3.5/5 — This is my first time reading a book by this author and it was really well written, I would definitely pick up another book by her. I really appreciated her love of nature & the outdoors, it was apparent in her writing. I also enjoyed our main character and the parallels of being lost in the literal wilderness as well as emotional & personal wilderness and how to navigate those challenges.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. all opinions are my own.

This was interesting and kept my attention. I would recommend!

"This is the moment Emlyn will play over and over in her mind. The moment where her life swivels from its course and heads in an entirely different direction. Life is full of these moments. Little points like those connect-the-dots activities from grade school. Each speck building on the next to form the shape of a person's story."⁣
⁣
Two for two. I loved These Silent Hills and I really enjoyed this one (even if I didn't love the ending).⁣
⁣
I went in blind because of how much I enjoyed These Silent Hills and I think that led to the propulsiveness for me. The only thing I'd say is there is a person that goes missing...⁣
⁣
Do you read full summaries for mystery/thrillers? I find they can give too much away so the most I'll read is the first, short paragraph of a summary.⁣
⁣
Thank you @netgalley for this free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.⁣
.

This was a good book, a little slow but well written. I would give this author another try on their next book

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

This author has become an auto-buy for me. I just get so consumed in her writing and characters, and I can't flip the pages fast enough. I definitely recommend this one!

I felt the ending was too rushed and became entirely too unbelievable. These two things really soured the rest of the book for me

There is no one better at setting an atmosphere scene like Kimi Cunningham Grant. Whether deep in the mountains of Appalachia or the wilderness of Idaho, nature and the wild itself are always a featured character, and one that adds a dark and moody vibe.

The story was told spanning multiple different time periods in the main character, Emlyn's life. Bits and pieces of her past were revealed gradually along with the present day perspective and the mysterious elements were enough to keep me hooked and turning pages,

While this one wasn’t quite what I was expecting following her knockout with These Silent Woods, I still enjoyed reading it,

Read if you like:
• atmospheric reads
• friendship drama
• wilderness setting
• true crime elements

I have always wanted to go on a white water rafting, hiking, out in the wilderness type trip so this was super intriguing to me. I feel like these kinds of out in nature settings lend themselves to thrillers so well. I really enjoyed the aspect of the main character being the wilderness guide and was kept on the edge of my seat the whole way throughout. I wasn't necessarily wow'ed but it was a good solid thriller.

I DEVOURED The Nature of Disappearing by @kimicgrant . Thank you, @williammorrowbooks , for my #gifted copy.

There are deeper darker topics explored here but it’s ultimately about survival in both a literal and figurative sense. How do we survive the wilderness but how do we survive the wilderness inside of ourselves? How do we overcome our pasts to change the path of our future?

I feel like I know these characters and I’m sad to see them go. I want to see what their futures hold but I’ll focus on the beautiful, hopeful ending. This book will stay with me for a very long time.

I absolutely love Kimi Cunningham Grant’s writing, and I loved this latest release from her! Such a powerful, atmospheric, tension-filled story about a woman who embarks on a journey with her Ex (who hurt her deeply) to find their friend believed to be in trouble in the wilderness. So powerful and captivating and a moving look at what it takes to fully trust the right people after the wrong ones hurt you. A beautiful look at healing with a mystery thrown in, so good!

The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant is a suspenseful novel. From the description, I expected an exciting novel. I really struggled to get into this novel because I just couldn’t connect with the characters or story. Overall, it was an okay novel. I’m received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Amazing read! This author really knows how to grasp the reader and keep them engaged throughout! Can’t wait to see what’s next!!

There is nothing better than a suspenseful story that happens in the middle of nowhere, with no service or easy escape! When Emlyn agrees to help her ex-boyfriend find her estranged best friend, she may be walking into more than she signed up for. Is this simply a case of two people that wanted to take a break for a while or is something more sinister occurring?

The deep back stories that lead to the "now" of this story and how the author interweaved the timelines was perfect for the story and how it unfolds. As an outdoor enthusiast I really enjoyed all of the hiking and camping tidbits that came through the story as well. The mystery and suspense of this story is great, it is the characters that make the story really come to life.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It isn't a smack you in the face reveal, but there is some great suspense and the characters and their stories are amazing. What makes this a great book is all of the backstories and the friendships; I personally loved that it seemed completely feasible rather than being a fantastical mystery. If you love realistic and emotional mysteries, then this is a great book for you. I know I will be telling my fellow readers to read this one!

3 promising stars that didn’t shine

From the publisher: “In this captivating novel of suspense, 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.”

The writing and pacing are very good in Cunningham Grant’s mystery, The Nature of Disappearing. Unfortunately, I thought the characters were average – not intriguing or confident. No pizzazz. The romance is typical and a bit sappy. I really disliked Emlyn’s one-word character summaries – pathetic, manipulative, etc. I appreciate authors who can write nuanced characters who are not all good or all evil.

Emlyn has a friend, Janessa. “Janessa plans everything, and Emlyn is happy to go along.” Not exciting for the main protagonist.

In the Author’s Note, Cunningham Grant writes that she “wanted to craft a story that ultimately left readers- especially readers who might be in a wilderness of their own – feeling uplifted. I did not feel the uplift because of the lackluster characters. “Emlyn thumbs through her dictionary and finds the word ’pathetic.’ ‘Pitiful, particularly though tragedy or weakness.’ She knows this word. The definition fits her, she realizes.” I understand trying to show why the character has no self-esteem and confidence, (abandonment issues), but it is hard to be encouraged by a character who has no life of her own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read. At times the story felt like it was going slow and other times it picked up. It goes back and forth between the past to present day and how the main characters Emlyn and Tyler’s relationship came to be and Emlyn needing to find her friend Janessa.

The Nature of Disappearing is a character driven mystery-thriller that alternates between past and present timelines. The story held my interest, especially since I was eager to find out what happened to the protagonist's friend. The story felt a lot like it was inspired by the Gabby Petito case.

*Spoiler* Some parts of the story didn't make sense to me, particularly when the characters saved the very person who was trying to kill them—what was that about? The frequent shifts to the past slowed down the pacing a bit. That said, I thought the ending was fitting for the story.

I would recommend this book to mystery fans.

3.5⭐️

I was very excited to receive an ARC of this book as I loved These Silent Woods. Unfortunately the magic that was in These Silent Woods was not present in The Nature of Disappearance. While there were some similarities- both had great wilderness settings and both included a back and forth timeline, I just didn’t love anything about The Nature of Disappearance. At the heart of it, this is a mystery story but with characters with thin backstories I just didn’t care about where the missing friend was. I also found the past timeline to be rather boring and would have preferred to stay in the present mystery. All in all, I just wasn’t impressed with this novel but I will continue to read from this author because These Silent Woods was so good.

This book took me a minute to get into, but I was quickly immersed in the story. The dual timeline telling the story of Emlynn and events that led up to where she is in her life now, plus the search for Janessa balanced out well.

The setting is very atmospheric, and you know some kind of twist is going to happen but not sure when. I wasn't very surprised by it, though, and I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked more after everything was sorted out with Tyler and Bush, such as more about Emlynn and Verdan.

I think this was well written and the suspense of not knowing what Tyler and Emlynn would find kept me wanting to keep reading.

I will definitely read more from this author!

Really enjoyed this. The twists were interesting and well placed, the characters had very well developed backstories. I enjoyed the relationships, the survival aspects, and the environmental buildup. I can't wait to see what else this author publishes.

"The Nature of Disappearing" was such a page-turner and I, a notoriously slow reader, finished it quickly. Complex relationships, lies, crime, all in the stunning setting of the Idaho back country will keep fans of Claire Kells turning pages.