Book Review: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Author: Holly Jackson
Publication: Delacorte Press (April 2, 2024)

Description: Lights. Camera. Lies.

Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And—could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.

My Thoughts: Bel Price is eighteen. She's lived under the shadow of her mother's disappearance since she was two. She was the only one there when her mother was taken from their car on a quiet rural road. She must have seen the kidnapper but is too young to remember anything.

Now, her father has agreed for the family to take part in a documentary exploring the disappearance. Bel just wants it to go away. She's built her life with her father, aunt, uncle, grandfather, and beloved cousin Carter. She's also developed a fear of being abandoned and a kleptomania problem. She pushes people away before they can leave her. 

Things change abruptly when Rachel Price comes back with an outrageous story about where she has been for the past sixteen years. Now, the documentary has gone from being the Disappearance of Rachel Price to the Reappearance of Rachel Price. Bel doesn't know what to think. Rachel's story has some holes in it and Bel is determined to prove her a liar so that her life can go back to her comfortable normal. 

With the assistance of a young member of the documentary crew, Bel determines to find out the truth which isn't at all what she thought it was. 

This story was engaging and twisty and compelling. I spent most of it wondering if Bel was a reliable narrator telling us the truth. Or was she gaslighting us or being gaslighted herself. 

I bought this one January 6, 2025. You can buy your copy here.