Review: The Vanishing Season
Title: The Vanishing Season
Author: Joanna Schaffhausen
Release Date: December 5th, 2017
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Synopsis from Goodreads: Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She's an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only victim who lived. When three people disappear from her town in three years, all around her birthday—the day she was kidnapped so long ago—Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer’s closet all those years ago. Agent Reed Markham made his name and fame on the back of the Coben case, but his fortunes have since turned. His marriage is in shambles, his bosses think he's washed up, and worst of all, he blew a major investigation. When Ellery calls him, he can’t help but wonder: sure, he rescued her, but was she ever truly saved? His greatest triumph is Ellery’s waking nightmare, and now both of them are about to be sucked into the past, back to the case that made them...with a killer who can't let go.
My Review: Dark and haunting with likeable characters and a plot that kept me reading until the last page. I thoroughly enjoyed following the mystery and I was surprised at the end, I honestly didn’t see that coming. The chemistry between Ellery and Reed added depth to the story and I also loved the added character of Ellery’s dog Bump. The writing was well done and the suspenseful atmosphere was maintained through the whole story without feeling overdone. All in all this was a great thriller that I would recommend if you are looking for a suspenseful read.
*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*