The Disappearing: A Novel

by Lori Roy

Overview

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Best Books of 2018

Two-time Edgar Award-winning author Lori Roy spins a twisted, atmospheric tale about a small Southern town where girls disappear and boys run away.

When Lane Fielding fled her isolated Florida hometown after high school for the anonymity of New York City, she swore she'd never return. But twenty years later, newly divorced and with two daughters in tow, she finds herself tending bar at the local dive and living with her parents on the historic Fielding Plantation. Here, the past haunts her and the sinister crimes of her father—the former director of an infamous boys' school—make her as unwelcome in town as she was the day she left.

Ostracized by the people she was taught to trust, Lane's unsteady truce with the town is rattled when her older daughter suddenly vanishes. Ten days earlier, a college student went missing, and the two disappearances at first ignite fears that a serial killer who once preyed upon the town has returned. But when Lane's younger daughter admits to having made a new and unseemly friend, a desperate Lane attacks her hometown's façade to discover whether her daughter's disappearance is payback for her father's crimes—or for her own.

With reporters descending upon the town, police combing through the swamp, and events taking increasingly disturbing turns, Lane fears she faces too many enemies and too little time to bring her daughter safely home. Powerful and heart-pounding, The Disappearing questions the endurance of family bonds, the dangers of dark rumors and small town gossip, and how sometimes home is the scariest place of all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524741945
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/28/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	325,200
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Lori Roy is the author of Bent Road, winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel; Until She Comes Home, finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; and Let Me Die in His Footsteps, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her family.

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Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Disappearing

“[A] sinuous slow burn... evocative writing and a tense, kaleidoscopic narrative conspire to create a tale that thrills and chills.” —Publishers Weekly

“This contemporary slow burner oozes with atmosphere, and Roy effortlessly weaves numerous plot threads together without sacrificing her characters, who are very flawed and all too human…A twisted Southern gothic winner.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Exceptional... [with a] stunning conclusion." —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Best Books of 2018

“Another creepily atmospheric, cunningly plotted suspense tale… Excruciating tension throughout.” —Booklist

“An eerie atmosphere churns the Southern gothic-esque story…An abandoned scary place and hidden graveyards add to the chills.” –Oline Cogdill, (Best 2018 Mystery Novel Pick)

“Lori Roy’s writing oozes atmosphere. You can hear the katydids.” —The Star Tribune

"Gripping... [Roy is a] rising star." —O, The Oprah Magazine

“As atmospheric as a sultry night." —Family Circle

“An irresistibly propulsive mystery wrapped in the haunted atmosphere of Southern Gothic, and inspired by real Florida crimes…her best book yet.” —Tampa Bay Times

“Powerful and heart-pounding…Another deftly crafted read by a master of narrative storytelling.” —The Midwest Book Review 

“A dark thriller that delves into what families will do to keep secrets buried, readers will be awaiting the next twist.” —Parkersburg News and Sentinel

“You won’t be able to put this one down.” —HelloGiggles

“Roy has created a town with a frightening past that just keeps getting worse. You get the chills just reading her hypnotic tale, which makes this four in a row when it comes to fantastic books written by Lori Roy.” —Suspense Magazine

“Roy’s new novel is impossible to put down or forget, a masterful show of suspense.” —CrimeReads

"Roy cloaks The Disappearing with a chilling atmosphere resplendent with an abandoned scary place, hidden graveyards and sudden disappearances....Roy's affinity for haunting, lyrical prose that elevates the noir elements continues.." —Oline Cogdill, Sun Sentinel

“Lori Roy is one of the most elegant and enchanting writers to cross my path in a long, long time. I was transfixed by The Disappearing. A story of buried secrets rising to the light, it unfolds with a hypnotic grip that won’t let go until the last secrets are revealed on the final page. This is a deep, dark and wonderful book.” —Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author

"As dark and atmospheric as a Northern Florida summer night, The Disappearing is Lori Roy at the top of her game.  Her simmering tale is, at the heart, a compelling mystery.  But it’s also a deep meditation on family and the secrets and lies that can twist through our lives like a strangler fig. The powerful sense of place and a haunting cast of characters linger long after the book is closed. If you haven’t read Lori Roy, now is the time." —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The Red Hunter

"Lori Roy has been on my must-read list since her debut. There's a reason she's already won two Edgar Awards — exemplary plotting, clever twists, and compelling characters — but for me it is her voice that holds the most power. She writes with an ingenious, whispering menace and a masterful understanding of the way the past works on the present, and on the human heart. The Disappearing is her finest work to date." —Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of Rise the Dark

“Beautifully written and expertly plotted, The Disappearing is a twisty, haunting, and utterly riveting thriller.  Lori Roy just gets better and better.” —Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife

"Lori Roy is an impeccable writer—original, fearless, and insightful.  The Disappearing, with its dark secrets and damaged souls, is another triumph of Roy’s skill: it’s insidiously sinister, seamlessly plotted, and relentlessly haunting." —Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of Trust Me

"A well-crafted, gripping story." —AARP

From the Publisher

05/14/2018
Lane Fielding, the protagonist of this sinuous slow burn from Edgar-winner Roy (Let Me Die in His Footsteps), never wanted to return to her hometown of Waddell, Fla., but after her divorce, the unemployed single mother had no choice. Now she and her daughters, Annalee and Talley, live with Lane’s elderly parents, Neil and Erma, in the historic Fielding Mansion. Next door is the shuttered reform school where former headmaster Neil is rumored to have savagely beaten and possibly killed numerous students long ago—an allegation he denies. When a Florida State student who volunteers at the mansion goes missing, locals fear that a serial killer is stalking the region, but then Annalee disappears, too, causing Lane to worry that someone is exacting revenge for her father’s supposed sins. Though Roy’s characters are vividly sketched, their actions and intentions don’t always ring true, which undercuts some of the plot’s most shocking twists. Still, evocative writing and a tense, kaleidoscopic narrative conspire to create a tale that thrills and chills, even if it doesn’t fully satisfy. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (July)

Publishers Weekly

06/15/2018
Lane Fielding is a woman with a complicated history. At age 13, she went missing from her family's historic plantation in Waddell, FL. The estate bordered a boys' reform school, where her father reigned as tyrant/director. She was found that same night but was thereafter known locally as "the girl who was taken." What unspeakable things were done to her by this juvenile delinquent, who was never named, was irresistible fodder for small-town gossip. Now years later, Lane has returned home with two daughters, a failed marriage, and an uncertain future. Her timing couldn't be worse; allegations have surfaced against her now aged father by former inmates of the school. They tell stories of cruelty, violence, and even murder. When Lane's oldest daughter disappears, just days after a college student vanishes, it seems the past is repeating itself in a most terrifying manner. VERDICT There is much to digest in this richly atmospheric tale told through the alternating perspectives of four main characters. Roy (Bent Road; Until She Comes Home) is a skilled and deft wordsmith, but the tortuous plot fails to form a cohesive story. An optional purchase. [See Prepub Alert, 1/8/18.]—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph, MI

Library Journal

2018-05-01
Roy (Let Me Die in His Footsteps, 2015 etc.) proves that sometimes you can't, or shouldn't, go home again when a woman returns to Florida, and the hold of her family's troubled legacy, after a failed marriage.Former reporter Lane Fielding has returned to Waddell, Florida, after her divorce from Kyle Wallace, her husband of 20 years. Along for the ride are her daughters, 18-year-old Annalee and her younger sister, Talley. It's not an ideal arrangement: Fielding Plantation has quite a past, and Lane's mother, Erma, moves about the house like a wraith while her father, Neil, a shadow of the man he once was, has been investigated for the possible abuse of boys under his care at the reform school that he ran, which closed three years ago and happens to be adjacent to their home. The press attention hasn't waned, and it's all Lane can do to keep her sanity, and her family, together. When Florida State University student Susannah Bauer goes missing, the community's collective consciousness turns to the 1970s and a man named Ted, who whisked away a 12-year-old girl who was never seen again. When Annalee disappears, Sheriff Mark Ellenton, with whom Lane has a history, is a calming force, but Lane fears Annalee may have met a fate similar to Susannah's. Meanwhile, a troubled young man named Daryl covets Susannah and Annalee from afar, but is he responsible for their disappearances? This contemporary slow burner oozes with atmosphere, and Roy effortlessly weaves numerous plot threads together without sacrificing her characters, who are very flawed and all too human. Secrets and lies abound, and Lane's struggle to be a good mother while fighting her own considerable demons will resonate with readers, as will the chilling finale.A twisted Southern gothic winner.

Kirkus Reviews