The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
16-years ago, Rachel Price, wife and mother, went missing. There were a lot of odd details surrounding her disappearance, such as her car was found abandoned with her 2-year old daughter, Bel, still inside.
Ever since, the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Price has remained a well-known case with many speculating on what could have happened to her.
All these years later, a documentary filmmaker has decided to revisit the disappearance and create a film. He’s asked the Price family to participate and they’ve agreed.
Even though Bel wishes everyone would just move on, she amiably participates, as she knows it’s something important to her Dad. He was initially suspected, but since cleared. It’s remained a touchy subject for the family, as you can imagine, ever since.
The crew has established themselves in the Price’s area and are doing regular interviews and filming. During this process, the unimaginable happens. Rachel reappears.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Rachel returns with an unbelievable story. It’s so unbelievable, Bel doesn’t believe it’s true. If Rachel is lying though, where has she been all this time and why come back now?
We follow along with Bel as she tries to figure out what happened all those years ago, and more importantly, what the heck is going on now.
I enjoyed this a lot. The set-up is great. I loved the idea of a long unsolved mystery being explored afresh by a documentary film crew. I felt like Bel was a good sport about the doc and I did feel empathy for her in regards to everything she had to deal with in her life.
The Price family is complicated and I do love a complicated family dynamic. I had fun getting to know the family and learning all of the details surrounding Rachel’s disappearance.
Even though Rachel’s reappearance was expected, I still found it to be eerie. Her story was just so bizarre, it didn’t make any sense and she didn’t seem to be able to provide clarity.
Bel is uncomfortable with Rachel being back. She feels like she’s being forced to live with liar, and it’s difficult for her to interact with Rachel as Rachel tries to reconnect with her.
I was right there with Bel. I didn’t trust Rachel either and my Horror Heart was screaming, CHANGELING, even though I knew that probably wasn’t the case.
A lot of the focus of the story is this back-and-forth between Rachel and Bel. Jackson definitely succeeded in keeping me at the edge of my seat during all of that. It raised my pulse, not going to lie.
I will say, the first 3/4 of this was better for me that the closing sections. The tension and intrigue of the build-up and center portions held more weight for me; it kept me more engaged and excited. The ending, with some of the reveals, started to lose me a bit.
I wasn’t crazy about some of the explanations and ultimate outcomes, but getting there was fun. Also, keep in mind, this is personal taste. The outcomes didn’t quite mesh with what I wanted for these characters, but others may enjoy it more.
It must be tough being Holly Jackson actually. She stormed onto the scene with a MONSTER of a debut, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which just so happens to be my favorite YA Mystery of all time.
That debut novel, and the rest of the series, has been incredibly popular. Absolutely OTT-levels of hype and love surround that series and has for years.
I feel like everything she’s put out since naturally gets compared to that and it’s gonna be real difficult to surpass. It’s not that I don’t think she can do it, I know she has the talent, but it’s gonna be tough.
Neverless, she’s a queen of twists and bringing solid, page-turning drama. While this one didn’t reach AGGG level for me, it was still darn good and a heck of a lot of fun to read. I would definitely recommend it, and look forward to whatever Jackson writes next!!!