This mystery had a unique setting and was very descriptive. It might be a little slow-moving for those who like a more fast-paced mystery.

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A stranger comes to town with a streak of violence and secrets that upend the life of a woman in 1940's Alaska.

Elizabeth is the trailing spouse of a teacher who moves to Alaska at the brink of WWII where tensions are high in the isolated town because of the war. She is a town host of-sorts and finds herself with an overnight guest who's postal plane supposedly broke down. We quickly learn that Alfred has been really pursuing Elisabeth and entices her with supposed information he has about her twin sister that went missing 20 years earlier. What follows is a nonlinear story that moves back and forth between Elisabeth's story leading up to her sister's disappearance and the current thriller of her intensifying relationship with dangerous, mysterious Alfred. Fleischmann does a nice job of building the drama as we move closer to figuring out what happened to the sister while luring Elisabeth into Alfred's web of manipulation. The ending seemed far-fetched yet still gripping. This is a solid debut.

A solid 3 1/2 stars. This was a slow burn that finished as a forest fire for me. 1941 in a remote part of Alaska is where we find Elizabeth with her young daughter and husband living a quiet existence until the day a stranger flies in and changes their lives forever. Elizabeth has almost given up discovering what really happened to her twin sister who went missing when they were in their teens. For everyone else, it is a closed case with no leads until the stranger comes to town and shakes up the quiet community in a brutal way. There is much danger and a huge risk but he may be the only one to provide Elizabeth with answers, so this is bait she can't resist. A superbly told dark, cat and mouse game that will keep you guessing to the very end. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Overall, I enjoyed How Quickly She Disappears. The pacing felt solid and the world-building was outstanding. Truly—it's greatest attribute is how atmospheric it is. You can practically see your breath. 1940s Alaska is the perfect backdrop to explore isolation, grief and violence. That said, I thought the story left off in an odd way. Without giving anything away, I will just say that I was frustrated by a lack of closure. Beyond that, my only other critique is that—and this could entirely be on me, and not on any writer—I have a hard time reading about female perspectives and relationships as written by male authors. That's especially true when it comes to themes of violence or threats of violence. Again, this is probably unfair. I only bring it up because in ideal situations, I don't think about the author's perspective when reading the book. In this one, it at least crossed my mind.

Chilling but mostly I could not put it down though it became a little draggy in parts. Hateful people but an interesting plot.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley foaqn eARC of this book

i didn’t enjoy this book at all. It was filled with one dimensional characters who weren’t very likable. The prose was good but the plot was excruciatingly slow. Sorry but I cant recommend this book.

Elizabeth's twin sister has been missing for twenty years. She has never given up on the idea that she is still out there somewhere alive. She is living in a remote area in Alaska. When a stranger comes to town she is obligated to let him stay in her home. Strange things start to happen and she finds this stranger might know something about her sister's disappearance. This is a gripping book. The characters come alive and you find yourself not wanted to put this book down.

It's been twenty years since Elisabeth watched her twin sister disappear. Not a word about what has happened to her or if she is still alive has ever been uttered- until now. Elisabeth is lonely and misses her sister dearly and believes she could still be alive. She lives in a small town in Alaska and one day, Alfred, a dangerous stranger comes to town, commits a heinous crime and then only wants to talk to Elisabeth. He states he knows exactly what happened to her sister and he will tell her as long as she follows through with a few demands. Will Elisabeth follow through on the requests with the verbal promise that she will know the truth? Or is it all too much? This was definitely a unique and original story that kept my attention. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Else and her identical twin sister Jacqueline have a close but tempestuous relationship. After losing their mother at a young age, they have their dad, and each other. Else is clearly dad's favorite, causing Jacqueline to declare herself "the bad one." In an act of rebellion, she hatches what she calls "The Plan." She's met a man who claims to have lots of money who can help the sisters get out of town and allow them to have some exciting adventures. Else is wary, and tries to put a stop to it, but she's powerless to stop it and at age eleven, Jacqueline goes missing.

The novel flashes from a pre-WWII time frame back and forth to the girls' childhood. Grownup Else lives in remote Alaska with her teacher husband and daughter Margaret. When a substitute mail carrier pilot needs a place to stay, she feel obligated to help, and allows him to stay at their home overnight. When he does something unthinkable, he involves Else in his life by telling her he has information about her missing sister. Else will do anything to find Jacqueline, but how far is too far?

This book has been compared to The Dry, and that comparison holds true with the beautiful writing, and the intensely detailed setting descriptions of a place few know anything about. Unlike Jane Harper's works, though, the resolution left something to be desired. Until the very end, this was a five star read for me. I'm okay with purposefully leaving things a certain way if it's in the best interests of the story, but this was just disappointing. However, the characters, story, and writing style is fantastic. Despite the flawed ending, still a stellar read.

I'm struggling to put in words my thoughts of How Quickly She Disappears. On the one hand, it is original and atmospheric in a way that most authors can only dream of achieving, and while I feel neutral regarding the pacing of the novel, I did wrestle with the ending. It's really difficult going into a book, thinking it's a stand alone novel, and upon conclusion finding that there will most likely be a sequel or series of some sort. Comparing any story to the likes of The Silence of the Lambs and The Dry is setting up large, almost unfair expectations upon the author, but I also see why those comparisons were drawn. If you enjoy atmospheric mysteries, you should definitely give this one a try.

Raymond Fleischmann is a talented writer, and I was swept up in the prose of How Quickly She Disappears. Elizabeth aka Else, her daughter Margaret, her missing twin sister Jacqueline, Alfred Seidel, and so many other characters are written well and are compelling to read about. The suspenseful premise of the story--an isolated woman in Alaska, a murder, a missing sister... these things are all interesting to me, and it was fantastic to read and learn how Else makes up her mind about the next move in her life and how all these other characters fit into her story. However, I can't say I really liked any of the characters! Not Else, not Margaret, not Jacqueline. The ending was fitting but I can't say this is one I would recommend on the whole.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book! All opinions are my own.

😱😱😱 I cant even think of a more perfect fall/winter/ snuggle under the covers book. I had to glue my eyes open but I could not stop reading!

<p>Most of this story is set in Alaska at the beginning of World War Two, although there are long flashbacks to twenty years earlier in Pennsylvania. The narrator, Elizabeth, married with an daughter of her own, still obsesses over the loss of her twin sister, Jacqueline, who was kidnapped at age eleven and never found. When a stranger, Alfred, tells her he can take her to her twin, Elizabeth does everything he asks, even as her actions put a strain on her marriage and turn her friends against her.</p><p>The atmosphere of <i>How Quickly She Disappears</i> is dark and brooding throughout. It's well written, but almost depressing to read. Instead of suspense, I felt a looming sense of dread and despair. It takes a powerful writer to evoke that much emotion, so I'm giving it four stars. Not five, because in the end it all just seemed a little too contrived.

Beautifully written, will post full review closer to publication date...difficult to put down! A mystery as good as any I have recently read!

What lengths would you go to find the twin sister you love who has been missing for twenty years?

Elisabeth has never gotten over the disappearance of her twin sister, Jacqueline. Some twenty years later Elisabeth lives in Alaska, is a lonely married woman, with a daughter. A turn of events brings Alfred, a mysterious and perturbing stranger. And he has a secret.

Alfred tells Elisabeth he knows what happened to her sister but wants three gifts in return for what he knows. Desperate for answers, how far will Elisabeth’s need to learn the truth take her?

Set in 1940’s Alaska, the isolated setting is perfect for this unusual and eerie story. It drives Elisabeth’s loneliness and sadness and you feel it with her.

A good storyline, suspenseful and dark in the right places.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the read of Raymond Fleischmann’s, How Quickly She Disappears.

Opinions expressed in my reviews are my own.

What do you do when you believe with everything in you that you MUST keep going? Questionable decisions, frightening events, psychological twists, this book has them all.

Good. Not great. But good enough that I wouldn't recommend AGAINST reading it if it sounds interesting to you.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book.

A good read with a interesting plot that takes place in World War era Alaska. A lot of detail of rural Alaska and how the characters German background affects them in the pre WWII era. Good read for those looking for something unusual.

How Quickly She Disappears really has me conflicted. Elisabeth has not seen her twin sister, Jacqueline, since she disappeared but still believes that she is alive. One day, Alfred comes into her life and he proves to be nothing short of creepy and disturbing. Although, there appears to be no connection with Alfred's sudden appearance and Elisabeth, there is much more there than meets the eye.

How Quickly She Disappears started out slow but I was really intrigued by the characters and this helped me continue on. I didn't necessarily like them, but they kept my attention and the mystery of Elisabeth's sister had me hooked. I enjoyed how the author was able to bring us past and present in a clear manner so that we could understand how Elisabeth ended up where she is.

There were a few parts of the book that I had trouble believing and I do think that the author pushed the boundaries a bit. I really liked the ending but thought it made room for so many holes in the rest of the novel. It was a good idea, but rushed and disconnected from everything else. Overall I enjoyed parts of this novel and did care for others but it wasn't bad.

Interesting premise but a few too many plot lines. I found the resolution to be a little too fantastical and tidy; perhaps it needed more clues in the set up to be more believable. I don’t know. Just “eh” for me.