Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the copy of this eARC for my honest review. All ratings and any reviews are opinions of my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

"The Summer She Vanished" by Jessica Irena Smith is a riveting crime thriller that grips you from the first page and refuses to let go. Set in the small town of Boweridge, the novel weaves a complex tapestry of mystery and suspense around the disappearance of seventeen-year-old Minna Larson and the murder of Sister Francesca Pepitone, two events separated by time but bound by a thread of dark secrets.

Smith's debut novel is a masterclass in tension and pacing. The narrative alternates between the past and the present, slowly unraveling the truth behind the two cases. The protagonist, Maggie, Minna's niece, is a compelling character whose determination to uncover the truth about her aunt's disappearance leads her down a path filled with twists and turns.

The author's background as a glass artist is evident in the meticulous construction of the plot, each piece fitting together with precision to reveal the stained glass picture of a town's hidden past. Smith's prose is sharp and evocative, capturing the oppressive atmosphere of a community haunted by its history.

What stands out in "The Summer She Vanished" is the authenticity of its setting and characters. Boweridge feels like a character in its own right, with its small-town dynamics and long-buried secrets creating a backdrop that is as intriguing as it is eerie. The residents of Boweridge are portrayed with depth and complexity, their flaws and motivations adding layers to the unfolding drama.

The novel's resolution is satisfying yet haunting, leaving readers to ponder the lengths to which people will go to protect their secrets. Smith's ability to balance the warmth of human relationships with the chill of betrayal makes for a story that is not only thrilling but also emotionally resonant.

In conclusion, "The Summer She Vanished" is a standout addition to the crime thriller genre. It is a book that promises to keep you up at night, both because you can't stop reading and because it leaves you with a lingering sense of unease about the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of everyday life. Jessica Irena Smith has crafted a debut that is both a page-turner and a thought-provoker, making her a new voice in crime fiction worth watching.

A captivating idea for a book. The characters were well developed and I didn’t predict any of the twists or turns. My problems with this book were 1. Maggie didn’t know she had an aunt until her grandmother’s funeral. 2. The book was very slow in some parts. 3. Felt more like a cold case thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a 3-3.5 ish for me! This one was a slow burn. It seemed like Maggie got a lot of info to help solve the crime but the book wasn’t even 30% in. I struggle with slow burns some times. It had good twists and turns and a good shocking part to it but the ending kind of eh it for me! Just because I didn't love it doesn't mean you wont, to each and there own when it comes to books.

T he author did an incredible job weaving together the story with past and present. The character building was done so well and had me feeling like I personally knew the people of Boweridge. There were characters I loved, others I hated, and many had me feeling very emotionally invested in their parts of the story.

Unfortunately I found this very difficult to get in to. The premise is definitely interesting and something I would usually enjoy but I found the characters incredibly difficult to get to know and like.

I personally wouldn’t recommend this but can see why other readers would enjoy it.

The Summer She Vanished follows Maggie, who has recently returned home for her grandmother's funeral. While staying with her mom, even though they have a bit of a strained relationship, she finds a photo that shows a group of kids (her mom's siblings) but there seems to be an extra person in the photo, another girl. After doing some digging Maggie finds out that this other girl is her aunt Minna, who disappeared decades before and no one has heard from her since. Maggie falls down a bit of a rabbit hole in her search for Minna's story. It turns out Minna's teacher, Sister Fran, was found murdered in a diner parking lot. One week later Minna disappeared. Are the cases connected or is this just a coincidence?

I enjoyed this read. It didn't wander too far off the path of figuring out the cases; some books focus on too many side twists that take away from the main purpose but not this one. It's a fairly quick read but with a great amount of details. What I enjoyed the most was the emphasis on how different relationships work within a family and how sometimes families aren't actually picture perfect. It was great to follow along, trying to figure out the clues as I went before the characters did.

I would recommend this book to someone who likes figuring out cold cases and imperfect families. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free. This was my honest review.

I wanted to like this one but I really struggled to connect to the characters. I love a cold case story so I was hoping for a little more. Sometimes it felt a little unrealistic to me.

Maggie has come home to America for her grandmother's funeral. Her mother is emotionally manipulative, and she left 15 years ago to move to the UK with her father. Maggie discovers that when her mother was 10, her older sister disappeared, and no one ever spoke of her again. Minna was 17 when she disappeared, and had been telling people she knew who had killed her English teacher, Sister Francesca, from her all girls catholic high school. While some people had seen coincidences between the murder and the disappearance, secrets in a small town stay hidden. Maggie joins an ex-classmate of Minna's and the grandson of the cop who worked both cases, in order to discover what happened to Minna and Sister Fran. This book is the author's debut, and I was surprised considering how well written it was. It actually seemed a real way to solve a case in 2023. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

4/5
The Summer She Vanished is a mystery for those who love sorting out all the clues.

What I liked most about The Summer She Vanished was how hard it leaned into the action of investigating the murder of Sister Fran and the disappearance of Minna. This isn’t your typical suspense/thriller with an unreliable narrator and a bunch of side-plot drama. No, this story is really focused on the case and it feels like each new scene was a new clue or lead or interview to share more information about what happened all those years ago. It kept the pace moving and the story engaging.

So where did it lose a star? Unfortunately, The Summer She Vanished lacked that ominous sense of suspense that comes with a psychological thriller. Because all the “action” happened 40+ years ago, there wasn’t as much tension for the current timeline. Also, there were just a few too many European references or colloquialisms for me in a book that is supposed to be set in the US with a narrator who grew up there (it felt like she had never visited the States before, as opposed to spending many of her formative years there).

Overall, an interesting read and fun to piece together every side of the story.

Note: Check content warnings as some ongoing themes may be triggering for some readers.

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I really enjoyed this. A clever tale of a small town mystery gone unsolved. Lots of dark sinister forces in this small town and maybe the truth should not be fully uncovered for fear of repercussions...... the link from the past to the present had me pretty hooked, I definitely enjoyed this one. Love the Grandpa's notes coming into it too, very clever

Overall I really enjoyed this book! As a debut novel - it’s a very strong start for this author! I agree with other reviews where although it is listed as a physiological thriller, definitely more cold case mystery vibes. Overall, a suspenseful story which left me wanted to read more and figure out the end! The twists were great and I did really enjoy the main character. Thank you to both Netgalley and the author for approving me for this arc!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the novel and the storylines. The ending was implausible, however. The eloquence of the confession letter was unrealistic, and the victim switch was also unbelievable. Nonetheless, it was a good read.

A good debut novel . I felt it had enough twists and turns to keep you engaged and felt it was well plotted although it dragged a bit in the middle.
Thanks to Netgalley and his the publisher for letting me review book

This was a good book full of twists and turns. Definitely did not see the plot twist at the end coming, definitely a shocker and kept me hooked until the very end!

I've only recently decided that I want to dive a little deeper into psychological thrillers after having read a couple of really good ones in the spring, so when this one popped up on my Netgalley feed, I just requested it on a whim.

The premise sounded promising enough, the characters intriguing and I was looking forward to lots and lots of unforeseeable twists. The book delivered on the latter two aspects, but the premise was a little far fetched, but I will get to that later.

I really liked all of the characters, but especially Maggie's uncle and her sidekick Gretchen. All of the others were well-developed, too, however, even though I would have liked some more development of the relationships between Maggie and her mother, or Maggie and her supervisor. I wasn't all that happy with how the allusions to Simon's behaviour were at first so vague (although anyone could guess what that was about) and then not cleared up very much at all, in terms of Maggie's thoughts and feelings. That whole subplot felt rather passive to me when I would have appreciated more insight and depth to it.

The plot was pretty solid and though I didn't really understand Maggie's motivation to dig up that whole past, it was entertaining and I was very surprised by some of the turns of events.

What I struggled with throughout the whole book and what made me feel disconnected from the story quite a bit was how Maggie had never heard of her aunt until coming home for her grandmother's funeral. Neither her mom (who, admittedly, doesn't seem like a reliable source of information anyway) nor her uncles or anyone else has ever mentioned her and there have not been any pictures around, but all of a sudden everyone she meets tells her how much she looks like her aunt? When she very much still lived in that town when she was only a little younger than her aunt was when she vanished? I.e., when Maggie must have looked most like her aunt? That honestly just seems a little far-fetched.

All in all, this was a middle-of-the-road read for me, but then again I am quite new to the genre, and what doesn't work for me might work for so many other readers out there!

3/5 stars.

It took me so long to read this one but I'm glad I kept at it. Yes, it did feel a bit drawn out in places and could have probably been shorter than it was and just as good, but for a debut novel I can't complain!

Got an ARC on netgalley, not a bad read but a little predictable and drawn out. A lot of it could have been compiled into a shorter book

NetGalley gifted this ARC. Not a bad read, although a bit drawn out, the plot was good and I did enjoy,

Maggie never knew she had an aunt, let alone one who disappeared 40 years earlier. As she asks around, she learns that her aunt went missing a week after a popular nun was murdered. It seems like the two cases were related, but the more she digs, the more she learns her hometown's terrible secrets.

I thought this was a fantastic book from a debut author. You're pulled into Maggie's investigation and are fed clues that keep you turning the page. The mystery was intriguing, and the answers were clever. I highly enjoyed this read and recommend it to others.