Schaffenhausen, Joanna. 2017. The Vanishing Season. New York, NY: Minotaur Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1250126047. $24.99 USD
I am so impressed with Joanna Schaffhausen's debut, The Vanishing Season! I stayed up waaay too late finishing this on a work night, and have already recommended it to several of my library customers who like this kind of story, which I consider a read-alike for Cheslea Cain's One Kick, one of my favorites.
Ellery Hathaway is a police detective in a small town where no serious crime ever happens, which is just the way she likes it. She had a lot of drama in her previous life when she was the only survivor of a sadistic serial killer who was eventually caught and imprisoned. She did not survive unscathed, but is doing her best to put the past behind her under a different identity.
When Ellery realizes that each July for the past three years a local has gone missing, she starts to suspect that her past might be catching up with her, especially when she receives creepy birthday cards in the mail. She cannot convince anyone that the disappearances are related, so she embarks on solving the crimes herself, with devastating consequences.
The character development in The Vanishing Season is very accomplished, especially for a debut novel. The pace is pulsating, and the violence depicted isn't too graphic (always a bit of a turn off for this reader). And who wouldn't love the inclusion of a lovable basset hound named Bump? I did figure out the killer fairly early, but it didn't detract too much from the enjoyment of the story.
The Vanishing Season won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Novel Competition, and I think you will enjoy this debut thriller. In an over-flowing field of psychological suspense novels this one stood out for me. Well done!
No comments:
Post a Comment