"When Catherine wakes up alone one morning, she thinks her husband has gone for a run before work. But Simon never makes it to the office. His running shoes are by the front door. Nothing is missing—except him.

Catherine knows Simon must be in trouble. He wouldn’t just leave her. He wouldn’t leave the children."

Nothing less than you would expect from John Marrs. A book full of secrets and lies, deceit and deception and an edge of your seat thriller that keeps you reading late into the night.

My biggest fear - not knowing the man that I married even after all these years. Ugh! And to have him disappear and then reappear, only to punish me for my wrong doings, oh, poor Catherine.

When you disappeared by John Marrs.
All she wanted was the truth, but she’ll wish she never found out.
A brilliant read. Couldn't put it down. Love John books. 5*.

Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

Great story, thrilling plot that I could not put down. Well worth a read, and would recommend to others. Thrilling story that kept me turning the pages.

Oh Simon. He's come back after 25 years to his wife Catrherine. So many secrets and lies. It's a good read.

Sorry for late review - just catching up after a busy 6 months. Loved this book a lot - John Marrs never fails to deliver a great story with great characters and really well written - not my favourite of his but still good.

John Marrs doesn't disappoint, another brilliant book which holds your attention to the end. Excellent!!

This book to me sounded like it could potentially have Gone Girl vibes, so maybe that's why it fell a bit flat for me. The novel follows Catherine, who wakes up one morning to find her husband Simon missing. He's not gone for a run, he hasn't gone to office - he's just vanished. Catherine tries to stay strong for their three children, while searching for her missing husband.
When he shows up to their home 25 years later in a fancy suit, the two begin to piece together their stories in the time they have been apart.
Overall, I found the novel a bit slow - there was never a moment where I just NEEDED to find out what had happened, and I strongly disliked Simon.
However, that is actually a pro, as Marrs was able to make me actively dislike his character so much that I wanted to skip past his parts - the sign of a well written character!

This is the first book I've read by John Marrs and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Family secrets and misunderstanding lead to 25 years of pain and suffering for Simon and his wife. Lives wasted and devastated. This book kept me turning page after page and I read it in one LONG sitting. Definitely recommended!!!

Never before have I finished a book muttering to myself, oh this book…oh this book. My mind whirled as I finished this one and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t just a tad bit distressed by the turn that this read took. I needed a few minutes to sit back, gather my thoughts and pull myself together before I could get on with my day.

This book that had been on my Kindle for years when I suddenly, and for no specific reason, decided to read it. (I downloaded the audio version to listen to in my car, and I read parts of it on my Kindle as well). I thus went into this book cold, not knowing anything about it, and I got so much more than I’d expected. This read just knocked the air out of my lungs. And that last 20%...holy moly, that last 20%. Wow.

Writing a review for this one is going to be immensely difficult, and I don’t want to say too much because I believe that the less you know about this book, the better. Okay, here goes.
Is it possible to dislike a character as much as I disliked Simon? Grrrr! What a disgusting, despicable, selfish human being. But, oh boy, I hate myself for saying this, but he was so intriguing as well! He remained an enigma to me the entire time I was reading this book. On the one hand, his behaviour disgusted me, and on the other, I was totally mesmerized by it, trying to understand why he did the things he did. His behaviour seemed so bizarre, and so arbitrary, and I couldn’t get my mind around it. I despised him. And after finishing this book, I hate him even more.

This author has an amazing talent for creating characters that will live their lives in vivid technicolour, right in front of your eyes. You’ll feel like you know them, like they belong in your life and you’ll be unsure how you’re going to move on without them once the book is finished. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that brought characters to life as clearly as this one did. (I think that this feeling might have been amplified by the amazing narration). Having said that however, the dialogue was spot on and the author wrote this story in such a way that it was extremely easy to follow, even though it’s told from the perspective of two different characters and covers different time periods.

I was often left holding my breath during this read, and the twists and turns and the absolute shock value of some of the plot developments left me stunned, and wanting more. The secrets that lay beneath Simon and Catherin’s shattered marriage were so intense that when they were disclosed, I’d feel a little stunned, like someone had just hit me on the side of the head. Some other reviewers have mentioned that they found the plot too unbelievable, but honestly, I didn’t feel that way at all. Let’s just remember that this is a work of fiction after all, but even so I thought it was totally believable. Also, once you reach the end of the story and everything is explained, it becomes even more plausible.

In conclusion, this is a book that’s split the crowd. People seem to either love it, or hate it. It’s not a new release and I think it was initially published in 2013, and then re-released in 2017, and many people have read it. There are lots of different feelings about it, and so you aren’t guaranteed to love it. All I can say is that I did! I thought it was spectacular. It deserves every single one of the five stars that I’ve awarded to it.

And on that note, let me leave you with this one final thought: Assumption is the mother of all evil…

WHEN YOU DISAPPEARED is a family drama debut novel by John Marrs.

Catherine wakes up alone one morning, to find she and her three children had been abandoned by her husband, Simon. He had gone for a run before work, but never makes it to the office. Man Missing in Action!

But Why would Simon do this to his family? What a selfish man. He knows the truth - about why he left and what he's done. He knows things about his marriage that it would kill Catherine to find out. Her memories are all based on lies.

While Catherine deals with the consequences, Simon is alive and living halfway around the world.

But then Simon reappears twenty-five years later, and Catherine will finally learn who he is.

With alternating POV’s from both Catherine and Simon in two different timelines, we start to put the pieces together.

I found this novel a little slow, and the characters especially Simon, unlikable.

This is a well written novel with flawed characters and an enjoyable ending.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley for my digital copy.

This is a book that left me very conflicted at the end. While I was reading it, I remember being revolted by some of the characters, hating them for their weakness, selfishness. It just underlined the lack of compassion in some people. In that respect I would say that John Mars succeeded with flying colours. The aim of an author is to evoke emotional response from the reader.

I think that this was a very good book, well written with characters that are very lifelike. But I have to admit I was revolted at the end. It is one of those books I wanted to throw across the room in a fit of rage. That is why I was conflicted about the book as a whole.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Having enjoyed John’s previous novels I was really looking forward to reading this. Like his previous thrillers this is fast moving, dark, and with so many twists and turns to make you dizzy. Secrets, lies, and thrills combine with to make this and addictive read.

This book is crazy. A life told through two perspectives, with a mind blowing finale.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2535028742?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

If you have uninterrupted time, you could read this in 3-4 hours.

This thriller is the first novel in a long time that had a non-linear story that was easy for me to follow. The timeline of the novel jumps between the 'present' and 25 years earlier when the main character (Simon) disappeared from his life with 3 kids and a wife (Catherine) without explanation or warning. Just got up one morning and left.

25 years later, he shows up on the doorstep of his former home to justify his abandonment to his now-remarried wife. Simon is a monster who blames everyone else for his actions. The shocking final act is beyond belief.

Lost a star because one of the Big Plot Twists I saw coming far too early. But the story had me holding my breath more than once. This novel may just emotionally jar and disturb you.

Recommended for fans of domestic drama and thrillers.

One morning Catherine wakes up to find Simon, the father of her three kids and husband missing. It alternates POV's between the two as well as between the past and present. The middle dragged a bit. It didn't stop me from wanting to read to the end.

Really enjoyed this book, a great page turner with lots of twists
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review

I wanted to read this so much and was excited. I was already a fan of John Marrs as I enjoyed The One. I have no problem with villains as main characters but ugh, my hate for Simon was real. There were absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. NONE. I take that back, because his only redeeming quality is that he did return to Catherine to tell her why he left. That's it. He has no other good qualities.

I would not classify this as a thriller but more of a really slow burn that you keep reading because you need the answers. Normally I would stop reading books when I have this intense hatred of the main character but I needed to know what actually happened. Overall it was OK. Will I recommend it? Probably not-this book is tough to read. Did I enjoy it? Probably not- but enough to finish it. Will I still read this author? Without a doubt yes. The first book of his I read was amazing and I know this was his first.

Thanks to the publishers, Netgalley, and John Marrs for the opportunity to read this book.

I so wanted to love this book based upon the number of 5 star reviews, but it just didn’t work for me. This is the first book ever I have read over half way through, then just started skimming, just to get to the end and get it over with. It was almost like Groundhog’s day, same story of how Simon re-lived his life over, was justified in whatever he did and how Catherine picked up the pieces and raised her family single handedly. You could tell the writing was good, but as for everything else, not so much. The story goes back and forth between timelines, today, 25 years ago, 1 year ago, 10 years ago, etc. and narrated between Simon and Catherine. I sometimes got confused between the years, and then between the locations when Simon started traveling. I found Simon to be the most self-centered, egotistical, despicable human being ever with no desirable traits.
I am a very responsible person and Simon’s actions absolutely went against every grain of my being. The story drops hints along the way to make you think that something big is coming, unfortunately it was just more of Simon’s wickedness. On a positive note, I feel the author did a remarkable job of portraying the chaos and life changing events when someone just disappears, and you have to overcome, continue and move on with your daily life. I don’t like to give bad reviews because I know a lot of time and work has gone into the writing of a novel, but I wanted to be honest. This one is a low 2 for me.
As always I do thank Net Galley, the publisher and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read this advanced copy for my review.