What I’m Reading: Vanishing Falls By Poppy Gee
Celia Lily is rich, beautiful, and admired. She’s also missing. And the search for the glamorous socialite is about to expose all the dark, dirty secrets of Vanishing Falls…
The remote town of Vanishing Falls, is set within a lush Tasmanian rainforest – a setting that is as beautiful as it is haunting.
Poppy Gee, who grew up in Tassie, expertly captures the mood and character of the place, with all of its small town quirks, breathtaking landscape and history.
This mystery is told from several points of view including the missing woman’s husband, and prime suspect, Jack Lily.
Jack, as a prominent art collector and a wealthy landowner, appears to have it all until his wife vanishes without a trace. But you don’t have to dig far below the surface to discover some unsavoury secrets.
While Jack and those characters in his immediate social circle are engaging and vividly portrayed, this story belongs to Joelle Smithton.
Seeing Vanishing Falls through Joelle’s unique perspective is refreshing. You feel every bit of Joelle’s curiosity, wonder and frustration at not being properly understood. The fact that most of the town thinks she’s simple-minded though works in her favour, as she notices things other people don’t.
Joelle is driven to find out what happened to Celia even if it means exposing her own troubled past.
Vanishing Falls is a thoroughly enjoyable read. It delivers exactly what you would expect in a quality crime meets women’s fiction novel, while having plenty of unexpected twists and turns.
Gee has a deft hand when it comes to her description of character and setting. Her precise word choices means the reader instantly understands and can picture every detail, without being bogged down with excessive exposition.
Some have described it as an easy read, and I’d agree while acknowledging that is a huge feat in itself. There’s nothing easy about creating a story that carries the reader as effortlessly and seamlessly as Gee does in Vanishing Falls.
You can buy Vanishing Falls in ebook form here or a print copy via Booktopia here.
