Book Review: Vanished

Title: Vanished
Author: E. E. Cooper
Year of Publication: 2015
Summary:  Friendship. Obsession. Deception. Love.

Kalah knows better than to fall for Beth Taylor . . . but that doesn't stop her from falling hard and falling fast, heart first into a sea of complications.

Then Beth vanishes. She skips town on her eighteenth birthday, leaving behind a flurry of rumors and a string of broken hearts. Not even Beth's best friend, Britney, knows where she went. Beth didn't even tell Kalah good-bye.

One of the rumors links Beth to Britney's boyfriend, and Kalah doesn't want to believe the betrayal. But Brit clearly believes it—and before Kalah can sort out the truth, Britney is dead.

When Beth finally reaches out to Kalah in the wake of Brit's suicide, Kalah wants to trust what Beth tells her. But she's swiftly realizing that nothing here is as it seems. Kalah's caught in the middle of a deadly psychological game, and only she can untangle the deceptions and lies to reveal the unthinkable truth.

Review: Vanished was a confusing book. Confusing in a good way. But there were so many red herrings, it almost gave me whiplash. It also reminded me a lot of Gone Girl.

I have to put this out there straight away, I knew Britney wasn't dead from the moment it was revealed on the page that she had committed suicide. No body? Pssh. I've seen like five seasons of Pretty Little Liars. No body = not dead. Always.

So while this story was a little predictable, it was also a good read and a strong debut novel for the author, E. E. Cooper. I liked most of the characters, even when I hated them - they were well crafted. Well, maybe with the exception of Britney's mother who was horrible and a little bit racist, and sort of one dimensional and oh, did I mention absolutely horrible? Yeah, I hated her.

I am almost wishing for a sequel or more pages in the book so we can see if Britney was ever brought to justice or not. Also, I would have loved to read more about Kalah and Beth's relationship. I definitely did not agree with how Kalah handed it, especially to do with Zach but I can emphasize. I remember all too well how falling in love with someone I was not supposed to felt.

I don't know how realistic this novel was, but it was an entertaining read nonetheless. I look forward to more by this author. Rating 3.5, rounded up to 4.

Rating:
4/5 stars
★★★★✰