Once upon a time when I was “normal” I used to LOVE my suspense/murder novels. Then at some point I stopped reading/watching the news — too disturbing. Then romance novels became too….racy? And the occasional suspense/murder novel? Well, it just became to hard to sort the depraved from the not-so-bad. So difficult, in fact, that I gave up reading them until I reviewed my first novel from Irene Hannon.
That was the end of my self-imposed exile. I was quick to jump on the next book in the series, Deadly Pursuit and just as quick to jump on Irene’s newest book, Vanished. Vanished is the first in the Private Justice series. I *think* (don’t quote me) that this may have some duplicate characters from the Guardians of Justice series but you won’t miss anything. Promise.
This book has the most intriguing teaser EVER!
Reporter Moira Harrison is lost. In the dark. In a thunderstorm. When a confusing detour places her on a rural, wooded road, she’s startled by the sudden appearance of a lone figure caught in the beam of her headlights. Though Moira jams on her brakes, the car careens across the wet pavement–and the solid thump against the side of the vehicle tells her she hit the person before she crashes into a tree on the far side of the road.
A dazed Moira is relieved when a man opens her door, tells her he saw everything, and promises to call 911. Then everything fades to black. When she comes to an hour later, she is alone. No man. No 911. No injured person lying on the side of the road.
And no one believes her, but a PI agrees to look into her case anyway. The crazy web of deceit that unravels is unbelievable; I’ve never seen it’s equal! The first breakthrough’s in the case are entirely God-given coincidences — there is no way he would have been caught otherwise. In fact, there were several times that I swore they hit a dead-end and was waiting for someone else to turn up as a suspect. She did a masterful job with the story, building suspense and the romance did not overshadow the suspense.
Overall, if you like suspense/murder mystery novels but don’t like to be put inside all the depravity that usually comes with such a book, Irene Hannon, and Vanished in particular is a fabulous place to start! LOVED it — 5 Stars!
Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.