The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin
This suspense novel moves from the present to the past, as a young girl appears in a small New Zealand town covered in blood. She made an initial statement, giving her name as Anya, but hasn't talked further, and this statement causes the local police officer to contact Effie, who now lives in Scotland. Effie grew up in New Zealand, living deep in the bush with her parents and two siblings. When her fourth sibling is born unexpectedly, her parents are unprepared and her mother dies in childbirth. Effie takes on the care of her new brother, who they call Four. Her father is distraught and disappears for some time, returning with a woman Effie has met before briefly. As we gradually learn of Effie's past and her connection to this small town and the man who called her to return, we also deal with the present, the strange, quiet young girl who looks very much like Effie did as a child.
Returning to New Zealand awakens memories in Effie, memories both good and bad. The bad ones are of terror, terror for her family still out in the bush and what the presence of Anya means. She knows that she must return to find out, but the return to the home she grew up in brings her to a nearly empty cabin. Someone lies dead on the floor, and there are signs of confinement, but no possessions to show that anyone has been there lately besides the body.
As Effie tries to get closer to Anya, and learn what she can from the traumatized girl, we also learn about the trauma that caused Effie to leave.
This is a story that has more than one moment of suspense, and lots of unexpected situations and plot elements. I could hardly put it down.
I liked Effie and could understand her choices. I also liked Anya and could understand why she was so wary of the people who tried to help, even though she'd run to them. This is a complex tale, with trauma across generations. Highly recommended.
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