Everything about this book screamed to me. The title told me it would be about some sort of mystery or abduction, and I've been hooked on thrillers lately so I grappled on. In just the first few pages, I could feel the author grabbing onto me, saying, "Keep reading! I promise you won't be disappointed!" SPOILER ALERT: She was right. I wasn't!

"The Day I Disappeared" alternates between the POV of Holly, who was abducted at age 3 and then returned, almost unscathed, three months later, and her alcoholic mother, Cecily, who narrates all of her thoughts from a coma. With both narrators being scarred from their past and, in turn, relatively unreliable, it made for an intriguing read! Is Holly remembering correctly, or are these just dreams? Was Cecily too drunk, or blinded by her demons, to remember correctly?

Once I started Reeds' novel, I could barely put it down. I read it in just two sittings, with the twisty, dark plot captivating me at every turn. Every time I thought I knew who done it, something made me change my mind. It was well-paced, with enough action to keep me intrigued the entire time.

The one thing that bothered me was the MC's best friend, Kitten. First off, who names a character Kitten? Sorry, that irked me. She was just a total bridezilla and I didn't feel like that was necessary to the story; it was more aggravating. To be fair, she got better towards the end!

I highly recommend this for fans of Gone Girl or The Wife Between Us!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Holly was abducted as a 5 year old but was returned home, unharmed 90 days later. Now, with someone in jail, 10 other girls have been abducted. Can she help? It was good but I figured it out. #thedayidisappeared #brandireeds #aug2020

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing⁣
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I give you this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It's a story about a little girl who was kidnapped but returned to her family after a few months, and this little girl grew up without any memories of those months she spent with her kidnapper. Now, as an adult, she found out that there more kidnapping going on, and the victims are mostly little girls. She wants to help, and everything started to unfold. There are many deceptions about this story, a sensible plot, and no way of telling who's the real villain right away. I truly enjoyed it; it's a page-turner. ⁣

"Virtually unharmed, there she sat at the top of the slide in the very park from which she'd been taken, in a pristine white nightgown, with crystalline snow falling all around her. The eighth of January. Her homecoming."

Holly cannot remember anything about her ninety-four-day abduction from a park. She cannot remember where, why or when she was taken. After being returned with only a injury on her arm her family life remained in shambles. Her father continuously ignored her questions of the kidnapping and her mother's alcoholism continued. A man based on the description her childhood friend Kitten gave was arrested and convicted for her kidnapping.

Now twenty years later, Holly begins to have small snip its of memories about her abduction. It is when Officer Guidry calls her to ask questions she is told that the man arrested for her abduction could be the wrong person or there is a copycat because new cases are mirrored to hers but the girls are being murdered. Holly becomes determined to remember her abduction, but her father is not answering questions and her mother, Cecily, who police believed knew more about Holly's abduction then she told, is lying in a coma after a car accident. The answers need to come soon as Holly maybe the only person who holds the answers to where the last kidnapped little girl is being kept.

I very seldom finish a book in a day. This book grabbed my attention from the first page. Brandi Reeds does a fabulous job intertwining Holly's perspective and Cecily’s to keep readers engaged. The characters are built wonderfully, and the plot builds with each chapter. Just when you think you know who the kidnapper is and why they did it, a twist is thrown in to make you keep reading until the end.

I would like to thank Brandi Reeds, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a chance to read this ARC.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this in return for an honest review.

I thought it was a bit slow to get going after the initial prologue. However, there were plenty of twists, so you had no idea how it was going to end. I would definitely recommend this to anybody who is a fan of mystery thrillers

The Day I Disappeared is a suspenseful page turner that keeps you hooked and on the edge of your seat trying to predict what will come next.

I received an ARC of this book, thank you netgalley. This book was really good, it was a page turner for me and it kept me guessing right to the end. There were a few good twist and turns of events which was really good and for me I didn't find out easily who it was, which was good.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected pub date: August 25, 2020
“The Day I Disappeared” is the fourth novel by author Brandi Reeds, although she has previously written some YA novels under a pseudonym. This novel was my introduction to Ms. Reeds, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.
Holly Gebhardt was kidnapped at four years old, taken right in front of her mother and best friend at a local park. Three months later, she was returned to the same park, unharmed and completely without any memory of what had happened to her. Twenty years later, Holly is working as a journeyman in her father’s construction business and is trying to balance her on-again-off-again relationship with her mother’s illness. When girls start disappearing, and clues that indicate they may be related to Holly’s case start appearing, Holly is drawn back to those days she was missing. The man who allegedly kidnapped Holly is behind bars, but why are girls disappearing in the same exact way, and why are they all being found dead? Who kidnapped Holly and, most importantly, why was Holly left alive?
This novel is told from two viewpoints. Although Holly is our main protagonist and most of the story is hers, we still get snippets of the story told from Cecily, Holly’s mother, as she lies in a hospital in a coma, incurred after an auto accident. Both views are particularly intriguing- Holly relives her kidnapping through the brief glimpses of memories she has from those months, and Cecily gives the relevant background information, which provides suspect theories and character development. The story being told this way increases the suspense, and allows the reader to become immersed in the dramatic plot.
As characters are introduced, there are individuals who can be eliminated as suspects right away. But there are a few remaining ones who linger at the back of your mind like an itch, as they have just enough suspicion to garner a possibility. I thought I had the entire ending of this story figured out—until I didn’t.
Well told and suspenseful, this novel tells the story of a missing girl and turns it on its head. Suspects are introduced and carefully eliminated and the ending of the novel provides a succinct and satisfying conclusion. Although I wasn’t 100% sold on this novel at the beginning, once it pulled me in, “The Day I Disappeared” became one heck of a page turner.

Wasn't my type of book. I finished it, but I struggled. It was well written but not my kind of story. Would recommend to someone else though.

I enjoyed reading this book it kept my attention throughout till the end. Unfortunately the only negative I have is that there are so many kidnapping etc books out now it must be over the top for 5 stars for me.

I really enjoyed this book. As a child Holly was kidnapped only to be returned three months later. Twenty years later Holly still can’t remember what happened to her during that time and after the discovery of more missing girls it looks like the man currently locked up may not have been responsible for her kidnapping after all. As Holly tries to remember events that shaped her life as well as trying to discover what her mother knew and how she ended up in a coma it creates a story that weaves suspense and drama and I love it. A great read.

This was a wonderful mother-daughter unity story with suspense and thrills! It was a classic kidnapping and detective story which I really enjoy. It had some real deep moments when the mother would share her feelings towards her missing daughter.

Wow this is a thriller.... A must read if you like thrillers.

I was gripped by this strange story that keeps you guessing right upto 82%. But even then I was still unsure. Its a who done it but not a murder, who kidnapped Holly.

Holly lived to tell the tale and to seek out her adductor. The story is told by Holly and her mum Cecily and each chapter offers a thought provoking dose of intriguing anticipation.

I loved this book, it's well written and thought out precisely to keep you guessing, a worth entry into my top 10 of 2020.

#NetGalley #thedayidissappeared #books #review #mustread2020

I would like to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and author Brandi Reeds Ashford for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

This was a very well written novel. I like the author’s writing style, this being the first time I have read any of her work. The plot was interesting and I was kept guessing the whole way through. The twists and turns weren’t expected and kept me wondering. I also enjoyed the different point of views explored in this novel. I couldn’t figure this one out until the final pages, and that’s hard to find!

Thank you to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A 4 year old girl is abducted and returned 3 months later. Fast forward 20 years and similar abductions are happening again. Is the correct abducter in jail? Are there more than 1? What about the mum in a coma? Lots of red herrings and kept me turning the pages all night, finished it in a couple of days, I just had to know who and how.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is the second Brandi Reeds book I've read (the first being Trespassing) and I think she's really got this whole family dysfunction, secrecy, and lies thing down. The basic premise is that a four-year-old child named Holly goes missing for three months and is returned to the same spot from where she was taken, unharmed, and with no memory of where she's been or who she's been with. Crazy right? Well, that little girl is now an adult, and while they locked up a guy for her kidnapping a long time ago, more kids are being kidnapped now. Holly wants to revisit the past and try to help the police, but she's not the most reliable....she drinks too much and blacks out. So did they get the right man all those years ago? Does Holly know more than she's saying? And what about Holly's mom, who has her own crazy issues going on? This story is like an onion, with so many layers to unravel. I really got a kick out of it.

I absolutely loved the author's writing style but I felt I couldn't fully get into this book. Parts of the book felt choppy and sometimes quite confusing; aspects felt a little too convenient at times. Admittedly I struggled to finish it, but felt that the premise itself was great.

Holly was kidnapped when she was 5. She was held for 94 days before being returned to her family unharmed. Now an adult she has no memory of her time away from her parents, but when a detective tells her other girls have gone missing, and not all have survived, she needs to get her memory back and fast. A little girls life depends on it. This is a well written book with a clever plot and lots of other complex, underlying stories of family secrets and deceit. The characters are believable and relatable and you find yourself needing to know what happens next. I read this in a day. I really enjoyed this author's style of writing and will be looking to download more of her work

This one was really good. Holly cannot remember being kidnapped for three months when she was four suddenly finds the police are looking into her case--and others.

The characters are, for the most part, well-written and developed and the reader understands the connections between them. The mystery is tight, with a lot of suspects but none of them really seem too far-fetched--including Holly's parents. I really liked the second narrator (Holly's mom) offering glimpses of the past and rounding out the story so the reader understood the motivations of decisions. The only thing I didn't like was the ending--it felt a little too pat for me, which is why it didn't get another star.

Thanks to Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this before it is published.