This was my first Marrs book that I read and unfortunately I wasn’t into it as much as I wanted it to be. The husband in this story is just a lame excuse of a man in what he does to his family and hopes to be forgiven before his sickness takes over. It was a meh read for me but I will still give him a shot on his other books hoping it’ll redeem this one. I still want to thank NetGalley on giving me this opportunity!

When Catherine wakes up alone one morning, she thinks her husband has gone for a run before work. But Simon never made it to the office. His running shoes are by the front door. Nothing is missing, except him. Catherine knows that Simon must be in trouble, He wouldn't just leave her. He wouldn't leave the children. But Simon knows the truth - about why he left her and what he's done. He knows things about his marriage that would kill Catherine to find out. The memories she holds on to are lies.

Previously published as #The Wronged Sons.

This story has a dual timeline, the past - when Simon went missing, and the present day - twenty-five years later when Simon returns to his old home to explain why he disappeared. It's also told from Simon and Catherine's perspectives. I couldn't stop turning the pages. I needed to know everything that had taken place. It can be quite disturbing with lots of twists.

Published 6th July 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AmazonPublishing #ThomasMercer and the author #JohnMarrs for my ARC of #WhenYouDisappeared in exchange for an honest review.

Being rereleased with a new cover and an extra chapter, I am so glad I finally got the chance to read this because it is now my absolute favorite book by this author.

Told from the perspective of a wife suffering through the disappearance of her husband as well as the perspective of the husband himself, this story took on a life of its own with this author's powerful talent for storytelling. I was awed by this. It was such a heavy hearted story but was also incredible. The agony and sadness the protagonist felt were conveyed through the pages with such force. The events that unfolded were jaw-dropping and heartbreaking but also portrayed the resilience of the woman who endured the unimaginable. The strength that we witness in her is admirable, to say the least. If you have yet to read a novel by John Marrs, this is the one. Five perfect stars and a standing ovation.

Thank you, Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK, for this ARC of the newest edition of When You Disappeared.

John Marrs does it again! When You Disappeared had me in a chokehold - another propulsive page turner, packed full of twists and turns!

I was completely engrossed in Simon and Catherine's story, spanning 25 years and several continents.

It's everyone's worst nightmare - waking up to find their spouse has disappeared without a trace. The days and weeks pass then the months and years. There's no answers. No closure. Just despair and loss and grief.

Then, there's a knock on the door, and a face from the past asking to come in. Sometimes, the truth is best left unsaid, or is it?!

The revelations come thick and fast as the story unfolds and I could feel every drop of tension, the all encompassing anger and grief in the cottage. The finale is just jaw dropping!

Intricately woven, super pacy, very twisty and impossible to predict, I one hundred percent recommend When You Disappeared.

Thank you to the author and publishers for allowing me an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley! This has not influenced the rating and all opinion are my own.

This was a book that I really struggled to put down and just wanted to continue reading all day!

One of my favourite things about this novel is the exploration of human feelings - guilt, loathing, pity, confusion, abandonment. Every character displayed a wide range of emotions which I found really helped to humanise the characters. I found myself absolutely hating Simon before I was even halfway through the book, so the author is great at putting the reader in the person’s views and his writing evokes a lot of emotion.

The dual POV’s with different timelines was great, but I did struggle to follow it at times as there was a lot of jumping around.

But overall I really enjoyed this book and it has all the hallmarks of a good thriller; drama, suspense and a lot of emotion.

Raging: 4/5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Humans are not perfect. We misunderstand things and sometimes chose the wrong thing. I had to keep reminding myself of this, especially when reading the parts with Simon and his journey around the world, abandoning his family and making them think he was dead. His journey was interesting, though his reasoning was quite skewed (which he blames genetics but I think it was also just him) and the way he seems to have no morals and feels nothing about murder, or arson made me really like Caroline much better! Her story of climbing back out of the hole after Billy and then when Simon leaves had me rooting for her and cheering at her successes with keeping the rest of the family together and also reaching her dreams with fashion. It was an interesting foil, comparing the two and how the choices they made were quite different, leading to futures that still connected them back together at the end. It was frustrating that the whole reason for this story was a misunderstanding but I think Caroline was better off with Simon gone, even with all the pain of not knowing what happened. The extra chapter at the end also helped tie things up. So, I did enjoy this story a lot, even if I really did not like Simon.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

John Marrs first published book that had him noticed by TBC ( Tracy Fenton ) and the rest as we know is history and he has gone on to be a very successful author writing highly original content

The biggest surprise to me was even though I have the paperback I had never read it and have to admit to approaching it with a bit of ‘well, it was his first, it might not be what I/we have come to expect’

Wrong

It was/is brilliant and certainly shows what was to come with John’s trademark fast, action filled chapters, often left on a cliffhanger, causing you of course to keep on reading

It is a dark tale and brutal especially at one point but is a book with myriad layers of story all relating back to the main event and how the characters have got there

Its unafraid in its realism and character emotion and the only problem was wanting to rush through it to see what happened ( not really a problem though 😎) we benefit from the original ending then with this new version with added ‘ending chapter’ which ends it perfectly

If you haven’t read then you need to as it is a John Marr’s classic ( literally )

This was very good the story line came to together like a ton of bricks the twists kept coming I loved it so much way to go John marrs

this was a really hard book to like. it is full of despicable acts by 1 man and all the ripples that created. I am happy for the new bonus chapter, though, it makes the story a little more palatable in the end.
thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Putting it mildly, I was shocked at the twists & turns of this book. I was continually shocked at each new revelation.

I absolutely loved Catherine and was rooting for her the entire book. She is the definition of strong and resilient.

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas Mercer for allowing me to read this book for my honest review.

#NetGalley #WhenYouDisappeared #JohnMarrs

“When You Disappeared” is an older book by John Marrs. If you go into this book thinking it’s by the same author as “The One” or “The Passenger,” you are correct - but the book style is very different. This book is about a couple - Catherine and Simon. One day, Simon decides to leave Catherine and their children … for a quarter of a century. Catherine manages to hold onto the house, keep the children fed, and do the best she can as a single parent. Simon, on the other hand, seems to become Peter Pan - larking off to wherever the wind takes him. Simon reappears out of the blue in Catherine’s life and the two start catching each other up on what happened in the “missing” quarter century. I don’t know if I was supposed to applaud Simon for coming clean about his life choices or if I was supposed to feel sympathy for Catherine for managing to hold everything together. Why did Simon leave? Big major question … and it didn’t take me much puzzling out to figure out why - which made me even more mad at the character. Some of the situations in the book were a bit far fetched (as other reviewers have noted) and I’d say that this book is more a family drama thriller. Was I gripped by the story - kinda. It’s told in two POVs and two timelines (then/now). But sometimes a character is so me focused that I wanted to ask Mr. Marrs why he even thought of this character. Overall, not quite the book for me, but if you’re one who likes family drama thrillers and rather unlikable characters, this book may be one for you to pick up. It was a fast read (amongst the times I wanted to scream at Catherine to put down the wine bottles and for Simon to act like the young 30s person with responsibilities that he was) and it held my attention.

I want to start my stating I read all of John Marrs books I absolutely adore them. Unfortunately this one fell a little short for me which was disappointing. It had such potential as a plot line but the backstory was far too in depth and long winded for me. I felt the pace was just too slow compared to some of his other books. I feel like the big reveal at the end just fell flat once you trudged through the book to get there. I love his other work but unfortunately this was just too family saga for me.


📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, John Marrs and Amazon Publishing UK | Thomas & Mercer📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚

This one didn't feel like John Marrs at first. Once I got into it, however, I was hooked in. I enjoyed the alternating POV's with Catherine and SImon. I did not like Simon at all. This is not my favorite Marrs book, but I still enjoyed it and would recommend reading it.

When You Disappeared draws you in slowly to the story of Catherine and her husband Simon who one day just walks out the door never to be seen again.

The book is told from both their POV's and this works extremely well and is told from the day Simon the wretch walked out to 25 years later.

Catherine's voice and story are a desperate one. You will admire her tenacity and strength and cry with her at times.

Simon's story is shocking and will surprise you .

Nothing is as it seems.

This is the edition with the bonus chapter and I am so thankful for that chapter as I would still be guessing as to what happens after the big reveal.

John Marrs does his remarkable job of leading the reader down a twisted path with a few shocking twists on the way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK/Thomas & Mercer for the privilege of reading and reviewing When You Disappeared.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting me an ARC of the republished version of When You Disappeared, complete with bonus chapter!

Confession: I love John Marrs. I come from Northampton, so feel a sort of affinity with his books when he mentions places I know. So it was highly unlikely I wouldn’t love this book.

I have read all of the ‘metaverse’ series of books John has written, and loved them all. I definitely prefer those reads, but was not disappointed with this one! I enjoyed the time line changes, and also felt the characters were fleshed out well.

Definitely one I would recommend to fellow readers!

When You Disappeared is in my opinion, fine, but definitely not Marrs’ best work. Although I enjoyed this for a comparison and to see how his work has evolved and much improved over time.

I found myself desperate to unravel the pages but at the same time, I didn’t find it particularly thrilling. Unfortunately Simon may be the most cowardly and horrible character I’ve ever had the misfortune to read about. The last 25% of the book was absolutely harrowing and if I’d been reading a physical copy - I almost certainly would’ve destroyed the pages with my own tears.

If you want a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller, this won’t be the book for you. But if you want to be angry, sad, frustrated and all of the above for over 300 pages, I would still recommend giving this a read. CHECK YOUR TRIGGERS!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

Insanely good! Catherine's husband, Simon, disappears and returns 25 years later. During this time, we find out how they individually navigate their way through life; finding happiness, heartbreak, raising children and facing health issues.

What makes a husband and father walk away from his whole life? I was intrigued and desperate to find out, so I devoured this book in a day! Catherine and Simon are very well written characters and I felt sympathy, frustration and fury for and with them both, at times. The cliffhangers and suspense that John Marrs wove in throughout the story had me hooked and I was wracking my brain to work out what had happened, but I didn't even come close to the truth.

As it all unravelled with twists taking my breath away, I really was amazed! What an incredible plot! Heartbreaking and emotional, as well as being one heck of a thriller., brilliantly narrated by Simon Mattacks and Elizabeth Knowelden.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, John Marrs and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

3.5 ⭐

This is an older Marrs book, now with bonus chapter.
It doesn't hit quite as hard as his more recent books for me.
However, it does have Simon, who frankly became more and more loathsome with each passing page. Characters like that are great aren't they.
Some good surprises along the way, and just incredibly readable, as you'd expect from this author.

One of John Marrs’ best - a real twister but one which resolves the twists in such a satisfying way that it is worth the ride. He writes so well. His characters are always well rounded and human, often with plenty of flaws. The dialogue is spot on - no superfluous or overly dramatic dialogue which can instantly undermine any sense of immersion in the story.

“When You Disappeared” by John Marrs is a gripping psychological thriller that explores the devastating effects of one man’s decision to walk away from his life without warning. Told in dual perspectives, the story slowly unravels the truth behind Simon’s disappearance and Catherine’s years of pain and unanswered questions. Marrs masterfully balances suspense with deep emotional complexity, keeping you hooked as dark secrets come to light. It’s a haunting, thought-provoking read.