By: Kate Moretti
ISBN: 9781501118432
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: 9/27/2016
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 5 Stars + Top Books of 2016 “The Vanishing Year is a stunner. A perfectly compulsive read that's impossible to put down.” –Mary Kubica “A chilling, powerful tale of nerve-shattering suspense.” –Heather Gudenkauf Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life. She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips.
What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her.
As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely.
A “dark, twisty, edge-of-your-seat suspense” (Karen Robards), The Vanishing Year combines the classic sophistication of Ruth Rendell and A.S.A. Harrison with the thoroughly modern flair of Jessica Knoll. Told from the point-of-view of a heroine who is as relatable as she is enigmatic, The Vanishing Year is an unforgettable new novel by a rising star of the genre.
My Review
A special thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. THE VANISHING YEAR, Kate Moretti’s latest is a tale of dark secrets, shocking lies, deception, and a dangerous obsession. The perfect example of “Good books don't give up all their secrets at once.” Patience. It is WORTH the wait, as the web of deceit unfolds in this grip-lit domestic suspense. "Unputdownable". 2014—New York City: Zoe Whitaker is married to the handsome and charming Wall Street tycoon, Henry Whittaker. Manhattan’s finest. From clothes, jewelry, travel, luxury. The finest wine to, a Tribeca penthouse and a four bedroom lake house in the country. He offered security, lifestyle, and money. He had been easy to fall in love with.Possibly too easy. However, she is divided with Henry. What did she bring to the table anyway? At times she loves his authority, and strength. His opinions are not merely suggestions. Or maybe it’s just that he was so different from her. Decisive and definite. He chooses her hair style, jewelry, and clothing. Zoe was not always Zoe. Other names in between. She was born Zoe Griffin. She was poor. Her biological mom, Carolyn, whom she never met. Evelyn, her adopted mom loved her and taught her everything she knows. However, she died and she did not even have enough money to give her a proper burial. Her mom worked as a housekeeper by day and a hotel maid by night. They struggled to make ends meet. She dreams of finding her real mom, now that she has the resources. What was her story. Why did she give her up? However, each time she mentions it, her husband objects, since he feels her mother rejected her and no sense dwelling on the past. Nothing good would come of it. This is her life now with him. Henry believes in a straight path, filled with to-do lists and goals. Meandering was for slackers and dreamers. Mulling over what has been was a fruitless effort, since you could not change the past. Yet here she is in this house, with this man, and this life. She is insecure. Henry is charming and well versed in current events and politics. He is great is social circles. Henry is a product of a traditional household and paternalism runs deep in his veins, which she finds both charming and a little infuriating, depending on the day. Zoe fled from a dangerous past. A new identity. She came to New York and worked in a high end florist shop. There was an event. This is where she met Henry. A quick whirlwind romance, and he swept her off her feet. Then marriage. She knows little of her husband’s past. He does not know her past. Trouble ahead. She has always been attracted to elegance and her mother Evelyn had a fascination with money, and dreamed of the finer things. Zoe even tried giving back with a charity, CARE, Children’s Association for Relief and Education. However, beneath this façade, Zoe is afraid, someone will discover the real life she left behind. Hilary Lawlor. One night it happens at a charity event. She is always so careful. She cannot afford to have anyone from her past to learn, her new identity. 2009 San Pablo California It was five years earlier and this had only happened twice. She left her roommate in college in the middle of the night and never came back. Some evil men she was trying to escape, a sex trafficking ring, and drugs and a Grand Jury. Had they come back for her? Between weird things which are happening, someone is on her trail and out to kill her. A reporter from the Post, Cash is her only ally (LOVE him) an old ex-friend Lydia, a mysterious housekeeper, Penny which she does not trust, and Detective Maslow from her past.
Finding her mom Carolyn involved admitting on some level who she was before, either online or with a private investigator. She would have to use her old name in order to get there. “To move on to continue to live, I had been forced to cleave my life with a giant chasm that held Hiliary on one side and Zoe on the other. There was no bridge back, not in my mind.” She yearns for a career versus to sit at home doing nothing with her life. Henry does not like her to have friends or think of going back to work. He wants their life the way it is- without drama or interference. She has to go behind his back to search for answers. With a life made up almost entirely of secrets. Before there was Hilary, there was the baby Zoe, abandoned in a Connecticut hospital. After there was Hilary, there was a grown-up Zoe, living in an ivory tower. She wonders how all them can possibly fit in her one body. She is not who people thinks she is. Everyone knows bits and pieces of the story and now can she tell it to Cash, the only person which may be able to help her. Someone has come back for her. She has no one. Her ex-friend thinks she is pathetic and she has no family. Except maybe now, someone cares enough to try and kill her. When her past and present collide, she may have more to fear that her evil shady past. Soon layers of lies and deception begin to peel away, leaving Zoe helpless and fighting for her life. You can run, but you can't always hide. Twisty, Mysterious, and Complex, an "Outstanding" Domestic Psycho-Thriller! Moretti cleverly pulls you smack into Zoe’s world and holds you in her grip until the book's final satisfying ending. A Sleeping With the Enemy with a modern psychological twist! Fans of Mary Kubica, Paula Treick DeBoard, Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Paula Daly will enjoy this twisted dark suspense, with a women’s desperate search for her mother, and her own identity- combined with a present day suspense mystery which you "do not" see coming! Perfect ending. My first book by Moretti and quickly buying her back list! Fans of B.A. Paris' Behind Closed Doors (which I adored) will love THE VANISHING YEAR.
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Advance Praise
“A woman’s perilous past and her affluent present converge in Kate Moretti’s latest jaw-dropping thriller. Replete with unsavory characters, buried secrets, and a bounty of unexpected twists and turns, The Vanishing Year is a stunner. A perfectly compulsive read that's impossible to put down.” --Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Don't You Cry
“The Vanishing Year is a chilling, powerful tale of nerve-shattering suspense. Kate Moretti pieces together a stunning, up-all-night thriller with a throat-gripping twist that will leave the reader reeling.” --Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of Missing Pieces
"Great pacing and true surprises make this an exciting read. Fans of twisted thrillers featuring complex female characters will devour Moretti's latest." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Moretti maintains a fast pace...chillingly satisfying."--Publishers Weekly)
"Fans of S. J. Watson, Lisa Unger, and Sophie Hannah will enjoy this fast-paced psychological suspense novel." --Booklist
“The Vanishing Year is dark, twisty, edge-of-your-seat suspense. I read it in a single sitting and enjoyed every word. I highly recommend it!” --Karen Robards, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Time I Saw Her
“The tantalizing plot twists layered atop the juxtaposition of the protagonist's troubled past and the opulence of her current life are not only intriguing, they'll keep you reading The Vanishing Year far into the night. Well done, Ms. Moretti, well done!” --Lesley Kagen, New York Times bestselling author of Whistling in the Dark and The Resurrection of Tess Blessing
“The Vanishing Year is more than an engaging tale of utter betrayal. It’s an intricate dance of realities, full of twists and turns you won’t see coming. Kate Moretti has outdone herself. You’ll miss your bedtime, guaranteed.” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of No One Knows)
“The Vanishing Year is part psychological study, part thriller, part journey of a lost woman finding herself amidst the chaos and confusion of abuse. Expertly told with secrets, twists and whip-smart prose, Kate Moretti shows in her third book that she deserves her New York Times best seller status. The Vanishing Year will live in your mind long after you put the book down.”--Ann Garvin, author of The Dog Year
“The Vanishing Year takes us from the heights of New York Society to the depths of the depraved mind. In this gut-grabbing novel Moretti creates a glittery world of dreams and nightmares. Moves and counter-moves. Clear your schedule and brew a pot of coffee. You're going to be up all night with this one.” --T.E Woods, author of The Justice Series
“Kate Moretti's The Vanishing Year is a Rebecca for the modern age—a novel filled with doubts and deception, secrets and history. Society wife Zoe Whitaker must confront the age-old question of whether forgetting our past dooms us to endless repetition--and more heartache and danger than one woman can bear.” --Jenny Milchman, author of As Night Falls
"Engaging, intriguing, heart-pounding. In The Vanishing Year, Kate Moretti brings us the story of a Zoe Whittaker who has whitewashed her past and taken on a new and pristine identity. Of course, nothing is exactly as it seems to Zoe, and nothing is as it seems to the reader either. The twists had me gasping, the details had me transfixed. I cared about Zoe right away, which along with everything else, made it impossible for me to stop reading this book." --Amy Sue Nathan, author of The Glass Wives
"The Vanishing Year is the perfect mix of pulse-pounding action and exquisite prose. The complex, unpredictable plot and Kate's layered, multidimensional characters kept me hooked until the very last satisfying page. This book is sure to be one of this year's most talked about thrillers!" --Nicole Baart, author of The Beautiful Daughters
"The Vanishing Year dazzles with New York’s high society, one woman’s dark and twisted past, and a marriage brimming with secrets and lies. Part psychological thriller, part edge-of-your-seat suspense, this gorgeously written novel will keep you guessing until the final reveal. Unputdownable." --Karen Katchur, author of The Secrets of Lake Road
About the Author
Kate Moretti is the New York Times Bestselling author of the women’s fiction novel, Thought I Knew You. Her second novel Binds That Tie was released in March 2014. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, and a dog. She’s worked in the pharmaceutical industry for ten years as a scientist, and has been an avid fiction reader her entire life.
She enjoys traveling and cooking, although with two kids, a day job, and writing, she doesn’t get to do those things as much as she’d like.
Her lifelong dream is to buy an old house with a secret passageway. Read More
