Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

Rules for Vanishing

by Kate Alice Marshall

Do you want to play the game?

Once a year, a road appears in the woods at midnight and the ghost of Lucy Gallows beckons, inviting those who are brave enough to play her game. If you win, you escape with your life. But if you lose...

It’s almost a year since Becca went missing. Everyone else has given up searching for her, but her sister, Sara, knows she disappeared while looking for Lucy Gallows. Determined to find her, Sara and her closest friends enter the woods. But something more sinister than ghosts lurks on the road, and not everyone will survive.

Stranger Things meets The Blair Witch Project in this gripping ghost thriller, perfect for fans of Michelle Harrison, Lauren James and Frances Hardinge.


Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel.

"Unsettling, pitch-dark, imaginative fantasy." Metro, Best Children’s Books of the Year

"An exquisitely unsettling dark fantasy." Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

"Delightfully chilling! Marshall delivers riveting twists, gasp-out-loud surprises, and haunting revelations right up to the final page in this irresistible mystery." Natalie C. Parker, author of Seafire

"The horror-fantasy mash-up I didn't know I was waiting for – and an unreliable narrator like no other." Kesia Lupo, author of We Are Blood And Thunder

Rules for Vanishing has all the prerequisites of a horror classic – stunningly original, delightfully dark, and simply terrifying. A tense and exhilarating read for those with or without a pulse.” Dana Mele, author of People Like Us

“This frightening and unsettling story, full of plot twists and psychological games, is told in an effective faux documentary style and will grip YA fans of the supernatural horror genre.” Carousel

"Rules for Vanishing will make you question what is real and what is illusion, and which option is more terrifying." Caitlin Starling, author of The Luminous Dead

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

5 of 5 stars

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I looooove the mixed document, found media book narratives. It’s really hard to do right, but when it is, DAMN. This is one of those times.

Immediately hooked from the preview. Couldn’t stop thinking about it until I got it. DEVOURED it upon arrival. Was seriously contemplating skipping work to finish it. I couldn’t sit still while waiting to get back to reading it. 
>Saw nothing coming. Absolute zero.
>All about the sisterly love, old friends coming together & crushes getting revealed amid unbelievable life and death circumstances
>W/M & W/W coupling
>Love the twisty WTF narrative
>Love the continuous mysteries.
>Want this to be a series!! What are in the other files??? Who’s stealing them & for who?? What happens next, dang it!!

I can’t think of anything else to say that won’t spoil something. Highly recommended for fans of YA paranormal, thrillers or mysteries, especially with damaged and secretive characters.                                                        

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  • 19 August, 2019: Reviewed