personal journey of growth and mental health representation woven into the story.

Thank you to PRH Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook. Thank you to Delacorte Press, NetGalley, and TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with a digital copy of this book. This review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price is another twisty mystery by Holly Jackson. Fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Five Survive will enjoy her newest mystery. We have already purchased copies for our classrooms!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: YA Mystery 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
This one was okay, it just took me forever to get into. The ending was good though!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Intriguing reads
All the twists
Dysfunctional family dynamics
True crime documentaries
Side of romance
Strong FMC
Mommy/abandonment issues

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
I didn’t see the ending coming

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Started off slow
Felt a little rushed and could have used a little more depth
So I might have been hating on this one a little bit until I realized it was YA and then it all made sense lol oops

Numerous things occurred. I had high expectations, some of which were fulfilled and some of which were not, but overall, it was an amazing experience that I am sure I will want to have again. Sincerely, there is something about Holly's writing style that makes it impossible for me to read one of her books without being engrossed in it and feeling as like I must put all of my other books down in order to complete this one. I knew this was going to be an exciting journey from the first page, and I was not disappointed by the way she writes. Her use of language is exquisite and captivating. I would have read if I had more time, I swear to God.

This author gets weaker with every book. The dialogue was often stilted, and it needed a tighter edit overall.

I loved this book! It was a little slow at the start, but I really got into it after the first few chapters. I didn't see any of the twists coming and it really kept me on my toes.

Good mystery and character development of Bel. the second half was thrilling with lots of twists I didn't see coming.
I don't think the documentary spin added anything to the story; it made the book longer than it needed to be. The motive of the bad guy was a bit flimsy.

Could NOT PUT THIS ONE DOWN! Holly Jackson is the master of a young adult thriller, and though I found this one to be a little predictable, there were so many twists and turns that I found myself second-guessing my intuition. As a 30-something, it sometimes seems silly to be so deeply interested in the young adult thriller genre, but this one was too good to pass up. I love the inclusion of the podcast/documentary trope that has been plaguing the thriller/mystery genre lately and I feel like Holly took a lovely twist on it by reintroducing the main character of the disappearance.

I could safely say that The Reappearance of Rachel Price is a documentary I'd watch the moment it dropped on Netflix and I loved getting to read about the "making" of this special documentary. However, tell me why the book is over and I'm still not sure I trust Rachel! I'm going to be thinking about this one for awhile to come and recommending it to anyone in need of a fast-paced and thrilling read!

The Reappearance of Rachel Price has one very important trait that is shared amongst a majority of Holly Jackson’s novels. It is the absolute ability to leave an audience in pure shock and awe. The amount of time that I spent guessing what was going to happen next was completely pointless because it always ended up taking a turn that I didn’t see coming.

Even the characters were difficult to figure out. With so many secrets, it was difficult to figure out who was a hero and who was a villain, which made it impossible to put down the story. While the way that the story progressed made it difficult to see any growth in the characters, it was a perfect format for secrets to be revealed slowly as the reader gets to know each character. Seeing the progression through the eyes of the main character, Bell, gave the mystery a more personal touch and made the urgency that much stronger.

Though there were small time jumps throughout the story, there still remained a certain fluidity that added to the ease of reading. There was a great deal of potential for this story to get complicated and difficult to follow, but the documentary format helped clear up any discrepancies. It kept the story easy to follow as well as all the characters and their influence on the events. The documentary also allowed for Bell to have access to information that would have been much more difficult to get in a more believable way.

While the ending of the book was both shocking and thrilling, it was not as satisfying as I would have liked. There were a few facts that lacked the support needed to seem natural, instead, it felt forced just for the sake of a shock.

⅘ stars for a fun, thrilling read that is great for any lovers of Holly Jackson’s other works.

Be aware that the book deals with many heavy topics and it might be necessary for some to check trigger warnings.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited for this book. I really Enjoyed “Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” and was looking forward to another book by the author. The storyline itself was engaging and interesting. It kept me wanting to read and wondering what would happen next. I loved tej development of the family relationships. However, I felt like the pacing was a little off. There were parts of the story that were unnecessary and a little repetitive. I enjoyed the book as a hole, but It could have been shorter to keep the pacing better.

Holly does it again! I’ve always loved her story telling abilities and the mysteries she’s weaves, and this was no exception. While the first part of the book was a lot of setting up and background info, I was trying to fly through the pages to see how it would all come together. There were several revelations that had my jaw dropping, and I was fully invested in how everything tied up at the end. Such a fun story with a great cast of characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

The true crime documentary trope doesn’t always work for me, but in this case I thought it made for a fun and entertaining story. Parts of it are definitely convenient, unbelievable, and a little surface-level, but I think that comes with the territory of YA mysteries for the most part. I still think Holly Jackson wrote a satisfying twisty story that I had a lot of fun getting to the bottom of. Not my favorite by this author but I’ll continue to pick up whatever she writes in the future 😊

Holly Jackson knows how to make people outwardly gasp while reading her books. It took a solid 30% for me to get invested in the book but once it held my attention, that was it. I couldn’t put it down. Initially, I had mixed feelings about Bel, the protagonist. I didn’t love the way she handled social situations and she often came across as extremely prickly and used her family issues to justify her behaviour. She definitely grew as a character throughout the book and I loved her relationship with Ash and his quirkiness.

I didn’t see the plot twists coming if I’m being honest and my jaw genuinely dropped reading a lot of them. I cant wait to read more from her in the future!

Holly does it again! I love her other books and was nervous that this one would fall short. I was wrong, while reading I kept trying to guess the ending although I was right about some things there were amazing twists that blew my mind. Easily one of my favorite reads this year!