The Day We Disappeared by Lucy RobinsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Annie has a secret. But if she's not going to tell, we won't either. It's a heart-breaking secret she wishes she didn't have - yet Annie isn't broken, not quite yet. Especially now there's someone out there who seems determined to fix her.
Kate has run away. But she's not going to tell us why - that would defeat the point of running, wouldn't it? It's proving difficult to reinvent herself, however, with one person always on her mind.
Scratch beneath the surface and nobody is really who they seem. Even Annie and Kate, two old friends, aren't entirely sure who they are any more. Perhaps you can work it out, before their pasts catch up with them for good . . .
Two friends Annie Mulholland and Kate Brady are at a crossroads in their lives, both running away from their past which has a habit of resurfacing and threatening to catch up with them, both desperate for new beginnings.
This sets the pace of the novel really and both the characters narrate throughout the story. Having left their past lives behind them Kate ends up at a riding stables after answering an advertisement for a groom and applies for the job even though she has no experience she gets it. Once she's at the stables she knows she will be discovered and confides in Becca also a groom that she has no idea what she's doing. Becca then helps her and teaches her on the quiet.
Annie Mulholland was a masseuse and reiki healer who having lost her own business in the recession was now practicing in London during the week days and evenings and at the weekends travelling to Kent and Surrey. After having done this punishing schedule for 3 years one of her clients Stephen Flint changed her life forever by offering her to work for his organisation FlintSpark as an in-house wellbeing associate. New beginnings for the two girls who became friends on a backpacking trip to Asia.
Ok the scene is set and now the plots begin; each girl has their demons to exorcise and each one appears to be on a collision course. The author builds suspense and you can feel something significant is about to happen for each girl but it is not easy to second guess this plot. They both predictably get a love interest but not all is what it seems and both their lives become increasingly complicated as the past draws ever closer.
Good secondary characters pepper this story creating good sub-plots and all characters are believable and authentic.
Annie seems to be gaining confidence and appears to be blossoming in her relationship with Stephen Flint and Kate although playing her cards closer to her chest revealing little to her new friends, does appear to relax a little as time goes on.
Everything is going along nicely for both girls but there is still the underlying unease of knowing something is about to blow and it does just that about 3/4 of the way through the book. I didn't guess the curve ball that was thrown and how both lives become intertwined. I don't want to say more than this as it will definitely spoil the novel to reveal at this point. All I do want to say is that I didn't see it coming, it was a great twist and one I know you will enjoy.
I would have given this book 5 stars except that I am not really into horsey or equestrian linked books and found this aspect of the novel a bit boring. I almost didn't read the novel because of the equestrian element which would have been a shame to have missed it.
A good read, perfect for holiday reading by the beach or by the pool, easy read in terms of pace, a quick read, and of course the unexpected plot twist is a winner. A well deserved 4.5 stars from me.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
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