Throughout the month of September and the beginning of October, the VPM Fiction Book Club read The Reappearance of Rachel Price by bestselling author Holly Jackson. Jackson is known for her thrilling, mystery-filled books like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Five Survive. The Reappearance of Rachel Price is just as mysterious and twist filled as Jackson’s other books.
The story follows the protagonist, Bel, as she and her family make a documentary about the disappearance of her mother, Rachel Price. Everything is going well when, all of a sudden, Rachel comes walking back into their lives, bringing back not only memories of the past but also secrets long hidden. Rachel’s story isn’t adding up, Bel’s dad is acting weird, the rest of the family is excited to have Rachel back, and the film crew is there to capture everything. This book is filled with unexpected twists as we follow along with Bel, dig into family secrets, and learn the truth behind Rachel’s disappearance – and her suspicious reappearance. Everyone is hiding something and Bel is determined not to leave any rock left unturned, and no secret left uncovered. With lovable and relatable characters, Holly Jackson leaves you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire book.
While Goodreads gives this book a 4.09 out of 5 rating, Fiction Book Club has given this book a confident 5 out of 5 stars. We enjoyed every aspect of this book – each twist, secret, and murderous turn had us all eager for more of Bel and Rachel’s story. Some of our favorite characters included Ash, Bel, and Carter (all unique and intricate characters), with one of our club members even giving the book a humorous rating of Ash out of 10. Another member, having read the book prior to the club’s selection, said that this book had been their first 5 star read of the year.
This choice was the perfect way to start off this year of Fiction Book Club and we can’t wait to read our next book, Not Quite Dead Yet, also by Holly Jackson. With how good The Reappearance of Rachel Price was, we’re sure this next book won’t disappoint.
