... [a] tense, character-rich thriller ... Smart, vulnerable and too quick to make life-alteringly bad decisions, Elisabeth is a fascinating character ... the propulsive How Quickly She Disappears...rarely pauses to reflect. But it’s representative of how deeply we connect to the protagonist of Fleischmann’s assured page-turner, in which every plot development hinges on grieving Elisabeth’s yearning for a truth that has eluded her for almost all of her life.
Fleischmann tells his story with such skill that it is hard to believe this is a debut novel. The characters are well-developed and memorable, the rural Alaska setting is vividly portrayed, the plot is loaded with unexpected turns and the unrelenting suspense creates a growing sense of dread. Best of all, the author tells the tale with the musical prose of a literary novelist at the top of his game.
This is a page-turner, keeping us glued to Elisabeth’s struggles as she tries to turn the manipulations of a psychopath to her own ends. But if it weren't for technological advances that might have obviated its premise, this book could have been set in the present. The World War II milieu is glancingly and unconvincingly evoked. The language, particularly the dialogue, does not even attempt the parlance of the day; instead, it is replete with anachronisms ... However, the Alaskan setting is vividly detailed. A historical thriller minus the history.
... uneven ... Elisabeth’s desire to find out Jacqueline’s abductor’s identity and where she might be keeps the tension high, but main characters who don’t behave in realistic ways and the distracting usage of second-person point of view for the flashbacks will put off many readers. A disappointing ending caps a novel that works better as an evocation of a certain time and place than a mystery.
