This is an interesting read featuring a young man with a tragic past. Foster Treherne is a well respected artist who never knew his father and his mother committed suicide when he was a baby. His father had disappeared on a hiking trip and never returned. Imagine Foster’s surprise when his body is finally discovered....entombed in a glacier. This sets him on a journey to learn about the father he never knew and to investigate the idea that his death might not have been an accident.

This book begs the saying, “be careful what you wish for.”

*Thanks to netgalley and Amazon publishing UK for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review*
Ok, let's begin.
First of all, i really liked the story, the idea was well written and easy to make you feel hooked from the beginning.
The protagonist was a really good character, he was relatable and real, he was a down-to-earth artist and a good person overall, i liked the pace of his thoughts and the transition from an idea to another.
About the writing, in some places the book felt a little bit stretched, like it can lose some paragraphs.
The pace was good in general, the writing craft is impeccable, the author has a good way with his words.
Overall, a good read.

How well do you really know your friends? Well enough for them to hide a terrible secret for you? Foster Treherne, in Kevin Wignall’s ‘Those Who Disappeared,’ knows all too well about the extent friends will go to keep something buried. You’ll have to wait until March 4th, 2021 to find out what Foster already knows. It’ll be worth the wait. It was for him.

Imagine growing up not knowing your parents and not experiencing love nor having a relationship with your paternal or maternal grandparents. What if you didn’t even know if your father was still alive? That’s the burden Foster has been living with since the day he was born. His father, Charles, disappeared 32 years ago on a glacier hike in the Bernese Alps when his girlfriend was 3 months pregnant. He was never found. His mom, having returned to England after meeting Charlie on a vacation in Italy, committed suicide a year after her son was born. Foster has grown into a charming man and a famous and well-respected artist. One day a visitor comes into his gallery and utters the words he’s been wanting to hear his whole life – we think we’ve found your father.

Wignall has written an exceptional story. Not only is it filled with unexpected twists, sharply written and evenly paced, it’s also believable. It’s more than just a story about a guy with a tragic background who is looking for his father; it’s about exploring the issue that we can become lost and alone even when surrounded by people. Wignall’s mystery reminds us not to believe everything we hear, and that oftentimes what we see on the surface is not what lurks below. This superbly written book begs to be made into a movie!

Thank you to Kevin Wignall, Amazon Publishing UK, and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m delighted to have been afforded an advanced reading copy via NetGalley and having read this novel to review and recommend it without reservation.

My opinions are my own and could not be influenced in such a process but I have to declare at the start that Kevin Wignall is one of my favourite authors and I have read his many books with interest and pleasure.

Those who disappeared is a wonderful story. It is written with great skill that engages the reader throughout. Whether this tension is wrapped up in the narrative or just my imagination I’ll leave you to judge. For this is unlike his previous works where secret agents, contract killers, nefarious plots with spies, government duplicity and double-cross fill the pages.

It is about a successful artist who grew up not knowing his parents. His mother took her own life shortly after his birth and his father disappeared some months before that, having ventured alone on a mountain walk. Foster has grown up without any real sense of belonging; his staff team has almost become his family and his art a place of solace and comfort. All this changes when an incident within a glacier reveals a body which is believed to be his dad. Frozen in time within the ice for some thirty-two years.

The book is a clever story about the casual nature of fame Foster has, as an artist, while having no clear identity of who he really is due to a fractured childhood. He has always felt abandoned by his mum. He was rejected by his maternal grandparents which compounded this disconnect. He had always believed his dad had been indisposed by events or delayed on a secret mission but would one day return for his boy.

Along with the body a perfectly preserved journal of his father was discovered. The book is about his interpretation of those writings, unexplained issues about the state of the body, insufficient to merit an investigation or to suggest anything other than accidental death from a fall.

In searching for some closure; answers to what may have happened, his father’s state of mind and relationship with his mother. Foster hunts down his dad’s post graduate friends who were part of a secret society. This becomes frustrating as each one seems to be concealing things and spinning half truths that mean his grasp of his father becomes muddled. In a sense this is mirror to his own life where he once was part of a group of talented artists who never quite made the break through he achieved.

Within this story are tensions from his father’s past with questions of why the surviving members appear to be closing ranks and avoiding him while Foster’s own past seems to be threatening his immediate success. This dual tension leaves the reader always on edge regarding individual’s motives and intent towards Foster, who he can trust and if he himself is in danger.

Hopefully others may see this within a novel that is about identity, the need to face the truth and the true worth of friendship. In the process we are taken to many wonderful locations and touch the world of art, frat houses and smell conspiracy. In the end the author asks whether it is more important to seek the truth or take revenge.
Wignall also demonstrates that without points of reference, we can lose more than memories when we bury the past. The symbolic unearthing of his father’s body from the glacier is also the catalyst to garner the truth and see oneself in that revealed light.
Those who disappeared is reclaiming those that are lost, forgotten and ignored. In this sense it is a grown up novel by an author who tells a good story but until this point has just thrilled and entertained.
This novel has those qualities still but provides a deeper response that resonates with my whole being. This is why I will continue to enjoy his books and easily recommend then to others.

Kevin Wignall never disappoints! “Those Who Disappeared” is a well-paced mystery with some great characters. Foster Treherne never knew his father who disappeared in a mountain-climbing accident 30 years prior. When Charles Treherne’s body is found, Foster begins the search for who his father really was. Was Charles’s death really an accident or was it murder?

Foster is an intriguing character who I wouldn’t mind meeting again in a future book. I couldn’t put this down and finished it in a single day. Some might find the pacing a little slow but it’s a book that will keep you guessing until the end.

Not my normal type of read and thought I might abandon it how ever continued to the end and found it intriguing. An interesting read.

I really liked the hero in this book, there was more I would have liked to know about his art, but that is a minor part. Having never known his father, dead before he was born, or his mother, who killed herself months later, he has struggled to understand his family and where he came from.
When the body of his father is revealed after decades, his search for meaning becomes more urgent and mysterious. Pursuing more info brings more questions than answers, initially.
By the end, the threads of the story come together in a satisfying manner-
This was a very pleasant book to read, will look for more by this author. 4;5 stars

Those Who Disappear is a beautifully woven mystery and a compelling story of one man's relationship with the Father he never knew.

A glacier gives up a body - accident is assumed but the answers lie in the past, when a young man and his close knit group of friends are just beginning to come into their own.. until tragedy strikes.

I love the way the author layers his characters and offers up a lot to think about...whether or not there is foul play involved is very much secondary to the human drama playing out on the page. The resolution is emotionally resonant, the setting is described with perfect intensity and overall this was an absolutely excellent read.

Recommended.

This was a really interesting, well written mystery. But it was more than that - it was a story about family, and about friendship. I enjoyed the story, and escaped into the world that Kevin Wignall built.

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC, which did not impact my review.

I received Those Who Disappeared from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Those Who Disappeared is an adequate story, but it's not much of a mystery and not a strong story. The main character, Foster, investigates, but he's too reliant on people telling him what happened rather than figuring it out in other ways. The telling is a problem with the story. Mysteries become bland when they have several characters simply telling what happened. Also, from pretty early on it becomes clear who did it, and then why is filled in fairly shortly after the who. The end only confirms it.

Where the book shined is the exposure perpetrator, what he'd done to a victim, and how Foster grapples with and settles his mind around it to shift his focus from the perpetrator to the victim. I think that could have been a better focus of the story than the mystery element.

Daniella's character felt unnecessary. Her role in the investigation could easily have been better fulfilled by other, more realistic characters, and her role as a love interest was boring and did nothing for the story.

I'd recommend this to someone who likes simple mysteries. It's short and quick to read, so it doesn't feel like a wasted effort, especially given what works in the story. I'll look from more from the author, because I think there are some strengths in his writing that may be the star of another book.

A well-written interesting story involving young man’s search for the truth—or perhaps, truths. When his father’s body, lost for years, is found, Foster begins a quest to learn about the death, his father, his mother, and their friends , who seem to be keeping secrets.

4/5 stars

Foster Treherne is rich and an artist, initially part of a group called ‘The New Painters’ but he alone has had great success. There is jealousy that he is the one who has made a name for himself as he gets a series of unpleasant anonymous notes making various accusations. Foster never knew his parents as his father Charlie disappears near a glacier in Switzerland before he is born and his mother commits suicide when he’s a baby. He’s raised very much at arms length by his maternal grandparents. A preserved body is found in a glacier revealed by boulders from an avalanche which proves to be Charlie. Following an oddity from the post mortem, Foster is determined to learn what he can about how and why Charlie died. It’s a fascinating truth seeking journey into his father’s university life and membership of a tight knit group known as The Pirensi Group with Indiana Jones aspirations. It is also a journey of self discovery.

I’ve read several books by Kevin Wignall and enjoyed them all. This one is especially clever as it’s a very understated novel about identity, in seeking to learn about his father and give him an identity he discovers more about himself. It’s also about abandonment, loneliness and a sense of belonging which understandably Foster has always felt. Where does Foster belong? Maybe the search for his father’s identity will give him roots somewhere and settle an itch he didn’t realise he had. This part of the novel really pulls at your heartstrings as no one really cares for him or shows him love as he grows up and yet despite this he becomes a fine, likeable man with a strong moral code. As he digs into his father’s background and tracks down members of the Pirensi group there’s a definite air of tension and rank closing as they wish to conceal and bury the past for ‘Those who disappeared ‘ which is so intriguing. The storytelling takes you in unexpected directions and into some wonderful settings. There are moments of tension and menace especially from the note sender and a good atmosphere builds as the mystery of Charlie deepens. He does get to the truth on both counts which gives him some closure and the ability to move on with his life and find happiness to accompany his success.

Overall, a good novel with multiple strands which keeps you interested throughout.

With thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the arc for an honest review

A new twist in the thriller genre. Imagine living with a story of how your father dies to find out that everyone else on the mountain lied about the real truth. A truly amazing story of a child not giving up until the truth is revealed

Kevin Witgnall just keeps getting better at writing well-plotted, engrossing mysteries with engaging characters with complex inner lives who get around to interesting places. The protagonist of this one is Foster, a successful painter whose father disappeared while hiking in a Swiss glacier before he was born. When his body is d disinterested from the ice decades later, a journal found in the backpack that was also buried with him leads Foster on a quest to learn more about a man he never knew, and not all of it is welcome news. Setting out to meet the friends he mentioned in the journal, members in their post graduate years of an in-group that called itself the Piranesi Society, the circumstances of disappearance and the reactions of the friends Foster contacts suggest murder. All the suspects are well-developed minor characters, and the developing love story with an embassy staffer assigned to help Foster repatriate his father's body is a nice coda to his journey of discovery.

This mystery has a great plot, and, as usual, the storytelling is very smooth. The characters are fantastic, and all in all this is a very entertaining and intriguing book.

This is a nice mystery. Foster, a famous artist finds out that the body of his father was discovered, after 30 years, in Switzerland. He was expecting that his body will surface one day, but he understands it was not an accident. Foster will not stop until he is finding out who did it. It was an easy read.
Thank you Netgalley for this nice book.

What a freaking page turner. Book had me guessing from page to page and I never wanted to put it down. Literally did not see the end coming. At all. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received an ARC copy of #ThoseWhoDisappeared from #NetGalleyfor a review.

The premise of the book was interesting, but the overall story was lacking. I had a hard time getting into it. There were a lot of parts that could have shortened down a lot, and there was one character that really didn't add much to the story at all. She was there simply for the sake of being there. It was also fairly predictable.

Some thirty years after he has gone missing, an avalanche uncovers the body of Charlie Treherne. For his son Foster, a now famous artist, it a chance to say goodbye to a man he never knew, a man who disappeared before he was born. When the autopsy reveals there may have been foul play, Foster starts to question his fathers associates and finds himself quickly shut out. As he goes from place to place doggedly pursuing his fathers friends, the more they close ranks and don’t want to tell him the truth. It is sounding to Foster that his father isn’t the saintly person he imagined him to be and this makes him more earnest than ever to uncover the truth.
It’s a great read from a great storyteller.
#netgalley #thosewhodisappeared

Those Who Disappeared by Kevin Wignall – This was an excellent read for me, as have been all of the books that I have read by the author

I read this within a day, and once I started it - I just could not wait to continue and see where the storyline was headed

The main character Foster Treherne is a successful and wealthy artist, who finds out at the beginning of the book that the body of the father who he never knew was just found

He has had a great deal of success in his life, however, is also quite alone. This finding opens up a search into the life and circumstances of the death, was this natural or intentional?

I will read more of Kevin Wignall’s books, and they are well written, interesting, and very enjoyable

4.5 Stars

Thank You to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and Author Kevin Wignall for my advanced copy to read and review

#ThoseWhoDisappeared #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley, along with Amazon Publishing UK/Thomas & Mercer for this free advance copy in return for an honest review.

A glacier, an avalanche and an artist’s search for truth, all come together in this wonderfully conceived book by Kevin Wignall, an author I never read before and who has done a great job of exploring one mans journey to find the truth about his father and how he died.
After 32 years the body of Charlie Treherne is uncovered as the result of an avalanche on a Swiss glacier. Luckily, the body had been very well preserved over that time since Charlie’s disappearance, and his passport and diary had been wrapped in plastic so the coroner was able to at least identify the body.
Famous modern artist, Foster Treherne receives an unexpected visit from a State Department official informing him of the discovery of his father, Charlie. And this sets up the dramatic plot of one man’s attempt to learn the truth about his father’s death and existence. Charlie’s death had occurred before Foster was born, and to complicate matters his mother committed suicide when he was only one year old.
Basically raised by a nanny, and shipped off to boarding schools, Foster had no photos of his father, and really knew nothing of the man or his life, which was fine with Foster. But despite achieving worldwide artistic fame Foster has always had a hole in his psyche due to tragic circumstances surrounding the death of his parents, as well as his grandparents rather hands off and uncaring interest in his upbringing.
But, as so often happens, one little bit of information leads to another, and eventually Foster is convinced that his father’s death was not a mere accidental hiking death, but rather a murder. The discovery of a group photo now propels Foster on a journey of discovery and enlightenment. Who really were his mother and father, how did his father really die, and if it was not an innocent hiking accident who is to blame?
That Wignall is able to cover all of this in a short 232 page novel tells us about his ability as a writer. It is an action mystery, that really has little physical action. It is a detective story without a detective, and it is one man’s surprising desire to learn about his father. Foster is able to discover the identity of the people in the photo, but their memories of the day his father died are either incomplete or give the indications of a conspiracy. But was there a killer or was it truly an accident, and his desire to learn the truth also uncovers some facts about his father he never had known and which he might have been happy not to know.
This is a short, fast read. Yet it is a book that moves action around at a reasonable pace and teaches us that our past is not always what we think it is, and that our parents are not always who we believe they were. Fascinating, and a very good read with no violence, sex or any graphic sequences.

This review was previously published at www.mysteryandsuspense.com

#ThoseWhoDisappeared #NetGalley

Thanks NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, Kevin Wignall for an ARC to review.
When a man's body was discovered in a glacier after thirty years, Foster Treherne his son the famous artist found his lost father.
He begins a journey investigating the 30 years old puzzle and if it wasn't just an accident.
I loved the writing style, the characters and the book's setting.

A Catalogue Of Events.....
Much to consider in this solid mystery of truth, secrets, family and identity. The discovery of a body in a glacier sparks a catalogue of events, particularly when circumstances surrounding the death appear sinister. Populated with a cast of realistic characters, and a convincing protagonist, the well written plot moves at a good pace. Engaging reading.

I have read several books by Kevin Wignall which I really enjoyed. So, I was happy to request this one from Net Galley for an honest review. Foster is a successful artist whose father went missing and his mother committed suicide.
The body of his father is found in a glacier. Now the questions begin. There were signs of a struggle so what happened? Foster goes to his father’s friends to find out some answers.
This book is complex – the mystery of his father, Foster’s life as an artist, and what really happened.

The writing was excellent, and I loved the way the story slowly unfolded with each revelation bringing a little more insight to the mystery and to Foster’s life.
I recommend this book and others written by Mr. Wignall.

I thought the book was very well done, and the ending exceptional. Good development of subject matter and characters.. Again, I thought the ending showed creativity, and deserved extra points for how completely it tied everything together.I will look forward to his next book.

A well known painter who’s father disappeared many years ago suddenly finds himself asking questions of his father’s friends when his body is found after an avalanche. It was a good story and kept me turning the pages quickly.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

Rating: Very Good

Genre: Mystery Thriller

This is a story about a famous artist, Foster Treherne. One day Foster is informed that a body has been discovered in a glacier in Switzerland and that body is believed to be his father who has been missing for thirty years. Despite never knowing his father, Foster decides to dig for the truth after he suspects that his father’s accident might have been more than that. Fortunately, the father has left a diary and a picture that shows the group of friends the old man belonged to.

This is the first time I read something written by Kevin Wignall and I have to say that the story was quite enjoyable. I liked how things kept unraveling at a steady pace. As I progressed in the book I felt the mystery kept getting more interesting. The book is around 232 pages yet it has lots of meat to offer without the need to resort to unnecessary fillers. The characters were interesting especially the members of The Piranesi Society that the deceased father belonged to. The suspense to know and understand these characters and their motives added more intensity to the story along with the diary inclusion which was a crucial part of Foster’s discovery of the mystery.

Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for this honest and unbiased review.

Oh wow, what a book! I read this one in less than 24 hours & that never happens.
This story follows Foster, a successful artist who recently discovered the body of his dad was just found. This opens up the question to us readers if the death was intentional or not.
I loved this story about a father and son. Being a first time mom, it really tugged at my heart strings while also being a gripping tale.
Thank you so much Netgalley for my ARC copy! I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from Wignall!

I very much wanted to read this book. I have to regretfully say I dnf it. The writing style is great, the subject of the story is great and inventive. My only problem was connecting with the main character. I will recommend it to others but it is just not for me.

This was my first book to read by this author and I was very impressed! I can't wait to read more by this author!!

I could not put this book down. It’s filled with quite a few unexpected twists and is beautifully written. Overall an excellent read.

I am a huge Kevin Wignall fan. He has set a high standard for terse, well written, suspense novels. Unfortunately, THOSE WHO DISAPPEARED, falls short of his usual excellence. Foster Treherne, a renowned artist, searches for clues about his father’s death, which was before he was born. Charles Treherne’s body was found in a glacier 32 years after he died. Was it murder, or just an unfortunate accident? His son, Foster, is determined to find his father’s college friends to find out the truth about his father. The wealthy friends seem to be hiding the entire story from Foster. He jet sets across Europe to investigate. The languid storyline is enveloped by art aficionados, and lovely European scenery. Of course he has an obligatory love affair with the Government agent assigned to help him. A meaningless blackmail story muddles the tale even further. This is an unremarkable book by a remarkable author.

"He called the emergency services. He'd found a body, and somewhere out there were loved ones who'd been waiting years maybe even decades for news of the man whose body was suspended in front of Brett now, like an insect preserved in amber from another age."

Those Who Disappeared starting off strong. with a tense atmosphere surrounding the discovery of famed artist Foster Treherne's father who has been missing for 30 years. I was hooked from the start, but for me the book started to get repetitive as Foster was visiting his Father's old friends trying to unearth the truth about his Father's final days. The ending was also a disappointing as I was able to guess what happened really quite early on in the book.

Overall Those Who Disappear is a quick read, and a simple mystery surrounding family secrets.

This starts off with a body being found in a glacier, a body who you find out belongs to Charlie Treherne who went missing 30 years prior. His son Foster who never even got to meet his dad jumps right into trying to find out what happened that day his father went missing. When he went to view the body there were slight signs of a struggle, also was able to get his dad's journal and belongings. Immediately he starts finding each person in the photo to try and get some insight on his parents. It is pretty apparent something was being hidden from the others in the photo, and I don't like how it seemed to drag on and on. There was no big climax in the story. In the end he does find out who murdered his father and gets the closure he needed. Pretty good read! Also thanks to NetGalley for my arc for an honest review!

Also shared this to my Goodreads account!

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Those Who Disappeared" is the story of an artist's search for the truth of his father's disappearance and death.

This book is beautifully written. The descriptions and details absorb the reader and make you feel you know the characters and locations personally. The workings of the art world are vividly imagined, and the emotions of love and loss are felt throughout, due to the author's use of descriptive phrasing.

I would recommend this book, and would rate it five out of five.

This was a gentle read, I thought there might have been a twist at the end. A sad story as a boy’s illusions about his father are destroyed by investigating his death. Enjoyable

First of all, I think Foster might be one of my favorite characters from a thriller...ever. He seemed so personable and down to earth, especially given the horrors in his past. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun ride and the air of mystery followed you basically until the last page. I will say I wish there had been a bit more of a twist, but it's still a wonderful read without it! Thank you so much to both Kevin Wignall and Thomas & Mercer for letting me read and review this book!

I found this a bit slow to get into but once I did, I enjoyed it, A story of a father and son who never knew each other and the journey of the son discovering who his father was and the life he led.. This was very different to Kevin Wignall's other books, more of a mystery and I have to say I prefer his spy stories but in saying so still a fine effort. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book..

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Foster learns that is Father's body was found near a glacier. He went missing over three decades. When Foster tries to talk to his fathers friends, he hits a roadblock. This book kept me interested from start to finish.

Seeking answers from the past…

Never having known his parents Foster Treherne, a renowned artist, hasn’t given them much thought until now, he was raised by grandparents who at best were distant, nannies, and boarding school. After 32 years the body of his father is found in the Swiss Alps, his remains disinterred by an avalanche on a glacier. As a child, Foster wondered if the father who had disappeared would someday walk into his life, and his father has but not in the way the child in Foster could have imagined. Contacted with the news by an embassy worker who is a fan of his works Foster embarks on a journey of discovery of who his parents were and we see how it affects him, the good and the bad things he learns, and the mystery that his father’s death turned out to be. There is a level of curiosity in all of us and the thought that there might have been more to his father’s death than a tragic accident on the slopes demands he investigate. Foster’s search begins within the pages of the journal found on his father’s person, and those the man once befriended described in the only thoughts Foster has ever had of his father.

The tragic circumstances surrounding Foster’s beginnings have always defined him, a father who mysteriously vanished months before his birth, a mother who committed suicide a year after he was born. This story is the psychological study of a man who has had to make his way on his own and in his thirties seeks to obtain some closure, some understanding of where he came from, and the knowledge he obtains inevitably alters his life, his relationships, and his perception of all he had known. Foster is a likable, relatable complex character, though much a loner type of individual his internal dialogue shows us how much more there is to him than people around him are allowed to see. Foster is an individual who understands what it is to be lost amongst a crowd yet he is a highly functional insightful person. I liked the use of published articles about the artist to tell us what the world knew of him.

This is not the first time I have read this author and won’t be the last. The story was well-written and nicely paced, it had a captivating storyline, a decades-long mystery, the unraveling of secrets long kept, well-developed characters, and descriptions that so easily visually take you into the world you are reading about.

An advanced reading copy was obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.

Interesting book.
First time I've read a book by Kevin Wignall. I didn't love this book, but also didn't dislike it.
It was interesting because there was no big reveal and the typical bad guy (but was he bad? You never really quite know for sure) was already dead.

All I can really say is interesting

Book Review: Those Who Disappeared by Kevin Wignall
(Published by Amazon Publishing UK, March 15, 2021)

4.25 Stars.

32 years earlier, Handeck, Bern, Switzerland.

It was a relatively warm Alpine October day. Twenty-five-year-old Charles Treherne, nature lover, privileged background, educated at Bennington, a boarding school in New Hampshire, Yale degree, postgraduate history student at the University of Bologna, Italy, sets out with his backpack from the Swiss pension at daybreak for a day's hike on an isolated mountain trail atop the nearby glacier.

That morning, he goes without his travel companion who wasn't feeling well. He knew he was taking a risk.

It was the last people would see of him alive.

Charles joined the long list of many of those who disappeared, lost and buried in the Alpine mountain range...

32 years later.

Thirty two-year-old Berlin-based American figurative painter Foster Treherne, renowned "Little Boy Lost of American Art" on account of his heritage, is firmly established at the top tier on the world stage.

He gets a phone call from Bern.

The body of his long-lost father - the father he never knew, was found by a hiker at the "accumulation zone", the higher part of a glacier, uncovered after an avalanche.

They'd also recovered Charles Treherne's backpack, his hiking boots, jacket and a journal. Three buttons in a row were missing on the jacket, possibly the sign of a struggle. But if he'd fallen off an ice ledge, anything could have happened.

"ICE BODY IS LEADING ARTIST'S LONG-LOST FATHER". The New York Times publishes a story of the grim recovery with a photo. It is of Charles Treherne with five friends in Italy, including Foster's mom, then 23-year-old Lucy Foster, a English student also at the U. of Bologna. His parents were never married. She'd committed suicide a year after his birth.

The NYT story includes only one other name in the caption apart from Treherne. The second name, Chris Hamblyn, is now a journalist at the Rome bureau of the Times.

Foster decides to call Mr. Hamblyn to find anything he could tell about his father - his parents.

He also remembers the same Times photo in the belongings of Charles packed and given to him by his paternal grandma.

That photo has seven instead of six people - six friends with Charles Treherne.

The photo presented with the NYT report had been doctored. Someone's been carefully airbrushed off the picture...

-----

With a writing style so fluid and easy to speed-read, Author Kevin Wignall's stories specialize in compartmentalized dust-ups, power plays, and confrontations, no major paradigm shifts in the singularity - and yet ever so original and quite creative - and keeps you at the edge of your seat.

The protagonists in his stories are flawed, tragic, and invariably are determined and out to set things right. Which are precisely what make them compelling and easy to empathize with.

"Those Who Disappeared" is no exception. Another great read from the author!

Review based on an ARC from Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley.

Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for this honest and unbiased review. First time I've read a book by Kevin Wignall. I love this book but not very much turn and twisted. A well-written interesting story involving young man’s search for the truth. I found the writing incredibly engaging, with a well crafted plot and incredibly interesting characters. This mystery has a great plot, and, as usual, the storytelling is very smooth. The characters are fantastic, and all in all this is a very entertaining and intriguing book. This book has those qualities still but provides a deeper response that resonates with my whole being. This is why I will continue to enjoy his books and easily recommend then to others.

This book follows Foster, a rising artist who had never met his father and lost his mother young, so he created what he thought his parents were. When the long lost body of his father is recovered, the fairy tale he created about the man starts to dissolve. Curious to know who he was, leads Foster to dig deeper in the short life his father led, the relationships he had with Foster's mother and their tight-knit group of friends and how that might have contributed to his disappearance.

It is interesting to dissect what we think of our parents. If we resent them, put them on a pedestal, or if we even know who they are outside of "Mom" or "Dad". How much is hidden from us? How much are we just blind to?

As Foster continues down this path, the reader is asked to contemplate if we really ever fully know who are are parents are, especially before having us. Do our past mistakes taint our futures? What happens when a parent doesn't live up to your expectations?

I think sometimes we don't really think about our parents as "people". They had lives before us (whether short or long) and any mistakes, issues, personality quirks, or life choices make them human, just like us.

What are my kids going to think of me when I'm older?

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s writing and characters are so addictive that I had to read everything in one sitting and barely been aware of what’s going on around me.
I was intrigued to know more of each character and what actually happened thirty years ago with Foster’s father and if his assumptions were correct or not.
It was interesting to see him traveling around Europe and met with some very interesting characters and retelling stories from those years when they lived so freely or so it seemed like.
It was my first book by the author but won’t be the last I’ll be reading for sure.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a unique and fascinating story that kept me reading to the very end. I enjoyed the premise and the development and reveal of the characters throughout. The length was perfect as was the degree of detail. Based on this novel, I would seek out more books by Kevin Wignall.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Kevin Wignall and I really enjoyed it. Foster Trehearne is a successful artist who never knew his parents. When his father’s body is found in the ice where he disappeared whilst hiking in bad weather, it should bring him closure. Instead, a few things don’t quite add up and he starts questioning his parents’ friends from that time, trying to work out the truth.
An easy suspenseful read.

Those Who Disappeared is a literary cold case mystery, about an artist searching for the truth about his father, who disappeared while climbing in the Alps before he was born, by a British author who is new to me. I’m fortunate to be Pre-Approved by Amazon UK on NetGalley, and was drawn to the stunning cover image, so downloaded this on a whim, and ended up enjoying the writing as well as the gentle unraveling of the truth. It’s not a thriller, there’s not much suspense, and it takes a while to get going, but it’s a short fluid read and never boring.

Foster Treherne is a successful Anglo-American painter in his early thirties, whose career took off early, causing some jealousy amongst his peers, and now lives a quiet life in Berlin. Left an orphan by the suicide of his mother while he was still an infant, he has kept his distance from close relationships, to focus on his work. When the body of his father, Charlie, is found preserved in ice after an avalanche, showing evidence of a possible altercation, Foster is determined to learn more about the man he always dreamed would return for him. Tracking down his parents’ friends from that time, a secretive group who called themselves the Piranesi club, he senses they are hiding something from him, so armed with Charlie’s journal, his convenient wealth, and assisted by a beautiful diplomatic aide, Foster embarks on an obsessive quest for the truth that will change everything he thought he knew about his life.

I know almost nothing about the Art world, so it was fun to have our protagonist be a famous artist who’s unafraid to use his celebrity and connections to further his investigation, but he is refreshingly down to earth, considerate and modest at the same time. It’s a kind of Coming of Age story as Foster finds out the truth about his parents and matures emotionally as a result. There are some likeable support characters, a romance that doesn’t get in the way of the plot, no sex or violence and the mystery was interesting enough to keep me guessing. The side-plot about the threatening letters was a bit of a letdown, although does become relevant later.
I’d happily read more from this author. Thanks to Amazon UK & NetGalley for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. Those Who Disappeared is published on March 15th.

This book caught my attention at the beginning with the avalanche and a body found. At that point, I thought to myself it was going to be a thriller, but it really wasn't. Foster Treherne has never met his father and he thought he never would until the body is identified as that of his father, Foster is forced to follow a trail of clues to find out how who his father really was. The more he investigates, the more puzzling the case becomes. He meets some of his father’s friends who seem to know very little or or don't seem to care at all.

The writer's grasp on each of the characters and locales is amazing! It made me want to travel to these places. What I got out of this story is that secrets can destroy you or make you a better person. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.

Thank you #NetGalley for the AC!

A commendable work of blending friendship, family and a quest for truth in a cold case of three decades. The characters are all relatable and garner sympathy. The final pages emphasise the value of human relations beyond lust. The unintended victimisation of children is adequately highlighted. Well done.