Good Girl Guide Girlies unite! I’m here with a Spoiler Discussion for The Reappearance of Rachel Price. Holly Jackson, author of the amazing YA mystery trilogy The Good Girl’s Guide is back with a second standalone suspense novel. Below you’ll find a plot summary for The Reappearance of Rachel Price, a character list, all my questions about the book AND the chance to ask your questions.
Spoiler Discussion for the Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
I am SO excited to discuss this one with you. Below you’ll find:
- A character list for The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
- List of major plot events in The Reappearance of Rachel Price
- What was the ending of The Reappearance of Rachel Price?
- What Happened to Rachel Price?
- True Crime Influences
- Let’s Discuss The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Characters in The Reappearance of Rachel Price
I love that Holly Jackson uses her epistolary elements to help a reader out. The book has a family tree and a list of the documentary film crew. Thanks for that. But here are some of the main players in the book:
Plot Summary: Major Events in the Story
Click to reveal the main events of the story. If you have questions or need further detail, please drop me a comment below and I’m happy to add to the post or clear anything up!
- Teenager Bel Price is interviewed by a crew of British filmmakers about the disappearance of her mom, Rachel Price, in 2008.
- Bel points out that her father, Charlie, has an alibi.
- Bel sees a woman she thinks is an actor playing Rachel in the documentary reenactment, but the real Rachel is back
- Rachel says she was held captive in an unknown location. Her captor let her go.
- Bel notices inconsistencies in her mother’s story
- Charlie, Bel’s father, goes missing along with his wallet and passport
- Bel is convinced that Rachel is looking for something in her grandfather’s house and vows to figure out what it is.
- Bel confronts her mother with evidence she’s found: a baby sock in Rachel’s drawer, and money that Rachel borrowed from a co-worker before her disappearance. She accuses Rachel of killing Charlie.
- In a sudden turnaround, Bel realizes Charlies is a gaslighter. Could she have been wrong about Rachel?
Wait, Who Held Rachel Price prisoner … and why?
- Rachel was held captive by Pat.
- Charlie asked Pat to kill Rachel when he found out about her plan to flee with Bel
- Pat agreed because Charlie was blackmailing Pat about the fact he had killed his own wife, Maria.
- Pat also helped Charlie construct an alibi so he wouldn’t be blamed
Then How Did Rachel Price Escape?
- After years of captivity, Pat developed dementia and was hospitalized, allowing Rachel to escape about nine months ago.
Back to the Ending of The Reappearance of Rachel Price
- Rachel set up a fake story about Charlie fleeing to Canada so no one is looking for him
- We learn Carter is Bel’s sister. Rachel was pregnant when she was taken prisoner. Jeff and Sherry adopted Carter and pretended she was theirs.
- Jeff is able to free Charlie, who attacks Rachel
- Carter then shows up and pushes Charlie off Rachel
- Charlie falls off a cliff and drags Jeff with him.
Now What?
- Bel tricks Ash and is able to delete any footage that might lead to the truth
- Carter, Bel and Rachel confront Sherry about stealing Carter and tell her that Jeff is waiting for her in Canada
- They then tell Ramsey that Jeff and Charlie were up to something shady and had to flee from the law
- Ramsey tells Bel that all the footage she destroyed was backed up to the cloud but offers to re-focus the documentary onto Rachel’s reappearance.
Major Clues in the Book
- Character with memory loss. This always feels like a plot device to me.
- The baby sock
- Chapter Four is PACKED with clues as the family sits to watch the home movies. We see the Price & Sons logging yard and the old red truck!
- In Chapter Four, Sherry is shifty when asked when she was pregnant and talks about their infertility struggles.
- Also in Chapter Four: there’s home movie footage of Grandpa reading Bel The Memory Thief, the book Rachel used to send her SOS message.
- Then Bel calls Carter “my baby” in the home video, which the girls use as a running joke
Tell me about the clues you found in comments!
The Reappearance of Rachel Price: True Crime Influences
The minute I started reading this I was like omg I know what case inspired this book. Any ideas? I’m going to add the details to the post soon, but tell me your thoughts in comments.
Let’s Discuss the Reappearance of Rachel Price!
My thoughts:
- My rave review of the book is here; check it out!
- Thrilled that Holly Jackson is back with small town intrigue, another intrepid girl detective, a story with a lot of creepy family secrets, and a character clearly inspired by Harry Styles.
- I feel like there were some definite similarities to the Good Girls Guide, which I will add to this post on request. Even though it’s long already.
- The plot got REALLY complicated at the end. I kind of wish that this had been two books.
- Did you like the romance that was more of a flirtation? I did, but I feel like many readers will want MORE. Like Ravi and Pip level romance.
lowky cool but im too broke to buy lol
Books are so expensive now. If I had a hard copy I’d send it to you 🙂
Maybe your school library would order it?
i loveedd the book but just a question, maybe i didn’t read properly but how did rachel open the truck door in order to escape? i know she said about losing weight and then she heard a voice but if a person opened the door wouldn’t that mean someone knew about her captivity? thanks and also the book is so great❤️❤️
Hi Rebecca!
Here’s how I read it:
First, yes, Rachel got so thin that her leg shackle slipped off. Then she was shouting for help and Pat (Charlie’s dad, who was keeping her prisoner) heard her. But because Pat had bad dementia at that point he didn’t remember a) who Rachel was or b) that he was the one who was keeping her locked up. So he let her out.
Then she made up some complete BS story for Pat about being a real estate agent who accidentally got trapped, which I guess was in case Pat mentioned to another person that he found some lady locked up and let her out.
And yes, I agree with you. I really liked the book but some things go a little out-there at the end. I do think Charlie’s motive was plausible. I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts and I just finished one where a custody dispute led to murder.
also is it just me or the motive for charlie wanting to kill rachel is a little strange and kinda weak, like i don’t really get it and this is the only thing i don’t like about this book.
omg, that’s literally what i thought. he didn’t really have a definite motive to kill rachel, according to the way holly described it in the book. i mean, charlie may have had some psychological disorders but i wouldve really liked it if he had a stronger motive if ykwim.
I’m reading the book now. I think it makes complete sense. Charlie is obviously controlling and abusive. The most dangerous time for a woman in an abusive relationship is when she tries to leave. He tried to have her killed so she couldn’t leave him. So he could have control and to punish her for trying to leave.
Very curious to see your thoughts on this one! I didn’t like it as much as the GGG trilogy.
Loved it! I only have one complaint, though; Holly Jackson is my favourite author but, this isn’t my favourite book. I wished Bel found out or investigated more, rather than Rachel explaining a lot near the ending, or at least a dual point of view chapters (Bel, obviously, and maybe snippets of other characters, explaining how they feel without giving away their secrets). I also feel like the plot twist could’ve been split into different parts of the book, instead of 4 major twists in the last few chapters. Other than that, an amazing book!
I agree with you. Compared to her trilogy this felt rushed to me and a lot was crammed in at the end. Not sure why she decided to do another standalone but I hope she goes back to the trilogies!
Do ash and bell end up together in the end or does ash really leave bell behind???
At the end of the book they seem to admit that keeping up a relationship will be hard. But we don’t know what happens after that so we can agree that they get back together!
I also have a quick question: could you please re explain the whole Carter thing to me it felt a bit rushed you know? Thanks!
It did feel rushed!
Carter was Bel’s sister AND cousin. Rachel was pregnant when she was kidnapped. Sherry pretended she was pregnant and she and Jeff adopted Carter. When Charlie attacks Rachel, Carter pushes him and he falls off a cliff, dragging Jeff with him. Convenient! Then Carter, Bel and Rachel let everyone think that Charlie and Jeff fled to Canada.
Convenient is for real.
I never read the book, but I’ve read the summaries so many times that I basically know it know.
omg thx
No worries. I’m loving that Not Quite Dead Yet is getting people reading this one!