The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
Imagine one of your co-workers disappeared during her shift. Imagine the chaos that ensues as everyone rushes to find her. Imagine the worry as you wonder whether or not she’s still alive. Imagine if you find out that the kidnapper may have wanted YOU instead.
That’s the scenario that Gabie faces in April Henry’s The Night She Disappeared. Quiet Gabie didn’t think it would be a big deal when she switched shifts at Pete’s Pizza with the boisterous Kayla. After Kayla disappears while making a delivery to a nonexistent address, Gabie learns from Drew (the only other person working that night) that the caller asked for her first. Gabie feels a connection to Kayla, not necessarily because they worked together, but because it should have been her. Convinced that Kayla is still alive, Gabie works with Drew to find the missing girl before it’s too late.
‘You know what the strangest thing is?” I whisper. ‘I feel like she’s alive. I’m not talking about her spirit. I’m talking about the real Kayla. It feels like she’s alive.
This book definitely had me sprinting to the end–I just had to know what happened! It’s told from multiple points of view as well as with police reports and other notes from the investigation which, while they didn’t necessarily help you piece together the mystery, was an interesting way of breaking up the story. I do admit for a minute there, things got a little farfetched, but all in all I thought this book was difficult to put down. If you like thrillers and/or mysteries, you may enjoy The Night She Disappeared. But…uhm…in real life you should probably leave chasing the bad guys down to the police. I’m just saying. :)
