Audiobook Review: The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant

 

The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant

Publication Date: June 18th 2024 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 304

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 41min

Narrator: Emily Pike Stewart

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm |  Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Emlyn works as a nature guide in the wildness of Idaho. She fell into the work after being stranded in the small Idaho town three years ago, unconscious and near freezing, left out on her own by her then boyfriend, Tyler. Fortunately, a Forest Ranger, (a sweetheart of a man!) found her, took her in and she stayed, healing and moving on with her life. Unfortunately, her ex-Tyler has shown up asking for help finding Janessa, the best friend that introduced them. Janessa’s gone dark after documenting her vanlife adventure with her survivalist boyfriend on social media. Emlyn is torn over helping Tyler, getting involved by helping track Janessa down, she understandably doesn’t trust Tyler, but Janessa waded in when Emlyn needed help, and even though they are now estranged, Emlyn doesn’t want to abandon her friend if she is truly in danger.

 

The Nature of Disappearing is the second story I’ve enjoyed by Ms. Grant. Her writing is beautiful, almost poetic without being overly flowery and slowing the pace. The Idaho wilderness sounded gorgeous, and I almost felt like I was there.

 

This is a mystery, both in finding Janessa, and in what happened to Emlyn in the past with Tyler abandoning her, and what led to Emlyn and Janessa falling out. The story explores some of the insecurities that led Emlyn to almost dying three years earlier. The years away did her good, but the journey she took to find Janessa was cathartic even if dangerous. I wouldn’t say the story was an edge-of-your-seat listen, more quietly captivating with an underlying tension building. I was hooked from the first chapter and enjoyed every minute!

 

Emily Pike Stewart did a fantastic job bringing the story and characters to life! I listened at my usual 1.5xnormal speed. 

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

In this captivating novel of suspense, 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 man she thought was the love of her life, left her freezing and half-dead on the side of the road three years ago.

Her new life is simple and safe. She works as a fishing and hunting guide, spending her days in Idaho’s endless woods and scenic rivers. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer, her closest friends a handsome and kind Forest Service ranger and the community’s makeshift reverend, 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, it turns out, has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife adventures with her rugged survivalist boyfriend. But she hasn’t posted lately, and when she does, it’s from a completely different location than where her caption claims to be. In spite of their fractured history, Emlyn knows she might be the only one with the knowledge and tracking skills to save her friend, so she reluctantly teams up with Tyler. As the two trace Janessa’s path through miles of wild country, Emlyn can’t deny there’s still chemistry 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, THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING explores what it takes to start over―and the cost of letting the past pull you back in.