(64)Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown

Wednesday, July 26, 2017


Jonathan Flanagan and his teenage daughter, Olive, are still reeling from the disappearance of Billie a year ago.  Billie, your typical suburban mom,  went for a hike one day and never returned.  In the year since she disappeared they had a funeral, Jonathan quit his job to write a book, and Olive misses her mom something fierce.  The anniversary has stirred up a lot of emotions and Olive is convinced that she is seeing her mother in visions.  She is convinced that it is proof that Billie is not dead.   Much to her father's dismay, Olive starts on this quest to find her mother that takes her down all sorts of paths.   Jonathan doesn't want to give into his daughter's whims, but there is that one password protected file on Billie's computer that leaves him thinking "what if " and he starts his own investigation into Billie's past.  He discovers that there was a side of Billie that he never knew existed.  In their quest, both Jonathan and Olive discover that Billie was keeping secrets from them, but is it enough to prove that she really alive?

Watch Me is a slow moving novel that builds these layers of suspicion about Billie. There is never any heart-pounding situations, but the secrets that are revealed are uncovered in a very methodical way.  It isn't until you get to the very last pages that you end up thinking "wow, what a good book."   The reader only gets to know Billie after she is gone and mostly through the eyes of Jonathan and Olive - both who worshiped her.  Billie's best friend Harmony starts to shed some light on the real Billie, but as a reader, I wasn't sure if it was the truth or because Harmony was a little envious of the life that Billie had.   I felt so bad for Olive - she seemed so lost without her mother.  The author did a great job of communicating the depths of her grief and it was heartbreaking.  There are some surprises along the way, but I thought that we had heard them all until the last few pages. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom line -- Watch Me Disappear is an intricate look at those left shattered by the death of a loved one.   There are so many layers to this story that you have to leave time to digest it all.  Definitely, one to add to your "TBR" list.

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