Publisher:
Minotaur
Books
Source:
Publisher
Synopsis:
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.
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.
******
Ellery knows someone else is going to disappear again.
Time is running out and she needs to do something. The Police Chief doesn’t
believe there is anything to worry about. He doesn’t see the connection that
Ellery does, so she contacts someone she hopes will believe her. Ellery calls
on Reed Markham, the FBI Agent that rescued her from the clutches of a serial
killer all those years ago.
Reed is surprised to hear from Ellery. He’s always
wondered what she made of her life. When he gets her plea for help, he knows it
may not be the best move career wise, but he hops on a plane regardless. Despite making a big mistake on his last case;
he is committed to his job and he will always try and help/save someone if at
all possible. When he visits Ellery in her town of Woodbury, things don’t
completely add up though. Is there a serial killer loose in Woodbury or is she obsessing
over nothing?
I liked Ellery, she is tough and smart, but she also
has a few inner demons she sometimes battles with. Who wouldn’t if they were
held captive by a serial killer? She doesn’t tell people that she is the one
victim of Frances Coben who survived. She likes to keep her private life
private. No one but Reed seems to understand the urgency to find this possible
serial killer before he or she strikes again. Reed and Ellery hadn’t seen each other since that day he saved
her, so they are a little unfamiliar with each other at first. However, the
more time Reed helps her with this investigation, the more they appear to work
well together.
The writing and pace of the story was well done. There
was just enough that kept happening to keep me turning pages and hold my
interest. I liked the complexity of Ellery and Reed and the interesting course
the author decided to take with her characters. The mystery was one I did not
guess so easily, which I appreciated. All in all, I would say The Vanishing Season is a great start in
a new crime fiction series.
RATING: 4 out of 5.
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