Starred review from January 22, 2024
Monks Takhar (Such a Good Mother) explores the dark side of celebrity in this diabolically plotted and ferociously feminist psychological thriller. April Eden and her best friend, disgraced former national sweetheart Essie Lay, are favored to win British Film Association awards for The Vanished Woman, a movie starring Essie that April wrote and directed. It’s a huge win for April, who’s fought for years to break through as a female filmmaker, so when Essie messages April before the ceremony to say she’s staying home, April and her boyfriend, Jags, stop by the actor’s Hampstead mansion to change her mind. Instead, they discover a gown-clad Essie face down in her pool with champagne and pills nearby. Jags convinces April to leave Essie for someone else to deal with and attend the awards ceremony as though nothing happened, but when morning breaks and the news hasn’t, the couple return to find Essie and the intoxicants gone—along with Essie’s passport. Paranoia seeps into April’s first-person-present narration, while expertly timed flashbacks from April and Essie’s alternating perspectives gradually reveal the women’s fraught history, adding dimension and context to the central mystery. Exquisitely rendered, realistically damaged characters help make the novel’s jaw-dropping twists feel earned rather than contrived. Liane Moriarty fans, take note: this is a must-read. Agent: Hellie Ogden, WME.
May 31, 2024
British movie director April Eden is about to hit it big. Her film The Vanished Woman has been nominated for a prestigious award, and its star, April's friend Essie Lay, is expected to win awards as well. When Essie tells April she plans to skip the awards ceremony, April and her boyfriend, Jags, go over to convince her otherwise. Once at Essie's house, however, they discover Essie facedown in the pool. Jags convinces April to leave the body to be found by someone else. They wait in vain for news of Essie's death, but none is forthcoming, and they soon discover that the body has disappeared. Is Essie dead or part of an elaborate hoax? As pressure mounts, the characters' true natures come to light. Takhar's (Such a Good Mother) story of betrayal and redemption underlines the cost of fame, especially for women in the film industry. Kristin Atherton narrates April's and Essie's POVs in alternating chapters. Atherton expertly voices the emotions necessary to convey the tension and uncertainty that drive the story. VERDICT This psychological thriller will keep fans invested to the end. A great next listen for fans of Riley Sager and Lisa Jewell.--Joanna M. Burkhardt
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