How to Disappear cover art

How to Disappear

The gripping psychological thriller with an ending that will take your breath away

 Preview
This Season's Biggest Deal

$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
More purchase options

How to Disappear

By: Gillian McAllister
Narrated by: Nicola Walker
Get this deal

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 28 December, 2026. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $18.69

Buy Now for $18.69

This Season's Biggest Deal | $0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE GRIPPING NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NO FURTHER QUESTIONS AND THE EVIDENCE AGAINST YOU

'Bravo! How to Disappear is undoubtedly her best yet. Gripping and emotional - a cracking read' Clare Mackintosh

'A relentless drumroll of suspense . . . ranks among the best psychological-suspense thrillers of recent years' A. J. Finn

You can run, you can hide, but can you disappear for good?

Lauren's daughter Zara witnessed a terrible crime. But speaking up comes with a price, and when Zara's identity is revealed online, it puts a target on her back.

The only choice is to disappear.

To keep Zara safe, Lauren will give up everything and everyone she loves, even her husband.

There will be no goodbyes. Their pasts will be rewritten. New names, new home, new lives.

The rules are strict for a reason. They are being hunted. One mistake - a text, an Instagram like - could bring their old lives crashing into the new.

They can never assume someone isn't watching, waiting.

As Lauren will learn, disappearing is easy. Staying hidden is harder . . .
__________

'Totally addictive, with twists that repeatedly pulled the rug from under my feet' Erin Kelly

'Tense and unpredictable. I couldn't put it down' Claire Douglas

'If Jodi Picoult wrote psychological thrillers, they would look like this. A compulsive read with a jaw-dropping twist, I read it in a day' Rosamund Lupton

'An intricate and spellbinding exploration of the devastating ripples that spread from a terrible crime' Holly Seddon

'I read How to Disappear with my heart in my mouth' Lia Louis

(c) Gillian McAllister 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Crime Fiction Mystery Political Psychological Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Law Exciting Scary

Critic Reviews

Bravo! How to Disappear is undoubtedly her best yet. Gripping and emotional - a cracking read. (Clare Mackintosh)
A clever and original thriller with a brilliant ending. Beautifully written and emotional as well as tense and unpredictable, I couldn't put it down. (Claire Douglas)
If Jodi Picoult wrote psychological thrillers, they would look like this. A compulsive read with a jaw-dropping twist, I read it in a day (Rosamund Lupton)
Tense, twisty and perfectly paced, How To Disappear is a compelling portrait of a family under unbearable pressure - where one false step invites disaster into all their lives (T. M. Logan)
Totally addictive: clever, convincing and ingeniously plotted with twists that repeatedly pulled the rug from under my feet. But more than that, How to Disappear is peopled with characters so real and relatable you feel you could reach out and touch them. Any crime writer can keep you turning the pages - but few can make you care this much. (Erin Kelly)
Some thrillers stage a few moments of high anxiety (at best); more thrillers simply sprinkle jitters here and there, like piano ditties peppered lightly with minor chords. But How to Disappear is a relentless drumroll of suspense, a knife-edge novel in which - at any moment, with any word, in the spaces between words - the characters can drop into danger as though falling through a trapdoor. They aren't safe for even an instant . . . and neither is the reader who cares about them (and who couldn't?). Gillian McAllister's rattling, deeply satisfying book ranks among the best psychological-suspense thrillers of recent years, but you'll be reminded too of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty, Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere. Bloody hell, this is a good one. (A. J. Finn)
Gillian McAllister has done it again. How to Disappear is a captivating story with unforgettable characters. This is one you can't put down and you won't soon forget (Samantha Downing)
I couldn't look away from this intricate and spellbinding exploration of the devastating ripples that spread from a terrible crime. The desperate and dangerous slippery slope that one family finds themselves on is as gut punching as it is believable. Whip smart and wonderfully written. (Holly Seddon)
This intricately plotted drama is a masterclass in taut, twisty but beautiful writing
A clever, compulsive, cat-and-mouse family thriller that made my heart race. Never ever, would I want to go into a witness protection programme after this. Absolutely brilliant (Jane Corry)
All stars
Most relevant
I have just finished How to Disappear & enjoyed the story enormously. However it was the brilliant audio provided by the amazing Nicola Walker that raised this book to the next level. She made the characters truly come alive and enhanced this story in a perfect manner. Thank you.

Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful story
Wonderful narration
Twists and turns at every page
Couldn’t put it down

Highly recommend!

Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Love listening to Nicola Walker! The story was entertaining for the entire time. Loved the ending. Totally had me!

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An Excellent, immersive, harrowing, gripping storyline that takes you on and feeling the journey of terror, love, pain, disgust and unwavering bond

gripping from beginning to end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had to keep skipping back chapters as I was listening to hold on to new details. Mysteries aren’t usually as engaging without the gritty self sabotage of the main character and the lack of integrity and loyalties of the cast. This wonderful wholesome yet entirely fallible family went through a season where love wasn’t betrayed and still the thrills and tension steadily increased right to the end.

Thrilling and heartwarming (what a combination!)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.