THE VANISHING PLACE by Zoe Rankin

3.5* Atmospheric, engrossing but also quite irritating in how things are obfuscated, particularly where the father is concerned.

This is my first read by this author, which I grabbed because of the excellent blurb. I'm not sure the female lead's cop instincts are very good, as she never really felt like she was on enough of an alert, despite the discovery of her dead brother, sightings of someone in the trees, and the mystery of her potential niece or sister. She allowed herself to get into a situation she needed rescuing from - just like in the opening scene where she's caught mountaineering/climbing - and puts others at risk. 

The mystery of who/what her father was, began to get irritating with only flashbacks in her POV. I think the author deliberately obfuscated things to bring about the ending - another irritation - and it got tiresome after a while.

I didn't like the kids' brainwashing, although all became understandable right at the very end. And talking of said end, what a confusing mess. Introducing so many characters and machinations and realising their twistedness, felt too much to suspend disbelief over, on top of the obfuscation. Yes, in theory, there was an explanation and some small miracles, but it just felt like an infodump.

The off-grid life sounded horrendous and restrictive but all of the kids could read, write, reason, without much schooling, seemingly Effie was 9, I think, when her mother died, and seemed childish and naive in some ways, yet too old in others. I'm not sure I believed that they all 'got' Harry Potter without the films, tech, etc. And why so many characters with names starting with A? Deliberate? Very confusing. 

I didn't like this book, didn't engage with anyone but found myself strangely pulled into it. 

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Serpent's Tale/Viper, for my reading pleasure.

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