One of CrimeReads Most Anticipated Books of the Year!“This literary thriller paints as vivid a landscape as any book coming out this summer…Gee creates a lush, tantalizing world that readers will want to travel into deeper and deeper.”—CrimeReadsCelia Lily is rich, beautiful, and admired. She’s also missing. And the search for the glamorous socialite is about to expose all the dark, dirty … glamorous socialite is about to expose all the dark, dirty secrets of Vanishing Falls…
Deep within the lush Tasmanian rainforest is the remote town of Vanishing Falls, a place with a storied past. The town’s showpiece, built in the 1800s, is its Calendar House—currently occupied by Jack Lily, a prominent art collector and landowner; his wife, Celia; and their four daughters. The elaborate, eccentrically designed mansion houses one masterpiece and 52 rooms—and Celia Lily isn’t in any of them. She has vanished without a trace.…
Joelle Smithton knows that a few folks in Vanishing Falls believe that she’s simple-minded. It’s true that Joelle’s brain works a little differently—a legacy of shocking childhood trauma. But Joelle sees far more than most people realize, and remembers details that others cast away. For instance, she knows that Celia’s husband, Jack, has connections to unsavory local characters whom he’s desperate to keep hidden. He’s not the only one in town with something to conceal. Even Joelle’s own husband, Brian, a butcher, is acting suspiciously. While the police flounder, unable to find Celia, Joelle is gradually parsing the truth from the gossip she hears and from the simple gestures and statements that can unwittingly reveal so much.
Just as the water from the falls disappears into the ground, gushing away through subterranean creeks, the secrets in Vanishing Falls are pulsing through the town, about to converge. And when they do, Joelle must summon the courage to reveal what really happened to Celia, even if it means exposing her own past…
more
3.5/5
Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee is a very atmospheric mystery that has both a slow pace and a whole lot of characters. There are quite a few viewpoints and people to keep track of, but over time as I read on, I was able to get better at keeping everyone straight. The town of Vanishing Falls was very unique, and I absolutely loved the setting. Those small-town stories are good enough, but then get even better if they are in the middle of nowhere and that is what happens for this story. I really liked the mystery surrounding Celia’s disappearance alongside the art aspect, and I had fun following along with Joelle as she goes sleuthing. Joelle was by far my favorite character in this book as well as the driving force, and almost every single one of the others is unlikeable and really frustrated me at times. I do wish Gee would have toned it down with some of the viewpoints, as I don’t think that many were needed, but I’m glad I had Joelle.
I also would have loved some more narrators for the audiobook, and with this many characters, it would have been truly helpful. Be that as it may, our narrator Caroline Lee did a fantastic job and I am glad that she was the person I got to listen to. She is a very talented voice artist, and if I have to have one narrator, I am glad it was her. I did not figure out what had happened until the moment it was revealed but be warned it does take a decent amount of time to get there and find out what happened to our missing woman. There are some parts that are really hard to read, especially in regard to animals and how certain people treat Joelle, but overall, I was interested in what was going on and there were a lot of moving parts. The setting of Tasmania and the character of Joelle are definitely the two things that shine in this novel and ended up being my favorite things about it. Not a bad read, but I was hoping for a bit more. I will still read more from Gee though and am looking forward to it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
3 1/2 stars
Vanishing Falls is an atmospheric murder mystery that takes place in a small, remote town in Tasmania, which has suffered the loss of most of its major industries. It seems that everyone in town has secrets, and many of those secrets will be revealed before the end of the book. It follows the actions of three characters. There’s Jack, a wealthy lawyer with a long family history in the area. The book opens with his wife’s disappearance. He collects fine art from Tasmania’s colonial period. There’s Joelle, a traumatized, unpretentious, and artless young wife and mother. Finally, there’s Cliff, a chicken farmer in financial trouble, who has a drug problem; although, he doesn’t believe he does. He and his wife, Kim, also seem to have marital issues.
While the book takes place in 2017, it reads more like 1940s noir fiction. To me, it seemed disjointed and juvenile, simplistic in ways that did not suit the subject matter. It’s well enough written, but predictable. I felt that the darkness of the story was at odds with the descriptions of the beautiful and lush setting. Even the house, a gothic building, sounded beautiful and airy, filled with fine art and expensive and tasteful furnishings, rather than sinister. It’s a very slow build that never really takes off. Even when the action picks up, it’s still lethargic.
I figured out who committed the crimes fairly early on; although, I will admit that there were some interesting twists. It went off on tangents, following Jack’s indiscretions, Cliff’s drug buying, Celia’s and Cliff’s maybe-maybe not attraction, Kim’s apparent attraction to Jack. I never did understand why it tried to connect Joelle’s past to Celia’s disappearance. This could have been an excellent novel, for the bones of it are good, if it had been written in a different style. The ending did not seem to fit with the rest of the story. It felt rushed and too sweet and pat.
The characters were not well fleshed out and came across as flat, evoking little sympathy from me. It was easy to tell who was good and who was not. I did like how Joelle stood up for herself, and how she was the one who wound up collecting the important details that led to solving the case. Yet, she seemed too simple to be the one who saw what no one else did. Then, again, perhaps it was her simplicity that allowed her to do that.
Know that the book involves drug use, prostitution, and deception of all sorts. In truth, it could have benefited from cutting 25-50 pages without interfering with the story. That likely would have improved it.
Overall, it’s a reasonable mystery, but not the best I’ve read. I recommend it only if you have the patience to plow through the slow, slow pace. I kept putting the book down and didn’t feel any compulsion to pick it up again. If I hadn’t promised a review, I might not have finished it.
I won an ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I thank all involved in the giveaway for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review express my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
What has happened to Celia Lily? That’s the big question in this book. Her husband and her have a big fight. She leaves to go to a gala, he goes elsewhere (I am not ruining anything, this happens at the beginning of the book). When he returns home, Celia isn’t there, though her purse and keys are.
Joelle is the woman in town everyone thinks is dumb. She sees things and hears things others don’t realize. Why? Bc they figure she won’t understand. But maybe if she figures out what happened to Celia, they were friends, she will be a hero.
I enjoyed this small town mystery. Some readers may not bc it was slow paced. I like trying to figure out mysteries, but this one was so clothed I didn’t figure it out until right before the reveal.
I won this from Goodreads. All opinions are my own.
I found this to be a slow read, I like a book that drags me in and keeps me turning the page and this book just didn’t do that for me. I will say that I was completely wrong about whom was responsible for the things happening in the book. ALthough I wasn’t in love with the book, overall I found it to be well written. I always suggest others read the book and make their own opinions because everyone doesn’t enjoy the same things.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and was under no obligation to give a favorable review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Vanishing Falls is a delightful read. Is it wrong to call a book about someone missing delightful? I did. The quirky characters and town made it quite an enjoyable read for me. The people of Vanishing Falls have secrets and some will kill to keep them that way. It read like a soap opera and I was so into it. When I began reading, I admit I had no clue where it was going. As the story progressed and took on that soap opera vibe, I was hooked and invested! I think my favorite character has to be Joelle. There is so much more to her! The story was so good that I wasn’t trying to figure out who done it. I was surprised at the twist. Nice one!
I highly enjoyed the author’s writing style and will be looking for other books by her. You have a new fan Miss Gee!! Make this your next read! I give this 5 stars.
Thanks to Scene of the Crime for the ARC of Vanishing Falls. This novel, set in Australia, is about a small town that was once a thriving place, but now it’s poor with a meth addiction problem. There is a wealthy family, Jack and Celia Lily, that own the Calendar House. Jack has recently acquired a valuable and rare painting. Most people don’t think highly of the Lilys. Their friends, Kim and Cliff, run a poultry farm, but Cliff is a meth addict, and Kim is trying to manage their finances. Joelle is married to the butcher, Brian, and she is hiding a terrible secret about her past. Brian is c overly protective of Joelle. Finally, Brendan and Karen Keegan are a couple who own a junkyard, and they have a weird connection to Jack.
When Celia goes missing, Jack is automatically a suspect. He swears his innocence as the town searches for Celia. The novel lays out a tale retracing what happened before and after her disappearance. The clues are all there, and the reader can easily determine who caused Celia‘s disappearance. However, you may not guess the full motive, and the unlikely friendship that is made.
I enjoyed this novel, although I think there could have been some more crispness in the story, especially around Joelle’s back story. I would be interested in reading more from this author.
#VanishingFalls #PoppyGee #SceneOfTheCrime #HarperCollins #NetGalley
mystery, Tazmania, suspense
Tazmania. Even the name is exotic, like the rainforest itself. There the author has created a mansion of the British tradition, a natural but strange waterfall, and some very interesting characters. And a mystery full of twists. The publisher’s blurb is a good hook, and spoilers are just wrong, but I liked it very much.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from HarperCollins Publishers/William Morrow Paperbacks via NetGalley.