Julia Phillips' Debut Novel 'Disappearing Earth' Reimagines Detective Fiction

Surrounded by mountains and the sea, Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula is extremely isolated; there aren’t even roads or rail lines to the area. In Julia Phillips’ new novel, it’s the site where two young Russian sisters vanish one afternoon after walking along the seashore. Disappearing Earth is not a mystery or true crime novel. There’s no detective discovering long-held secrets among the townsfolk, no red herrings nor a final reveal. Instead, the novel explores a series of stories about women and girls affected by – and connected to – the panic surrounding the loss.