The truth finds its way into the light, no matter what you’ve done to contain it

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

 

 Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired…and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb was an enjoyable read for me. That being said, I wasn't necessarily blown away. I decided to read this book leading up to Halloween, hoping it would give me a few scares, but in the end nothing really frightened me. I'm a complete horror movie buff, so maybe I'm biased, but given the setting of an old creepy haunted mansion, I would expect the author to live up the setting and create a spooky atmosphere. Honestly, for me that didn't happen. I wasn't scared or surprised at all throughout the story (some of the scenes were cliche and corny). Still though, I'd say I liked it. Maybe not as a horror novel, but definitely as a thriller or suspense read. I enjoyed all of the twists and turns throughout the novel revolving around the main characters Julia and the eccentric, Amarise Sinclair. Overall, I felt it could be better but still an enjoyable read for a rainy day.