Review: The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an engrossing, atmospheric read…..the stifling heat practically seeps off the page.

“The day of the school Showstopper – like every other day – the sky was blue and clear. It had been windy in the night and the she-oaks has shaken off their needles. They lay on the ground like brown entrails we couldn’t read.”

Hannah, Cordelia and Ruth disappear during an outdoor school concert… The girls had been inseparable due to a shared harsh family life with a strict, religious father, who believes a beating is the correct punishment for any perceived misdemeanour…..

When the girls go missing questions are asked…..did they run away from their home life? Or were they taken?

The story has many wonderful characters some creepy and sinister and some delightful as Tikka looks back on the events around the girls disappearance…the tension is palpable at times as the what ifs, pain, emotions and the feeling of something missing is felt. There is humour too in this stunning, chilling read.

Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

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