The Temple House Vanishing
Hardback Published on: 20/02/2020
Price: £12.99
Synopsis
'This brooding tale of obsessive love, teenage jealousy and hidden desire has a dark charm' The i paper
'Atmospheric, creepy, tense and utterly absorbing' Harriet Tyce
'Clean prose, subtle characters and intrigue to keep the pages turning' Mike McCormack
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Power. Jealousy. Desire.
Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace...
When Louisa arrives at Temple House, an elite catholic boarding school, she quickly finds herself drawn to sophisticated fellow pupil Victoria and their young bohemian art teacher, Mr Lavelle. The three of them form a bond that seems to offer an escape from the repressive regime of the nuns who run the cloistered school. Until Louisa and Mr Lavelle suddenly vanish.
Years later, a journalist with a childhood connection to Louisa determines to resolve the mystery. Her search for the truth will uncover a tragic, mercurial tale of suppressed desire and long-buried secrets. It will shatter lives and lay a lost soul to rest.
The Temple House Vanishing is a stunning, intensely atmospheric novel of unrequited longing, dark obsession and unintended consequences.
'Chilling' Christine Dwyer Hickey 'Exquisite' Jo Spain
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Perfect for fans of Emily M. Danforth's's Plain Bad Heroines...
Publisher information
- Publisher: Atlantic Books
- ISBN: 9781786499387
- Number of pages: 336
- Dimensions: 216 x 135 x 23 mm
- Weight: 445g
Customer Reviews
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An atmospheric mystery
Obviously I was seduced by the blurb of a mystery centred around a Catholic boarding school in 1990, and I really enjoyed this spooky tale of sinister rela... READ MORE
Atmospheric debut
Temple House is a second rate girls boarding school that thinks it’s first rate or at least some of the incumbents do, especially the nuns that run it. In ... READ MORE
Obsession and it's destructive resolution
A beautiful, haunting novel which had me hooked from the start. Rachel Donohue has an enormous talent, most first novels are tentative, you know that the g... READ MORE
Brilliantly observed
The Temple House Vanishing is a beautifully constructed story of teenage obsession, jealousy and love. It centres around three people, Louisa and Victoria,... READ MORE
atmospheric tension
Firstly, I will keep on saying this... the cover is gorgeous! Secondly, I very much enjoyed this book from the get go. Though it was somewhat a slow burn, ... READ MORE
Obsession
Read this book super quick!
I'm pretty sure we have all had a crush on one of our teachers when we were at school. However this particular crush was taken ... READ MORE
Jealousy and love
I read this book in almost one sitting it was slow to get going but once it did I was completely hooked and wanted to read on to see what happened to Louis... READ MORE
Full of angst
A 25 year old mystery concerning a former neighbours disappearance from the boarding school she was a scholarship pupil at intrigues a journalist and inspi... READ MORE
Chilling & atmospheric
Due to her excellent exam results Louisa gets a scholarship to the once elite Temple House. This comes at a time when her parents are separating & she is w... READ MORE
some dark twists
This is a very dramatic and dark story about a girl called Louisa who is sent to the Temple boarding school, where she makes a friend called Victoria. All... READ MORE
Like a 90s gothic version of Mean Girls
The Temple House Vanishing is a dual timeline mystery/thriller about the disappearance of a student and teacher from a catholic girls school in the 1990s. ... READ MORE
A thrilling read
Temple house vanishing is a story of mysterious disappearance of a teacher and student from an exclusive church school 20 years ago. The story is told from... READ MORE
Promising debut!
A beautifully written book: I can appreciate the simplistic yet poetic style The Temple House Vanishing is executed in and found the read easy yet pleasant... READ MORE
Slow burner
Started out well, very sinister Catholic girls school, eccentric teacher who is a tad too close to the girls and the strong implications of illicit affairs... READ MORE
Not for me on this occasion....
People I know and respect have really enjoyed this book, I can understand totally how you could feel it is an incredibly written book and could easily get ... READ MORE
Good who dunnit
This wasn’t quite as I expected it to be but turned out to be a good who - dunnit. I found it a quick read, a few twists and turns and for the most part yo... READ MORE
A slow simmer - but worth it
I came close to giving up on this book. It is such a slow simmer of a story. I'm glad I didn't though as it 5urns into a fantastic one later. I found It ... READ MORE
A wonderful Read
The Temple House Vanishing is a very cleverly written book about teenage love and obsession .The Temple House is a private school set in a cliff side and r... READ MORE
Not as good as I hoped
The blurb of this book had me really intrigued. I thought and hoped it would be suspenseful and keep me on the edge of my seat. I was a bit disappointed!
... READ MORE
Gripping
For me this was a very compelling read - a modern mix of Malory Towers nostalgia mixed with mystery and teenage angst. The Temple House Vanishing tells the... READ MORE
Intriguing and Atmospheric
My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Atlantic Books - Corvus, for the ARC.
This was just such an absorbing and intriguing read - really couldn't put it dow... READ MORE
The Temple House Vanishing
The Temple House Vanishing, the debut novel by Rachel Donohue, is a slow-burning and highly atmospheric thriller set principally within the strangely creep... READ MORE
Gripping from start to (almost the) end
This was a really enjoyable read, had some similarities to The Secret History (elite school, elite students, someone who doesn't belong and what they do to... READ MORE
A story that will stay with you. Compelling reading
Rachel Donohue has written a powerful story about teenage insecurities, jealousy, angst, love - and cruelty. I found the story slow to get started but the ... READ MORE
Great debut!
An enjoyable debut from Rachel Donohue.
Although I found the first half of the story slow to build, I enjoyed it enough to keep reading and glad I did; t... READ MORE
Atmospheric, claustrophobic read
This is a haunting story set in Temple House a school run by nuns, who seem to favour the wealthy young girls, imposing some absurd rules on the pupils, le... READ MORE
Unsettling tale of a mysterious disappearance and the secrets within a Catholic girls’ boarding school.
Rachel Donohue’s assured debut is a hugely atmospheric story of teenage hormones, destructive obsessions and the consequences of jealousy set in a Catholic... READ MORE
Dark and creepy
I really enjoyed this one.
Dark, brooding and all offset against a Catholic girls school.
Louisa is the new girl and trying to gain acceptance into an "eli... READ MORE
Amazing read
Great debut book from author Rachel Donohue.
The temple house vanishing is a book based around a boarding school a teacher and 2 young girls, 1 of whom is... READ MORE
I really liked this !
I really liked this book. I wasn't sure if this book would be a typical murder mystery crime novel but it avoids cliches and feels original. The novel lead... READ MORE
Unikely
A convent boarding school run by supposedly strict nuns, which allows the only male teacher (who has no qualifications) to entertain his favourite pupils a... READ MORE
Modern Gothic
Twenty five years ago, Louisa won a scholarship to the elite Catholic Temple House boarding school, run by nuns. She and another student Victoria formed st... READ MORE
Thought provoking
The story of the temple house vanishing is not the story I expected it to be. It had all the same elements of unrequited love, forbidden love and teenage a... READ MORE
Not your typical thriller
Temple House is a Catholic school run by the nuns. It was at this school that Victoria and Louisa met. They are both drawn to the charismatic, dreamy and a... READ MORE
A perfect rainy day read
The Temple House Vanishing is a fab debut novel and a great little read. It follows the mystery behind a runaway student and her teacher from a nun led sch... READ MORE
Finally finished it !
Sorry to say, I’m delighted that I finished this book. It was like swimming in treacle! At first I thought, ok, slow to start but it’ll pick up. Well, sadl... READ MORE
What happened at Temple House?
Twenty five years ago a scandal hits a Catholic girls boarding school. What happened between Mr Lavelle, Louisa and Victoria? What are the nuns hiding? Ar... READ MORE
Slow but enjoyable
25 years ago, Louisa won a coveted scholarship to Temple House - an elite boarding school. Here she formed a deep friendship with another of the girls at t... READ MORE
Great writing wasted on a sub par plot
I really enjoyed this book right up until the end where in my opinion it all falls apart horridly. Even though the plot itself is nothing new it is well wr... READ MORE
Really good
Louisa joins Temple House, a catholic boarding school, where she meets Victoria and the bohemian arts teacher Mr Lavelle. To Louisa, Victoria and Lavelle a... READ MORE
Wonderful debut
I have been lucky enough to receive a copy of this book for free to review and I have throughly enjoyed reading this debut book by Rachel Donohue, The Temp... READ MORE
Very good!
I think that this book is a very good debut novel, it kept me guessing until the very end. The story is about a troubled girl, Louisa, whose parents have s... READ MORE
Atmospheric
The first thing that grabs your attention, about this book, is the wonderful cover you can just imagine the ivy creeping up the walls of the old catholic b... READ MORE
This is a beautifully written debut novel. Moving, dark, mesmerising and incredibly atmospheric.
The mystery of a missing teacher and student – never solved and resurfacing every few years in the need for closure. Yet there are those that know what hap... READ MORE
A haunting lyrical tale
The Temple House Vanishing is Rachel Donohue’s debut novel and it will certainly leave a chilling tingle lingering long after you finish the final chapter.... READ MORE
An atmospheric and suspenseful literary gem ...
This captivating story is told from the two different perspectives of Louisa, telling us her story from the past and ‘The Journalist’, twenty five years la... READ MORE
Haunting and mysterious
Two girls board at a catholic school in the 90s where infatuation is rife. With each other and also the enigmatic Art teacher, Mr Lavelle. Fast forward to ... READ MORE
Intelligent, insightful and intriguing
The Temple House Vanishing is a beautifully atmospheric and involving novel, written in a lyrical literary style with a mysteriously compelling story.
Lou... READ MORE
Great who-dunnit
This wasn’t quite as I expected it to be but turned out to be a good who - dunnit. I found it a quick read, a few twists and turns and for the most part yo... READ MORE
A beautifully crafted read
I just loved this brilliant debut novel from Rachel Donohue it was full of atmosphere and a story that I was so totally immersed in that I ploughed through... READ MORE
Atmospheric and intriguing
The Temple House Vanishing is one of those books that is full of atmosphere, mystery with an underlying feeling of tension and unease. There is always some... READ MORE
Slow going, but worth it in the end
At the end of the Autumn term, 1990, school girl Louisa and art teacher Mr Lavelle, disappear without trace. For the 25th anniversary, a journalist decides... READ MORE
Atmospheric tale of love and loss
This is a very atmospheric debut from the first page - a reporter revisits the disappearance of a pupil and her art teacher 25 years ago. In many ways this... READ MORE
A thriller with depth
A journalist is investigating the strange disappearance of a 16 year old schoolgirl, Louisa, and her art teacher, Mr Lavelle. It has been twenty five years... READ MORE
So so
Bit in two minds as to this one.
It was dark and sinister and showed great promise, was written very well but it kind of lost pace and became a bit jumble... READ MORE
Easy read and not very “thrilling”
This was a very slow story narrated at different times by two of the three main characters which gives good varied perspectives on events but it doesn’t r... READ MORE
Good book
The temple house vanishing’ was a good read. Although a bit slow to begin with, I remained gripped by this book and flowed it through to the end and I’m gl... READ MORE
I loved it
I thought this was such a great story, I loved it. I can't believe that this is the first novel by author Rachel Donohue I thought it was brilliantly writt... READ MORE
A mystery of power, love and desire
This is a mystery. It features two timelines by two narrators that of 16 year year old Louisa set in the 1990 and the journalist who is investigating her a... READ MORE
A Dark Thriller
This impressive debut novel by Rachel Donohue is reminiscent of modern classics The Secret History and Picnic at Hanging Rock. The eponymous Temple House, ... READ MORE
Haunting, disturbing and sad.
This story is told through the alternating voices of Louisa, in the early 1990s, and The Journalist in 2015, gradually revealing the background to the even... READ MORE
i loved it
An assured and beautiful novel.Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace...
In an elite C... READ MORE
Enjoyable, but lacking some oomph
Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace...
In an elite Catholic girls' boarding-school,... READ MORE
Recommended Read
What makes 'The Temple House Vanishing' even more special is that it's the author's debut. Firstly, I was reading this with a group and a lot of people did... READ MORE
Richly atmospheric debut novel
As a child, I adored Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers books and was desperate to go to boarding school. I imagined midnight feasts, friends that became as clos... READ MORE
Beautifully sad read
'Some people were not meant to be together. They weren’t good for each other. They cancelled each other out. And everything that once was good became twist... READ MORE
A dark and brooding mystery.
"It began with death, my time in Temple House."
The Temple House Vanishing is an atmospheric mystery by Rachel Donohue.
Twenty-five years ago a student a... READ MORE
An Absorbing Début
A sinister, dark, mysterious and creepy, but totally mesmerising story.
Temple House is an elite Catholic girls' boarding-school located near the coast in... READ MORE
An atmospheric read
In 1990 a male teacher and a 16 year old student disappear from Temple House Catholic Girl's Boarding School and are never found. On the 25th anniversary o... READ MORE
Really interesting
This isn't a style book I typically would read, however it has been written incredibly well and the plot is really intriguing. There are lots of twists and... READ MORE
The ending was good
The picture doesn't do the cover any justice, in real life it is absolutely beautiful with a gold foil effect. Really brings the book to life. A teenage gi... READ MORE
Catholic Guilt
In the spirit of full disclosure, I attended a Convent School. Although not a Catholic I had the joy of being educated solely by nuns (with one exception ... READ MORE
A strange mix!
The Temple House Vanishing is a strange mix of a book. It begins with a few pages from the perspective of a journalist then swiftly moves back in time with... READ MORE
Creepy Boarding School Thriller
This thriller is set in a boarding school on a cliff with tricky friendships, cliques and nuns. A girl and her teacher have disappeared and this follows bo... READ MORE
Darkly Atmospheric ad Exquisitely Enigmatic
Louisa didn’t know that attending Temple House boarding school would change her life, just that it would take her away from her dull neighbourhood, and her... READ MORE
A haunting and evocative debut
The Temple House Vanishing is not a straightforward murder mystery whodunit. If that’s what you are looking for, then this isn’t the book for you. What it ... READ MORE
Great thriller
The Temple House Vanishing is set in a private girls boarding school which is run by nuns. Most of the students come from wealthy and powerful families who... READ MORE
Slow burning atmospheric mystery of teenage jealousy, Young love and dangerous emotions out of control
A boarding school run by nuns content to luxuriate within their school history of affluent pupils. Following in the family tradition of pupils attending th... READ MORE