When Catherine wakes up alone one morning, she thinks her husband has gone for a run before work. But Simon never makes it to the office. His running shoes are by the front door. Nothing is missing—except him.
Catherine knows Simon must be in trouble. He wouldn’t just leave her. He wouldn’t leave the children.
But Simon knows the truth—about why he left and what he’s done. He knows things about his marriage that it would kill Catherine to find out. The memories she holds on to are lies.
While Catherine faces a dark new reality at home, Simon’s halfway around the world, alive and thriving. He’s doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the truth.
But he can’t hide forever, and when he reappears twenty-five years later, Catherine will finally learn who he is.
And wish she’d stayed in the dark.
When You Disappeared by John Marrs is a suspenseful, slow-burn family drama that spans decades and explores family secrets, trauma, betrayal, and forgiveness. The story follows Catherine, who wakes one day to discover her husband, Simon, has vanished. No note, no trace—only his running shoes by the front door. While Catherine and their children try to rebuild their lives, Simon starts anew, living a transient life and eventually finding a new family for 25 years. Then, unexpectedly, he returns—bringing with him a truth so dark it shatters everything Catherine thought she knew!
Although marketed as a psychological thriller, the novel reads more like an intense family drama, with the characters’s incredulous decision-making, melodramatic reactions, and the unraveling of family secrets driving the narrative. The book does include a few twists in the second half, which does help make it “feel” more like a thriller.
This was the first novel of John Marrs that he self-published in 2013 and originally titled “The Wronged Sons.” It was re-edited and re-released in 2017 under a new title, When You Disappeared. Now it’s being rereleased again, with a new epilogue—the result of readers begging to know what became of the characters after the final chapter! If you’ve already read this book, it’s definitely worthwhile to pick up a copy again to read the satisfying aftermath in the epilogue!
The story is gripping from the first chapter as readers are thrust into Simon’s surprise return to confront his wife (and family) he abandoned 25 years ago. From there the story toggles back and forth between past and present timelines. The present timeline essentially spans the entire (very emotionally charged) confrontational conversation between Simon and Catherine, as they both share what’s happened in their lives since he disappeared. The past timelines give backstory to the characters, detail what went wrong in their marriage, and display the incredibly different life paths they had.
While reading, readers will find it difficult not to dislike or judge Simon for his incredibly selfish and incomprehensible life choices while simultaneously finding it easy to empathize with Catherine as she faced immense hardships as a single mother. As Catherine explains how she overcame immeasurable obstacles to become a stronger woman and successful business owner, Simon details his sordid experiences of casual sex, transient work, and eventual marriage to a former prostitute—and the two individuals, who were once married, couldn’t seem further apart!
The story is told from the perspectives of Simon and Catherine. Readers get to see clearly how different their inner workings are and may wonder how they managed to be together for so many years without really knowing each other at all! Simon’s POV depicts him as self-centered, bitter, impulsive, and manipulative—and a man who is capable of murder without remorse in his inner monologues makes him more unlikable. Meanwhile, Catherine’s POV solidifies her emotional resiliency and thoughtful nature.
If you’re not a fan of slow-burn suspense or fractured timelines, then this book likely isn’t for you. A few twists feel convenient or overwrought—especially scenes like the serendipitous meeting between Simon and his musician son abroad—and can definitely cause disbelief from readers. Sensitive readers should also be aware that the book includes heavy subject matter—rape, murder, mental illness, child death, and more. This emotional weight of all these elements enhances the storytelling but can feel very overwhelming by the end—and readers will need time to process what they read afterwards!
In summary, When You Disappeared is an unsettling exploration of trauma and the long-term effects of betrayal. It’s clear from this debut novel that John Marrs’s writing has come a long way, but it’s still well worth the read if you’re a fan of his other books or enjoy intense family dramas with flawed characters that linger after the final page!
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of When You Disappeared is a gripping listen performed by award-winning veteran narrators Simon Mattacks and Elizabeth Knowelden!
Simon Mattacks voices protagonist Simon’s POV, using a brisk and impulsive voice that captures the character’s impulsive and manipulative nature. As the character spends many years living in the USA, Mattacks’ use of a slight American-sounding accent (in parts of the story) makes the character and his experiences feel more real. Mattacks also does a great job providing unique voices and pacing to all the side characters that Simon encounters in his travels—although some of the female voices could’ve used more distinction. In the climactic scenes, Mattacks shifts his performance of Simon to portray a more desperate, remorseful character—and the character’s final scenes are especially emotional and well executed—but perhaps still not enough to make listeners empathize with the character!
Elizabeth Knowelden narrates Catherine’s perspective, using a slower pace and wider emotional range to fully capture a woman who has to deal with the emotional fallout of her husband disappearing and the hardships of single motherhood. Knowelden makes each of Catherine’s romances in the story unique and captivating, bringing out the character’s raw emotion and honesty and making her easy to empathize with. The most compelling part of Knowelden’s performance comes in the final chapters and new epilogue—here Knowelden increases her emotional intensity, especially when Simon makes a heartbreaking confession that causes Catherine to become hysterical. From here, Knowelden brings out all the emotions and drama, and listeners will be glued to their headsets until the very last word!
If you’re drawn to dual narration audiobooks where both narrators give captivating performances of their characters and you enjoy easy-to-understand British accents, then this audiobook is for you! It’s a must-listen for fans of John Marrs’s books and those who enjoy emotional family dramas and stories of betrayals.
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of When You Disappeared is a gripping listen performed by award-winning veteran narrators Simon Mattacks and Elizabeth Knowelden!
Simon Mattacks voices protagonist Simon’s POV, using a brisk and impulsive voice that captures the character’s impulsive and manipulative nature. As the character spends many years living in the USA, Mattacks’ use of a slight American-sounding accent (in parts of the story) makes the character and his experiences feel more real. Mattacks also does a great job providing unique voices and pacing to all the side characters that Simon encounters in his travels—although some of the female voices could’ve used more distinction. In the climactic scenes, Mattacks shifts his performance of Simon to portray a more desperate, remorseful character—and the character’s final scenes are especially emotional and well executed—but perhaps still not enough to make listeners empathize with the character!
Elizabeth Knowelden narrates Catherine’s perspective, using a slower pace and wider emotional range to fully capture a woman who has to deal with the emotional fallout of her husband disappearing and the hardships of single motherhood. Knowelden makes each of Catherine’s romances in the story unique and captivating, bringing out the character’s raw emotion and honesty and making her easy to empathize with. The most compelling part of Knowelden’s performance comes in the final chapters and new epilogue—here Knowelden increases her emotional intensity, especially when Simon makes a heartbreaking confession that causes Catherine to become hysterical. From here, Knowelden brings out all the emotions and drama, and listeners will be glued to their headsets until the very last word!
If you’re drawn to dual narration audiobooks where both narrators give captivating performances of their characters and you enjoy easy-to-understand British accents, then this audiobook is for you! It’s a must-listen for fans of John Marrs’s books and those who enjoy emotional family dramas and stories of betrayals.
The audiobook of When You Disappeared is a gripping listen performed by award-winning veteran narrators Simon Mattacks and Elizabeth Knowelden!
Simon Mattacks voices protagonist Simon’s POV, using a brisk and impulsive voice that captures the character’s impulsive and manipulative nature. As the character spends many years living in the USA, Mattacks’ use of a slight American-sounding accent (in parts of the story) makes the character and his experiences feel more real. Mattacks also does a great job providing unique voices and pacing to all the side characters that Simon encounters in his travels—although some of the female voices could’ve used more distinction. In the climactic scenes, Mattacks shifts his performance of Simon to portray a more desperate, remorseful character—and the character’s final scenes are especially emotional and well executed—but perhaps still not enough to make listeners empathize with the character!
Elizabeth Knowelden narrates Catherine’s perspective, using a slower pace and wider emotional range to fully capture a woman who has to deal with the emotional fallout of her husband disappearing and the hardships of single motherhood. Knowelden makes each of Catherine’s romances in the story unique and captivating, bringing out the character’s raw emotion and honesty and making her easy to empathize with. The most compelling part of Knowelden’s performance comes in the final chapters and new epilogue—here Knowelden increases her emotional intensity, especially when Simon makes a heartbreaking confession that causes Catherine to become hysterical. From here, Knowelden brings out all the emotions and drama, and listeners will be glued to their headsets until the very last word!
If you’re drawn to dual narration audiobooks where both narrators give captivating performances of their characters and you enjoy easy-to-understand British accents, then this audiobook is for you! It’s a must-listen for fans of John Marrs’s books and those who enjoy emotional family dramas and stories of betrayals.
