If I Disappear

YA author Brazier (The Life and Death Parade as Eliza Wass) makes her adult debut with a gripping psychological thriller. As Sera Fleece’s life disintegrates post-divorce, she becomes increasingly obsessed with a true crime podcast hosted by Rachel Bard, who focuses on the disappearances of young women. Then Rachel vanishes, a turn of events that shakes Sera out of her lassitude and sends her to Rachel’s hometown in Northern California, where she is determined to use the podcasts’ lessons to find the missing podcast host. From Sera’s first glimpse of the remote guest ranch Rachel’s parents run, there’s a palpable sense of menace. Strangely, neither the senior Bards nor their ruggedly handsome ranch hand appear overly worried about Rachel, and tight-lipped townsfolk warn Sera to get out—fast. Despite a hairpin final turn that’s far more startling than satisfying, this novel poses some provocative questions concerning women’s roles and the risk of “disappearing” if those roles are defied. Blending the true crime compulsion of Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark with the immersive creepy-craziness of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects, Brazier creates a heady, pitch-dark cocktail all her own. Agent: Sarah Bedingfield, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary. (Jan.)