Title: The Vanishing Season
Author: Joanna Schaffhausen
Series: Ellery Hathaway, #1
Published: December 2017, Minotaur Books
Format: E-copy, 288 pages
Source: Netgalley
Summary:
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 thoughts: Once again I am joining the party late, just starting this series when book 3 is about the be released in just a few short months, but better late than never right? I took advantage of the fact that Netgalley had books 1 and 2 available as “Read Now” and jumped all over that and I am so happy I did…I’ve been hearing great things about this series and now I can say I get what everyone is talking about!
This is the type of book that pulls you in right from the start. It is an addicting and unique book that is part thriller, part police procedural, and part character study. Yes, there are horrific things that happened to Ellery when she was young and then again that happen to the new victims, but what I loved here is that the author never gets too graphic but rather just alludes to the acts that are done. It’s creepy, but all done without being overly graphic which every once is a while is a nice change of pace.
I loved both Ellery and Reed’s characters. They are both deeply flawed characters and I loved them working together. Both these characters have their secrets and I love nothing more than characters with buried pasts. I also loved that I questioned everyone in this book, including at times Ellery and Reed.
There is something compelling about a serial killer story and this one kept me glued to the pages. While I did not guess the killer’s identity, I did have my guesses and did not see the ending coming, though if I was to reread the book, I wonder if I might have missed a clue or two. It is a fast read and perhaps I did miss something, but either way I did enjoy this book immensely and am quite eager to start book 2, No Mercy soon as I cannot wait to see Ellery and Reed back in action!
Books in this series:
- The Vanishing Season
- No Mercy
- All the Best Lies – due out February 2020
I would like to read this!
I recently read a different book with the same title, but it wasn't as good as I hoped.
Series and author new to me. I appreciated the update.