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Kamchatka Is A Rich Backdrop For Mystery In 'Disappearing Earth'

Julia Phillips' debut novel takes readers through a year following the disappearance of two little girls in the remote Russian province of Kamchatka — and the way that disappearance reverberates.
Source: Knopf

While the peninsular Russian province of Kamchatka is not exactly in Sarah Palin's sightline, its far, far Eastern and Northern coordinates make it more like Nome than Moscow. Rife with wildlife, volcanoes, and treacherous topography, it's also almost inaccessible, with no major roads connecting it to the rest of Russia — because it was a closed military zone until 1989.

Kamchatka, with its main city of Petropavlosk, forms the backdrop to. In the first chapter, a disappearance does take place: Two young sisters are lured into a strange man's car after he tells them his leg is hurt and he needs help.

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