Saturday Suspense: Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

   

  Watch Me Disappear is written by Janelle Brown and is published by Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Penguin Random House. In this tale of betrayal and family secrets, we are introduced to Billie Flannagan. She is a free spirit who marches to the beat of her own drummer.  Jonathan Flannigan and his daughter, Olive, are accustomed to going it alone when Billie decides to pack up and go on solo trips. When Billie decides to head out on a hiking trip sans her family, Jonathan just goes with the flow. Then Billie never returns. She is declared missing, then dead. 

   As a year passes, Jonathan gets a book deal to write a memoir on his life with Billie. Building on his notoriety from the early days of his search for his wife, the book is a sure-fire bestseller. The research into his past memories delivers several anomalies to Flannagan: his wife's laptop has a locked folder, money has disappeared from their account, and he hears of sightings of Billie months after her disappearance. Is Billie alive? With the lack of a body, Jonathan cannot be certain. Or did something more sinister happen to her? 

  Watch Me Disappear is the kind of slow-burn family drama that captivated me. Billie Flannagan's story and the mystery behind her disappearance kept me going until the end. I enjoyed the players in this book for the most part. Jonathan was hard to like. I found him a bit whiny at times, but he did manage to come through for his daughter several times.  I enjoyed Olive's perseverance and her quest for the truth about her mother. She played very well into the story, at times being the only rational person on the page. I enjoyed Janelle Brown's writing style, it made the final reveal all the more surprising. She had a way of delving into her character's minds that made me want an extra book just focusing on their pasts. 

  I read Watch Me Disappear with the excellent narration of Tavia Gilbert and Kaleo Griffith. Gilbert handled the main part of the book while Griffith read excerpts from Jonathan's book. Both worked well together and drove the book along nicely. I have read books with Gilbert as the narrator and always love her voice. Griffith was a new discovery for me. I enjoyed his tone and his way of conveying Jonathan's book as more of an inner voice, than a printed page. I will look for more books read by him.

  Watch Me Disappear was a four-star read for me. I found the mystery and family drama engaging. It was well written with interesting characters and a twisty story. A great addition to your Summer reading.

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