The Vanishing Year: A Novel

Excellent book! I have been on the Kindle Unlimited for so long that I had not purchased a book in quite a while. I am SO glad I went ahead and bought this one. I truly found the characters to be complex, the psychological twists intense, and a well developed plot that had me reading through the night. This was my first Kate Moretti book and I can assure you I shall be checking out more. Zoe's story is truly one of heartbreak and Henry is truly one of the most twisted antagonists I've ever seen! If you do enjoy suspense and psychological drama, I suggest you check this one out. I'm not a BIG fan of giving out 4-5 star reviews because I know I've read plenty that did NOT live up to the expectations. This one was a solid #4 for me!!

Kate Moretti writes excellent books. This novel had a smidge of mystery, an interesting glimpse into different lifestyles, good psychological insights and wonderful character development. I enjoyed it. I haven’t met a Kate Moretti that I didn’t enjoy yet. I think I’ll read another. It’s interesting to see glimpses of an author in all different stages. has a beautiful entertaining style of writing that keeps me deeply intrigued.

Zoe seems to have the perfect life; a handsome, wealthy husband, a fabulous NYC apartment, volunteer work at a not-for-profit supporting a cause she cares deeply about. But her past is full of secrets and they may be coming back to haunt her. WHAT I LOVED I absolutely love a good thriller where things are not as they seem, everyone has secrets and hidden agendas and the action is nonstop. This book delivers ALL my favorite elements. I really loved the characters. Zoe was easy to like and an interesting character. Her friends were also interesting and likeable. I particularly liked Lydia and the brief description of Lydia's mother and childhood made her even more intriguing. Loved the NYC setting. New York makes an awesome backdrop for stories. WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE I don't want to get into too much detail and ruin the story so I'll be vague. There were a couple coincidences that seemed a little too far fetched and one particular scenario that was super unlikely to happen ONCE to someone but it happened TWICE to Zoe. That moved the book from 4 to 3 stars for me. Aside from the above mentioned issues, I enjoyed the book and read it pretty much nonstop.

The book started off well and definitely drew me in, but the main character, Zoe is not likable and never really won me over. Not to mention all of the obvious signs that her husband was a nut job. Over all the book kept me guessing for awhile but I wanted to like the characters more and have a few more suspects besides the controlling husband.

Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life. She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips. What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her. As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely. My Thoughts: From the first pages of The Vanishing Year: A Novel , I was caught up in Zoe’s world, both the current charmed life and the one she escaped. I could visualize the criminals who might be pursuing her, even now. As Zoe begins to experience moments in her present life that collide with the past, we learn more about who she really was…back then. About her adoption by Evelyn, about her birth mother, and the most shocking secret of all that comes when she meets her birth mother. In her present life, there is her friend Lydia, with whom she worked in a small flower shop…before Henry. Then there is Cash, a journalist who wrote an article about an event she produced…and who has turned into someone she trusts. Someone who is helping her. But he is someone Henry hates. How do the strange and frightening events happening in her new life connect with the old one? Who has decided to target her and terrify her all over again? Why does Henry seem to monitor her every activity, and why is he enraged when she questions him? I had my own ideas about who was behind a lot of what was happening to Zoe…and when the truth started to unfold, I realized that it was all a lot more convoluted than I had imagined. A book I could not put down, I give this one a resounding 5 stars.

I found this book to be well plotted and well executed. I know some have commented that it took too long to unfold. Perhaps if you like stories that start spilling their guts on the second page (figuratively and literally), then this won't be your cup of tea. Speaking for myself, I like a book that takes the time to let you get to know the characters. It makes the 'who's the bad guy' guessing so much more fun. And even toward the end of the book when I was certain I knew who that bad guy was, there were so many little twists and turns that I did not see coming that I was very satisfied. Am looking forward to reading Ms. Moretti's next book.

Kate Moretti’s novel THE VANISHING YEAR is a one-night read … a page-turner embodying all of my favorite elements: suspense, deception, intensity, passion, a strong heroine with a murky past, complex relationships, forks in the road with lots of left turns … and ultimately (deep cleansing breath), resolution. Moretti pulls out all the stops with “seeming and being” plot twists, led by the indomitable Zoe Whittaker, whose “perfect life” with her handsome, successful Wall Street hubby Henry, is a high stakes, smoke and mirrors, “read between the lines” relationship. When Zoe’s checkered past comes to haunt her and threatens their charmed lives, Moretti raises the ultimate question: How well do we really know those we love? The author has total control over this gripping novel as she draws you into her complicated characters' dark inner worlds. She skillfully brings the reader on an edge-of-your-seat roller coaster ride that forces your hands over your eyes, and yet, you cannot help but peek so as not to miss a single word of this unputdownable thriller.

Engaging, fast-paced thriller. Disappointed by some gaps in the plot though, details that did not ring true and story points that were sloppily explained. These pulled me out of what would otherwise be a great story. The ending was a bit predictable. I still found it interesting however and enjoyed how the author brought everything to climax. I would recommend this if you enjoy authors like Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, Karen Slaughter. Just do not expect the writing to be on par with their work.

There are themes and extremes in this story that make it an umputdownable read From start to end I felt compelled to turn the page. Great read!

Excellent story. Good writer. I recommend this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I like the style of the writer and will read more of her books. 4.5 stars

Zoe is married to a man with wealth and power, a year where she has carved out her identity as a wife, a co-ordinator of a charity that helps underprivileged children, no one at the benefit she stages would have a clue that this cause is close to her heart because of what she went through, in another lifetime, under another name. A meeting with a photographer to beg him not to publish any pictures of her in the article accompanying her charity function, leads her to disclosing that she is adopted, a foundling baby abandoned at a hospital, brought up never really owning her own name or family. After the woman she knows as her mother dies, circumstances bring her into the circle of a local drug dealer, and quickly becomes embroiled in a situation that is much worse than casual drug taking and selling. It leads her to abandon the name she was given, her past, and go into hiding. But now, caught between past and present, with a husband who cannot understand why he is not enough for her, why she has to track down her birth mother, Zoe needs to not only reclaim her past, but also face what is hiding in the shadows. The vanished year, when she has been married to financier Henry has , unknowingly, replaced her yet again. Her identity, her desires, are all dictated by other people, If she is to truly start over and reconcile the three lives she has lived this far, coming clean could just about get her killed.... In her debut novel, Kate Moretti has created the first of her memorable female protagonists. None of the things which Zoe has been through seems too coincidental to actually have happened, the story is tempered with a reality which engages the reader and leaves them wanting more. Zoe's actions are entirely understandable, not that she made great choices but in the respect of her upbringing. And it makes sense that she would grab the opportunity to remake herself, yet in her courtship with Henry, she seems to have lost herself. This is a universal theme, how people lose and also find themselves within the context of a relationship, or a marriage. They become both more and less than the sum of their parts, however, in this instance, Zoe seems to have given up one hell of a lot more than he has, and you find yourself rooting for Zoe to lay several ghosts to rest, to reclaim her sense of self and fight back against the lack of identity that she feels she has been burdened with. A really great, thrilling novel of self reflection and redemption, this is the third of Kate's books from Titan which I have read, and I am hopeful that there will be more forthcoming, I am a huge fan!

Nice easy reading

Entertaining the whole way through