The Vanishing

By: Wendy Webb

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired...and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

©2014 Wendy Webb (P)2014 Tantor

Good story and narrator.

Started slow but nonce it got to the actual story it was a good story.

Gave me goosebumps!

What made the experience of listening to The Vanishing the most enjoyable?

Awesome and scary! Some parts were sooooo creepy that I had to look in the rearview mirror, to make sure there wasn't a ghost or a demon riding with me. This had never happened to me before and I hardly ever get really spooked by anything. It must have also had something to do with the performance by Xe Sands. You can really see the imposing estate of Havenwood and feel the dread in the air. The story was a little predictable at parts, although other twists did surprise me. I highly recommend this novel.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Vanishing?

The last seance, with the little creepy girl, or when Julia runs into the thing that looks like Mrs. Sinclair in the library.

What about Xe Sands’s performance did you like?

Great performance! Adrian and Mrs. Sinclair sound somehow similar, but the rest of the characters are so well defined, you can tell who's talking at all times.

If you could rename The Vanishing, what would you call it?

Can't think of anything, I like the title.

Any additional comments?

A real gothic story. I loved the descriptions of the house.

the vanishing

I loved this story very very different to what I'm used to which makes it more interesting more entertaining.

chilling

A hauntingly good tale. I look forward to more from this author. deserving if an Edger awared.

On and Off

I liked the story starting out, but the end kind of let me down. The narrator was great in some ways, but odd in others. I think the strangest part of the narration was when she was trying to portray yelling or increased volume, but instead she sounded like an older woman struggling to speak. Overall it was enjoyable, however.