I found myself hooked into this story right away, before I had even finished the first chapter. This author has a way of making even mundane things seem exciting, so when you get to the truly exciting stuff, it is impossible to put the novel down and function like an adult. (You can't take away my toy, it's mine!)

I loved the way the events unfolded in this book and the way the main character behaved. I like it when you read a book and feel like you have a dependable MC that will do things that seem in line with their personality. This is an intelligently written book with a lot of interesting twists that will keep the reader moving along.

The suspense level in this novel kept my heart pounding whilst I was reading and made me want to keep coming back to the book every time I was forced to set it down. I found myself still thinking about it even after I had finished it, whilst I was lying in bed that night.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a dazzling read with great characters and an original story.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I love to read stories that throw out teasers just to play with your head and The Vanishing Season is one like that. Maybe sometimes too much teasing and a long wait for the answers, but it's always a good book to me when you don't know everything from the start, while waiting for the characters to catch on.

Ellery was the victim of a crime and like others in that situation, went into law enforcement. Now she sees a pattern in the killings and has that feeling that it is related to her. Can she figure out who is next before it happens?

Thanks NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast read – a great find on Net Galley. I love these suspenseful books, especially in the middle of winter.

Here’s the overview:

Description
Winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition, Joanna Schaffhausen’s accomplished debut The Vanishing Season will grip readers from the opening page to the stunning conclusion.

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 one who lived.

When three people disappear from her town in three years—all around her birthday—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 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.

*****************************************

So – this one is a bit disturbing and at times gruesome, but the writing is not overly graphic. To be honest, I am just realizing that this is her debut novel – wow! I hope that there is another story with the same characters in it, because I really liked gritty Ellery.

The mystery was well-plotted and paced. Thank you for my review e-Copy!

The Vanishing Season was suspenseful, and to it's credit, I did not figure out "who dunnit" until it was actually revealed. The characters were generally believable, and overall I enjoyed the book. There were a few aspects that bothered me, but they were minor. The FBI agent's word choice and tone often came across as British, and some of the relationships seemed superficial. That being said, overall, the book kept me guessing, and the mystery was not predictable. It was an enjoyable read.

The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen is the author's first novel. This book is exciting from start to finish. The author does an amazing job coming up with really horrific crimes for the book's villains to commit. Suspense builds steadily throughout the books and the characters grapple with very realistic fears and problems. My main problem with this book is the ending. I found the bad guy to by painfully obvious, so obvious that it made me lose confidence in the main heroine because she did not see the obvious right in front of her. I still think it is a solid book and I am interested in reading more from this author in the future. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I liked this book, I really did. But there are some caveats there.

The books follows Ellery Hathaway, who, as a young girl, was the only survivor of a sadistic serial killer. Fourteen years later, as applied officer in a small town, she begins noticing a pattern: every year around her birthday (also the anniversary of the day she was kidnapped), someone goes missing. But no one believes Ellery’s theory. Is it in her head - or is someone after her to finish what started all those years ago?

That’s some set-up, right? I mean, it’s really a great storyline that just pulled me in. I was hooked pretty early on. The action moves pretty quickly and there’s enough clues to keep you on your toes as the book goes on.

Maybe too many clues, though. I completely guessed each “twist,” one of which I guessed because I’d actually seen something similar before. Which isn’t to say that that’s automatically makes it a bad book - but past the big reveals, there wasn’t much else in terms of the motives or explanation. Which means the book’s ending fell flat for me.

But I did really like Ellery and Reed as characters, and would really like to see them again in future books. I would completely read something else from this author and more if this becomes a series.

Hopefully, the author just works the bumps out next time!

3.5 stars!

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for granting my wish to read this book. Covers of books are usually what initially draws me into deciding which books I want to read and when I seen this cover I just knew that I wanted to read this book!

This was an intriguing, entertaining, fast-paced and suspenseful crime-mystery novel that I really enjoyed. Very impressive debut novel! Would recommend!

One person too late.

Fourteen years ago Ellery Hathway endured the most horrific experience. Taken as a young girl, she endured fear, abuse, and plain terror in the hands of her abductor Francis Michael Coben. She was rescued by agent Markham barely alive with the drive to survive. She now lives far from where the abduction occurred, with a new name, fighting crime in her town. She lives alone with the demons of the past until the past comes to visit her again. She begins receiving birthday cards with a sinister message. Who knows her birthday? Her old name? And is there any correlation with the missing town folks? She calls on her chief to investigate however, he puts her off and in desperation she calls on Agent Markham.

Markham has his own demons as he comes to terms of those that did not survive Coben's terror. He has written a book on the crime spree of Coben, his rescue of Ellery, and the mind of a serial killer.

The recent crimes bring Markham and Hathway together in dynamic way filled with intrigue and chemistry. There is no romantic notion between the two but a tenderness of a shared horrific experience.
I loved the suspense and how the true killer was exposed. A read that was well thought out and left me wanting more.

A Special Thank You to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

A very exciting debut novel. This was a page turner that kept me interested.

Story never pulled me in. Well written but just didn't get it

Solid debut! 4.5/5 for me.

Ellery Hathaway has a secret from everyone she knows now. She was once the only survivor of a serial killer and that is who she was until she started over. She is now an officer in small town, coming full circle and still trying to fight her demons. She will never really be free of her past life. All seems to be well hidden till she is the only one to notice a possible pattern in disappearances all around her birthday. For the last 3 years, 3 people who seem un-related but why is Ellery so sure that they are? She can't really reveal what she thinks is going on if she wants to hide her identity so she calls up the only person she can think to help. The FBI agent who found her.

I was so enthralled with this story, and even though I had the person responsible figured out fairly early on (I really should have been an investigator ;) ) it didn't take away from the story. Each character was well thought out and the relationships between the characters were all interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley/Minotaur/Joanna Schaffhausen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to seeing a sophomore novel soon :)

Ellie is a small-town cop who notices that for the past three years people have disappeared around her birthday. She begins to fear that it is related to her abduction by a serial killer when she was a teen.

Police Officer Ellery Hathaway has an instinct for investigation. She has what you could call an insider's perspective. When she was just a teenager, she was kidnapped by a serial killer and held in his closet while he tortured her. She thought she was dead, but an observant FBI agent figured out who her kidnapper was and rescued Ellie before she became the seventeenth victim of Francis Michael Coben. She was the only one of his victims who survived.

Now it's years later, and she's an officer in a sleepy Massachusetts town. Not much happens there. But there have been several disappearances that Ellie find disturbing. Two women and a man have all gone missing around the same time of year. And Ellie believes that they're related. But it's more than instinct that is telling her that. The year of the first disappearance, Ellie received a birthday card, unsigned, with only a message that let her know that there was someone out there who knew of her past. She had been meticulous about reinventing herself, but somehow, someone found out her secret. 

She takes her suspicions to her police chief (but not the cards or her secret past), but he refuses to investigate or even to believe that the disappearances are related. So Ellie calls in an old friend, FBI agent and hero Reed Markham. While Markham had been a household name after Ellie's rescue and the book he wrote about Coben, the investigation, and Ellie, now he's struggling. His marriage is falling apart, and his boss at the FBI suggests he take some time off. But when Ellie calls, he has to help her, and he finds himself once again sucked into a case of a potential serial killer. 

The investigation takes them both back to the original case, to all the places that Ellie has been running from and that almost destroyed Reed. Are they strong enough to walk away from another serial killer, or will they just disappear as well? 

The Vanishing Season is the debut novel from Joanna Schaffhausen that reads like any of the best serial killer novels on the shelf. With an eye to detail and emotion, Schaffhausen creates a story that could happen tomorrow almost anywhere in America. It's so prescient it's disturbing, and by that I do mean that I'm a little afraid to go to sleep tonight. But I'm sure that will pass. Eventually. 

The Vanishing Season, even with its disturbing plot, is well-written, beautifully paced story, and I won't be at all surprised when it shows up at my local movie theater. But don't wait until then, You know the book is always better. So read it now. Just leave lots of lights on. 



Galleys for The Vanishing Season were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

Wow this was a crazy thriller that just hooked me.
Great book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book. It seems to drag a bit at first, but then the tension ratchets up exponentially. I was frustrated by several stereotypical characters (backwoods sheriff, damaged FBI agent) but it didn't take away from the effectiveness of the storyline. I felt it could have been trimmed by a good 20-30 pages without missing anything. My interest level definitely grew while reading, and by the end, I was invested in finding out the answer. I surprisingly had it figured out before it was revealed, which is unusual for me. I would recommend this book.

THE VANISHING SEASON by Joanna Schaffhausen is a spectacular thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seats.

Imagine narrowly escaping being the victim of a serial killer as a tween, then getting your life together, changing your name and even becoming a police officer only to become the Target of yet another serial killer. Talk about bad luck!

A story with multiple twists and turns and captivating characters, this book exceeded my expectations and I will definitely be adding Joanna Schaffhausen to my "Authors To Watch" list.

I rate this book as 4 out of 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and recommend it to those who enjoy a bit of fear in their thrillers. The reason this book received 4 out of 5 Stars rather than 5 Stars is that I figured out who the killer was before the reveal, but I did have moments where I doubted myself, so....

Anyway, this book by a debut author is well worth reading. Check it out.

Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of #TheVanishingSeason

This was a novel that suffered an identity crisis, not sure what it wanted to be: a thriller, police procedural or character study. Contained elements of all three, but for me this worked. There were a few instances where I had to suspend belief, but it also gave me some strong characters that I wanted to root for, and a wonderful little dog named speed bump, bump for short. Plus, the happenings, the case was addicting.

Ellery is a police officer in a small town where three people have gone missing, three years in a row. She knows there is more to this, but she can't get the Captain or other officers to tie them together, and investigate more fully. Of course, there is much they don't know about Ellery, the special knowledge she has that they don't. She calls Reed, an FBI agent she has connections with, a man who is now on official leave. Things start ramping up, and secrets to Ellerys identity will be revealed as well as new clues and terror unleashed on this town. I guessed the who done it, but not until I had read over 80% of the book. Not that I have a great track record in figuring these things out quickly, and I quite like it that way, makes the denoument more interesting.

Think this writer will figure out her writing identity, and go on to write some stunning whatevers. Whatever she does next, as long as she can produce characters like these, she should have a stunning future. A good, solid read with a memorable little pup.

ARC from Netgalley.

"I live for the hunt—my life."—David Berkowitz, the ‘Son of Sam' 

Ellery Hathaway is a police officer in the small town of Woodbury, Massachusetts. But she is also the only survivor of a prolific serial killer back, rescued when she was fourteen years old.

She has never recovered completely from the terrible things done to her. She lives by herself except for Speed "Bump," her Bassett Hound.

For the last three years people have been disappearing from Woodbury - near her birthday - and she can't convince her boss that they're connected, not without letting him know about her past, which she has kept hidden.

So she calls Reed Markham, the FBI agent that rescued her all those years ago, and asks for his help.

I liked this book and I liked the damaged character of Ellery. The characters were well-developed. The storyline was creepy. I DID figure out the bad guy pretty early in the book but in this case it didn't detract too much from the storytelling because I wanted to find out WHY.

I received this book from Minotaur Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read the book and leave an unbiased review.

Three people in three years have gone missing from a small Massachusetts town where officer Ellery Hathaway works. Ellery can’t help but think there is a connection between these recent disappearances. Maybe it is because she is haunted by her past. Being the lone survivor of a serial killer’s ravaging, Ellery is plagued to see the workings of something more sinister than the mere coincidence of horrible circumstances. Without the support from her fellow officers, Ellery must take matters into her own hands. She contacts the FBI agent, Reed Markham, that once rescued her, putting her faith into his expertise. Ellery’s persistence in her theories make everyone start to question whether there is truly a connection they are missing or if Ellery is struggling to move on from her troubling past.

Everyone has their skeletons. We all have things we hide from the world, and when those secret surface- especially at a time of skepticism - all faults can lead to presumed guilt. This is what I loved about this book. Each character had their flaws or secrets that lead a reader to question their innocence. Page by page I found myself going back and forth between who I thought did what, and how they were involved.

It has been awhile since I have come across a thriller that I feel is a true psychological thriller. Fast paced with twists and turns, and questionable characters that make a reader think they are losing their minds trying to determine the truth. It is books such as The Vanishing Season that brought me to love this genre. If you are looking for something to jump start your new year, this is the title to start with.

***Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.