The Nature of Disappearing is the latest suspense novel by Kimi Cunningham Grant, author of These Silent Woods, one of my favorite books.

I was excited to get a copy of this story that will be released on June 18, 2024. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, the author, and NetGalley for my ARC!

Just like These Silent Woods, The Nature of Disappearing takes place outdoors.

Emlyn is a wilderness guide. She lives a safe life in Idaho where she takes people on fishing and hunting trips.

One day, Tyler, a man she thought she loved, tells her that her old best friend, Janessa, is missing. Janessa is an influencer documenting her adventures in her van and has not posted on her account in over a week. Due to Emlyn’s knowledge of the wilderness and the fact that Janessa was her best friend, Emlyn sets out with Tyler to find Janessa. During this journey, she confronts the past, trying to save her friend. The reader will ask questions such as, “What happened between Tyler, Janessa, and Emlyn that has caused them to not be as close?” and “Where is Janessa now?”

This story was one I was anxiously looking forward to reading! Although this was not a five-star book for me, I would give it four stars and would encourage readers who love the wilderness and suspense to pick this one up.

Normally I end my reviews with my thanks but the publisher was so kind in providing me with an ARC of this when I reached out, with no hesitation. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur, NetGalley & also to Kimi Cunningham Grant for her help in facilitating me getting my hands on her new book.

Kimi, you had me with These Silent Woods 🖤

I have now read three books of Grant’s & while this wasn’t my favorite she’s officially hit my list of auto-read authors. She is an exceptional writer, when you’re reading her book you are there in that moment seeing/feeling all that the characters see. The descriptiveness of the land (Wilderness💙😉) was exceptional to say the least. With this particular book it did keep my interest from the get go. But overall the actual plot didn’t quite do it for me, like another reviewer mentioned it fell kind of flat (for lack of a better word). With TSW it was a great balance of plot & description. This one was more so experiencing the outdoors through the characters eyes. I personally wish the book had more time with some of the characters (maybe a bit of a longer book to include more of them), and/or maybe less of others. In my opinion some missed opportunity for some romance/plot/readers connecting to characters.

The ending was technically a good ending with where the characters went separately/together but not the way I’d have written out the ending. A bit too short of an ending for my liking. I ended the book wanting more..more romance, more loose ends tied up with characters.

Overall a good book! I can’t say I’d necessarily say to go out & read it asap but for fans of Grant add this to your tbr. I will absolutely read her next book & I still want to go back & read an older one of hers that I haven’t read yet.

Thank you again St. Martin’s, Minotaur, NetGalley & the author- I appreciate you all!!

I am unfortunately at a 3 for stars because of plot. If I was rating it based solely off of the writing it would get a full five. With that being said I’m gonna meet in the middle & give 4 ⭐️

Kimi you’re incredible & I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us readers with your next book. Don’t change 🖤

OH - for anybody that’s going to read this, make sure you read the authors note as well as the acknowledgment at the end of the book 🤗💖

I love this book!!! Definitely more of a “romantic suspense” story - light on the romance, heavier on the suspense. But I thoroughly enjoyed the journey the author took me on. I felt invested from the get go, and even though the ending wasn’t entirely shocking, it kept me interested until the very last page.

Right from the very first page. was drawn into the story. At the end of each chapter I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. I couldn't put it down! I could empathize with how Emlyn was feeling and really felt like I was right there with her going through the journey she was. . From the duel timeline to the development of the characters I loved it all. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

The Nature of Disappearing by Kiki Cunningham Grant. I enjoyed the first third of the but then found myself saying, I don’t care what happened five years ago, get on with it. I skipped a lot because I just wasn’t engaged with the past. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

I know they say to not judge a book by it's cover but I definitely did in this case. I am an outdoor enthusiast and I was intrigued. The book was set over multiple timelines so while you knew a falling out happened between the main characters, you did not know exactly what happened until much later. Therefore the book drew me in and was a page turner! The descriptions of nature were rich and I felt like I was there.

There were some plot points toward the end that I didn't love but overall thought it was a good ending and a quick easy read

I would definitely check out a different book by this author

3.5/5 stars!

TW drug addiction

I loved this book and I couldn't put it down! The enjoyed seeing the protagonist come into her own over the course of the book, and I loved how the dual time line only let the reader in on the necessary information a little at a time. I fell in love with the main character. The plot was twisty and engaging and about a world/passion that I know nothing about, so I learned a little too. I loved Grant's first book, it was the top rated book I read the year it came out, so I was super excited to read this one. The best part was that this book was still so engaging and yet completely different from the first book. This is an auto-buy author for me for sure!

I quite enjoyed The Nature of Disappearing. The overall pacing of the book was just right, and I found Emlyn to be a likeable protagonist. It was nice to read a thriller that was based mostly in nature. It's been a while since I've read one that focuses on the outdoors, and I really appreciate the change of scenery.

I was not expecting the book to go where it did towards the end, which made it that much more engaging.

I highly recommend picking this up for for an easy summer read!

Book Title: The Nature of Disappearing
Author: Kimi Cunningham Grant
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press- Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: June 18, 2024
My Rating: 3.7 Stars Rounded up
Pages: 304

Emlyn’s life is simple,
She works as fishing and hunting guide, spending her days in Idaho’s endless woods and scenic rivers. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer, her closest friend is a Forest Service ranger and the community’s makeshift reverend, who took her in at her lowest.
Additionally she has been trying to deal with Tyler, the man she thought was the love of her life, until he left her on the side of the road three years ago.

Emlyn is enjoying her job guiding clients sometimes fishing sometimes hunting. When one of her clients John Thomas insists on lunch at the Sunny Creek Lodge she is not happy about it but knows it is part of the job. After they eat as Emlyn is paying the bill and notices a small TV in the bar that is reporting a missing person. When the picture is shown, Emlyn recognizes the person! it is Janessa who was not just her best friend but they were confidantes, allies, However more recently they haven’t spoken to each other. Janessa has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife adventures with her rugged survivalist boyfriend.

She knows that she needs Tyler her ex-boyfriend who was such a disappointment, to help find Janessa and accompany her into the deep Idaho wilderness.

Story goes into their past which was interesting, also we join their present journey.

Story is good - True! I was totally spoiled by my first Kimi Cunningham Grant story " These Silent Woods'.
I loved everything about it. . the characters were wonderful.. It was simply a beautiful story
Now looking forward to the next wilderness story!

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press - Minotaur Books, for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 18, 2024

I absolutely loved These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant so I was super excited for this one!

The setting in Cunningham Grants stories are unlike any other and I feel like I am literally alongside of the characters. The ending was a bit abrupt for me, but I otherwise enjoyed this one and can’t wait to see what comes next from this author!

3.5 stars rounded up!

It took me a good 25% of the book to really get into it, but once I did, I was invested. Like the other Kimi Cunningham Grant novel that I read, the setting is very atmospheric and almost a character in itself.

I love the wilderness and damaged people, which are the two main features of this book. So I was surprised and disappointed that the book didn't really work for me.

I was turned off in the early going of this tale of a van-living social media poster gone missing by the mention that they'd last been in the particular national forest where the real life van-living social media poster was found murdered a few years ago. I thought that was in poor taste.

The switching back and forth in time didn't seem to add much for me, and the book was a little more religious than I like.

I do prefer the author's original title mentioned in her note at the end of the book, but this one likely is more marketable.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Thanks again to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read the advanced reader copy for this book that releases June 18th!

Anyone who loves the Wilderness will likely love this book. This is the third Kimi Cunningham Grant book I've read, and overall, I absolutely love the way she writes. This book flowed back and forth between the past and present for Emlyn, who works as a wilderness guide for people who visit Idaho and want to fish or hunt. The past shows some troubling things that have happened to Emlyn and has ultimately shaped who she is. Because of this back and forth the past is playing out to the reader the same time as the present, where she has teamed up with a no good ex in order to find her best friend who's lost in the woods. Kimi Cunningham Grant is great at slow burns. She will set you up with all the back story to make you care about the character, and then about 60-70% of the way in, she'll take you on a roller coaster ride of twists and turns. This is a solid 4 ⭐️ read for me. Again, it releases June 18th but if you can't wait, check out These Silent Woods which was a 5⭐️ read from Kimi Cunningham Grant for me last year.

This one was just okay for me. I wasn’t able to connect with the characters. The ending fell flat and the build up to it didn’t really make sense to me. These Silent Woods was one of my favorite reads last year and it’s possible that I am unfairly comparing the two and not realizing it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC!
Spoiler alert 🚨🚨🚨
I honestly was expecting more out of this book. The location, fantastic. Characters, fine. Minus the bad guys. But the fact that there was so much build up, that led up to practically nothing, was extremely disappointing. For them to have all this build up, hike 15 miles through the forest, for Janessa to be fine, and then for Bush and Tyler to disappear, to be caught again, with a small fight, and then be tied up, was not it for me. The ending was pretty abrupt. Like “yep, they got caught,” and that was it. I was expecting more and just needed more out of this than what was given to me. Severely underwhelming and I’m honestly upset about it because I wanted this to be better than it was. I needed it to be better than it was.

She does it again!!! I can’t get enough of her writing. I believe she has mastered the art of mixing mystery and nature perfectly. I felt that I was hiking right alongside them and dipping my toes in the lake while they fished.

She writes strong females that I can get behind!!

If you are a fan of van life I think you’d really enjoy this book.

Right off the bat, as an Idaho resident, I was excited to see a book placed in our state, it does not seem to happen often. I went into this book, somewhat blindly, I had read These Silent Woods and wanted more from this author. The beginning of this book had me hooked, and it definitely took a turn in a direction I was not expecting. The ending fell a bit flat for me but overall, I was happy with this read.

Emlyn has spent the last three years healing from a terrible trauma, and she's doing all right, thank you very much. After an injury and then being abandoned in the wood by her drug-addicted boyfriend Tyler, she has managed reclaim her life and to cobble out a career as a fishing and hunting guide in the central Idaho wilderness. She has new friends and a spiritual mentor, and lives in an Airstream trailer. Life is life until the past comes calling. Tyler contacts her to let her know her former best friend Janessa has gone missing. A popular Instagram influencer, Janessa travels wilderness areas with her boyfriend, but she hasn't posted in a week. Something is very wrong. Emlyn has been working at patching up her relationship with Janessa, and she will do anything to help. So she and Tyler embark on a wilderness journey of their own--to find the missing Janessa. THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING. takes the reader on a wild ride through the beautiful and challenging central Idaho landscape. As Emlyn and Tyler forge deeper into the wild, disturbing signs warn of dangers ahead. And Emlyn realizes she never quite got over Tyler. And then, the reckoning! It's an exciting read set against a thrilling backdrop with a twisty, turny ending!

What a ride! This book grabs you from page one. You are take along Emlyn’s journey as she navigates relationships and the wilderness. A wonderful main character, and a great mystery.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

This read a lot like a product placement advertising gambit….

Or am I just cynical?

Well.

It wasn’t a bad book. But it was weirdly…..ummm…flat?

I would give it 2.5 stars if I could. BUT WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THAT YOU MUTHA-FUCKAS.

Ahem.

So, rounding down. Mostly because (left alone with adult supervision) I’ve also finished a 4-star book today, and read a 3-star one. So the competition is stiff.

Probably won’t read anything else by this author.

DESCRIPTION
In this captivating novel of suspense from the USA Today bestselling author of These Silent Woods, a wilderness guide must team up with the man who ruined her life years ago when the friend who introduced them goes missing.

Emlyn doesn't let herself think about the past.

How she and her best friend, Janessa, barely speak anymore. How Tyler, the love of her life, left her half dead on the side of the road three years ago.

Her new life is simple and safe. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer and works as a fishing and hunting guide in scenic Idaho. Her closest friends are the community's makeshift reverend and a handsome Forest Service ranger who took her in at her lowest.

But when Tyler shows up with the news that Janessa is missing, Emlyn is propelled back into the world she worked so hard to forget. Janessa has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife adventures with her rugged boyfriend. She hasn't posted lately, though, and when Emlyn realizes the most recent photo doesn't match up with its caption, she reluctantly joins Tyler to find her old friend. As the two trace Janessa's path through miles of wild country, Emlyn can't deny the chemistry still crackling between them. But the deeper they press into the wilderness, the more she begins to suspect that a darker truth lies in the woods—and that Janessa isn't the only one in danger.

Poignant, suspenseful, and unforgettable, Kimi Cunningham Grant's THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING explores what it takes to start over—and the cost of letting the past pull you back in.