ARC Review: The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant

The Nature of Disappearing
Author: Kimi Cunningham Grant
Publication: Minotaur Books (June 18, 2024)

Description: In this captivating novel of suspense from the USA Today bestselling author of These Silent Woods, a wilderness guide must team up with the man who ruined her life years ago when the friend who introduced them goes missing.

Emlyn doesn't let herself think about the past.

How she and her best friend, Janessa, barely speak anymore. How Tyler, the love of her life, left her half dead on the side of the road three years ago.

Her new life is simple and safe. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer and works as a fishing and hunting guide in scenic Idaho. Her closest friends are the community's makeshift reverend and a handsome Forest Service ranger who took her in at her lowest.

But when Tyler shows up with the news that Janessa is missing, Emlyn is propelled back into the world she worked so hard to forget. Janessa has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife adventures with her rugged boyfriend. She hasn't posted lately, though, and when Emlyn realizes the most recent photo doesn't match up with its caption, she reluctantly joins Tyler to find her old friend. As the two trace Janessa's path through miles of wild country, Emlyn can't deny the chemistry still crackling between them. But the deeper they press into the wilderness, the more she begins to suspect that a darker truth lies in the woods―and that Janessa isn't the only one in danger.

Poignant, suspenseful, and unforgettable, Kimi Cunningham Grant's THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING explores what it takes to start over―and the cost of letting the past pull you back in.

My Thoughts: THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING centers around Emlyn who is a fishing and hunting guide in Idaho. Before that she was the child of a depressed mother and a father who disappeared from her life. And she was a poor college student who kept to herself for fear of being a person easy to leave behind.

She met Janessa as a college freshman when Janessa saved her from some overaggressive college boys at a local diner. The two become inseparable with Janessa as the charismatic leader and Emlyn the quiet follower. Emlyn is mostly content to let Janessa make her decisions for her. 

At least she is until she meets Tyler, Janessa's childhood friend. Emlyn and Tyler become a couple but Tyler's addiction to drugs leads to their breakup which comes to a head when he leaves her for dead in the wilderness.

Rescued by a forest ranger and cared for by an older woman, Emlyn decides to leave her past behind and build a new life. She's doing well until a couple of years later when Tyler comes to find her because Janessa, who has become a social media darling, is missing in the wilderness.

Together the two of them head into the wilderness to try to find Janessa. Along the way, Emlyn learns things Tyler doesn't want her to know about himself. And she learns that she is much stronger and competent than she has ever thought she was. 

There is a mystery here with moments of danger, but for me this was mostly Emlyn's story showing her growth and the changes she has gone through. Fans of thrillers will be engaged and so will fans of people exploring their lives. 

Favorite Quote:

If there's one thing her twenty-eight years have taught her, it's that there are people in this world who inspire loyalty and devotion, and there are people who are forgettable and leavable. She is the latter. A stepping stone, a place marker, a seasonal employee. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.