John Marrs fast became one of those authors that I follow after I listened to The Passengers ( review still to come) and The One (review to follow). The latest I’ve listened to is When You Disappeared. His books have a way of grabbing me from the get go and not letting go. This one was no different.
Upon waking one morning Catherine finds her husband Simon has already left. She doesn’t think much of it until Simon’s business partner calls to say he hadn’t made it into work. Then she discovers his running shoes still by the door, his keys on the table, and his vehicle still in the garage. Something must have happened to Simon – something bad. He wouldn’t leave her or the kids … or would he?
Simon, meanwhile, has indeed left. He leaves to travel the world and live a whole other life. Simon has his reasons for leaving. Reasons only he knows and he can’t live with them and his old family. I have to say how much I despised Simon. He was a narcissist and just a horrible human being. It wasn’t only the fact that he left his family to struggle. It was just him as a whole. There wasn’t one likeable quality about the man.
Twenty-five years later would find Simon on Catherine’s doorstep. He needs to tell her the truth of what happened all those years ago. What Catherine learns brings her to her knees in disbelief. This novel really highlights how one wrong perception of something can lead to utter devastation and ruined lives.
I listened to the audio of course. It was almost 10 hours and I made it through it quickly. It is narrated by Simon Mattacks and Elizabeth Knowelden, both of whom I have listened to before. They are both really easy to listen to and they did a great job with this story.
When You Disappeared was a good listen for me. I had trouble with Simon as I disliked him so much but I really liked Catherine so it evened it out plus I always like a book that throws a few twists in at the end that I haven’t figured out beforehand.
Source: Scribd
