‘The Disappearance’ is a wonderfully tense and readable family tale, capable of delivering sharp shocks as you sink into the story. 70 year old Audrey vanishes during a cruise after telling her two children that they are set to receive a large amount of money when she dies. Setting the timeline before, during and after the disappearance of Audrey, we hear daughter Lexi tell her own tale, while Audrey’s is told on her behalf as it moves forward in time from 1970, allowing us to learn more about Audrey, in fact far more than even her children. Annabel Kantaria sets sinister undertones lying in wait, they menace the story, surprising and harassing your senses and yet, as events unfold, moments of love and compassion create a quite beautiful balance. This is a convincing and clever tale, handled with empathy, and all too easy to lose yourself in… prepare to read this in one go!
Audrey Bailey will never forget the moment she met Ralph Templeton in the sweltering heat of a Bombay cafe. Her lonely life over, she was soon married with two small children. But things in the Templeton household were never quite what they seemed. Now approaching 70, and increasingly a burden on the children she's never felt close to, Audrey plans a once-in-a-lifetime cruise around the Greek isles. Forcing twins Lexi and John along for the ride, the Templetons set sail as a party of three - but only two will return. On the night of her birthday, Audrey goes missing...hours after she breaks the news that the twins stand to inherit a fortune after her death. As the search of the ship widens, so does the list of suspects - and with dark clues emerging about Audrey's early life, the twins begin to question if they can even trust one another...
'An utterly compelling story of loss and betrayal. I loved it' Judy Finnigan
'A clever, tense thriller' Heat
'A gripping debut. You won't be able to put this down' Bella
'Compelling...fans of Jodi Picoult and Liane Moriarty will enjoy this' Candis
Author
About Annabel Kantaria
Annabel Kantaria is a British journalist and columnist who’s written prolifically for publications in the UK and the Middle East. She lives in Dubai with her husband and two children. Her debut novel, Coming Home, won the Montegrappa Prize for First Fiction at the 2013 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. Follow Annabel on Instagram here.
