In The Vanishing Hour
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I was provided with a copy of In The Vanishing Hour to review. These are my honest thoughts on the book.
TL;DR: Slowly-paced, but absorbing as the reader waits for the payoff in learning the secrets of the friends and families and the connections between the characters.
Did you grow up romping through the woods and along the streams and rivers of New England? The setting of this book in Massachusetts will seem familiar to you, though hopefully your experience had less tragedy than that encountered by the characters of Maine author Sarah Beth Martin’s In The Vanishing Hour.
The book has mysterious elements, and there are the aforementioned secrets to be discovered, but it’s not a detective novel, a police procedural, a thriller, or even a cozy mystery. It struck me as more of a mysterious novel, one where you just want to get to the bottom of these characters, their truths, and motivations. The slow pace also lends itself to a bit of reflection - you may find yourself nostalgically ruminating on the travails of youth and the transition to adulthood.
The story is centered primarily around Frances, an insecure yet ambitious young woman. Her brother drowned when she was a girl, and eight years later, Gwen, a peer that Frances admires, drowns in the same place as her brother. Frances admires Gwen’s style and her confidence, leading her to transform herself to be more like Gwen. After Gwen’s death, Frances is mistaken for Gwen by one of the men being questioned by police. This man, Harris, and his friends, also have a connection to Frances’ brother.
I did not think Frances was likable until about halfway through the book when she starts coming into herself. However, this did not put me off the book - rather, it made me want to keep reading to see if she’d ever escape from her friend Iris’s shadow and how Gwen’s death would impact her.
Jumping back and forth in time from 1959 to 1974, as well as in perspective from Frances to Harris, the book showcases character growth and how hometown connections change - or don’t - and the way secrets can persist even in the most tight-knit of families and communities. Do you ever really know someone? is a question that kept cropping up in my mind as I read this. Family, neighbors, colleagues - what secrets are back there and how have these people changed through the years? What tragedies have brought communities together, or sent friendships scattering?
While it’s not a rapid page turner, In The Vanishing Hour has darker undertones that keep the mood tense and suspenseful. Not a light beach read, but not a harrowing thriller, the book hits the middle ground for readers who want to immerse themselves in a good story with intriguing characters.