Publishers Weekly
04/29/2019
In McLean’s eerie debut, narrator Tikka Malloy can’t forget the summer of 1992: that was the summer her three best friends, the Van Apfel sisters—Hannah, Ruth, and the hauntingly beautiful Cordelia—walked off into the wild bushland near their Australian suburb, never to be seen again. In a winding novel of flashbacks and hidden memories, readers see Tikka, now a woman in her 30s who has since moved to Baltimore, unable to move past that one summer. Returning to Australia to care for her sister, Laura, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, Tikka navigates the shadowy past of her childhood. Through conversations with Laura, neighbors, and her parents, Tikka stumbles upon painful feelings of guilt, hidden secrets and scandals, and memories better left forgotten. McLean peels back the layers of one scorching Australian summer, revealing the dark secrets and lies hidden behind the cheerful facade of suburbia. This debut, part coming-of-age story and part crime thriller, is both forceful and unnerving. (June)
From the Publisher
Suspenseful and haunting.” —People “If there's a more compelling summer book description than ‘The Virgin Suicides-meets-Picnic at Hanging Rock,’ I don't know what it would be. Such was the description given to me about this book, and it doesn't disappoint.” —Nylon, Best Books of Summer “One part mystery, one million parts amazing, this debut from Felicity McLean will be a summer fave.”—Cosmopolitan, Best Books of June “This brand-new debut novel by Felicity McLean has all of the ingredients of a perfect summer beach read and is one of the most anticipated books to read in 2019: it’s a beautifully written, scenic thriller that’s at once comical and darkly terrifying.”—Readers Digest, Best Books of Summer “Suffused with the same tantalizing intensity as Picnic at Hanging Rock, it’s the time-slip narrative of three sisters who went missing in the summer of 1992 . . . readers who enjoy something haunting, atmospheric and genuinely mysterious have a treat in store.” —The Guardian “McLean peels back the layers of one scorching Australian summer, revealing the dark secrets and lies hidden behind the cheerful facade of suburbia. This debut, part coming-of-age story and part crime thriller, is both forceful and unnerving.”—Publishers Weekly “The story is a compelling one, with a nice layer of suspense that keeps the pages turning until its hauntingly melancholy end.” —Booklist “A wry, sad coming-of-age story and a well-crafted first novel.”—Kirkus Reviews “This debut coming-of-age mystery is a haunting story of bewilderment and lost innocence . . . The news stories and descriptions evoke 1990s Australia in this engrossing, atmospheric debut. Fans of William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace may want to try.” —Library Journal, starred review “Dashed with the appeal of The Virgin Suicides and Picnic at Hanging Rock, this tense coming-of-age story recounts the mysterious disappearance of three sisters in a small Australian town.” —Entertainment Weekly “Containing summer friendships, whispered secrets, and a dark, hidden truth, Felicity McLean’s The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is poignant and jarring . . . a blazingly well-written, impressive, and deeply satisfying thriller.” —Foreword Reviews, starred review “The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is a well-layered puzzle with unexplained pieces to spare. At the core of this gripping debut novel are the uncertain perceptions of young Tikka and 2012 Tikka, still partially trapped in her 11-year-old self. McLean's often striking prose swirls deftly between the two Tikkas as suspicions begin to emerge—about the Van Apfels and their violently pious patriarch, Cordie's broken arm, and the school's first male teacher. A slow burn that maintains an electric current of dread, the narrative is also cleverly colored by the underpinning of the infamous Chamberlain case. Although more than 30 years later it was confirmed that Lindy Chamberlain's baby was indeed snatched by a dingo, the Van Apfel girls may get no such closure.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review “An intriguing, charge-ahead work with real pathos at its center.”—Library Journal “Where McLean shines, and where the real strength of the book lies, is in her pitch-p
Library Journal - Audio
12/01/2019
Tikka Malloy returns to her home in suburban Australia from America because Laura, her sister, is battling cancer. The return home takes Tikka back to the summer she was 11 years old and her friends and neighbors, Ruth, Hannah, and Cordie Van Apfel, disappeared. What happened and why the girls disappeared is the central mystery. Did the Van Apfels run away or were they taken? Tikka was permanently scarred by the disappearance, and 20 years later she continues to look for Cordie in everyone she meets. Tikka and Laura struggle with a sense that they might have done something that summer to prevent the disappearance. Descriptive and evocative, this is a fine debut novel from Australian journalist McLean. Cat Gould narrates in a rich Australian accent that enhances the atmosphere of the story. VERDICT This combination of mystery, family dynamics, and coming-of-age story will be popular with a wide audience of fiction listeners.—Cynthia Jensen, Gladys Harrington Lib., Plano, TX
SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
The unsolved disappearance of three girls from their small town in Australia is recounted by 11-year-old Tikka Malloy, portrayed by Cat Gould. In a time shift, the adult Tikka remains haunted by guilt, as she and her older sister knew the girls were planning to run away yet never told anyone. Gould’s native Australian accent lends a useful authenticity to the narrative, but the story requires that Tikka’s childish ignorance also feel authentic. Gould’s approach—to add an ungainly earnestness to her normal speaking voice—merely makes her sound less skilled at narration than she actually is. A better casting choice might have been someone already possessing a youthful voice or better capable of conveying one over extensive stretches of narration. K.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
