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Review: The Vanishing Year

The Vanishing Year The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Slow build to a lightening fast ending...

This was the first book I've read by Kate Moretti and I really enjoyed it. As other reviewers have mentioned, it has a slow build through about the first 2/3-3/4, and then really moves quickly at the end. I wouldn't say I personally found the twists that shocking, as I had considered some of them throughout, but they were certainly delicious and well-done! I found many of the twists to be satisfying.

Plot Teaser (Spoiler Free)

 This book tells the story of Zoe, a wealthy woman married to one of New York's richest men. Zoe and her husband have everything, and yet something feels off. Zoe and Henry are in love, and Henry dotes on her and cares for her. They seem to have an incredible physical connection as well. But Zoe has a secret--her name used to be Hillary and five years before she ran away from her life in California and started over.

Through flashbacks we begin to see the shape of Zoe's past take form. We see the happy times; we see the sad times; and eventually we see the dark times. Zoe is now trapped in a web of lies of her own making. It is this plot element which makes the nature of her and Henry's relationship hard to analyze. Is Henry a bit overbearing and protective? Or has Zoe put herself in this position because she needs to protect her secret?

At a charity benefit Zoe hosts, a person from her past bumps into her, and this sparks the unraveling of Zoe's perfect world. Its a world that Zoe doesn't quite fit into, and a world that she perhaps doesn't feel she deserves. Is Henry's world keeping her safe, or is it the key to unlocking her past?

Reflection

I hope readers enjoy this one! I certainly did. In the last 25% I had a tough time putting the book down--always a mark of a good read. I enjoyed the glimpses into Zoe's past, the transition years, and her life with Henry. We saw three very different women and I wondered (along with Zoe) which, if any of these women, is the real person that Zoe was meant to be?

I would not call this a psychological thriller, though there is certainly mystery and suspense to the story. In a way, without the stalking and scary incidents, this could just be a book about someone escaping their past, only to discover that running away can't erase the memories of one's life. I enjoyed seeing Zoe try to come to terms with who she is. She tries many different hats, but ultimately at the very end, I believe we see Zoe in her truest self--some of each of her previous selves, but settled and harmonious.

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