Zoë Rankin’s The Vanishing Place is a haunting exploration of memory, trauma, and the pull of unfinished childhood mysteries. The novel follows Effie, who fled an isolated and brutal upbringing in the wilds of New Zealand, believing her parents' rejection of civilization was born of a love for nature. Only later does she begin to question whether something more sinister lay beneath their back-to-the-land ideals. Rankin deftly paints the unforgiving landscape of the bush not just as a physical setting, but as a psychological one—harsh, unpredictable, and filled with buried danger.

Effie’s return to the place she once escaped is triggered by the appearance of a little girl covered in blood, a little girl who looks uncannily like a young Effie. This uncanny resemblance propels the novel’s psychological tension, blurring the lines between past and present, memory and hallucination. Rankin’s narrative style is intimate and immersive, pulling the reader deep into Effie’s internal conflict as she attempts to piece together fragments of forgotten events. The mystery builds steadily, propelled not just by the crime at the center of the plot, but by the emotional stakes: what really happened to Effie’s family, and what has she been trying to forget?

What sets The Vanishing Place apart is its emotional resonance. While the suspense is gripping, it’s Effie’s personal reckoning that lingers most powerfully. Themes of survival, identity, and the inescapable pull of the past are woven into every chapter, culminating in a final act that is both disturbing and cathartic. Rankin has crafted a psychological thriller that is as much about facing the monsters within as it is about uncovering those hidden in the shadows of a remote and menacing wilderness.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC!

What an incredibly intense, suffocating, and emotional journey!

For a debut, I’m absolutely blown away by this FIVE STAR story that takes readers deep into the New Zealand bush and into the haunting past of the town of Koraha—where Effie’s past and present collide in the most unforgettable way.

The book immediately grabbed me: a strange, silent girl—not from town—stumbles into a shop filthy, starving, and with dried blood on her hands. Other than saying “Anya,” the frightened girl won’t speak. Not to the local Constable. Not to the kind woman who takes her in.
But one look at her face—especially her eyes—and it’s clear things are about to get hauntingly complex. Because she looks exactly like a girl they used to know and love; a girl who vanished twenty years ago.

With a setup like that, I was OBSESSED. Zoe Rankin masterfully weaves past and present timelines through Effie’s voice, unraveling long-buried secrets piece by piece.

Each chapter added another layer, revealing character histories and emotional depth, all building to that fever-dream of an ending. And let me just say—it delivered!

For a debut, this was exceptional, and I truly cannot wait to see what Zoe Rankin writes next.

Huge thanks to Berkley, Zoe Rankin, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Effie escaped to Scotland from the New Zealand bush years ago, leaving her sister and brother behind. When she gets a call from an old friend that another girl has emerged from the bush and looks just like her, she has to return and confront her past and rescue her siblings.
This book draws you in and is terrifying and unsettling at times. The New Zealand bush is beautiful; the evil people are truly horrible, yet believable. The ending twist was perfect. This is the kind of story that will stay with you.
Thanks to Berkeley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC.

I was never entirely sure where this book was going, and I really appreciated that! It had a really strong start, and the author did an amazing job at making me wonder for a long time exactly WHAT was going on! It did slow down a bit toward the middle, but it swept me back in about 3/4 of the way in!

Effie escaped the bush years ago, but what happens if she has to return? A girl who resembles her has been found and won’t speak. Returning to New Zealand, she’ll have to face everyone she left behind, including June and Lewis. They helped her leave, but now they are asking her to return. How is the girl tied to her, and what has been happening in the bush since she left? Effie is the only one who can figure it out and definitely not the outside police. What happened to her family that remained in the bush? I like how everyone ended up being connected. However, the ending left me wanting more, and I’m hoping for a follow-up story.

Fits the bill for a full blown physiological thriller. This one will capture you from the get go & leave you spinning at the end. Great characters, immersive beautiful setting with the bush being a life of its own. Severely dysfunctional family dynamics. Twisted, dark, & pieced together well in the end. I look forward to reading more of this author's works.

This is my unbiased, honest review. Thank you to NetGalley & Berkley for an ARC.

This book got under my skin in the best—and worst—ways. It’s the kind of story that haunts you long after you’ve finished, not just because of what happens, but because of what lurks beneath everything left unsaid.

Effie’s return to the wild, brutal landscape of the New Zealand bush isn’t just about chasing down answers—it’s a reckoning. A reckoning with her past, with her own memories, and with the kind of trauma that’s so deeply buried it feels like part of your bones. The moment she learns a little girl—eerily familiar—has witnessed a violent crime in the very place she escaped from? I was hooked. And chilled. And completely invested.

Zoë Rankin writes the wilderness like it’s a living, breathing character—raw, beautiful, and dangerous. You can practically hear the crack of branches and feel the weight of the trees pressing in. But what makes this debut stand out isn’t just the atmosphere—it’s the emotional grit. The tension builds slowly, deliberately. Every revelation hits like a punch to the chest.

There’s something incredibly eerie about watching Effie unravel her past while confronting a girl who could just as easily be her shadow. It’s disorienting. Intimate. And terrifying. You’re never quite sure what’s memory, what’s trauma, and what’s truth. And that’s exactly what makes this story so powerful.

A gorgeously written, nerve-fraying descent into the wilderness—both external and internal. If you like your thrillers raw, atmospheric, and rooted in complex emotion, this one deserves a spot at the top of your list.

I initially had a hard time getting into this one but then my Kindle reset (thanks, my four-year-old!) so I decided to try again from the beginning and ended up really enjoying it. This one is dark, full of broken people and a protagonist, Effie, who can't stay away once a mysterious child covered in blood comes out of the New Zealand bush. Effie suspects she knows where the girl came from, and it all has to do with her deranged, off-grid family. Though we do start off with a Scottish jump-scare in the mountains that has nothing to do with anything, the story really picks up when Effie goes back to NZ to grapple with her past. This is dark, dark, dark, with a late-arc cameo from everyone's favorite modern fixation: a cult! There's some psychological trickery going on at the climax and I think the author swayed reader perception beautifully. Incredibly atmospheric as well. I like my creature comforts, but I was transported right to the other side of the world and deep into the wilderness.

The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin was a gripping thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. Packed with mystery, emotional depth, and unexpected twists, it left me reeling with surprise and sorrow.

I’ve been pretty burnt out on thrillers lately, but this was a great reminder of what I love about the genre. Characters I cared about, an interesting mystery, a unique setting. Sure there were a couple nonsensical plot points/choices, but that comes with the territory. And I do wish we got a better feel for Lewis. 4.5/5

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The girl from the bush seems to be an enigma present in two timeframes at once. The story is dark, convoluted, and required my full attention to make sense of what was happening. Yet it was oddly compelling and well worth the effort to skip doing the laundry and march along to the conclusion.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof copy from Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley via NetGalley. Pub Date Sep 16, 2025
#TheVanishingPlace by @zoerankinwrites @berkleypub #NetGalley **** review
#suspense #investigations #NewZealand #spooky #secrets #unputdownable #fiction #mystery #lies #psychologicalthriller #crimefiction #ThrillerSuspense #deceit #Fiction #penguinbooks #twisted

This thriller set in the New Zealand bush offers twists, suspense, and dramatic reveals. As you read you may wonder how author Zoe Rankin can resolve so many questions in this quick-read novel. Let me assure you that all is revealed by the end, well, except one...

After a brief, dramatic beginning in Scotland Rankin's descriptive writing will make you feel as if you too are traveling through the bush, standing along the shore, and enduring the extremes Effie and others experience. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Zoë Rankin delivered a tense, emotional journey of self-discovery, dark family histories, and a fight for redemption with a compelling structure that weaved the past and present seamlessly. I was immersed in “The Vanishing Place” haunting and atmospheric that explored how childhood trauma shapes identity.

The story centered on a young, blood-stained girl who stumbled out of the New Zealand bush into the remote town of Koraha. She wouldn’t speak and resembled a missing local child from two decades ago. Her physical traits like her red hair and green eyes matched those of another girl. Effie, as an adult woman living on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, fled the wilderness 20 years earlier after a traumatic incident in which she disappeared from the same area. She was drawn back when police realized the girl mirrored her younger self.

Rankin artfully alternated the narrative between the past and present day. I enjoyed following Effie’s past-isolated childhood. Her family lived off-grid in a cabin deep in the South Island bush with her four siblings. Her upbringing was filled with deprivation and growing tension. I equally enjoyed following Effie’s return to Koraha as she investigated the girl, Anya, and confronted the cabin that held buried secrets, including the fate of her family.

Not only was the narrative structure gripping, the New Zealand bush was a character itself. It was beautiful. It was imposing. It was unpredictable.

Even more were the central themes Rankin incorporated. Family secrets and survival were at the forefront as well as themes of parental manipulation, childhood trauma, and the grip of isolation.

“The Vanishing Place” had a slow-burn tension, atmospheric buildup, and satisfying twists creating a haunting debut by Zoë Rankin. I definitely recommend this book if you like character-driven mysteries steeped in nature and psychological suspense.

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advance copy of “The Vanishing Place” in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️ DNF for me. I was drawn in by the premise, but it just didn’t pull me in the way I hoped.

The story follows Effie, who escaped a traumatic childhood in the New Zealand bush. She is now drawn back when a mysterious little girl tied to a murder reminds her of herself. It’s a return-to-the-past kind of psychological mystery, but despite the potential, it just didn’t land for me.

Ultimately, I lost interest and decided not to finish.

The Vanishing Place is an outstanding thriller suspense debut that grabs you from the start and does not let go. The author fully immerses the reader into the New Zealand bush setting, so much so that you feel as if you’re there. I found myself looking up some of the flora and fauna to actually learn something about this seemingly amazing place.

It’s a dark look at the horrors humans both inflict and endure but told in a way that keeps you reading late into the night. The suspense is maintained throughout the novel and the conclusion is satisfying and unexpected.

I loved this book and look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

In her riveting debut, The Vanishing Place, Zoë Rankin delivers a psychological thriller that is both emotionally gripping and deeply unsettling. Set against the lush yet ominous backdrop of the New Zealand bush, the novel explores the haunting remnants of childhood trauma, the bonds of family, and the razor-thin line between survival and secrecy. Think Jeneva Rose meets...Ann Patchett, perhaps. (The South American one).

Effie fled the bush as a child after witnessing a horrific act of violence—leaving behind her siblings, her past, and everything she thought she knew about her parents. Now living in Scotland and determined never to return, she is pulled back when a young girl—covered in blood, eerily mute, and bearing a striking resemblance to Effie at that age—emerges from the forest. What follows is a layered unraveling of mystery, memory, and reckoning.

Rankin masterfully weaves two timelines: the claustrophobic, slow-building terror of Effie’s childhood, and the relentless urgency of the present-day investigation. These shifting perspectives create a slow-burn suspense that accelerates into a breathtaking final act. The pacing becomes breakneck near the end—almost overwhelmingly so—but the payoff is emotionally resonant and satisfyingly dark.

The real star here is the setting. The New Zealand bush is rendered with visceral, almost mythic clarity—it’s not just a location, it’s a living character. Rankin’s prose is lush and immersive, wrapping readers in a world that is at once beautiful and brutal.

This is not a light read—there are deeply disturbing themes including neglect, abuse, and psychological manipulation—but the story is ultimately about resilience, reclaiming identity, and facing the past no matter how terrifying it is.

Slower pacing to start but you somehow can't put it down—and when the pieces reveal themselves, WOW do you want to flip pages faster.

Final Thoughts:
The Vanishing Place is a standout debut—a psychological thriller that’s as harrowing as it is haunting. With gorgeous prose, a twist-filled plot, and a protagonist who will stay with you long after the final page, Zoë Rankin proves herself a bold new voice in literary suspense. Think The Marsh King’s Daughter meets Sharp Objects, with a uniquely New Zealand twist.

📚 Recommended for readers who enjoy:
Atmospheric, wilderness-based thrillers
Complex family dynamics
Dual timelines & unreliable memory
Slow-burn suspense with a punchy ending

💬 Memorable quote: “The bush doesn’t forget. It just waits.”

(::shivers::)

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an intense mystery/thriller that becomes very fast-paced towards the end. I had to re-read some parts because there was so much happening. While you know early on that there will be dark themes, be prepared- this book gets very dark. I will need to read a silly romcom to decompress after this.

4 stars because I have few unanswered questions and some confusion due to the fast pace at the end. And the ending- goodness! Not sure how I feel about it.

I highly recommend this and would read another book by this author.

This story sunk its hooks into me and refused to let me go. I had no idea what to expect going in, but I literally could not put this book down. I was riveted. I don’t even know what else to say. Brilliant! Thanks to Berkley for the ARC.

The Vanishing Place
From the first paragraph on the story builds layer upon layer. The setting is in New Zealand in a small community. Nearby, the bush becomes a central character. A mystery unfolds when a young girl appears in the community torn and tattered. Who is she and where did she come from?

A local official contacts a young woman living in Ireland, who had fled the area some 20 years ago never wanting to come back. When she does return, her story unfolds as well as the young girls. The chapter time periods go from 1988 to 2025 not in that order. Each chapter tells a bit of the story and one thinks there will be an answer, but then its on to another time frame. This makes it difficult to stop reading!!

As mentioned earlier the bush is a central character. The author is vivid in her descriptive narrative of what it is like and what happens there. Her characters and their feelings are very real.

There are twists and turns in the story, as well as some dark material all central to story.
Very engrossing story. It is a mystery/thriller but also a strong story of human endurance and emotional connections. I look forward to more books by this author.

(07/03/25)

Loved this. Great characters, plot, twists and writing. Difficult to put down! Thank you to Berkely Group, NetGalley and the author for the arc in exchange for a fair review.