The Vanishing

We start off with a séance at the famed Havenwood in 1875 that is performed by the famous Seraphina, and it all will go very, very wrong, and from there we will jump to the present day when Julia Bishop, whose husband has just suicided in disgrace because of investment fraud. About to lose her home she is approached by Adrian Sinclair who needs a companion for his famous mother, the long thought dead ex-writer Amoris Sinclair. Sinclair was considered a modern master of the macabre, who is considered the modern Edgar Allen Poe, and who was, coincidently, an influence on Julia back when she was a young writer. However, Julia gave up her writing career some time ago when she had married Jeremy. Now the creditors, and the victims of her husband's scams, are coming for her, and all that she has, and Adrian is now giving her the chance to disappear just as Adrian's mother mysteriously did. Even though Julia knows nothing about the Sinclairs, or how this opportunity is going to work out, she's desperate enough to jump at this chance to start anew. And with that, she leaves her old identity behind, lock, stock, and barrel. From the beginning this novel moves into the realm of the surreal. Especially when Julia gets to Havenwood as this deepens when Julia meets it's matriarch, and during the course of the same day she hears children playing. This continues as Amoris tells the strange story of the founder of Havenwood, Andrew McCullough, his rise to be influential and rich, and his then strange and mysterious fate. As things progresses, she realizes that the estate is isolated, and she is not to use the phone, that would give away her location, and that the help doesn't approve of her reading the newspaper. Although, when she does so, Julia finds that somebody had burned her previous house to the ground, leaving her with no place to go even if she wanted to leave. Havenwood is itself a surrealistic dreamscape as Julia hears strange voices just drifting off out-of-ear range, Havenwood has a labyrinth of corridors and hallways, some locked up and sealed, there is an endless library filled with thousands of volumes, the estate isolation, and it seems to exist almost out-of-time, as there as most modern technology doesn't seem to exist in Havenwood. There is even a shuttered room right out of Dickens' "Great Expectations" in which a great party has been hastily abandoned. Then she meets a fourth generation McCullough, who's Havenwood's vet and groomsman, and as circumstances continue, the reason for Julia's being at Havenwood becomes more and more murky and mysterious, and she starts to wonder what the reason is for her to really be at Havenwood. Webb is a practitioner of the new romantic Gothicism, as Webb tries hard to, and does a great job of, recreating the gothic suspense novels of yesteryear. It's all here; from the dotty and eccentric matriarch, the sturdy romantic, interest, the naive heroine, the estate's isolation, the eerie comings and goings of the estates staff and occupants, and the possible supernaturalism. Like all of your classic gothic romantic suspense novels, by the novel's end Julia will be second-guessing both her sanity, and her security, as there will be dark secrets revealed, mysteries to be unraveled, her faith in herself to be tested, and Julia will have to undergo a baptism by fire to become a whole person again. Sure some of the things that will be revealed will be a stretch to swallow, but that's all part of the genre. What does become a little annoying is that despite her age, she must be in her mid-thirties, Julia constantly acts like a naïve and innocent sixteen-year-old. Although, as the novel progresses, there may even be a reason for that, as Webb is very good at what she does. True the melodrama is a little over-the-top, with arson, stalking, ghostly visitations, warnings from beyond the grave, haunts, time slippages, romance, clandestine & shadowy motives, secret-histories, etc., but Webb does it all so well, that it never overwhelms, and the reader becomes thoroughly entranced. I don't know how this novel stands up to Webb's previous novels, but I loved this bit of retro fiction, which shows just how inept some of the Harlequin writers are at trying to recreate fiction like this. I certainly will continue to read even more of Webb's novels in the future as I may have discovered a new favorite author. As somebody who loves good ghost stories, this is a novel that fans of classic novels like "The Haunting Of Hill House", "A Stir Of Echoes", or "The Uninvited" will probably love. What a great movie this would make. I'm a bit too literal minded, so I'm not sure about what the last chapter was all about, but, I'm going to chalk it all up to obtrusiveness on my part. For this site I have reviewed these other ghost fictions: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick (Josephine Leslie). Ghost Pilot by Anton Emmerton. Other Worlds: The Bell Witch and the Stratford Haunting (Thorndike Core) by Barbara Michaels. The Painted Darkness by Brian James Freeman. Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz. The Rosedale Horror by Jon Ruddy. The Uninvited, a Story of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Circumstances by Dorothy Macardle. The Vines by Christopher Rice. And one good anthology: The Virago Book of Victorian Ghost Stories (Charnwood Large Print Library Series) edited by Richard Dalby. And this gothic romance: Haggard's Manor (A Quyeen Size Gothic) by Evelyne Hayworth (Evan L. Heyman).

This was really good. While the writing style didn't knock my socks off the characterization was great over all. This book had quite a few twists and the layered mysteries were fantastic. The Vanishing does a wonderful job of making you think one thing and really doing something else. To sum up the book: "this book isn't about what you think it's about, yet that's exactly what it's about." Confusing? Twisty? Absolutely, but very worth it. The one thing that nearly killed the book for me was the epilogue. I really felt it was unneeded. It was super well written and one of the creepiest moments in the book but it seemed to be so last minute. It contributed nothing to the book (for me at least) and made me really frustrated with what I had just read. It really belongs in another book. I'd read the dickens out of said other book but in The Vanishing it felt more like a cop out. That aside, this was a really fun book! The creepy/eerie parts were eerie and unsettling, the multi-layered mysteries were intriguing and the characters loveable. If you're into ghost stories this is a good book to add to your shelves.

"The Vanishing" was a lucky chance find...I actually glimpsed the book on Amazon as a book "recommended" to me by amazon (based on my prior book selections and ratings). I immediately loved both the description and the cover! The book promised to be a chilling ghost story, which it is, but happily it turned out to be so much more than that! The old Scottish mansion, the northern Minnesota wilderness, the Alaskan Malamutes, the giant moose, etc....all of it was so beautifully descriptive, with such breathtaking detail, I didn't feel like it was even a book anymore. I could visualize everything so perfectly that it was so easy to lose myself in the book. One of the author's most obvious creative talents seems to be writing such a mesmerizing, detailed, and chilling storyline. This transports the reader into the story themselves, which makes everything so much more suspenseful! Even better was how the author sporadically dropped several creepy clues, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat with anticipation. I also found myself clearly imagining the setting just as the author depicts it. The details while describing the manors' extravagance, as well as the creepy factor/foreboding tones lying just beneath the surface, together combine to make it the perfect setting for this suspenseful & frightening book. Loved the characters and the storyline - some twists that you may expect, only to find it's not quite what you originally thought...Recommend!!!

Let me start out by saying that I love a good haunted house story. I came into this book assuming that was what is was going to be. While it morphed into more of a thriller/mystery, I joyfully continued on, enraptured by the story. I absolutely could NOT put this book down. I loved the writing, the characters, and the setting. The twist really got me. And while this book had minor flaws up until the climax, I still was totally in love with the story. And then came the ending. To say it was rushed is an absolute understatement. There was this great build up of Julia's story and then the twist and then BOOM mystery/monster defeated. I can't even begin to describe my disappointment. I understand Julia's story was the focus, but the end felt unbelievably lazy and sloppy. The book had such a great build up and it literally went nowhere, something I positively abhor. I still think this book is worth a read since it's not very long, I don't know if I'd recommend buying it. I'm cautious to read any of Ms. Webb's other work, but I'm always inclined to give a writer a second chance, especially considering I enjoyed 85% of the novel overall.

Loved it, read it in two sittings. Not to over the top as some horrors are. Definitely following this author.

Happy with this novel. I couldn’t put it down!

Absolutely fantastic page-turner. The characters are well-fleshed out and the descriptions draw you into their world. Ten out of ten.

Book arrived from the seller in condition described, very pleased with that. My second Wendy Webb book and am not disappointed. She keeps your attention from start to finish with no dead spots. Can't wait to read another!

Wonderful