As seen in PEOPLE • Entertainment Weekly • New York Post Best Book of the Week“A novel paced like a thriller but written with the aching grace of literary fiction. A gorgeously dark, harrowing debut.”—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Lock Every DoorThe Dry meets The Silence of the Lambs in this intoxicating tale of literary suspense, set in the relentless Alaskan landscape, about … tale of literary suspense, set in the relentless Alaskan landscape, about madness and obsession, loneliness and grief, and the ferocious bonds of family….
It’s been twenty years since Elisabeth’s twin sister, Jacqueline, disappeared without a trace. Now thirty-year-old Elisabeth is living far from home in a small Alaskan town. She’s in a loveless marriage and has a precocious young daughter she loves more than anything but who reminds her too much of her long-missing sister.
But then Alfred, a dangerous stranger with a plan of his own, arrives in town and commits an inexplicable act of violence. And he offers a startling revelation: He knows exactly what happened to Elisabeth’s sister, but he’ll reveal this truth only if she fulfills his three requests.
Increasingly isolated from her neighbors and imprisoned by the bitter cold and her own obsession, Elisabeth can almost hear her sister’s voice saying, Come and find me. And so she will, even if it means putting herself—and her family—in danger.
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The book kind of dragged and was hard for me to get through
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it started out a little slow, but it quickly picked up and had me hooked.
I thought the characters well written and was caught up in their story. There were just enough twists to keep me guessing and wanting to know what happened next.
I didn’t see the ending coming and I hope that there is a sequel so I can continue to follow her journey
Vast, expansive, beautiful Alaska became a U.S. territory in 1912 and Fleishmann sets the story 30 years later. Elisabeth has come to Tanacross so that her husband can be a teacher, even though she herself is also a trained educator. She is relegated to remaining at home tutoring their bright daughter. Although they have friends in the small town, the living conditions are brutal and the isolation an ongoing challenge. Elisabeth has been troubled since her twin sister disappeared when they were a mere 11 years old. Even though 20 years have elapsed, Elisabeth has never stopped believing Jacqueline is still alive and frequently dreams about her. Her dreams are all she has left of her sister. Trapped in an unsuccessful marriage, Elisabeth’s loneliness is tangible, her frustration at not being able to fully use her skills ongoing. She needs to be more than just a wife and mother.
Jacqueline’s disappearance remains a mystery, but Fleischmann gradually reveals the events that led up to it: the girls’ relationship, the mysterious stranger who arrived in town, Jacqueline’s fascination with him, and the secrets she kept. Did he abduct her?
Alfred, the substitute pilot who brings tragedy with him to Tanacross, is, at first, seemingly eccentric. But soon it is clear that there is much more to his bizarre behavior. When he insists that he has information about Jacqueline, claiming that he was involved in her disappearance, Elisabeth is faced with a choice. If she accedes to his demands, she might extract valuable information from him that will lead her to Jacqueline. But at what cost? Elisabeth struggles to maintain her dignity and self-respect, and protect her daughter, as she navigates Alfred’s demands and calculates the risks and potential rewards associated with engaging in his cat-and-mouse game.
How Quickly She Disappears is darkly atmospheric and Fleischmann’s evocative prose smartly leads readers into Alaska, as well as Elisabeth’s psyche as Alfred taunts her. He skillfully manipulates her, targeting her vulnerability and emotional fragility. He tells her that he also dreams about Jacqueline and is also alone. He zeroes in on the guilt Elisabeth carries about Jacqueline’s disappearance, stemming from her failure to speak up about Jacqueline’s activities before it was too late. As Elisabeth becomes convinced that Alfred really was involved, she determines not to fail her sister again and vows to make amends.
The pace of How Quickly She Disappears accelerates along with the tension as Elisabeth uncovers evidence that Alfred might be telling the truth and her negotiations with him proceed. The action builds to a frenzied, harrowing climax and a conclusion that happily suggests Fleischmann might be contemplating a sequel.
At its core, however, How Quickly She Disappears is an intriguing character study of a woman whose life was forever changed when she was just a young girl, and the impact that momentous event has had on her ever since. Fleischmann convincingly explores how destructive unanswered questions can be, as well as the strength of the enduring and unbreakable bond between sisters, and how devastating the loss of Jacqueline has been to Elisabeth. He heartbreakingly reveals how the hope that Alfred dangles n front of Elisabeth affects her.
How Quickly She Disappears is a gripping mystery, a noir thriller featuring a compellingly complex central character, that is crafted with the precision and eloquence of literary fiction. Hopefully, there will be that hinted-at sequel.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
I have to admit, this book was chosen purely by the beautiful cover. I love being surprised when I read a book. Sometimes it works out…and sometimes it doesn’t…but it’s exciting to start a book with no expectations!
The setting for this one was fabulous. Alaska in 1941 didn’t sound like anyplace I’d like to live, but it was interesting to read about! And the small bits about the native Athabaskans was fascinating. Unfortunately, not much more of the book really excited me.
I did love how young Jacqueline was described. Feisty, fun, adventurous, exciting…nothing like her wise and practical twin sister Elisabeth.
There were parts of the book that started to get my attention, then there lulls, so it was up and down quite a bit. It bounced around between past and present, but not in a straight-forward way, at times.
Elisabeth, and the wreckage she managed to make of her life, became frustrating and predictable. Overall, the book was just an ok read, and felt longer than it’s 320 pages.
Thank you to NetGalley / Berkley / the Author for this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest review!
#HowQuicklySheDisappears #NetGalley
My Rating: 3
Published: January 14th 2020 by Berkley
Pages: 320
Recommend: Not sure
Well my streak of books I was really enjoying had to end sometime, and unfortunately it ended with How Quickly She Disappears by Raymond Fleischmann.
This is a debut novel which is really pretty impressive given the detail and atmospheric qualities. However, my main problem was just that the pacing was way too slow. I like a good slow burn, but How Quickly She Disappears felt slower than slow and nothing was really happening. I did keep reading and I really wanted to know how it would end but that brings us to my second letdown, which is that I thought this was a standalone, but the end definitely leaves things open for a sequel at the very least. I don’t know if the author intends to write one or not, but not having more closure at the end really frustrated me. Now I want to know if there is going to be another book, and even though I didn’t love this one I would still try this author a second time, especially if the next book is about the same characters.
I ended up not skimming any of How Quickly She Disappears at all, and even though things moved very slowly until just before the very end I still wanted to read it all the way through. There are a couple of gory scenes, and at times it was very disturbing. Once you find out the full extent of everything you will definitely be disgusted.
Final Thought: The main reasons I didn’t give How Quickly She Disappears a lower rating than a 3 is because the action towards the end partly made up for the rest of the slowness, and that somehow even with the slow pacing I was still gripped by it and I didn’t want to get to the end by skimming which is what I would normally do. I think if Fleischmann can pick up the pace with his next book I will like it a whole lot more since that was the biggest issue for me. All in all it wasn’t a bad debut by any means and I will be watching to see what he writes next!
Thank you to Edelweiss for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I have to say that I struggled through parts of this book. I wanted to connect with the characters but they seemed so hard, so bitter, and so depressing. They were living in a place that they didn’t enjoy. They didn’t enjoy being with each other, they were the outcasts of the town.
Then Alfred came into the story. He brought with him twists and turns, had me guessing at what he could give to Elisabeth to make her happy again, and what it would cost her. I wondered what his connection to Elisabeth’s twin was and if he could really help Elisabeth come to terms with her disappearance. I didn’t like Alfred at all, I knew he was shady and that whatever he was up to it wasn’t going to end well for anyone involved. But he was the reason that I kept reading.
The ending… oh the ending. It was nothing I saw coming. I had no idea how it would end. Again, I didn’t like it, I didn’t see it coming, but it made sense and I am still not sure if I would have done anything differently if I would have been in Elisabeth’s place.
Living in Alaska was isolation enough, but having a total stranger show up one day and tell you that he knows where your sister who disappeared twenty years ago is was unreal.
Elisabeth and her sister Jacqueline tell their tale in alternating chapters of when they were children together and then today where Elisabeth tells her tale of being alone and without her sister even though she has a husband and daughter. She never got over losing her sister.
Looking for her sister for twenty years was an obsession for Elisabeth and also someone else.
Her sister Jacqueline went missing when they were young and was never found. The news this stranger had was unbelievable.
Could Elisabeth believe this stranger when he had just killed a man?
Could Alfred be the man who took Jacqueline?
Could Alfred be the man who lured Jacqueline with his gifts of money and travel tickets?
Could Elisabeth really be wasting her precious time with her daughter and husband while looking for clues and listening to Alfred’s story that he knows where Jacqueline is as he drew her into his schemes and away from her family?
Elisabeth made me nervous with her obsession with Alfred and how she was pulled into what he asked her to do to find her sister. Alfred was a manipulator.
Someone was hiding something, and Elisabeth seemed to be ruining her life for something she really wasn’t sure of.
HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS was very well written with words that pulled you in and that had a gripping, mesmerizing, menacing tone.
HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS will be enjoyed by historical fiction and mystery fans, readers who like secrets, readers who enjoy not really knowing the background of the characters and what makes them “tick,” and trying to figure it all out.
Will you be able to figure it all out?
Will you be able to handle the tension?
Will you be able to stop turning the pages? 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Set in 1914, against the harsh backdrop of a remote Alaskan community, How Quickly She Disappears is the story of Elisabeth, a wife and mother living a very quiet life in the far northern reaches of Alaska. Elisabeth is at a point in her life where she is isolated, geographically and emotionally, from her husband, her community, and family. In addition to her isolation, Elisabeth is still coping with the disappearance of her twin sister Jacqueline. Twenty years ago, when the girls were young, Jacqueline disappeared without a trace. Now, a strange man named Alfred has flown into town and manipulates his way into Elisabeth’s house, her life, and her past. Elisabeth’s life is turned upside down when Alfred commits a heinous crime in her small town, and then offers clues to her sister’s disappearance, clues that are entirely too detailed to be wrong. Before long, Elisabeth is pulled into a deranged cat and mouse game in the hopes of finally discovering what happened to Jacqueline all those years ago—and maybe even directly to the sister she’s always believed is still alive.
How Quickly She Disappears is a stark, haunting novel. I found myself wanting to disbelieve everything Alfred was telling Elisabeth but being drawn into this madness right alongside her.
My one complaint is that it wasn’t wrapped up in this novel, it left an opening for a sequel and it felt as forced and manipulative as Alfred was. This really felt like a standalone novel the entire time I read it and to be left like this at the end kind of ruined a lot of the experience for me.
How Quickly She Disappears will be available January 14, 2020.
*I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of How Quickly She Disappears from Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
**May contain spoilers
I really don’t like when a novel is compared to another. The comparison to “The Dry” which I really enjoyed is puzzling to me, I don’t see the comparison. This was a 2 and ½ rounded up to a 3 because of the amazing location and a good premise.
This novel was one of those books that you end up asking yourself “what exactly was the plot of this novel? I would say it was the disappearance of Elizabeth’s sister, but then the entire story about Albert Seidel and his relationship with Elizabeth is a strong part of the plot.
The characters weren’t very well described or perhaps it was that their personalities changed so often it was hard to describe them. I truly didn’t care about any of them with the exception of Mack who I felt I could like, he was the one truly good friend and neighbor to Elizabeth. I think he was a kind soul who wanted to protect Elizabeth and her daughter, unfortunately Elizabeth never listened to his advice. He is definitely my favorite character.
“ Elisabeth’s twin sister disappeared without a trace twenty years earlier, and Elisabeth’s life has never recovered. Cryptic visions of her sister haunt her dreams, and Elisabeth’s crushing loneliness grows more intense by the day. But through it all, she clings to one belief: That her sister is still alive, and that they’ll be reunited one day”. She is already sounding mentally unsound if she is dwelling on the disappearance daily and dreaming about her nightly.
Early in the book Elizabeth is portrayed as a wonderful mother and teacher and we see how much time and thought she puts into her daughters lessons. She seems to be very close to her daughter but then later in the novel she is an entirely different person, with no morals, no care for the well being of her own daughter or her husband. Her daughter also morphs quite quickly from a fun loving, excellent and happy student to a “screaming brat” who hates everything, including her mother. She wants to get out of Alaska and makes an attempt at running away, but again this seems to come out of nowhere.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the local landscapes and how it felt to live there. The winter season is the most difficult for most of the people as they feel even more isolated and the weather can be brutal. Some of the plot that takes place in a blizzard were some of the most tense parts of the story for me.
Albert Seidel appears in Elizabeth’s life when their usual pilot is out for the week. He is a bush pilot delivering the mail but is stranded because he tells everyone that there is something wrong with the plane and it will take a few days to get it fixed. Elizabeth feels obligated to offer her extra room because their house is the largest in town and they have hosted others.
Albert is a sociopath and it would tell too much of the plot to get into this character. He must also be hard to notice if he has been following Elizabeth all of these years and she didn’t know it. We do find out that he has been searching for Elizabeth because he has a “secret” to tell her.
There were some things that I liked, I thought the story flowed pretty well from past to present regarding her relationship and life with her twin sister. That relationship was not a healthy one, she was clearly obsessed with Jacqueline. She thought she was the “fun” sister even though many people said she was the “bad” sister and Elizabeth the “good” sister. At only eleven years old Jacqueline was into some really unhealthy relationships and shared everything with Elizabeth who knew it was wrong but still didn’t tell her parents about what was going on.
The premise of this novel was a good one and I’m sure that it will find it’s audience, I just can’t really recommend it. There are many higher star reviews out there so read a variety and see what you think, or just go in blind, sometimes that’s best!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss. This novel is set to publish on January 14, 2020
This was a Traveling Sister read.
This is the story of a young woman,Elisabeth, who is married, living in a small Alaskan village with her husband and young daughter.
Elisabeth is still haunted by the disappearance of her twin sister Jacqueline, twenty year ago. She has no idea where her sister might have went, but knows in her heart that she is still alive.
Then she meets Alfred, whom she immediately, does not trust. She does’t want to let him into her home, but her house is the only on in the village, and can house guests. Alfred turns out to be dangerous, and ends up telling Elisabeth that he knows that her sister is alive, and can tell her where she is, if shes willing to do three things for him in exchange.
The plot of this story is very interesting. Seeming like it was going to be an interesting, unique read. Its set in the 1940’s, in Alaska, so it makes it more frightening, the thoughts of isolation, and loneliness that Elisabeth feels. In a way, it asks the question, ‘what are you willing to do for your family?
Overall, the story was good, and I enjoyed the mystery of it. I was confused when it kept jumping from past to present, when Elisabeth and Jacqueline where younger. As it was told in the perspective of a younger Elisabeth. But I soon realized that it was telling you what lead up to the disappearance of Jacqueline.
The story kept me engaged, and interested in the characters lives and well beings.
As I understand, this is a first book for Author Raymond Fleischmann. It was very good for a first book. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author.
I would definitely recommend you pick up a copy of this book when its released in the beginning of next year. Worth a read.
I won this book in a Goodreads contest for my honest review, so here goes: There are many positive things about this book. The setting is in Alaska, which is one of my favorite locations to read about; it is set in a very interesting era, the 1940’s; and the storyline is compelling. All of this being said, I felt as though the dialogue lacked vigor. It was very monotone to me. The premise of the story (a twin disappears at a young age and her twin sister spends the next 20 years looking for her and hoping to find her alive) is very believable and intense. The mystery of the story is what kept me reading…I was truly invested in finding that twin sister. However, I have to say that I felt let down at the end of this book. I am assuming it was completed the way it was so that a sequel is needed for the story to have closure. I am not used to reading books that end the way this one did. I would recommend this book to anyone to read since I realize that not every book appeals to every reader, and it was written very well considering this is the author’s debut novel.