Publication Date: September 16, 2025
A shocking murder in the New Zealand bush—and the witness who looks all too familiar—draws a woman back to the very place she swore she’d never return to in this breakneck debut thriller.
A child who ran from the forest.
A woman who must return to it
Growing up with her younger siblings in the unforgiving New Zealand bush, Effie believed their parents had cut them off from civilization because they loved Nature. She never suspected that their reasons might be more menacing. After witnessing a terrifying episode of violence, she escaped the wilderness to forge a life for herself halfway across the globe.
Now, when she learns the only witness to a murder is a little girl who looks just like her, Effie is compelled to return to the scene of her troubled childhood, where the secrets of her upbringing and the terrors of her past come rushing back to the surface. In order to find out once and for all what became of her family—and possibly help this mysterious girl who could be her younger self—Effie must face her greatest fears once more.
For 17 years, Effie has built a new life in Scotland, far away from the trauma in New Zealand. With one phone call, her peace is shattered.
Author Zoë Rankin serves up a psychological thriller in The Vanishing Place. Spanning multiple timelines, the author takes readers deep into the bushland where people go to live off the land.
To learn more about the little girl who stumbled out of the bush bearing a striking familial resemblance, Effie will have to face the fears she left behind, including a murder she witnessed. Her eerie history unfolds bit by bit, coupled with current-day events. Keeping the events sorted takes some effort by the reader.
The depiction of the bush children, desperately trying to survive, was impactful. While initial conclusions may seem to make sense, the author delivers multiple plot twists that connect to a bigger picture.
The Vanishing Place offers a main character who must confront her fears in order to bring closure to a painful point in her past and help a young relative.
Zoë Rankin grew up in a village in Scotland. She studied international relations and Arabic before going on to qualify as a primary school teacher. She spent many years traveling in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and eventually settled in New Zealand. She has always been passionate about writing as well as spending time outdoors and exploring by bike, often with her two small children, who are equally adventurous.
