The Vanishing of Katharina Linden and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
Price: £1.83
Fulfilled by Amazon

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Start reading The Vanishing of Katharina Linden on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden [Paperback]

Helen Grant (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.24 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £1.75 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Tuesday, 28 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £5.49   -- --
Hardcover --   -- --
Paperback £5.24   -- --
Books Trade-In
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

Publication Date: 2 April 2009

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Helen Grant's first teen novel The Vanishing of Katharina Linden follows a misfit teenager as she attempts to unravel the mystery of several strange disappearances in the small town of Bad Münstereifel. The Vanishing of Katharina Linden bridges the world of the traditional Grimm fairytale with the darker world of Angela Carter's adult fairytales.

On the day Katharina Linden disappears, Pia is the last person to see her. Terror is spreading through the town. How could a ten-year-old girl vanish in a place where everybody knows everybody else?

Pia is determined to find out what happened to Katharina.

But then the next girl disappears. . .

'For something so chilling, it is terrific entertainment' Sunday Times

'Grant's splendid debut...is a feast of treats and creeps. Wonderful' Guardian

'A strange, haunting modern fairy tale' John Connolly, author of The Book of Lost Things

The setting of the small German town of Bad Münstereifel, in Helen Grant's debut novel The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, is based on her own experience of emigrating there from England as a child. Her other darkly thrilling young adult novels, The Glass Demon and Wish Me Dead, are also available from Penguin.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Join Amazon Family and receive £10 off in our Baby Store, three months' FREE One-Day Delivery and £50 worth of exclusive offers every month.

Frequently Bought Together

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden + The Glass Demon + Wish Me Dead
Price For All Three: £16.47

Buy the selected items together
  • The Glass Demon by Helen Grant Paperback £5.24
  • Wish Me Dead by Helen Grant Paperback £5.99

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (2 April 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141325739
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141325736
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 25,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Helen Grant Page
Helen Grant
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

Lightness of touch, neatness of phrase and talent for observation enliven the darkness of the material. -- The Sunday Times, April 19, 2009

Not one single moment of disappointment, not one wavering of tone, not one narrative misjudgment awaits the reader in this impressively assured debut novel. -- Achukareviews, April 20, 2009

The excellent writing, and the eschewing of anything remotely winsome or mawkish, make this an eerily subtle literary page-turner. Wonderful. -- The Guardian, March 14, 2009

Review

The excellent writing, and the eschewing of anything remotely winsome or mawkish, make this an eerily subtle literary page-turner. Wonderful.
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping mystery for adults and teenagers alike 31 May 2009
By Tom Alaerts
Format:Paperback
In a nice small German town, young girls start disappearing. We experience the growing unease in town through the eyes of 11 year old Pia who is determined to unravel the mystery.
My summary may make this seem as a children's book on an adult topic. Actually, the suspense and adult writing style make it more suitable for both adults and older teenagers, who are less naive than Pia about the bad things that might happen.
This is actually a really good page-turner, far from being a generic pulpish thriller it is rather an endearing story that makes us reflect on how we perceived the world as a child, for example Pia's worry that her only real friend is the least popular boy in school, is more tangible than how she experiences the disappearances as something abstract, or an event from a cruel fairy tale. The story gets more intense, thriller-like towards the end.
The style is remarkably confident for a debut and utterly readable, with good dialogue, great filmic suspense, and several funny details (again often linked to Pia's perception), yet also poignant in the depiction of the slowly disintegrating marriage of Pia's parents: the father being a friendly level-headed German, while the British mother who never adjusted to life in Bad Münstereiffel being both manupilative and caring. This is actually a real city, and when you google it for pictures you may well conclude that the mother should do more effort to adjust, as it looks really nice. Another amusing detail is the sprinkling of a few German words throughout the text, and it's never a burden as the context or a short glossary at the end keep things clear - I think it adds character to the text. All the above make it an interesting and original work, that I think could well be translated to the screen.
In short, a recommended suspenseful book that strays from the beaten path.
1 Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read! 11 Jun 2009
By Mr. Christopher Bond
Format:Paperback
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden By Helen Grant

An enjoyable read from end to end - full of rich details and beautifully written.
The setting seems to truly come alive, with references to local customs and folklore alongside a real sense of place - this is not a fictional location but so real that you can almost feel the stones of the old town.
The characters are a blend of both the traditional German townsfolk, reserved and presenting an outward face of civility while harbouring long held suspicions, fear and resentment, alongside a splash of Englishness that seems to throw both cultures into contrast.
Although a child at the time of the story, the main characters narrative is told from an adult perspective, looking back at the dark events that occurred in the quiet town. This allows the language of the story to be told in a more adult way with fascinating description and wonderful detail.
The story itself touches on a subject that is truly relevant today and highlights the fear that so influences parents views of our children's safety but as it is told from a child's perspective it is all the more frightening and dark. While the adult characters struggle with truth and justice, the children challenge their fears and seek more direct answers with terrifying consequences!

Let's hope there are more books from this talented new author!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Grimm Thriller for Teens 15 Sep 2010
By Lovely Treez TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Set in a small German town in 1999, this novel could be enjoyed by both teens and adults. Katharina is the first young girl to disappear in broad daylight on a chilly day in February. The atmosphere of unease is heightened when more girls vanish mysteriously and some of the townsfolk are keen to point the finger of blame at one eccentric individual.

The story is narrated by Pia, a bright ten year old who finds herself alienated at school when her grandmother dies in rather unconventional circumstances -

"My life would have been so different had I not been known as the girl whose grandmother exploded. And had I not been born in Bad Munstereifel. If we had lived in the city - well I'm not saying the event would have gone unnoticed, but the fuss would probably only have lasted a week before public interest moved elsewhere."

Poor Pia finds herself shunned by former friends and her only remaining ally is another pariah, StinkStefan. The two pair up and focus their attentions on discovering who is responsible for the abductions. At first they suspect faery or occult involvement but then they toe the party line and zoom in on the town gossips' preferred target, the unconventional Herr Duster.

Unusually, for a children's book, the writing is quite adult in style, very lyrical at times. There is an air of menace throughout the novel with frequent references to folklore in the style of the grim Brothers Grim rather than dainty Disney. Perhaps this fits in with the age of the narrator, Pia at 19 recalling the events of 9 years before and she reinterprets invents through a more adult viewpoint. The author has a great sense of place, vividly recreating the small town German setting complete with festivals and traditions. I do wish I'd been aware of the glossary of German words and phrases at the back of the book before I reached the end as it would have saved a lot of guesswork on my part! There is a lovely section where Pia spends time in England with her maternal grandmother and experiences the difficulties of being a stranger in a strange land. Indeed there are quite a lot of adult themes which would be beyond the average 12 year old's understanding, so yes, it's a book for more sophisticated teens and adults.

I really enjoyed this, Helen Grant's debut novel - it surprised me with its many layers and richness of language and Pia and StinkStefan are a memorable duo. I'm looking forward to her next novel The Glass Demon.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous story and a strong debut
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden is Helen Grant's debut novel, which, ironically, I read last after The Glass Demon and Wish Me Dead. Read more
Published 15 months ago by W.M.M. van der Salm-Pallada
5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting book! :)
I read this in 3 days; in bed, at school, in assembly, in the supermarket - even on a walk! So addictive! Read more
Published 17 months ago by KeyboardKeyboardKeyboard11
5.0 out of 5 stars very enjoyable
I read a review for this author in the newspaper about her latest book "Wish me Dead" and decided that I would try her earlier books first to see if I liked her or not. Read more
Published 19 months ago by S. Watson
2.0 out of 5 stars Carry On Bad Münstereifel
First, 10-year-old Pia loses her grandma in a freak accident, then she loses all her friends, who shun her by association. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Shellycoat
4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the young!
Helen Grant is a very good writer who had, before trying to write so-called 'Young Adult' novels, established her credentials in her ghost stories and stories of the supernatural,... Read more
Published 22 months ago by RIJU GANGULY
4.0 out of 5 stars A Young Adult Mystery - And a Good Read,
THE VANISHING OF KATHARINA LINDEN reminds me of the PBS Mysteries set in a rural English village. The sort of place where everyone knows everyone else, and where there is not much... Read more
Published on 27 July 2010 by Pam T
2.0 out of 5 stars Too slow paced
I found The Vanishing of Katharina Linden very slow paced as it took ages for the story to unravel. I thought this story would be interesting, and it was, but only at the end. Read more
Published on 23 July 2010 by amazingcats
4.0 out of 5 stars Bit hard to follow
This book, although good, is a bit hard to follow.
I found that all the names got a bit confusing and that this book would not be very good for younger children. Read more
Published on 4 July 2010 by CMCD
3.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant, suspenseful read
I enjoyed reading this book, but felt that its narration sat awkwardly between age groups. The narrator appears to be a young woman looking back and telling the story of when she... Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by A Reader's Voice
5.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing read
This book is much more than your regular children's mystery thriller. It intertwines the almost-contemporary mystery with Grimm-like tales, and the domestic situation of the... Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2010 by R. Dipple
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

There's a problem loading this menu at the moment.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

    Your Shopping Basket is empty.

    Give it purpose -- fill it with books, DVDs, clothes, electronics and more.

    If you already have an account, sign in.

    There's a problem previewing your shopping basket at the moment.

    Check your Internet connection and go to your cart, or try again.

    View Shopping Basket (0 items)

      Customer Discussions

      This product's forum
      Discussion Replies Latest Post
      No discussions yet

      Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
      Start a new discussion
      Topic:
      First post:
      Prompts for sign-in
       


      Active discussions in related forums
      Discussion Replies Latest Post
      childrens books discussion forum
      I'm being annoyed by my inability to remember a book I read 25 years ago!       		6 8 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Book for a cool 13 year old boy that doesn't like spy, wizard or old fashioned books - Help       		33 10 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Help: Anyone know what this book (read in the 1970s) was called?       		8 11 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Suitable books for a 13 year old girl       		22 1 day ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      searching for children's book from the 1970s-1980s       		58 1 day ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      YA action-adventure - reviewers wanted       		2 2 days ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Books for a nine year girl old with an older reading age....without snogging and too much boy stuff       		213 2 days ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Paleobotany for children ? Even a really good botany book?       		4 2 days ago
      Search Customer Discussions
      Search all Amazon discussions
         
      Related forums

      Listmania!

      Create a Listmania! list

      Look for similar items by category

      Feedback


      Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges