How Quickly She Disappears

By: Raymond Fleischmann

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

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 best-selling author of Lock Every Door)

The Dry meets The Silence of the Lambs in this intoxicating 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 20 years since Elisabeth’s twin sister, Jacqueline, disappeared without a trace. Now, 30-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.

©2020 Raymond Fleischmann (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Juicy" (Entertainment Weekly)

“Raymond Fleischmann has blessed us with the rarest of gifts, 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 best-selling author of Lock Every Door)

"A twisted thriller that will keep you guessing, this is a shocker of a story." (Parkersburg News & Sentinel)

Fascinating and mysterious

Couldn’t stop listening to this story and enjoying the description of the people involved and the land of Alaska. The narrator Lisa Flanagan also did a great job!

Disappointing

I started off with great hopes for this book. The description of Alaska, more specifically, Tanacross, was excellent and really transported me there. Almost immediately after the seminal event occurs, things went wrong. To be honest, it’s hard for me to enjoy a book when I can’t like the protagonist but, in this case, there was no character that was likeable.

Despite being depicted as an intelligent and resourceful woman and seemingly a “good” mother, Elizabeth makes inane decisions that bely those depictions. Very little time is taken in describing the family’s move from Tanacross to Anchorage and the transformation of Elizabeth’s daughter as well as Elizabeth’s risky behavior, especially as it pertains to her daughter. And then when the finally mystery is revealed, it’s such a letdown, super creepy and seemingly dealt with in a few pages. I almost felt like I skipped some chapters.

Disappointed by the ending

I found this book to read a little disjointed. I did not care for some of the character development. I also do not care for a mystery which leaves me to write my own ending.

Unlikeable main character

Didn’t like this at all. Main character is horrible and unlikeable, didn’t care about her at all, she’s obnoxious and rude to the police but she knows everything and gets her daughter into a mess. Allows herself to be played by a murderer, no ending, don’t bother with this one. In the end I didn’t really care at all and wanted the book to be over.

worse than expected

Predictable with a main character who was annoying and just stupid. Started out slow, had a brief moment, then went in circles for a long time. At one point I thought this must he written by a man-it was. There was something about it that was disagreeable. It also wasn't flush out enough to really put you into 1941 or alaska. Reader is excellent at least.