The Day She Disappeared by Sam Genever

February 10, 2025

MoMoBookDiary

1 comment

The Day She Disappeared by Sam Genever

The Day She Disappeared by Sam Genever

Published by Joffe Books on 4 February 2025

This crime thriller won the Joffe Books Prize

Zooloo’s Book Tours (4-10 February)

You can buy the book on this Purchase Link

Find out more on Goodreads

Discover the most unputdownable and gripping crime thriller of the year.
Winner of the Joffe Books Prize.

In apartheid South Africa, a young woman flees with a deadly secret.
There is nowhere she can go.
No one she can trust.

Augustine is a young mother on the run with a dangerous secret. She seeks work as a maid in Greenside, an affluent neighbourhood in Johannesburg, where a wealthy housewife takes pity on her, offering both employment and refuge from Augustine's vengeful ex-boyfriend. Augustine is driven by a need to protect her child and is forced to rely on the kindness of these strangers. But even hidden behind the walls of the prosperous Diamond family home, Augustine is not safe. Her every move is being watched.

In a city where trust is a rare commodity, she’s made a deadly mistake.

About Sam Genever… in her own words …
I had written short stories, poems and travel journals under a pen name, Bianca M., and been published in South African magazines and journals in the 90s. I had also been published in various poetry journals around the same time, in England. But had not been writing steadily for some years, focussing instead on my career and family. Whenever I am in London, I take short courses at the Literary Consultancy. My assessments are also done at the LC. I have self-published this novel on Amazon in August 2022.

Sam Gernever author website is at www.samgenever.com

You can also follow the author on Facebook and Instagram

My thoughts on the book

The Day She Disappeared by Sam Genever is set in apartheid South Africa, a time and place fraught with tension and danger. The story follows Augustine, a young mother fleeing with a dangerous secret, as she seeks refuge and tries to protect her young child. It’s a premise filled with potential.

Winner of the Joffe Books Prize, this novel is described as “the most unputdownable and gripping crime thriller of the year.” While I can see its appeal, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

The themes of survival, trust, and desperation are compelling, but I struggled to connect with the characters. Augustine’s reliance on leverage over her ex-boyfriend conflicted with the urgency of her situation. The pacing felt slow to me, though this may suit the reflective and detailed style of the book—it simply didn’t match my personal preference for faster-paced storytelling.

The writing style, while unique, sometimes felt disjointed, which made it challenging for me to fully engage with the story. This could reflect the author’s varied literary background, but it didn’t quite land for me as a reader.

Originally self-published, this book has now found a home with Joffe Books, which is a testament to the strength of its concept. While it wasn’t for me, I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy morally complex characters and stories that delve into survival in a historical context.

This novel shows ambition and promise, and I respect the effort and commitment it took to bring it to publication. It just didn’t align with my personal reading preferences.

The book tour for The Day She Disappeared by Sam Genever runs from 4 to 10 February and you can find out more about the tour on Zooloo’s Book Tours.