The Vanishing Season

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

I have read books similar to this one but I liked the character dynamics in this one between Ellery, Reed, and Coben. Ellery and Reed both haunted and fighting demons about Ellery's kidnapping long ago. Although, Ellery is one of those tough survivors. She has not let the past dictate her future. While, I do like the strong character presence; I did find the overall story to be lacking in suspense. What I mean by this is that the suspense was a slow growing build up to a good third of the story. This is where the action and the story finally came together. Up until this point, however; you have to stick with the characters and the slow jog to the finish line. Yet, as I stated previously, I liked this book and am looking forward to seeing what Ms. Schaffhausen comes out with next.

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