Four stars for the journey, with a deduction for the destination.
At thirteen, Hazel and her sister Kira receive a mysterious message they believe comes from another world. They call the being responsible the Snow Angel, and Kira becomes obsessed with it. Then Kira disappears without a trace.
Twenty years later, Hazel is still haunted by her sister's disappearance. No body. No answers. No closure. Just two decades of grief, guilt, and unanswered questions. Then a podcast revisits the mystery, other people who experienced the Snow Angel begin coming forward, and those people start having unfortunate little accidents. Apparently, hearing messages from another world comes with a rather alarming mortality rate.
I never really connected with Hazel, but I understood her. Between the grief and mysterious episodes that leave her freezing to the bone, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness, she's developed a rather unhealthy relationship with pills and alcohol. Not exactly a physician-approved treatment plan, but I understood her desperation.
What kept me turning pages wasn't necessarily Hazel herself. It was the mystery of Kira's disappearance. Where did she go? Why was her body never found? And what on earth (or elsewhere) was the Snow Angel?
Kerin tells the story across two timelines, 2006–07 and the present, and I thought she handled them well. The beginning takes its time establishing the characters and mystery, but once the suspicious accidents begin piling up, the suspense really takes off. Every time Hazel gets close to someone who might have answers, something terrible happens. I began worrying about her safety, although I had no idea who or what was responsible.
That's when the book started interfering with my bedtime. One more chapter. Just one more.
Of the supporting characters, Lily, Hazel's childhood friend, was easily my favorite. She's funny, loyal, and apparently believes happy hour can begin around two in the afternoon. Finally, someone with reasonable priorities! Her humor provided a welcome break from the grief, obsession, and the increasingly suspicious body count.
Kerin did a good job keeping me guessing. There were clues, and eventually certain characters started setting off my internal alarm bells, but the mystery wasn't obvious from the beginning. I enjoyed her writing style and the balance of suspense, emotional complexity, and occasional humor.
Unfortunately, the ending lost me. Without giving anything away, the final explanation involves some ambitious ideas about trauma and the nature of reality. And I understood it. I really did. But understanding something and believing it are two entirely different things.
Kerin explained her reasoning, but accepting it required a bigger leap than I was willing to make. I was perfectly happy to suspend my disbelief. Unfortunately, by the ending, my disbelief needed a parachute.
Despite my disappointment with the resolution, How to Disappear Completely earns four stars. The storytelling was engaging, the suspense kept me reading, and I genuinely wanted to know what happened to Kira. I just wish the ending had been as satisfying as the journey.
Readers who enjoy psychological suspense with speculative or supernatural elements, complicated family relationships, and explorations of grief and trauma may appreciate this one. Those who prefer more grounded explanations might share my reservations.
Four stars for a compelling mystery and several nights of just one more chapter. The ending? Well, we can't have everything.
Content Warnings: Grief and loss, child disappearance, murder, substance misuse, overdose, PTSD/trauma, violence, sexual content including choking/breath restriction during intimacy, and near-drowning.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advance reader copy of How to Disappear Completely by Liz Kerin in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
