Thriller: The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunnigham Grant

Synopsis

In this captivating novel of suspense, a wilderness guide must team up with the man who ruined her life years ago when the friend who introduced them goes missing.

Emlyn doesn’t let herself think about the past.

How she and her best friend, Janessa, barely speak anymore. How Tyler, the man she thought was the love of her life, left her freezing and half-dead on the side of the road three years ago.

Her new life is simple and safe. She works as a fishing and hunting guide, spending her days in Idaho’s endless woods and scenic rivers. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer, her closest friends a handsome and kind Forest Service ranger and the community’s makeshift reverend, who took her in at her lowest.

But when Tyler shows up with the news that Janessa is missing, Emlyn is propelled back into the world she worked so hard to forget. Janessa, it turns out, has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife adventures with her rugged survivalist boyfriend. But she hasn’t posted lately, and when she does, it’s from a completely different location than where her caption claims to be. In spite of their fractured history, Emlyn knows she might be the only one with the knowledge and tracking skills to save her friend, so she reluctantly teams up with Tyler. As the two trace Janessa’s path through miles of wild country, Emlyn can’t deny there’s still chemistry crackling between them. But the deeper they press into the wilderness, the more she begins to suspect that a darker truth lies in the woods―and that Janessa isn’t the only one in danger.

Poignant, suspenseful, and unforgettable, THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING explores what it takes to start over―and the cost of letting the past pull you back in.

Audiobook Review

4 stars

I adored These Silent Woods, Grant’s previous book so I had high hope for this story.

Maybe that’s the reason why I was a little bit disappointed even if that remains a very good suspense story.

When Tyler, Emlyn’s past boyfriend comes back into her life, she is not thrilled at all. We will learn that their relationship, if it started like a dream, was soon poisoned by Tyler’s demons. He left her freezing and nearly dead on the side of the road four years before, and that was the push Emlyn needed to end their relationship.

Nowadays, she lives a quiet life as a “fishing coach”, leading tourists in the woods of Idaho and enjoying the splendid wilderness.

But Tyler fears that Jenessa, Emlyn’s former bosom friend, has disappeared and is in danger. Emlyn is the best tracker he knows so could she help him save Jenessa?

For the sake of their former friendship, Emlyn will soon wander deep in the woods, growing increasingly worried for her friend’s safety after finding an abandoned red beanie and some chicken left to rot in her friend’s van, everything pointing towards a hasty departure in the woods.

The story is told between past and present. If I liked reading about Emlyn’s past friendship with Jenessa, her love story with Tyler left me uncomfortable for reasons I won’t disclose as I don’t want to spoil anything for you. Let’s just say that it’s a trigger of mine.

I wanted to focus on the present and the “thriller” part of the story. The biggest asset of the book is the atmosphere as Kimi Cunnigham Grant is magic when it’s time to paint nature’s savage beauty. As all signs pointed to a forced and sudden departure, the tension was mounting  as Emlyn found new clues to Jenessa’s disappearance. This gave us a slow burn thriller culminating in a surprise and fast (rushed?) ending. The last twist was something I didn’t see coming so that’s a good thing!

Sophie