The Temple House Vanishing is a fab debut novel and a great little read. It follows the mystery behind a runaway student and her teacher from a nun led school in the 90's, as told by Louisa (the runaway) and her best friend Victoria, who is opening up to a journalist writing a tell all article after years of assumption.
Rachel Donohue cleverly uses the dramatic conclusion as an opening to ignite intrigue from the very beginning, creating a subtle air of 'whodunnit' throughout. Louisa and Victoria are very relatable characters and I'm sure most readers could see elements of themselves and their school years relationships within the dynamic of these two. The teacher, Mr Lavelle, is evidently quite young and this keeps his demeanor on the flirty side of creepy... but only just! I did feel the character-building was slightly lacking and I would have liked a little more background to the main characters, but the scene setting and story building was brilliant. The eerie old house on the coast which is surrounded by woods and regularly shrouded in sea mist, adds a dark vibe to the entire story, which is very fitting.
The uncomplicated writing style made it the perfect book for a bad weather binge and I'd definitely be interested in reading more from Rachel in the future. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rachel Donohue cleverly uses the dramatic conclusion as an opening to ignite intrigue from the very beginning, creating a subtle air of 'whodunnit' throughout. Louisa and Victoria are very relatable characters and I'm sure most readers could see elements of themselves and their school years relationships within the dynamic of these two. The teacher, Mr Lavelle, is evidently quite young and this keeps his demeanor on the flirty side of creepy... but only just! I did feel the character-building was slightly lacking and I would have liked a little more background to the main characters, but the scene setting and story building was brilliant. The eerie old house on the coast which is surrounded by woods and regularly shrouded in sea mist, adds a dark vibe to the entire story, which is very fitting.
The uncomplicated writing style made it the perfect book for a bad weather binge and I'd definitely be interested in reading more from Rachel in the future. ⭐⭐⭐⭐