It’s tough to beat a good mystery, and that’s one thing Holly Jackson is known for, thanks to her A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy. However, unlike many, I don’t know those books despite buying them several months ago. My experience with this author has come from reading her three latest books, one of which was a prequel to that trilogy, while the other two were standalone.
I borrowed Five Survive from the library, but I was sent a review copy of her latest novel: The Reappearance of Rachel Price. I must admit: the title caught my attention right away, as did the beautiful cover.
The Reappearance of Rachel Price begins in a small New Hampshire town called Gorham. There, we meet our main protagonist, whose name is Annabel ‘Bel’ Price. It’s her eyes that we see this book’s events through.
Bel is eighteen years old, and is finishing high school very shortly. She’s got a dad who loves her, an aunt and an uncle who live nearby, a cousin who’s like a sibling and a grandfather who’s unfortunately dealing with severe dementia. They all live close to each other, and are pretty tight.
The Price family has a worrisome history though, and it’s common knowledge. Bel’s mother famously disappeared — twice — back in 2007, when Bel was just a couple of years old. In fact, her daughter was with her, and was found sitting in the backseat of Rachel’s running car. It was winter, and the heat was on.
Rachel has been missing for sixteen years, and is presumed dead. They’re even making a documentary about her. However, that changes when she suddenly appears on the street outside Bel’s home, where she lives with her dad, Charlie.
Rachel says that she was kidnapped and left in a dark basement for the last decade and a half. The man who’s responsible let her go, but drove her two hours before letting her out on a highway’s shoulder. She doesn’t know what he looks like, where he lives or what his name is. Bel thinks that this story is suspicious though, and tries to find discrepancies in each retelling. She doesn’t trust her mom.
This is a twisty mystery with light thriller elements, and it’s well written. Holly Jackson is good at what she does, and she’s delivered another rather good book. I went in with high expectations that were admittedly not met, but I maybe expected too much. Regardless, I enjoyed The Reappearance of Rachel Price, and devoured its 430 pages over the course of four days.
As mentioned above, the hardcover is also beautiful. The cover art is really nice, the dust jacket is embossed and the paper quality is really nice.
If you’re in the market for a good read, and want something mysterious that’ll make you think, The Reappearance of Rachel Price is well worth checking out. I enjoyed it, and can easily recommend it.
This review is based on a copy of the book that we were provided.