The Vanishing

Wendy Webb — 2014

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead. When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

Reviews

Vilandra@vilandra

Mar 17, 2023

This was a really good haunted house story. Though the twists weren’t surprising, exactly, the story was well crafted and interesting. I definitely wanted to keep reading until the end. And I would reread this. The only thing I can really criticize is that the ending seemed rushed and too short. This is definitely the best that I’ve read of her so far (Daughters of the Lake and the Haunting of Brynn Wilder).

shellybn@pillywiggin

Jan 28, 2022

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. There were some predictable elements, and some creepy-good twists. This is a good book to read all alone on a dark and stormy night.

Tanya Sutton@mrsreads

Nov 16, 2021

This is the perfect rainy day ghost story. Don't expect anything *too* scary, though, as there are no very spine-tingling moments in this book. It's pure, escapist reading at it's best so don't think about the plot, or it's holes, either.