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The Temple House Vanishing

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The Temple House Vanishing

By: Rachel Donohue
Narrated by: Nicola Coughlan, Aoife McMahon
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About this listen

Power. Jealousy. Desire.

Twenty-five years ago, a 16-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace....

When Louisa arrives at Temple House, an elite Catholic boarding school, she quickly finds herself drawn to sophisticated fellow pupil Victoria and their young bohemian art teacher Mr Lavelle. The three of them form a bond that seems to offer an escape from the repressive regime of the nuns who run the cloistered school. Until Louisa and Mr Lavelle suddenly vanish.

Years later, a journalist with a childhood connection to Louisa determines to resolve the mystery. Her search for the truth will uncover a tragic, mercurial tale of suppressed desire and long-buried secrets. It will shatter lives and lay a lost soul to rest.

The Temple House Vanishing is a stunning, intensely atmospheric novel of unrequited longing, dark obsession and unintended consequences.

©2020 Atlantic Books Ltd (P)2020 Audible, Ltd Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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A teenage girl and her teacher go missing from a prestigious Catholic boarding school. Did they run away together or did something more sinister happen? Years later a journalist investigates.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first and considered not finishing as it is quite a slow burner, but then it got under my skin and I really had to know what happened to Louisa and Mr Lavelle. The setting of the school gave the book a dark, claustrophobic feel. This is far removed from the Mallory Towers books I read as a child! Ms Donohue describes her characters brilliantly – the scholarship girl Louisa, privileged Victoria, cruel, bitchy prefect Helen and young, bohemian teacher Edward Lavelle. There were some unexpected twists and turns along the way until we finally find out what happened.

This was an interesting debut and I look forward to seeing what Rachel Donohue comes up with next.

Slow burner which had me hooked

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Chilling and poetic. Beautiful performances and superb writing that brings the characters to life. A Must listen!

Brilliant

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Didn’t know if I’d get in to this but really enjoyed it. Thought I knew the outcome but i didnt

Unexpected

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Loved the way it was performed by 2 different people to distinguish between the eras, to make the transition easier when going to the characters at school and then as adults.

Fabulous story

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Excellent, compelling unexpected haunting. Just listen it is a good story definitely a great listen.

Haunting story

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95% of this book is teenage angst and it’s hard work. I persevered in the hope that it would become more gripping but in the end I was relieved when it ended and sorry I’d stuck it out.

I persevered but the promise wasn’t fulfilled

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I had expected a gritty 'whodunnit' but this is just basically teen fiction about bitchy and fantasist teen girls. Plot was predictable. Narration ok if a bit grating when doing the teen voices.

Really Disappointing

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Louisa is one of the most boring characters I’ve ever come across. I’m surprised anyone noticed she had vanished let alone cared to look for her.

Slow and dull

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This is by far the most disappointing audio I've listened to! The write up sounded really good and worth a listen but I was so dissatisfied with this book! Not worth the download

Awful

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A bit dull. Off the shelf characters playing out some familiar routines, the school girl crush, the flawed but strangely alluring male/art teacher, the put upon/brilliant scholarship girl, the nasty little piece...a mystery... even a ghost. All quite plodding. I’m writing this with 20mins of the story left to listen to and hoping I’ll have to eat my words. I doubt I will.

A word on the quality of the narration: it’s professional and serviceable. The voices come across well. Characterisation is two dimensional throughout and there’s nothing much for the narrators to work with. All a little disappointing.

Oh dear. The ending is mushy, sentimental fudge. I think now that this story is really not intended for adult readers.

Dreary, worthy stuff

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