The Night She Disappeared by April Henry - 2 stars
SPOILER-FREE
SYNOPSIS:
So this book starts out with some high school kids that work in a pizza place--none of them are too close, nor are they overly friendly to one another. Then, one night, a mysterious man calls in to order 3 pizzas and asks for the girl in the mini cooper, who happens to be our main character, Gabie. What this man doesn't realize, is that Gabie is not working that night, but instead, Kayla is working and making deliveries. She takes the 3 pizzas to a non-existent address. The next morning, everyone realizes she has disappeared.
As the story unfolds, we follow Gabie in her attempts to understand and come to terms with the fact that the order was meant for her, not Kayla. And with time running out, and an unhelpful (and slightly shady) police force leading the investigation, Gabie must use her intuition and her newfound friendship with co-worker Drew to find a way to save Kayla, or else.
As the story unfolds, we follow Gabie in her attempts to understand and come to terms with the fact that the order was meant for her, not Kayla. And with time running out, and an unhelpful (and slightly shady) police force leading the investigation, Gabie must use her intuition and her newfound friendship with co-worker Drew to find a way to save Kayla, or else.
SPOILERS AHEAD
THE GOOD:
Mystery. The mysterious element of this book was just SO promising. I finished this book in a day because I was completely on the edge of my seat. The whole time, the readers are given tiny clues regarding what may or may not have happened to Kayla. We're set to believe that everyone is a suspect and no one is safe. Throughout the whole book, I kept waiting for this epic mystery to unveil into a spectacular ending, which I feel a bit cheated out of. To add to the mystery, we get glimpses into "John Robertson" (Kayla's kidnapper) and how he is viewing the situation. I was particularly intrigued in the mystery surrounding her kidnapping scene, which entailed: her car, her purse, the keys in the ignition, and a bloody rock. I was almost completely salivating at this, as it seemed like a promising setup for a sinister kidnapping, which it wasn't (but I'll get into that later). Overall, the mystery was the redeeming quality of this book. It was so entertaining and I breezed through this book quickly because of it. Unfortunately, that's where the good qualities begin and end.
Pictures/Newspaper Clippings/Evidence. I enjoyed that tiny aspect of the book. It was a small detail that made the kidnapping case feet a bit more immersive.
THE BAD:
Gabie and Drew. God. What is it about authors that makes them believe that every story needs a romance? I was particularly annoyed with Drew in the first few pages when he discussed how beautiful Kayla was, and how beautiful Gabie was. As a reader, I had no idea which girl he was interested in (because OBVIOUSLY he had to be interested in at least one of the girls). That's just a little minor problem compared to how the characters were actually written. Can we just take a moment to recognize that the narration for both characters was practically identical? I would sometimes catch myself in the middle of a chapter, and realize I was reading it as if it were from Gabie's point of view, instead of Drew's. There was no clear variation. I don't even understand why it was necessary to include Drew's narrative, as it was usually a re-telling of Gabie's. That's pretty much my number one pet peeve with dual-narrative novels. Even more irritating was Gabie's incessant rantings: "Poor me--it should have been me! Poor Kayla, but it should have been me!" It was so hard to stomach. I thought Gabie was the most irritating character for this reason. Even worse, she kept claiming that she could feel Kayla alive, even when no one else could. Um, WHAT?! They weren't even friends, nor were they even close (which she reminds us of, constantly), yet she "feels" Kayla is alive. Ugh. The idiocy was too much to handle.
Kidnapper. This was the most glaringly annoying facet of the story. It was actually what made me throw this book across the room upon completion. Throughout the whole story, we're basically led to believe the kidnapper knew Kayla or Gabie--we're led to think he must be someone close to them in proximity, if only just a regular in the Pizza shop. Which, he was. But when Kayla is kidnapped, about 1/3rd of the way into the plot, the kidnapper laments that she recognized him and smiled when he got out of his truck and went to meet her (she was parked by the river, due to the fake address she was trying to find). But then, when she's locked in his basement, her POV claims she has no idea who he is (Excuse me while I guffaw at this irritating inconsistency). What's even MORE irritating about this mysterious kidnapper, is that we literally never find out the motive for his kidnapping. NEVER. There's even a chapter where he is literally having an internal struggle: He wanted Gabie for his purpose, because she was perfect, but now he has Kayla, so he can mold her. Okay, so I was intrigued by this, and I assumed we would be told the motive at the end when he was (inevitably) caught. BUT NOPE! We learn NOTHING of his motive! WHAT?! That was the most irritating part of the entire book, because after 230 pages, we're literally left with a kidnapping story, completely devoid of a motive. Even worse, Kayla soon discovers that she is not the first girl the kidnapper has kidnapped. But do we ever find out why he was kidnapping girls....? OF COURSE NOT BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SILLY. We only find out that he wants Kayla to address him as "Master." Hmm. Ok.
After I closed this book, I was so irritated at the lack of closure I felt. I was so annoyed, and irritated, and baffled, and just completely confused as to why the author just decided to add details, only to completely ignore them later in the novel.
"Gaby". Ohhhhh, yes. The author actually wrote, "Gaby" instead of "Gabie." Total hilarity. How do you even mess up your main protagonist's name? I almost laughed.
Kidnapper. This was the most glaringly annoying facet of the story. It was actually what made me throw this book across the room upon completion. Throughout the whole story, we're basically led to believe the kidnapper knew Kayla or Gabie--we're led to think he must be someone close to them in proximity, if only just a regular in the Pizza shop. Which, he was. But when Kayla is kidnapped, about 1/3rd of the way into the plot, the kidnapper laments that she recognized him and smiled when he got out of his truck and went to meet her (she was parked by the river, due to the fake address she was trying to find). But then, when she's locked in his basement, her POV claims she has no idea who he is (Excuse me while I guffaw at this irritating inconsistency). What's even MORE irritating about this mysterious kidnapper, is that we literally never find out the motive for his kidnapping. NEVER. There's even a chapter where he is literally having an internal struggle: He wanted Gabie for his purpose, because she was perfect, but now he has Kayla, so he can mold her. Okay, so I was intrigued by this, and I assumed we would be told the motive at the end when he was (inevitably) caught. BUT NOPE! We learn NOTHING of his motive! WHAT?! That was the most irritating part of the entire book, because after 230 pages, we're literally left with a kidnapping story, completely devoid of a motive. Even worse, Kayla soon discovers that she is not the first girl the kidnapper has kidnapped. But do we ever find out why he was kidnapping girls....? OF COURSE NOT BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SILLY. We only find out that he wants Kayla to address him as "Master." Hmm. Ok.
After I closed this book, I was so irritated at the lack of closure I felt. I was so annoyed, and irritated, and baffled, and just completely confused as to why the author just decided to add details, only to completely ignore them later in the novel.
"Gaby". Ohhhhh, yes. The author actually wrote, "Gaby" instead of "Gabie." Total hilarity. How do you even mess up your main protagonist's name? I almost laughed.
OVERALL:
Well, I don't even know how to sum up this review. I was irritated by the characters, my questions were unanswered, there was no clarity of motive, and yet..... I still read it and enjoyed the fast pace the author so expertly adopted. There was a reason I read this one day: it was edgy, dramatic, chilling, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Perhaps if the ending had been better, or if the actual kidnapping had been explained, or the kidnapper's motive had been identified, maybe this would garner more stars. However, due to an unfulfilling ending and a largely unlikable cast of characters, my review rests at 2 stars.
END VOTE:
2 stars
★★
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