Disappearing Earth

"This a beautifully written haunting tale of a small community on the eastern edge of rural Russia. Two girls go missing and the author weaves a number of separate stories together to solve the mystery. It really gives you a feel for what life is like living in that community."

"Mari Ryan reco"

"I was really enjoying it in the beginning. The best part of this novel is that I learned so much about Kamchatka, a small town on the most Southeastern part of Russia.However, there were too many characters, and it was very confusing, and very difficult to keep up. The ending was very disappointing, even though I knew how it ended, it just was not enough. I waited so long for the out come, and it felt like a slap in the face. I wanted so much more."

"Interesting read. Two young girls disappear - kidnapped. Unusual for a book about a crime like this, rather than focus on a protagonist working the case to bring the perpetrator to justice, each chapter highlights the stories of different women in the Russian town and the impact the abduction of the missing girls has on them. I will go back and reread the book now that I see how the parts all fit together by story's end. Thumbs up."

"Two girls are missing in one small town. How does their fate ripple through the lives of so many? "

"One of the best books I've read in along time. I stopped breathing during the first chapter, and read voraciously through the carefully constructed layers that led to the end. Highly recommend! "

"Wow. I stayed up late finishing this book last night, my heart racing throughout the final section, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. What an incredibly beautiful and completely satisfying novel - I absolutely loved it. <br/><br/>At the beginning this felt more like a set of short stories, but as the book progresses and characters find their ways into multiple stories (sometimes in the most subtle ways), the puzzle comes together so perfectly. Some of the chapters felt more necessary to the full story than others, but I still enjoyed each woman's nuances and relatable thoughts and unique experiences - every one of them felt real and worth getting to know. (THANK YOU to the author for not pretentiously asking her readers' to keep all of these characters straight and including the list at the beginning!) <br/><br/>I was so impressed with the way the story unfolded and I appreciated having to think and flip back to discover "Oh, that was ....!" and put the pieces together myself. This was the ultimate "show, don't tell" writing, right down to the fantastic end. I also enjoyed being exposed to a completely new-to-me setting and culture which only added to the experience. (Thanks too for the map!)<br/><br/>I sometimes feel that I'm too critical of so much bestseller fiction that others love until I stumble on a book like this and am reminded that THIS is the type of slow-burn and thoughtful fiction that I love and admire. I can't wait for the author's next book."

"This book is a great culturally-immersive mystery! It shows a number of different perspectives within a small community, and is one of those stories where everything makes sense at the end. Don’t just buy this book for the stunning cover - the inside is great too!"