The Vanishing Game
Kate Kae Myers

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Autumn

Seventeen year old Jocelyn follows clues apparently from her dead twin, Jack, in and around Seale House, the terrifying foster home where they once lived. With help from childhood friend, Noah, she begins to uncover the truth about Jack’s death and the company that employed him and Noah.

Jocelyn’s twin brother Jack was the only family she had growing up in a world of foster homes-and now he’s dead, and she has nothing. Then she gets a cryptic letter from “Jason December”-the code name her brother used to use when they were children at Seale House, a terrifying foster home that they believed had dark powers. Only one other person knows about Jason December: Noah, Jocelyn’s childhood crush and their only real friend among the troubled children at Seale House.

But when Jocelyn returns to Seale House and the city where she last saw Noah, she gets more than she bargained for. Turns out the house’s powers weren’t just a figment of a childish imagination. And someone is following Jocelyn. Is Jack still alive? And if he is, what kind of trouble is he in? The answer is revealed in a shocking twist that turns this story on its head and will send readers straight back to page 1 to read the book in a whole new light. (Goodreads)

Review:

I didn’t know what to expect when starting this book.  I knew that this would take me on an unexpected journey and The Vanishing Game does not disappoint.

Jocelyn and her twin, Jack, grew up going from foster home to foster home.  Seale House looms large in their memory as the place where they were the most frightened, but also the place where they met Noah, another orphan who becomes their one true friend.  They create their own games and puzzles as a way of coping with the stress of living amongst the other disturbed children.

After leaving Seale House, Jack is the victim of a horrible accident and everyone believes that he is dead.  Until Jocelyn receives a letter from his secret alias “Jason December” and that begins a string of clues that cause Jocelyn to seek out Noah once again.  He alone can help her solve the disappearance of her brother and come to terms with her past and her future.

I was so sure of the direction this book would take while I was reading it.  I soon found out that it was nothing like I expected.  The twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat and at the same time the emotional subject matter hold your heart in a vice-like grip.  I really enjoyed reading this story and would recommend it to lovers of suspense and mystery everywhere.