THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF IMOGEN GOOD

A dreaded visit with relatives turns into a strange mystery in this British import featuring a story within a story.

Fran doesn’t want to spend a week of her summer holidays visiting her Aunty Liz and Uncle Pete in the countryside, mostly because she doesn’t want to see her awful cousin, Imogen. But a curious thing happens when she arrives at their tiny cottage, which is located on the Stillness Estate: Imogen is nowhere to be found, and no one seems to remember that she ever existed. In between episodes of Fran’s modern-day search to uncover the truth behind Imogen’s disappearance, an unnamed storyteller shares the supposedly true account of “The Twelve Statues of Stillness Hall.” It’s a centuries-old tale, complete with a life-or-death quest to find a “mysterious wishing flower.” Applebaum deftly weaves the two separate plotlines together in well-paced storylines that unfold in short, alternating chapters that often have cliffhanger endings to help build the suspense. The wonderfully atmospheric setting features a grand but crumbling estate and its sinister and foreboding walled garden. Readers will piece together Fran’s modern-day clues, connecting them with those hidden within the fairy tale–like story to discover what’s happening at Stillness. Applebaum’s latest is sure to please her fans and win over new ones with its seamless integration of two intriguing narratives that are distinguished by skillfully distinct prose styles. The characters read white.

Engrossing and atmospheric.