Temple House Vanishing, by Rachel Donohue

Temple House Vanishing is a debut novel and a simmering twisty puzzle of a story. It is quietly unnerving, subtly raises the tension, and works with dual timelines to unravel the disappearance of a teacher and student.

Louisa, one of the narrators, is a little out of water, being the scholarship student at a Catholic all girls boarding school where she meets and connects strongly with a classmate named Victoria who is provocative, bold, and who says precisely what she thinks.

The friendship is thick and reminded me of how connections formed in environments like the one Louisa finds herself in can quickly become twisty and compacted. When an art teacher at the school sparks attention in both of the girls things become tangled and uncertain, and nothing that was easy, obvious, or clear, is anymore.

Then one day, Louisa and Mr. Lavelle, the compelling and mysteriously charming art teacher, completely disappear and aren’t seen again. Ever. The two vanish without a trace and fade into legend, two figures now only talked and written about online and in tv specials near the anniversaries of their disappearance.

The other narrator is a journalist who is writing one of these pieces 25 years later. We switch from her perspective and Louisa’s. We follow the journalist as she gathers interviews, personal accounts, her own memory of the time when it happened, and as she listens to how much is intentionally left unsaid, we watch these two timelines put together the pieces.

Temple House Vanishing would be perfect for reading in the fall with the academia vibes and boarding school setting. Available now from Amazon, Bookshop, or anywhere you get your books.

**Thank you to Algonquin Books for the free ARC - all opinions are my own.