I liked the sound of this book, and i usually like books by Australian authors ,but struggled with this one.It was a bit too slow and plodding for me and not much seemed to be happening .I wanted and expected something a bit more dynamic.Sorry this one didn't hit the spot for me.

This book reminded me of an Australian retelling of the Virgin Suicides from a female perspective but it is so much more than that. The writing was beautiful and I enjoyed how the writing made the story progress so effortlessly. The main character, Tikka, was developed enough as I found that she didn't need to be as developed as she wasn't the true focus for me. I liked the three Van Apfel girls a lot and they were the true stars of the book. The mystery was switched between two time periods and this meant as a reader we got to see the time periods explored well. The drama was well-paced and the list of suspects was ever-changing for me.

Rather obviously, this novel follows the disappearance of the Van Apfel girls - three sisters. The novel is set in Australia and the sisters disappear into the unknown during a school play at the local amphitheatre and are never to be seen again. It's written from the perspective of Tikka, a friend of the sisters, and follows her trouble in accepting that the Van Apfel girls are actually gone.
I was initially really excited to read this book and was thrilled when I was granted a review copy by NetGalley (thanks!). However, the book failed to pull me in completely. I felt like the story began to pick up at around 30% through, but it just sort of fizzled out. I think my problem with this book was the fact that there was no conclusive ending to it, which I expect in most narratives due to typical expectations when picking up any novel. In retrospect, I should have looked more clearly at the novel's description, as it states 'the mystery of their disappearance remains unsolved forever' - the narrative really stays true to this statement.
I thought the characters in the novel were all rather serious, especially for young girls. However, this is quite acceptable through the issues highlighted within the novel such as abuse from parents and inappropriate relationships with teachers are implied. I think this was, overall, a good read. I wouldn't pick it up again ... but I didn't hate it. For me, it just didn't meet my particular expectations of narrative or tone.