Watch Me Disappear by Ross Armstrong

Watch Me Disappear Reviews

• 
  Carrie

  Review coming soon.
  
• 
  theliterateleprechaun

  Ross Armstrong’s exploration of perception, memory and obsessiveness was fantastic! I loved the chance to get inside someone’s head - at a neurological level - and see how trauma affects the brain. Readers don’t get very far into the book before noting that life for Tom Mondrian is very different after his accident. He definitely sees the world in a very different way and almost behaves like an entirely different person. It must be frustrating for both the individual and loved ones when irreparable damage such as this occurs.
  
  While reading about a man trying to solve a crime after suffering brain damage was wonderful, my enjoyment was hampered by the writing style. I completely understand the author’s choice in presenting it this way, but it was jarring and disrupted the flow for me. It emphasized my empathy but lessened my interest in the book. I’ll also admit to being confused with some of Tom’s actions; they didn’t always align with police officer behaviour. It left me wondering if it was a result of the injury or if my overindulgence in police dramas had me nitpicking at procedure!
  
  Readers will be swept away by what Armstrong brings to the table. His writing is unique as is his approach. I enjoyed the journey into the brain as much as I enjoyed the mystery and solving the crime. I turned over the final page, appreciative of the multitude of tasks my brain does unnoticed every day. It also made me realize that a bullet to the brain shatters more than the cerebral cortex, it shatters one's life.
  
  Congratulations on a FANTASTIC title!
  
  I was gifted this copy by Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
• 
  Elaine

  Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Watch Me Disappear.
  
  This was an interesting premise about a young constable who survives a bullet to the brain and is endowed with new abilities that help him solve crimes.
  
  After he returns from rehab, he's partnered with a supportive colleague and eventually discovers the truth behind a rash of recent disappearances of teenage girls.
  
  Tom Mondrian was a decent character, likable, though I found the writing style difficult to follow since it's supposed to mimic his new way of thinking after his injury.
  
  The narrative was a bit disjointed, to mimic the way Tom's view of the world, how he interprets sensory and verbal stimuli.
  
  It's also supposed to explain how he's become a savant; noticing minor or inconsequential details that he'll eventually piece together that will lead to the perpetrator and the person who almost killed him.
  
  I liked Tom's partner, and the police procedural aspects of the story, though I found some scenes hard to suspend disbelief for, such as Tom removing evidence, visiting the victims' families without permission or without his superior's approval.
  
  The mystery was okay; it didn't really capture my interest.
  
  I was more curious as to how Tom pieced all the clues together to arrive at his conclusions and how he solved the case.
  
  Watch Me Disappear requires some suspension of disbelief, with a hard to follow writing style, but Tom is a decent character.
• 
  Yvonne (It's All About Books)

  
  
  Finished reading: January 21st 2023
  DNF at 15% (50 pages)
  
  
  

  
  "Some days you meet the person you were always meant to be with. Some days you get shot in the head."
  

  
  *** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and MIRA in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
  
  
  
  
  There was just something about the blurb of Watch Me Disappear that made it impossible to resist adding it to my shelves... I do always love a story with an amnesia/brain damage/aphasia element, and main character Tom Mondrian sounded like an absolutely fascinating character with him surviving a bullet to the brain and learning to live with his new reality. Add a missing girl case, and I fully expected to have an excellent time with this story... And I sure didn't expect to have to make the difficult decision to DNF instead.
  
  Don't get me wrong, I still love the premise of Wath Me Disappear. Having the main character surviving a bullet to the brain and recovering with a new unusual perspective, aphasia, face blindness and no filter sounds absolutely fascinating, and it is an angle that always interests me. Add the fact that Tom works for the police, and there is a lot of potential to be had for the plot... Especially with the hints at the missing girl case and what Tom might add to that investigation. BUT. There were things I simply couldn't get past, and in the end I just couldn't force myself to keep reading.
  
  One of the main issues I had was most definitely with the writing style. I know the way this story is written is partly used to show how Tom experiences the world after the brain damage and how he thinks now, but I have to be blunt here and say that there was something about the way Watch Me Disappear was written that made me hate every single minute I had to spend reading it. It's just too disjointed, haltered and very difficult to follow in general; when I caught myself starting to skimread for the third time in a row this early on in the story, I decided to just throw in the towel instead of continuing my suffering.
  
  I also wasn't a fan at all of the main character, although I confess that that might have improved later on in the story. But with what I did read, he came over as insipid before the brain damage and mostly self-absorbed after. The fact that I disliked his character and hated having to spend all that time inside his head made my initial interest for his new way of thinking fade away rapidly... I did like the potential of his partner, but he wasn't enough to redeem the story nor to convince me to continue struggling with the writing and Tom's character.
  
  As a whole, Watch Me Disappear definitely turned out to be a miss for me despite my interest in the brain damage element. This was mainly due to a major clash with the writing style, which I know can go both ways depending on how you react to it. Who knows, it might work better for you, so don't give up on my account if the blurb interests you...
  
  P.S. Find more of my reviews
  here.
• 
  Stacey Feehley

  The synopsis of the book had me very excited to read it; however I had a lot of trouble getting through this one. The wetting style was to inconsistent for me. I am not sure if that is how this author writes all his novels as this is my first read by him but I will definitely be looking into more of his work. This storyline and concept of a cop getting shot in the head and going back to work to piece things back together was a good storyline, I will probably reread it again now that I am familiar with the style of writing. All in all it wasn’t a bad book.
  
  Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for my ARC!
• 
  Celeste

  3.5 ⭐️ like others there are parts where you have to suspend your belief because honestly I don’t think this person would be allowed back at work with his condition. If he had rolled off and just became like a neighborhood detective trying to solve the case most would have gone with it. I grabbed the book because of the idea of his brain injury was interesting but in the end there was too much going on with explaining different parts of conditions of most of the characters to find the story readable.
• 
  Nicola “Shortbookthyme”

  Watch Me Disappear has a unique storyline with a policeman getting shot in the head. This is what drew me to reading the book.
  I do have to say, I wasn’t a fan of the writing style. I would like to reread this book at a later time,
  All in all, it was a ok read.
  Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own
• 
  Joy Schmidt

  Tom Mondrian is a police officer in London who gets shot in the head while on duty. This changes his life, although the bullet still lodged in his brain doesn’t kill him. It does alter him and how he views the world. When he goes back to work it is as a community resource officer. In this role, he’s not supposed to play detective, but Tom does, solving the mystery of some young girls’ disappearances.
• 
  Annarella

  An intriguing, unusual and gripping mystery featuring a policeman affected by the aftermath of a bullet in his brain.
  It's one of the most original story I read in some time and I appreciated the solid mystery and the storytelling.
  Highly recommended.
  Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
• 
  J.M. Spade

  I was eager to read this book due to it's medical ties (the brain condition). However, I was disappointed and didn't end up finishing it as it couldn't capture my attention as other thrillers. I think someone with a greater attention span and a greater interest in mysteries would enjoy this.
• 
  Imagen

  A fascinating and original twisted mystery novel with the perspective shown through the eyes of a survivor of a traumatic brain injury. Definitely worth sticking through to the end as Tom tries to find the girls who have gone missing!
• 
  Lois Ceserano

  Clever, entertaining, thought provoking, witty, and just plain "smart", the author grabbed and held my interest from the beginning of this book.
  
• 
  LaShana

  I hope there will be more books featuring Tom Mondrian. This was such a good book!! I normally don't bother with books read by the author, but Ross Armstrong is great author AND narrator
• 
  Loree

  I really enjoyed the audiobook narrated by the author. A protagonist recuperating from a brain injury solving crimes with newly acquired abilities. Clever and funny at times.
• 
  Kelly Well Read

  Started out so well! Very unique concept. Then it just meandered a little too much and I skimmed to get to "who done it." Kudos for a unique main character, though.
• 
  PottWab Regional Library

  E
• 
  Abby Spanier

  Pretty subpar with regards to writing women
• 
  Victoriya Sheyfer

  Good story line but couldn’t get into it. Man shot and no social clues tried to solve a crime
• 
  HTP Books

  Suspense, Police Procedural Mystery & Detective, Crime Thriller, Psychological Thriller