BOOKS ON TOUR – Make Me Disappear by Jessica Payne

I’m so often astounded at how brilliant debut books can be, and this one by Jessica Payne rates really high on my list of reads from debut authors! It ticks every box on the “Wow Factor” list!

Noelle is finally living her dream. She’s met gorgeous doctor, Daniel Ashcroft at the hospital where she works as a nurse and he’s everything she’s been looking for: handsome, thoughtful, caring and protective. OK, so maybe he’s a little bit too close to his mom, Eve and it’s possible that she’s slightly controlling, but Noelle tells herself she can overlook these details and learn to live with them if it means she gets her man.

But then the cracks start to show. There are rumours about Daniel’s ex-girlfriend who disappeared, and Noelle starts to feel uncomfortable that he always wants to know where she is, who she talks to. Is he keeping tabs on her? He even synchronizes their work schedules at the hospital. She’s already escaped from one abusive relationship and she’s on the alert. There are a lot of red flags here that she recognizes and she starts to think that her dream has turned into a nightmare. How is she going to get out of Daniel’s clutches when he seems to control every second of her life, even when she’s not with him?

By a stroke of luck, Noelle happens to overhear a snippet of conversation in a coffee shop and learns that you can arrange your own kidnapping! It’s just what she needs to extricate herself from her situation, so she finds out what she needs to do and sets things in motion, ready to disappear and start a new life, free of Daniel and his constant control. She has no idea that this will set of an explosive chain of events that nobody could have anticipated.

This is a breathtaking, page-turning, stay-up-all-night thriller! It’s told in alternating chapters from both Noelle’s and Daniel’s points of view so that you see and understand the story from both perspectives. Getting into Daniel’s headspace is especially fascinating, as seeing things from his warped, obsessive, self-absorbed viewpoint really does give you a clear picture of what Noelle is trying to escape.

There are so many twists and turns that at times I was left wondering what on earth was happening now and where things would go from here? It all seemed to become so incredibly convoluted that I felt my brain was on overload. I have no idea how the author kept up with herself, her characters and her plot! I’m imagining millions of yellow sticky-notes and a ton of squiggly lines on a massive wall-chart somewhere (and I want to see all of it!)

It’s a brilliant, very clever, 5- star read and I can’t wait to see what Jessica Payne has in store for us next!

Thank you to Bookouture for this Books On Tour. Follow along to see what other bloggers are saying about “Make Me Disappear” …

About the author:

Jessica Payne is the author of MAKE ME DISAPPEAR. She grew up in Kansas City, later moving to the Pacific Northwest where the mountains and Puget Sound became home. Beyond writing, she loves to run, rock climb, and explore the great outdoors with her daughter and husband. She is an RN and recently finished her degree as a nurse practitioner. When holding still, which isn’t often, you’ll find a book in her hand and a cat or dog (or both!) in her lap. Jessica writes suspense and thriller and is the host of #MomsWritersClub on Twitter and YouTube. You can find out more about her at her website, jessicapayne.net