This book was a bit slow for me & too “putdown-able”, I’m afraid. Not a total miss but was hoping for a hit. Will check out more by this author and keep my eyes peeled for future. Thanks for this ARC!

an excellent read, my first of many from John Marrs I am sure. The book has believable characters, I enjoyed how the book flicked forwards and backwards through time as I felt this gave the much needed details to understand #1 motive and #2 the choices that were made by the characters.

This is definitely a must read!

Exceptional story.

It's not a casual thriller novel, but definitely has some chilly moments. The hardest part is to crack the motive behind Simon's disappearance. The plot is revealed very slowly - sometimes it is difficult not to skip pages just to finally know the truth. And as the story is revealed there is less compassion for Simon and more compassion to Katty even though from first pages you keep reminding yourself that she did something horrible.

The book reveals cunning human nature and reminds that even this is only a moment, and all moments vanish into thin air. It's amazing how every single detail is just a reminder of fragile present tense.

I do applaud writer's talent of putting precious family moments into such complex story without making them too sweet but yet allowing them to be the cosy and secure shore in the book after every little shocking revelation.

Thank you! This is a brilliant book!

This is a dark, quite disturbing psychological novel. I enjoyed it and the way it was written was fantastic. I look forward to reading more titles by this author *****

5 stars! I absolutely loved this book. The suspense had me on the edge of my seat. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I didn't think this was Johns usual type of book based on the blurb but found it wonderfully written. then emotions are felt through the pages and as always he delivers a superb story that you wouldn't guess..

First off, I must say this book was well written. It kept me interested, and I wanted to know how it ended. Part of the ending was really obvious from the beginning, but that's not what bothered me. Simon, the main character, is just awful. This is truly just a depressing, terrible story about a broken man and how he broke his family. I wish I would have passed on it.

Wow, this is a book with a lot of sub plots as well as the main one. Simon who is one of the main characters is a despicable man but you don't know that until late into the story. When I first started reading this I really liked it but as I got further into it I feel there are too many characters that go back and forth in past and present situations. It all becomes rather confusing. I also don't think the ending gives enough resolve to the characters and some of the situations are not believable.

After loving Marrs The Good Samaritan I’m so bummed that this one isn’t working for me. I cannot get into it unfortunately. I really do like his style just think it’s not the book for me.

Catherine wakes up one morning to find her husband, Simon, gone. She isn’t too concerned and assumes he has just gone out for a jog. It isn’t until he does not show up for work and does not return home that she realizes something must have happened to him. This is the premise of this story…where did Simon go? And why did he leave without a word?

The story alternates time periods and the perspective of Catherine and Simon. This format works really well for this book and John Marrs does a fantastic job of building the storyline and slowly revealing all of the hidden secrets, big and small, that this story has to offer.

It was a bit of a slow burn for me. I enjoyed Catherine’s storyline more than Simon’s. I found myself really despising Simon for leaving his wife and children without a word. She is suddenly thrust into being a single parent and needing to provide for her children both emotionally and financially. I can’t imagine the courage it would take to do that! How does one not completely fall apart while missing the love of your life under circumstances that you don’t understand.

As if I didn’t feel bad enough for Catherine and the children, there is a part about halfway through the book involving the family dog that nearly broke my heart (no, he didn’t die). I had to step away for a moment to compose myself…grrr that Simon!

This book won’t go down as an all-time favorite, but I did enjoy it and look forward to reading more by John Marrs.

'When you disappeared' by John Marrs is a roller coaster journey that will leave you with whip lash and asking yourself.. what the **** just happened?

Catherine and Simon have just gone through every parent's worst nightmare of losing a child. For weeks Catherine's legs couldn't physically hold her weight and sorrow so she has been curled up in bed mourning the loss of her son. She now feels ready to face the world and to rebuild her and her family's lives, however, when she wakes up her husband Simon isn't there and when he still hasn't returned by dinner time she reports him missing. With all of his belongings still exactly where they always are she has to face the reality that something dreadful has happened to her beloved.

Catherine goes through the motions again of someone whose life has been turned upside down. After months of no answers she accepts that her husband is dead as what husband would leave his already grieving wife and 3 children behind?

25 years later Catherine has come full circle and her children are grown. The family go to Simon's grave every Christmas but they have accepted he is gone and have moved on with their lives. You can only imagine Catherine's surprise when a tall, tanned, elderly man shows up unannounced on her doorstep claiming to be her dead husband and wanting to explain what happened all those years ago. You will not be prepared for what is about to be revealed and Catherine will be left wishing she never opened her door to the man she once loved who is now a stranger.

'When you disappeared' was a slow burner for me. It took me 2 weeks to complete when I can complete books in 1 sitting. I don't feel the speed you read a book is a representation of the quality. I have whizzed through books in barely a few hours which have been utter garbage. I just want to include this so people stick with it and believe me the build up and scene setting is worth every minute.

Finally John Marrs please write a second instalment. I need to know what happens to Catherine after her world is once again blown wide open.

Thank you to net galley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A very disturbing book. The main character is a narcissist and a psychopath and it actually made me hate a character so much that I didn't think was possible!

Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy of this book, in exchange of an honest review.
I found this book to be fast paced and well thought out. It took me while to pick it up, as I kept putting it on the back burner, but once I did read it, I found myself enjoying it. John is an author that I follow on Instagram, and I've always been interested in his books, So I was grateful to be able to read one. I like the thrilling journey of this one, and cannot wait to read more.

I have really enjoyed John Marrs' books and feel a bit disappointed to find that this was his first book but retitled and 're issued. One can see where some of the ideas for his later books come from - particularly hostel life which was such a feature in " welcome to wherever you are". However, I found this very slow and parts of it very unbelievable particularly Simon's actions and lifestyle and his justification for them.
I'm still looking forward to reading the "Good Samaritan" though!

Please disregard star rating, it will not let me submit a review for my stats without one!
I absolutely loved The One by John Marrs so I was so excited to read another one of his novels. Unfortunately, this one was not a good fit for me. I found myself incredibly confused by the back and forth narrative style, the slow pacing and was irritated by the lack of believability when it came to Simon's actions. After spending several hours unable to get into the novel, I decided to give it a DNF at 30%. I really like his other work, this was just not the book for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I couldn't put this one down. It's a family psychological thriller that kept me reading into the night. You think you're living a charmed life, with your husband and children, and one morning you wake up and your husband has seemingly vanished. He didn't jog that morning, he didn't go to work, and there is not a trace of what happened. The characters were well developed and the twists and surprises were well done. I highly recommend this title.

Whew.

This is a difficult book to review because there were so many ups and downs of this book. One of the main characters, Simon is extremely unlikable and does not redeem himself at any point in the book. However, the twists in the book were unexpected, bringing my rating up from a 2 to a 3 star review.

We meet Simon and Catherine, a married couple with three children who have been married for 10 years. Seemingly, they appear to have good lives together. However, one day Simon disappears without a trace.

Did he leave on his own volition? Was he kidnapped? Was he murdered? For twenty five years, we (and Catherine) have no idea. The book is laid out in such a way that it cuts between various years in the past juxtaposed with the present day.

My issues were mainly with Simon. I often wanted to dive into the book and shake him for all his transgressions. I won't reveal anything more than that, but he is highly unlikable.

The author does a good job of making the reader feel sympathetic towards Catherine throughout the duration of the book. Also, there are several twists/reveals at the end that were fairly surprising, which was welcome.

Overall, a 3 star review. Also, a warning that there are many difficult topics addressed in this book: rape, suicide, and multiple murders.

When Simon, the happy half of a wonderful British family , a man in his early 30s with a promising architect career suddenly disappeared his devoted wife, Catherine, cannot believe that only death set them apart. But the truth is cruel and will stay hidden for the next 25 years.
Written as an alternating diary of Simon and Catherine, a step-by-step mention of going out of grief, the weight of the past or the family responsibilities, When You Disappeared by John Marrs is a page turned, although predictable at a certain extent. Although some revelations are not surprising - for instance, who killed the younger son, Billy - the psychological weight of the stories is dramatic and displays a great storytelling craftmanship for this genre.
From a scene installment to the other, the perfectly evil nature of the ambitious architect is revealed, a display of how delusional are the appearances. Simon himself became a serial criminal from a delusion, an apparent affair of his wife with his best friend who had actually a crush on him many years ago. A quarter of century later, he is confessing to the brave Catherine, a fantastic character with strength and an outstanding desire to live her life, whatever the circumstances. The dedicated wife from the first months after the mysterious disappearing - 'The strength and support he'd shown me during the worst thing that could ever happen to a parent, had proved he was a fantastic husband and dad, and I desperately needed to believe that he was alive' - is turned into a hard working bread winner and the strong woman who won against a terrible malady and was powerful enough to start a new life and even face the truth of the lies and crimes of her ex-husband.
It is a dark novel, going deep into the murkiest corners of the human mind, telling as often as possible in different wordings that the humans can be sometimes slaves of their strong self-destroying criminal emotions, especially if there is a genetical predisposition to it. I am not sure about this, but meeting the literary character of Simon might be just enough for a while.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC in enchange for an honest review.

I love seeing those 5 stars light up! I go through lots of mediocre books to finally find a great one! This book kept me guessing at every turn. Although I had a suspicion of how the book would end up, I still had a few jaw-dropping moments.

This book is about a once-married couple named Simon and Catherine. They had what looked like the perfect family until one day Simon disappears without a trace for no apparent reason. The story is told in 3 ways. The present day, and the past from the alternating eyes of Catherine and Simon. If it seems like this strange point of view would get a little confusing, don't worry - it doesn't. The author does a wonderful job of mastering this point of view.

Shortly into the story (in the present day part of the story) Catherine is visited by a nice-looking, older gentleman who looks a little familiar. After she finally realizes that it is her long lost husband, he begins to tell her the whole story and explains why he felt like he needed to come back one last time.

At the end, they both realize that a majority of their marriage was not what it seemed. And Simon realizes that he spent his whole life blaming others for his own faults.

When you disappeared is the second John Marrs book I have read and loved. The first being The One back in March this year. John writes in a very specific way in which I find easy to follow yet still has twists and turns that surprise me every time. One of the things I love about the way he writes is how he structures his books in terms of chapters. In The One, he bases each chapter on each individual person/relationship, which you can read about here. Whereas in this book he flicks between the past and the present, as well as the perspectives of the two main protagonists Catherine and Simon. It is very cleverly written in a way that explains both the plot to us readers, at the same time as developing the story between the characters. I can not say too much more on this without giving too much away.

Someone I can say without a doubt is that John is a master at character building. He really knows how to create and develop characters of all ages and sexes. For example a part of the book I was really touched by was when I reached about half of the way through (and after we have already been introduced to Catherine and Simon’s children), to the point where Simon had been missing for exactly 1 year. John creates a scene where Catherine dresses all 3 children in their best clothes and takes them to the bridge over the stream. When they arrive, the children take turns in saying a few things to their daddy. The eldest James tells his dad he misses him and then thanks him for his guitar. The middle boy Robbie is going through a troubled time where he doesn’t like to speak, and simply throws a picture he drew into the water, and the youngest child Emily in her innocence starts singing Happy Birthday to her daddy, as she had not quite understood the significance of the day.

I loved certain characters and hated others just as much, but overall I just adored the way they were written.

I had no idea where the plot was heading and I was surprised with every twist and turn of the story. Some of my favorite being those that unravel right near the end of the book. However, even though I loved the ending, I also didn’t like how the story actually ended. It was quite a long book, but I still felt I needed more. This is more of a personal opinion as I can see why certain things didn’t happen, but in my head I wanted the children more involved at the end.

All in all I can not deny this was a 5 star read for me
(and Winston) and would recommend it if you like mystery, thrillers or even physiological thrillers.