How Quickly She Disappears by Raymond Fleischmann

There's some really good things going on with this book, such as the amazing landscape of Alaska that is very well-written and creates a chilling atmosphere that quickly drew me in. There are also some lovely passages and descriptions. But Elizabeth is an irritating character, as is her child. Everyone's personalities were so ever-shifting that I never connected with any of them. When I don't care about one character in a book, warning bells start going off that I will not end up enjoying said book. The fact that the end was very unsatisfying and leaves room for a sequel (I like knowing this upfront so I'm not blindsided) was the final nail in this book's coffin for me. I'm left with unanswered questions. Five years after publication, we still have no sequel so I guess this was how it was supposed to be. Very disappointing.

I got to 15% and I think a dead body might be showing up soon - but there was nothing here that was engaging me. I realize Alaska wasn't a State in 1941 but letting the German pilot stay in your home IN 1941 (!!!!!!) when it's just you and your young daughter there was something that boggled my mind. Also the precocious kid was getting on my nerves. My current reading mojo is quite fragile and this was starting to feel like a slog for me - so calling it quits.

I really wanted to like this book- it has great atmosphere and a great premise. Unfortunately, it just didn't follow through for me. I was hoping for a propulsive story that kept me reading and that just didn't happen.

How Quickly She Disappears focuses on obsession and isolation. Elizabeth’s twin sister disappeared without a trace when she was a child. It is now 1941 and she is living in an isolated area of Alaska. She is drawn into the web of a murderer when he promises to lead her to her sister, whom Elizabeth has always believed is still alive. This was the author’s debut novel and it was a pretty decent read. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in the ending and felt it was left hanging.

I found this book to be annoying. I didn't care for any of the characters and I found the frequent switch to second person perspective off-putting. The writing is often beautiful, especially in the descriptive passages, but I found the storyline and the behavior of Elizabeth (the main character) so irritating that I found myself reading quickly just to finish.

The story is twofold -- the mystery of the disappearance of Elizabeth's twin sister 20 years ago and the appearance of a stranger who supposedly knows Jacqueline's whereabouts. His convoluted machinations to get Elizabeth to do his bidding in order to learn about her twin's location make up the bulk of the story. Elizabeth becomes increasingly irrational in the pursuit of the "truth" and creates a rift in her relationships with her husband and daughter. I found Elizabeth's actions to be irrational to the point of implausibility. When she risks her own life even though everyone tells her Alfred (the stranger) is lying, I was annoyed, but (SPOILER!!!) when she risks her daughter, I gave up!!

Yes, this is a book that kept me turning pages and there are moments of great prose. I also found the descriptions of life in rural Alaska in the early 1940s to be compelling, but these moments were overshadowed by the ridiculous behavior of the protagonist.

A fair mystery set in Alaska, was a bit like Jeffery Deaver to me, but worth the read. A wife and mother searches for her sister who disappeared years ago.

I loved the descriptions of the Alaska winter wilderness setting. I enjoyed learning about the characters’ stories and the alternate time periods. What I didn’t care for was the fact that a good portion of the mystery was left unresolved. Maybe the author is intending on a sequel but that hasn’t yet happened. I’m never a fan of an unresolved ending. I feel like this author could’ve done better.

Suspenseful and fast paced, with a few twists and turns thrown in. Losing a sibling creates a void that can never be filled, and many people go on searching their entire lives. One sister's desire to find her twin sister many years after her disappearance becomes an obsession, and her own beloved daughter is put at peril. Similar to Silence of the Lambs, the mental terror and games played by Alfred are indeed frightening.

Elisabeth is obsessed with her twin sister's disappearance/death and a dangerous stranger shows up and claims to have the answers. The setting in Alaska is moody and adds to the suspense of the novel. Elisabeth unravels and makes questionable choices that put her and her family in jeopardy. It was engrossing but the ending was not quite as satisfying as I would have liked.

*Received via NetGalley for review*

Elizabeth's twin sister disappeared when they were 11, and Elizabeth has moved on as best she can, with a husband, a daughter, and a career. But now, living in remote Alaska with her husband always gone and forced to homeschool her daughter, Elizabeth meets a German pilot who insists he knows things about her sister. But he only tells her this after he brutally murders her only friend in the remote town, and sends her down a twisted path for the truth.

An incredibly interesting premise that's a little let down by the execution. Alfred clearly has some kind of hold on Elizabeth that's destructive, but amplified by her unhappiness with her life. She makes bad decision after bad decision, and it's so frustrating because I wasn't really able to understand. Yes, I felt her frustration, but not her compulsion. I mean, she goes back to Alfred after he tries to kill her! She takes her daughter to him!!

And while the ultimate conclusion is satisfying (if predictable), there are still some frustrating unanswered questions that are introduced at the very end.

The description for this had me excited, The Dry meets Silence of the Lambs, but it did not live up to that comparison.

A solid addition to the thriller genre. A recommended purchase for collections where crime fiction is popular.

HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS by by Raymond Fleischmann was just published, have you read it yet?⁣
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The story takes place in the unforgiving landscape of wild Alaska and reading it makes the reader feel alternately cold and nervous.⁣
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This book is described as, "an intoxicating tale of literary suspense set in the relentless Alaskan landscape about madness and obsession, loneliness and grief, and the ferocious bonds of family …"⁣
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It was a good, solid mystery!⁣
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What kind of setting do you enjoy most when reading? Do you want to be swept t to a place that is warm and sunny, are you looking to experience somewhere you've never been?⁣

Elisabeth Pfautz is living in the Alaskan wilderness, unhappy in her marriage. Her twin sister disappeared 20 years ago and Elisabeth clings to the hope her sister is alive. This book was not what I expected. It was a bit slow and a lot of the characters weren’t very likeable. Thank you to net galley for a copy.

3-4 stars! This atmospheric thriller starts off with a bang, but unfortunately it really sort of fizzled out by the end. I think it had a great premise, loved the Alaskan atmosphere, but after a few chapters it seemed that the premise was not hit in a way that excited, chilled, or thrilled me. Overall, I think it’s a decent read, especially if you enjoy atmospheric, slow burn reads. You will get a few thrills, chills, and shocks.
Will make sure to buzz it up and use my low amazon reviewer number to review on release date!

There were elements of this novel that I greatly enjoyed, like the characters and the setting, which were well written, but the plot at times made little sense.

This was such an atmospheric story that made me feel lonely, cold, and tense. The author did a remarkable job of bringing to life the feeling of isolation in a small Alaskan village. The story was so layered, so nuanced, I was completely captivated and yet I was always a little uncomfortable. This book will chill you to the bones.

Frankly, I had difficulty with this story. You need to be able to move from 1940s back and forth to 1920s. Elizabeth's twin disappears when she is young. A stranger shows up in Elizabeth's life 20 years later in Alaska. He is obsessed with her. He kills Mack, ends up in jail, will only speak with Elizabeth telling her he knows where her sister is. Well, does he or not? Elizabeth becomes so involved that she ignores her 12 yr old daughter and her husband. The ending was unexpected.

I had thought I’d enjoy this as it was set in Alaska and in 1941. It started off great and then I found I could not really relate to the characters. It also seemed to be too many pages to get to a resolution to the mystery.

This book started out amazing for a debut author. The setting was amazing, the set up was great, however, somewhere the book began to fall apart for me. The book was creative, and had an unsettling vibe, but for some reason this book is not for me. I would get it for the library though because I know it will appeal to a larger group of people. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the honor of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review.