The Vanishing at Loxby Manor. By Abigail Wilson, Narrator: Laura Kirman. 2021. Thomas Nelson and Zondervan (ARC audiobook).

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor is a haunting mystery with wonderful lead characters and a very well done narration.

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor was an enjoyable audiobook to listen to. I found the narrator did a great job and I was immediately engulfed in the mystery. The story was quite suspenseful but I would have liked a bit more action.

Lovely, lovely audiobook with a great narrator. I loved the settings, the perfectly rounded characters, the mystery. This is not usually my favourite read, but completely enjoyed this one!

Charity Halliwell returns to Loxby Manor after five years from an awful.event that happened to her in Ceylon. She hopes for a nice visit with her friend, Celine, and to see her lost love, Pierce. Instead, Celine is missing, and a groom is murdered. Whodunit?

I enjoyed this audio very much being a fan of Bridgerton and similar period pieces. Great narration , abd intelligent story structure

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to listen and review this period piece.

Secret societies, a mysterious disappearance, an impending curricle race...and secrets everywhere you turn. Charity Halliwell and Piers Cavanagh have been swept up in - and divided by - secrets of their own. Brought together once more by a family scandal, they soon find themselves partnering up to solve a mystery with so many twists and turns that they need to rely on one another to unravel them all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Laura Kirman does an amazing job with the audiobook, perfectly capturing the emotion and mystery Abigail Wilson so cleverly constructed. There are hints sprinkled throughout the novel and I was able to identify the villain early on, but it had me reading on to see if I was correct, rather than keeping me from being absorbed in the mystery.

The only criticism I have is that the secondary characters tended to be all-to-willing to reveal their secrets when questioned by Charity and/or Piers. I found it a bit unrealistic for a secret society, especially since Charity is a woman of the period and Piers an outcast, even if they had been friends at one time.

The novel's ending was really well done, in my opinion. While Charity's actions were not exactly advisable with all that was going on, the writing had me captivated. There was a depth there that really held my attention and I absolutely had to hear what was going to happen next. The last few pages were especially thought-provoking, leaving the reader with some things to contemplate in their own relationships.

That being said, this was my first Abigail Wilson novel and absolute won't be my last.

An intriguing tale in the vein of romantic gothic novels from the past. Delicate issues are covered in a sensitive manner. The love story progresses at a wonderful pace while maintaining the questions and intrigue of the overarching story. It is hard to put this one down!

This was my first audiobook and although it´s a different platform, the story was SO good that it took me no time to get adjusted to it. If you are looking for a Regency romance full of mystery, intrigue, and long-lost love, this book is for you! The story is set in Kent, England, 1816, when the main character Charity returns to Loxby Manor moments before her friend Seline disappears. Charity finds herself in a middle of a missing case, where she tries everything to find her friend. Along the way, her long-lost love Piers, Seline´s brother, enters her life again, and Charity starts looking for more than just her friend, but also a way to amend the past and be finally happy with the man she always loved.

The story captivated me, and the mystery is solved almost in the end of the book, which makes Abigail Wilson a great suspense writer. This was my first time reading (or in this case, listening) to a story by Abigail and I loved it. I totally recommend it!

This review is for the audiobook. This is a nice regency romance with a bit of mystery. Charity returns to her home village and that same night her friend goes out and never returns.

The pacing was nice to let you know all the players and to also let the suspense build. The narrator was pleasant to listen to. I would recommend for fans of Bridgerton.

Thank you to netgalley for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was quite an interesting audiobook, it was full of themes I just love to read, gothic, mystery, historical fiction, it’s even set in the Regency period. This is a time period I love but never see much in literature.
I listened to the audiobook and I thought the narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story to life, I just did not want to finish it. I loved the characters, they were well rounded. The storyline was amazing.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor flew by for me. In it, you will meet Charity and Piers. After five years of being away, these two are finally reunited. Unfortunately, her friend Seline disappears the same night that Charity arrives home. It made seem a bit suspicious but Charity was definitely determined to find out what happened to her friend. Oh, and to actually find the girl alive as well.

This book had so many freaking secrets. At one point I wasn't expecting to get so many revealed but it was also sort of refreshing to finally know the truth. Each and every character kept me on my toes with their secrets and mysteries. So it's fair to assume that I was entertained from start to finish because I definitely was.

Besides all the twists and turns, I will admit that I didn't see the big reveal coming at the end. Which is why I devoured and fell in love with this book. Definitely happy that I got the chance to dive into this beautiful book and I look forward to the next one that Abigail writes!

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor is the first book that I have read by Abigail Wilson and I am very excited to read more by this author now. I thoroughly enjoyed this mysterious story from start to finish.

I listened to the audio book version and overall I enjoyed the narration. The author changed voices for the different characters and occasionally I wasn’t fond of a couple of the voices, but the main characters were voiced very nicely and I was definitely drawn into the story right from the beginning.

The mystery of Seline’s disappearance and the feeling that things were not quite right at Loxby Manor truly drove the story. I loved that Charity and Piers came together with a second chance at friendship and perhaps something more as they worked to uncover the strange happenings going on in the area. The overall mystery kept me guessing for most of the book and I found the second chance romance delightful.

I received a complimentary of this book. All opinions are my own.

Charity Halliwell has come to stay with the family of her childhood friend, Seline, while her parents are in America.  When Seline rushes off into the night to meet an unknown man and doesn't return, her older brother, Piers, is forced to return to the estate to join in the search.  Piers once held Charity's heart, but broke it with a single letter.  How will she face him again?

This is historical gothic mystery at its finest.  It is well written and superbly narrated.  Yes, the book is a bit of a romance, but the mystery takes center stage.  The book includes well-developed characters and a mature storyline.  I enjoyed it and will be looking for more books by this author and narrator.

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor was quite an enjoyable audiobook. I thought the narration was well done and captured the main character well. Her struggles were quite relatable to me making it very easy to connect with her and understand her motivations and fears. The mystery unfolds at a nice pace and is layered well. While I was able to figure out the ending before I finished the book it was still an enjoyable conclusion.

Every once in a while I like to read something different and this was perfect. It is one of those regency romance gothic mysteries and I really enjoyed. Great characters and a good storyline.

This was my first Abigail Wilson book and I already have plans to read more from her! Laura Kirman did an excellent job of bringing this story to life. I was a little worried some of the story lines wouldn't get wrapped up by the end but I was very pleased with how the story ended

To start, I obtained this as a audiobook. And I loved Laura Kirman as the narrator. She did a brilliant job. This was a historical, clean romance mystery and nothing about it was predictable. I was simply sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I loved how each part of the story in the beginning, played a role in the mystery later on. I thought that was clever and creative. The author is creative with describing scenes that emit the feelings. A lot of the story took place at night, making the house and the surrounding estate seem spooky and mysterious. It definitely set the scene for what was to happen later on in the story.

I also liked that this story was much more than just a love story between Piers and Charity. There was family drama, mystery of Selene’s disappearance, and tension between our main characters. Speaking of family drama - I liked that there were so many different things going on in the story. I really liked being surprised at the end as well!

The Vanishing at Loxby Manor is Abigail Wilson's 4th book. I don't remember the characters having a connection with any of the previous ones, but it's an excellent standalone read.

Wilson has written a solid Gothic Regency Romance novel with a cast of compelling characters, and some elements that hark back to the Classics, including a ruined Medieval Abbey. Local tradition speaks of a "ghost" which haunts the Abbey and strange lights are seen at night, adding an element of danger and intrigue.

Meanwhile who young people who are both social outcasts, Charity Halliwell, and the Peirs Cavanaugh, the younger son of a the local Baronial family, strike up a friendship whilst charity stays at Loxby Manor. When people start disappearing, they have to unravel dark and increasingly dangerous mystery and unearth terrible secrets.

The mystery and intrigue are quite central to the story (moreso than the Romance really) and I appreciated that. It makes it more than just a romance, and kind of harks back to how Gothic romances actually originated in the 19th century.
The novel also reminds me of the works of some of my favourite Regency authors, Julie Klassen and Sarah Ladd.

I don't think I've listened to an audiobook narrated by Laura Kirman before, but she also did a very good good. I do firmly believe novels set in Britain with British protagonists should have a British narrator, they just don't sound right otherwise. If Ms Kirman isn't British, she certainly had me fooled.
She handled the male and female characters well, and even the slight differences in intonation between the characters.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson through Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this title. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.

I received an advance copy of this audiobook. It is 9 hours long and I finished in a day! THAT"s how AWESOME this book is! It grabs you. I took it into the shower! I have only read one other of Abigail Wilson's books before this and now I'm excited to pick up more of them.

This had the perfect balance between sweet regency romance and heart-pounding Gothic mystery. Charity Halliwell arrives to stay with her old neighbors/family friends the Cavanaugh's at Loxby Manor in England after a five year absence. When their daughter Seline disappears, she teams up with her childhood love, Seline's brother Piers, to investigate. I kept changing my guess who the villain was up until the very end. The mark of a good mystery. I shall say no more.

The romance gives you the Pride & Prejudice butterflies and I would have kept reading even if that was the ONLY plot. Will Charity & Piers be able to work through all the lies that tore them apart and the trauma of the years since? This is the perfect book to escape with on your window seat on a misty rainy day. Highly recommend to fans of Gothic regency romance.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Publishing for providing me with a free digital audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Looking at all the rave reviews on this book, I appear to be in the minority. This book just was middle-of-the-road for me. I read the synopsis immediately upon finishing the book (I like to go into a book with as little information as possible) and was shocked to see that it was billed as a regency romance. While there is a hint of second-chance romance in this book, it is certainly not the focal point. This is much more of a historical mystery than anything else. I believe I would have enjoyed this book much more if the romance had been even marginally more involved in the story.

The narration was also middle-of-the-road. I was not able to distinguish one character from another based on her narration. All older characters sounded old, and all the younger characters sounded alike in their respective genders. The only person truly given a distinct voice was Mrs. Cavanagh.

As for the mystery aspect, I felt no spark of intrigue as clues were revealed. When the final twist emerged, what should have been a shocking realization just fell flat.

I read most books on audio, so I do not believe that the format had anything to do with my average rating. This book unfortunately just did not work for me.