You can run, you can hide, but can you disappear for good?
Lauren’s daughter Zara witnessed a terrible crime. But speaking up comes with a price, and when Zara’s identity is revealed online, it puts a target on her back.
He googles the motto. Ex nihilo fit. He pales as he reads it. It is a phrase only the elite would use. Ostensibly inspirational, but when applied to weak people, social outliers, it becomes sinister. Ex nihilo nihil fit. From nothing comes nothing.
The only choice is to disappear.
From their family, their friends, even from Lauren’s husband.
No goodbyes. Just new names, new home, new lives.
One mistake – a text, an Instagram like – could bring their old lives crashing into the new.
As Lauren will learn, disappearing is easy.
Staying hidden is much harder . . .
Gillian McAllister is the Sunday Times Top 10 bestselling author of Everything But The Truth, Anything You Do Say, No Further Questions and The Evidence Against You.
How To Disappear is her latest release, a witness protection thriller.
All of her novels are standalone and can be read in any order. She is published in ten countries around the world. The Good Sister is her US debut, released by Penguin USA, and is the American title for No Further Questions. The Choice is her second American release which is the US title for Anything You Do Say.
You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @gillianmauthor. She also blogs at http://www.gillianmcallister.com.
Gillian McAllister is an author I haven’t read before, but I will be seeking out more of her work since reading this!
As a 14-year-old girl, Zara witnesses a murder of her homeless friend and testifies against his killers in court with her identity protected as ‘Girl A’. When it all goes wrong, the prosecution fails, and her name is found out the police advise that she goes into a witness protection programme. As a blended family, her mum will obviously go with her but her stepdad (the only father she has known) has to consider his other daughter (Poppy) and his terminally ill ex-wife.
This is a really good plot, given the subject, it’s difficult to research and find information, understandably, however, McAllister has done a great job with this, how much is true I guess will only ever be known by those who have been in the situation but none of it feels far-fetched or unbelievable. This is a harsh life for Zara and her mother, Lauren to follow.
The story is told from four perspectives, Zara, Laura, stepdad Aiden and stepsister Poppy’s. this provides a more interesting read and shows us from lots of perspectives the views and issues surrounding the witness protection scheme and how easily it can be broken when the rules aren’t followed and just how easily done it is.
While enjoyable, the first three-quarters of the book are of a slower pace than the final part, this didn’t ruin the book for me at all though and the final part was brilliant though a little rushed in my opinion.
The characters are well developed, so much so that I found I was getting frustrated at times with some of them, particularly Lauren and he seemingly innocent little mistakes though being in that situation must be unbearably difficult.
Overall this was a great read, really interesting and really made me think about what I would have done in a similar situation.
Thank you to Net Galley, the Publisher and the Author for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
| Title | How To Disappear |
| Author | Gilliam McAllister |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | eARC |
| Page Count | 480 Pages |
| Genre | Psychological Thrillers |
| Publisher | Penguin |
| Release Date | 9th July 2020 |
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