Blurb:
18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness. Rachel is gone, presumed dead. The case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary.
My thoughts:
There are a few things you can count on in life and Holly Jackson writing a brilliantly gripping and suspenseful novel is one of them. The Reappearance of Rachel Price follows Bel and her family as they navigate life behind the camera. They’re being filmed for a documentary about the disappearance of Bel’s mother 16-years prior. It felt like I was reading a true crime story, which is no surprise when you read about the author’s love for true crime podcasts.
Andy Bel is a fiery character. She doesn’t shy away from her own opinion and beliefs which made her feel more realistic, especially when thinking of a teenager being forced to talk about unresolved trauma in front of the entire world. Anyone would likely feel the same way she did. I also enjoyed how the author made the point of Bel being slightly reserved in certain situations about her mother’s disappearance in comparison to her cousin, Carter, who is roughly the same age. Carter has a calmer demeanour and is a lot more trusting than Bel. The different perspectives showed how a life altering event can impact different people in one family in various ways.
The characters in this book are the driving force of the story. We have unlikeable characters, ones that appear too trusting and ones who are there for comedic value. The fact we’re viewing the ins and outs of a family as if peering through a window, knowing everything they wouldn’t want us to know makes the story that much more interesting than if we were following the story from another perspective. There won’t be any spoilers in this blog post, but I was very gripped following the villain’s story and the terrors they had caused. I think a great villain sometimes can make the plot so much stronger and this was definitely the case for this one.
As the main character is an 18-year-old, it makes sense that the book delves into darker topics. I would say The Reappearance of Rachel Price would appeal to an adult audience as well as teenagers. There are some trigger warnings for the book (murder, imprisonment, kidnaping – to name a few) that readers might want to be aware of beforehand.
I will say, I read this without knowing anything about it, so some of the events did come as a surprise. However, I did find some of the plot points easy to guess. That being said, I somewhat believe the predictability of the “who did it” isn’t necessarily the point of the book. It could be argued the point is more focussed on why the crime was committed.
Rating: 5/5
Have you read any books by Holly Jackson? Which was your favourite? Let me know in the comments. I’m also on Instagram and Twitter – @bookwormgirl_24
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