Vanishing Year (Moretti)

The Vanishing Year 
Kate Moretti, 2016
Atria Books
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781501118432


Summary
Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life.

She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips.

What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her.

As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely.

A "dark, twisty, edge-of-your-seat suspense" (Karen Robards), The Vanishing Year is told from the point-of-view of a heroine who is as relatable as she is enigmatic, The Vanishing Year is an unforgettable new novel by a rising star of the genre. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1978
• Raised—Easton, Pennsylvania, USA
• Education—B.A., Shippensburg University
• Currently—lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania


Kate McInerney Moretti is an American author. She was raised in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, graduating from Easton Area High School in 1996 and from Shippensburg University, where she received her B.A.

Writing, which started out as a hobby, eventually morphed into a passion for Moretti. A mother of two, she worked for 10 years as a scientist at a pharmaceutical company near Philadelphia—yet she somehow managed to find time to write.

Her first book, I Thought I Knew You came out in 2012 and was a surprise hit, racking up enough reviews and sales to push it onto the bestseller charts. Moretti's second book, Binds that Tie, was released in 2014; her third, While You Were Gone, came out in 2015. All three books were issued digitally by an independent online publisher, Red Adept.

Her 2016 book, however, represented a major transition for Moretti—a move nearly every indie author dreams about. The Vanishing Year was picked up Simon & Schuster, a major New York publishing house. The book, a fast-paced thriller, became an instant bestseller.

Moretti and her husband, Chip, live in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with their two daughters. (Adapted from, among other sources, Lehigh Valley Live.)

Book Reviews
This psychological thriller evolves into sheer terror…the outcome will amaze readers.
Romance Times


Readers will wonder who is good, evil, or simply the victim of misguided thinking as they devour bestselling author Kate Moretti’s latest book, full of expertly placed screens and revelations.
BookPage


Some of the most suspenseful writing in the genre…adroitly written.
Crime Time Magazine


Zoe’s blend of disloyalty to friends...renders her unsympathetic at times. An implausible plot and chronological inconsistencies may also trouble some readers, but Moretti maintains a fast pace and creates a chillingly satisfying villain.
Publishers Weekly


Readers will wonder who is good, evil, or simply the victim of misguided thinking as they devour bestselling author Kate Moretti’s latest book, full of expertly placed screens and revelations.
Booklist


(Starred review.) [A] shocking mystery that will keep readers turning the pages. Parts of the ending may seem a little too coincidental, but the conclusion is explosive and satisfying enough that it doesn’t really matter. Great pacing and true surprises...[with] complex female characters.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher. In the meantime, use our generic mystery questions.

GENERIC DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Mystery / Crime / Suspense Thrillers

1. Talk about the characters, both good and bad. Describe their personalities and motivations. Are they fully developed and emotionally complex? Or are they flat, one-dimensional heroes and villains?

2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you begin to piece together what happened?

3. Good crime writers embed hidden clues in plain sight, slipping them in casually, almost in passing. Did you pick them out, or were you...clueless? Once you've finished the book, go back to locate the clues hidden in plain sight. How skillful was the author in burying them?

4. Good crime writers also tease us with red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray? Does your author try to throw you off track? If so, were you tripped up?

5. Talk about the twists & turns—those surprising plot developments that throw everything you think you've figured out into disarray.

1. Do they enhance the story, add complexity, and build suspense?
2. Are they plausible or implausible?
3. Do they feel forced and gratuitous—inserted merely to extend the story?

6. Does the author ratchet up the suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? A what point does the suspense start to build? Where does it climax...then perhaps start rising again?

7. A good ending is essential in any mystery or crime thriller: it should ease up on tension, answer questions, and tidy up loose ends. Does the ending accomplish those goals?

1. Is the conclusion probable or believable?
2. Is it organic, growing out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 3)?
3. Or does the ending come out of the blue, feeling forced or tacked-on?
4. Perhaps it's too predictable.
5. Can you envision a different or better ending?

8. Are there certain passages in the book—ideas, descriptions, or dialogue—that you found interesting or revealing...or that somehow struck you? What lines, if any, made you stop and think?

9. Overall, does the book satisfy? Does it live up to the standards of a good crime story or suspense thriller? Why or why not?

(Generic Mystery Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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