The Disappearing Act-Catherine Steadman

Book: The Disappearing Act
Author: Catherine Steadman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster India

What is a person you met some time ago didn’t exist?

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman is the story of Mia Eliot who has travelled from London to LA for pilot season. This is her big chance to make it as an actor in Hollywood, and she is ready to do whatever it takes. At an audition she meets Emily, and what starts as a simple favour takes a dark turn when Emily goes missing and Mia is the last person to see her. Then a woman turns up, claiming to be Emily, but she is nothing like Mia remembers. Why would someone pretend to be Emily? Starting to question her own sanity, she goes on a desperate and dangerous search for answers, knowing something is very, very wrong.

The story is meticulously planned and as we go through the story, the plot starts setting itself up. The strength of the book lies in the powerful storytelling and the time it takes to set up the premise. The author takes the various scenes as the book comes alive almost like a movie. The events in the book are logical and structured nicely, and none of the scenes feels forced or out of context. Another thing I liked about the book is the simple and linear method Catherine adopts to tell us the story. The pace is comfortable, and the language is easy to understand. The climax is wonderfully planned, and the entire story builds up to the climax. The one thing that didn’t work for me was a bit in the middle when the situation seemed to drag along for a bit.

The book is powered by a nice set of characters and Catherine creates a set of powerful characters that help you connect to them and understand their pain, fear and motivation to do what they did. The character descriptions are powerful and are quite apt to the setting in which the story plays out. What stood out for me was that Mia is the character in focus for most part of the story and yet it does not overwhelm you at any point in time.

Overall, a wonderful story that enthralls you and makes you yearn for more. The book scores a 4.25/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book here.