Book Review: And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones

I’m not even sure how to start reviewing this book, because I’m not even sure how to categorise it. It starts off as though it’s going to be some sort of crime/mystery thriller, as we meet our protagonist Joe, whose little sister Amy disappeared from a funfair over 20 years ago, never to be seen again. Joe’s insomniac and depressed, and it’s obvious his life is about to cave in around his ears… and then things take a bit of a turn for the odd as we learn he has the talent of psychometry, in that he can discern things about an object’s origins by touching it.

Then things get REALLY weird as, following a hypnotherapy session to try and treat his insomnia, Joe discovers he can time travel. It doesn’t take long for him to start wondering if he can, somehow, go back in time and save his sister from whatever her fate turned out to be. With the help of an old school friend who happens to be a genius mathematician, the hypnotherapist who accidentally unlocked his ability, and his vinyl-loving friend Vinny, Nick is determined to save Amy. No matter what.

I really wasn’t expecting the fantasy and psychic elements to this book (that’ll teach me to properly read the blurb when selecting a mystery/thriller to review from NetGalley solely based on whether I like the cover or not) but… I actually really enjoyed it, and stayed up late to finish it. There is an awful lot unexplained about how time travel works in this universe, but it actually works really well because nobody has the answers so you can’t just have a glib explanation. Joe is trying to figure it out as he goes along. I’m intrigued by the ending of the book as well, which hinted at the existence of more time travellers and set up a series with Joe as the protagonist, though what I really wanted to know was whether Amy still had the ability which was revealed as the twist. I guess I’ll have to read book 2 to find out!

5 stars for an intriguing time-travel mystery thriller I wasn’t expecting, but thoroughly enjoyed.

And Then She Vanished is available now.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.