Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Temple House Vanishing cover art

The Temple House Vanishing

By: Rachel Donohue
Narrated by: Nicola Coughlan, Aoife McMahon
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Sisters cover art
Truly Devious cover art
Stay Buried cover art
The Haunting of the Meade Mansion, Book 1 cover art
Darkest Truth cover art
The Cuckoo Wood cover art
The Vanishing Tide cover art
The Stargazers cover art
The Orphan House cover art
Don't Look Back cover art
White Silence cover art
When I Come Home Again cover art
Garden of Secrets cover art
The Lost Bookshop cover art
The Visitors cover art
The Housemaid cover art

Summary

Power. Jealousy. Desire. 

Twenty-five years ago, a 16-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace....

When Louisa arrives at Temple House, an elite Catholic boarding school, she quickly finds herself drawn to sophisticated fellow pupil Victoria and their young bohemian art teacher Mr Lavelle. The three of them form a bond that seems to offer an escape from the repressive regime of the nuns who run the cloistered school. Until Louisa and Mr Lavelle suddenly vanish. 

Years later, a journalist with a childhood connection to Louisa determines to resolve the mystery. Her search for the truth will uncover a tragic, mercurial tale of suppressed desire and long-buried secrets. It will shatter lives and lay a lost soul to rest. 

The Temple House Vanishing is a stunning, intensely atmospheric novel of unrequited longing, dark obsession and unintended consequences.

©2020 Atlantic Books Ltd (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

A Behind the scenes look at The Temple House Vanishing

0:00

What listeners say about The Temple House Vanishing

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected

Didn’t know if I’d get in to this but really enjoyed it. Thought I knew the outcome but i didnt

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Slow burner which had me hooked

A teenage girl and her teacher go missing from a prestigious Catholic boarding school. Did they run away together or did something more sinister happen? Years later a journalist investigates.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first and considered not finishing as it is quite a slow burner, but then it got under my skin and I really had to know what happened to Louisa and Mr Lavelle. The setting of the school gave the book a dark, claustrophobic feel. This is far removed from the Mallory Towers books I read as a child! Ms Donohue describes her characters brilliantly – the scholarship girl Louisa, privileged Victoria, cruel, bitchy prefect Helen and young, bohemian teacher Edward Lavelle. There were some unexpected twists and turns along the way until we finally find out what happened.

This was an interesting debut and I look forward to seeing what Rachel Donohue comes up with next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Chilling and poetic. Beautiful performances and superb writing that brings the characters to life. A Must listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Haunting story

Excellent, compelling unexpected haunting. Just listen it is a good story definitely a great listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Slow and dull

Louisa is one of the most boring characters I’ve ever come across. I’m surprised anyone noticed she had vanished let alone cared to look for her.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I persevered but the promise wasn’t fulfilled

95% of this book is teenage angst and it’s hard work. I persevered in the hope that it would become more gripping but in the end I was relieved when it ended and sorry I’d stuck it out.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Really Disappointing

I had expected a gritty 'whodunnit' but this is just basically teen fiction about bitchy and fantasist teen girls. Plot was predictable. Narration ok if a bit grating when doing the teen voices.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Awful

This is by far the most disappointing audio I've listened to! The write up sounded really good and worth a listen but I was so dissatisfied with this book! Not worth the download

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Dreary, worthy stuff

A bit dull. Off the shelf characters playing out some familiar routines, the school girl crush, the flawed but strangely alluring male/art teacher, the put upon/brilliant scholarship girl, the nasty little piece...a mystery... even a ghost. All quite plodding. I’m writing this with 20mins of the story left to listen to and hoping I’ll have to eat my words. I doubt I will.

A word on the quality of the narration: it’s professional and serviceable. The voices come across well. Characterisation is two dimensional throughout and there’s nothing much for the narrators to work with. All a little disappointing.

Oh dear. The ending is mushy, sentimental fudge. I think now that this story is really not intended for adult readers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful