relzreviewz.com Vanish by Tom Pawlik ~ Tracy’s Take

What is it about?

Three strangers awake the day after experiencing a mysterious storm to find everyone has disappeared. Connor Hayden, Helen Krause and Mitch Kent finally find one another, in a strange world of faceless beings and strange shadows, a world where their past haunts them with overwhelming clarity.

Connor, Helen and Mitch band together in search of answers to the strange goings on and the even stranger creatures, who seem to be watching them. When the creatures become aggressive and begin attacking, they desperately cling to one another in a bid to keep one another safe.

What I thought:

‘Vanish’ is Tom Pawlik’s debut into the writing world and is a remarkable piece of work, which deserves its award-winning acclaim. It is a spine tingling, heart-thumping, breath-taking suspense novel that you will find impossible to put down

From the very first page I was completely hooked, replete with goose bumps! Tom skillfully takes the reader on a suspense filled, fast paced journey with Connor, Helen and Mitch into a world where everything looks the way it should and yet nothing is as it should be. I felt the pain of each character as they were faced with the enormity of past mistakes. Their fear was palpable and their desperation to escape the creatures was as tangible as if it were my own. The twists and turns in this novel are always surprising and completely unpredictable, which adds to the suspense that had me reading into the wee hours of morn that should never been seen.

Tom begins unravelling the mystery of the world in which the characters find themselves towards the end of the novel. It is an eerie revelation and as things finally become clear, the novel comes to a heart-stopping end! Roll on June ’09 when the continuation of Connor and Mitch’s story continues. I must remind myself to breathe in the meantime!

Guest reviewer:~ my friend Tracy from Beyond My Picket Fence

Tracy will be reviewing the sequel, Valley of the Shadow to coincide with it’s release. Here’s a peek but there are spoilers if you haven’t read Vanish.

Conner Hayden is certain he survived his near-death experience for a reason. He thinks it’s to save the life—and soul—of Mitch Kent. Mitch’s body remains on life support while his spirit is trapped with the old farmer Howard Bristol in the Interworld—a strange and dangerous dimension that Conner narrowly escaped during his brush with death in Pawlik’s award-winning debut novel, Vanish.

Meanwhile, in the Interworld, Mitch receives a warning from a mysterious stranger: Howard is not who he appears to be, and Mitch must flee immediately. Pursued by Howard and a terrifying creature, Mitch soon learns the truth about what happened to him and that his only hope of survival lies at the very edge of the Interworld.