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Published Aug 2010
304 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Not since The Elegance of the Hedgehog has a book arrived in America from Europe on such wings of critical praise and popularity. The Vanishing of Katharina Linden is an unforgettable debut - at once chilling and endearing, haunting and richly insightful - the story of one girl’s big heart and even bigger imagination, and of a world full of mystery, good, and evil.
It isn't ten-year-old Pia's fault that her grandmother dies in a freak accident. But tell that to the citizens of Pia's little German hometown of Bad Münstereifel, or to the classmates who shun her. The only one who still wants to be her friend is StinkStefan, the most unpopular child in school.
But then something else captures the community’s attention: the vanishing of Katharina Linden. Katharina was last seen on a float in a parade, dressed as Snow White. Then, like a character in a Grimm’s fairy tale, she disappears. But, this being real life, she doesn’t return.
Pia and Stefan suspect that Katharina has been spirited away by the supernatural. Their investigation is inspired by the instructive - and cautionary - local legends told to them by their elderly friend Herr Schiller, tales such as that of Unshockable Hans, visited by witches in the form of cats, or of the knight whose son is doomed to hunt forever.
Then another girl disappears, and Pia is plunged into a new and unnerving place, one far away from fairy tales - and perilously close to adulthood.
"It may seem strange to describe Grant's debut as a charming horror novel, but there's a determined amiableness about the narrative that will appeal to readers who wouldn't typically be drawn to such subject matter." - Publishers Weekly
"With a truly terrifying finale, this is a well-crafted, suspenseful blend of literary thriller and coming-of-age story." - Booklist
"Wildthorn follows a pattern familiar to admirers of Sarah Waters, with an unconventional love affair proving the key to Louisa's escape. It is a bold and thrilling read." - Amanda Craig, The Sunday Times (UK)
"The excellent writing, and the eschewing of anything remotely winsome or mawkish, make this an eerily subtle literary page-turner. Wonderful." - Laura Wilson, The Guardian (UK)
"As travel writers are always reminding us, often the best part of the fun is getting there. The same is true of The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Steeped in spooky legends and set in a country that, for all its present-day serenity, can't fully escape the burden of its harrowing past, this is a mystery with unusual resonance." - Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post
This information about The Vanishing of Katharina Linden was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Helen Grant has a passion for the Gothic and for ghost stories. Joyce Carol Oates has described her as "a brilliant chronicler of the uncanny as only those who dwell in places of dripping, graylit beauty can be." A lifelong fan of the ghost story writer M.R.James, she has spoken at two M.R.James conferences and appeared at the Dublin Ghost Story Festival. She lives in Perthshire with her family, and when not writing, she likes to explore abandoned country houses and swim in freezing lochs
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