‘The Disappearances’ – Emily Bain Murphy

 

Due for publication in July 2017, I was provided with an advance copy of this by the publishers via NetGalley. This might not be to everyone’s taste, but I found it a mesmerising read.

Aila and her brother, Miles, are sent to their mother’s home town of Sterling after her death. Sterling is a place like no other. For reasons unknown to its inhabitants, every seven years something disappears. Colour, the sense of smell, stars…every time, something different and nobody knows why. For many of those who live in Sterling it is logical to blame Juliet, the children’ mother, as she is the only one who has been able to leave Sterling and break the curse.

We watch as Aila and Miles try to settle into their new environment. We see the impact of the disappearances on the inhabitants of Sterling, and we watch with curiosity as at least one person has found ways to reverse the effects (in time). There were passages featuring characters that we don’t see in the story – and it is only when the links between those characters and those whose fortunes we follow become clearer that we start to get the answers we crave.

The style of this debut was remarkable assured. There was a poetic quality to parts of the writing, and I fell a little in love with the characters – even the less pleasant ones. While I, personally, found the Shakespeare links intriguing I can see that it might be a tenuous step too far for some readers.