VANISHING HOUR by Laura Griffin is a sweeping romantic suspense novel -- if you're at all a fan of this subgenre, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I feel like it's flown under the radar in recent years, but it's an absolute gem!

This book was gripping from the moment it started. I kind of want to also describe it as a romance mystery.

A corporate attorney, Ava, tired of the city moves to a rural town in Texas. Ava practices law in the small town, and volunteers with her dog doing search-and-rescue. When she discovers an abandoned campsite, she reports it to the authorities. When she and a local detective, Grant, return to the site, they find it gone. Grant suspects the site is connected to a missing person cold case. When another woman goes missing, they work to quickly solve the case.

Vanishing Hour is told through the alternating points of view of Ava and Grant. The characters were realistic and believable. This is a romantic suspense novel, but the mystery is at the forefront.

A fast-paced and enjoyable mystery. Recommended for fans of romantic suspense.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Big city girl comes to town and experiences ~electric chemistry~ while solving a crime! Yes please! A bit of //easy reading// that at times felt cheesy.. I'm so sorry, but the dog... Anyway, still a good time.

Grant and Ava’s relationship grows over time, through some trials and tribulations. An avid hiker herself, Ava is often called in to help with missing person investigations. The reader is taken on a very interesting journey as they try to solve some criminal cases. The author intertwines personal struggles and career challenges of the main characters. You felt like you knew Grant and Ava personally. They were very likable. Love the writing style of Laura Griffin. The whole time I was reading the book, I didn't want to put it down. It was totally captivating and held my attention the entire time.

I was immediately sucked into Vanishing Hour. This book has a solid mystery with a few twists and turns that will keep you guessing. This book covers everything — friendships, lies, deception, disappearances, romance, family, and grief.

I really enjoyed reading this book — I wanted them to solve the case just as much as I wanted them to find romance. Very well-written and fast paced. This is my first book by Laura Griffin and it did not disappoint. I'll be adding more of her books to my future TBR!

Thank you to Berkley Pub for my gifted ARC provided through NetGalley.

Ava Burch has had enough of the corporate legal business, and has moved to the small town of Cuervo in Texas to work in her friend's small law office. Her father, who raised and trained search and rescue dogs has recently died, so Ava has taken in her father's dog, Huck and is now working Search and Rescue in Big Bend National Park. When she and Huck are called out for a search, they discover an abandoned campsite and she carefully photographs it all and reports it to the local sheriff. Deputy Sheriff Grant Wycoff is not impressed with this city slicker who is on the search but when she tells him about her find, he realizes that there is more than meets the eye to this woman and her dog. Her discovery reminds him about a woman who went missing a couple of years ago, and when they begin to search for clues and information, another woman goes missing under suspicious circumstances. Can they work quick enough to solve the mystery and keep another person from ending up dead?

This was another great story by Laura Griffin. I really liked the character of Ava Burch, she was smart, independent, didn't give up, and she was resourceful. There was definitely a lot of chemistry between Ava and Grant and I liked the way they fought against it. There were several suspects and a bit of a cult atmosphere that I knew would be involved in the death, but I wasn't sure how. The closer Ava got to solving the crimes, the more danger she was in. This was a police thriller and a mystery that I had partially figured out, but there were still some surprises along the way. I enjoyed this story and will look for more books by Laura Griffin. I did a read/listen of this book narrated by Julia Atwood. She is a new narrator to me and I did enjoy her performance. If you like an interesting mystery and police thriller, I recommend Vanishing Hour in either format.

I will still be reading and posting a review. I downloaded the book prior to the archive but had problems accessing the book. I will come back and update the review.

Another fantastic romantic suspense from Laura Griffin!

I LOVED Ava, Grant, and Huck. Ava and Huck have just moved to the tiny town of Cuervo, where Ava has jumped right in to both her law practice and the SAR activities she and Huck participate in. Huck's a seasoned pro, but Ava is pretty new, for reasons that will eventually be explained. She's also carrying around some pretty heavy emotional baggage, which will not only affect her growing maybe-it's-a-relationship with Grant, but also her relationships with her BFF and coworker Jenna and her family.

Sheriff's detective Grant is initially suspicious of Ava's motives, but when she discovers an abandoned campsite while on an SAR mission that he believes may be tied to a missing persons case he's been working on for two years (the missing person we briefly meet at the opening of the book--as always, don't get too attached, people!), her diligence to detail and dedication to her craft soon earns her his respect.

Of course Grant thanks Ava for her help but tells her to not get involved--and to absolutely not do any investigating on her own!--and of course Ava doesn't listen. What follows is trademark Laura Griffin, with edge-of-your seat suspense and amazing chemistry between the two leads, tempered somewhat by all the reasons they each have for why they shouldn't actually be together. The bad guys are appropriately sinister, the romance is push-and-pull in all the right ways, and of course Huck is the bestest boy ever.

I'm crossing my fingers that Jenna and Connor will have their own book in the not-so-distant future, because there's definitely something going on there and I MUST SEE THEIR HEAs!

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I really couldn’t get into this one I found the characters boring and it felt like a lot was going on that I missed, it thought the plot was a really good premise but it just didn’t play out good for me.

***ARC Provided by the Author***

As always with this author's titles, the blend of the romance and the mystery/suspense element worked well.

You like the characters, you like them together, the mystery is interesting, and you believe the chemistry between them...there really isn't anything else needed to add up to an fun, enjoyable read.

I enjoyed and recommend this title.

This was a great romance/thriller! I thought the ending was good. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Vanishing Hour is a well-written novel which includes murder, cold cases, suspense, and a bit of romance. I loved the parts with the search and rescue dog, Hank. Griffin's setting are written with vivid description and her characters are so well-developed that the reader feels connected - I want to see Ava Burch and her search and rescue dog, Hank in another novel very soon! This is a fun and entertaining novel with just the right amount of suspense and romance!

A great stand-alone romantic suspense novel from the author of popular series such as The Texas Murder Files, Vanishing Hour homes in on under-investigated disappearances in National Parks.

A lawyer new to her small-town Texas home, Ava Burch also handles a dog for search and rescue operations. When the search for a missing little boy leads to an abandoned campsite, Ava is intrigued. It doesn't take much digging to discover several women missing from the region's several National Parks.

Grant Wycoff is the lead investigator for the local sheriff's office, and he finds Ava and her dog, Huck, fascinating--but he can't allow his attraction to her to interfere with his ongoing investigation into missing woman Molly Shaw. Though the case has mostly gone cold, Ava's digging as well as a new disappearance kick it into high gear.

Terrifyingly, Grant isn't the only one who knows that Ava has been poking her nose into these cases, and she quickly becomes a target for a killer--or possibly killers--that have been operating successfully for quite some time.

Griffin keeps striking while the iron is hot. Vanishing Hour is fast-paced with a well thought out timeline as well as easily distinguishable and enjoyable characters. The romance aspect is strong enough for fans of that genre, while the mystery will keep thriller fans engaged.

Vanishing Hour is the latest release by Laura Griffin. It is about a lawyer that is new to the area, who also happens to be a volunteer search-and-rescue person. She becomes a part of a cold case when she and her search-and-rescue dog, Huck stumble across an abandoned campsite, that immediately send off warning bells, so she takes pictures of it and notes the location and gives that info to the local police. She decides to do some investigating on her own when the sheriff doesn’t seem to care about her discovery. She soon gets some help from a detective that believes that the abandoned campsite may be connected to a cold case of his. As she gets closer to finding the killer, she is also trying to fight against her growing feelings for the detective. Will she be able to figure out who the killer is before they make her their latest victim? I encourage you to read Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin to find out.
Laura Griffin once again shows us that she truly knows how to craft a masterful story full of unforgettable and well developed characters. I loved reading this thrilling new romantic suspense story by the very gifted writer Laura Griffin and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good romantic suspense story.

What I loved ❤️
✨Search and Rescue Dog - Huck is the true hero of this story. Sometimes causing mischief but always hardworking during a rescue mission. I found the procedural details of a search and rescue fascinating.
✨Setting - vivid descriptions of rural Texas and its national parks created a real sense of desolation and danger; even the snakes had me freaked out!
✨Blended Genre - perfect mix of mystery, police investigation, and romance.
✨Great narration - Julia Atwood changed voices throughout the novel, which made the story not only exciting but suspenseful.

Solid thriller! ❤️

This was my first novel from Laura Griffin and I am HOOKED! I loved reading a story based in Texas. As I read and Griffin shared details of cities and places in our home state that I’m familiar, I found the story even more immersive as a reader.

“Vanishing Hour” is a murder mystery filled with friendships, lies, deception, and a whodunnit that comes together perfectly. As a lover of true crime, I can say Griffin writes a story that’s leads to an “ah ha” moment for readers.

I really enjoyed the main characters Ava and Grant and hope this is the first in more stories including them. I could easily see this book turning into a series — one I would love to get my hands on!

Are you into whodunnit novels? If mystery and thrillers are you thing, you should give “Vanishing Hour” a read!

I really like this new series. As with the Tracers, there's a great who-done-it with a romantic thread. The wilderness is breathtaking, and the story keeps you guessing who the bad guy could be. The strong leads in this story are, per usual with Laura Griffin, supported by characters you want to know more about. I'm ready for the next one!

Vanishing Hour is another action-packed winner from Laura Griffin.

After her father’s death, Ava Burch decided to move her law career to the small town of Cuervo, Texas. She had also taken over the care of her father’s last search-and-rescue dog. Though she and Huck did not have a lot of experience with each other, they worked well together. Their latest search led them past the abandoned camp of a missing woman. Ava was curious enough about it to take some pictures, only to find the camp nowhere in sight the next day.

Detective Grant Wycoff didn’t have a lot of faith in Ava’s abilities initially, but he couldn’t stay away from her either. Ava’s campsite discovery meshed with the cold case Grant was working on, and suddenly they were spending a lot more time in each other’s company.

The investigation unfolded slowly, at just the right pace, and had me at the edge of my seat until the end. This is a book I just couldn’t put down. I loved Huck and the descriptions of his “work”.

Ava was tenacious but scared to start something with Grant because his irregular hours reminded her too much of her father and their parents’ failed relationship. I liked them as a couple. Their relationship grew steadily and intensely as the story went along. Ava had to make some difficult decisions about Grant, while Grant was sure what he wanted, he just had to wait for her to figure it out.

I can definitely recommend this if you like sexy romantic suspense, loaded with mystery and action.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 Hearts
SJ, Romance Junkies

Laura Griffin never fails to thrill readers, and VANISHING HOUR is no exception. When Ava Burch, a newcomer to Cuervo, a small town in Texas, unintentionally gets involved in a cold case, she sets in motion a dangerous set of events that lead to a murderer intent on quieting anyone who stirs questions. Permanently.

Ava has moved away from the big city life to work with a search-and-rescue dog inherited from her father, a retired lawman who passed away. Her relationship with her father was estranged, and Ava is dealing with complex emotions about family while trying to figure out how she fits into this new place.

Lawman Grant Wycoff only sees an outsider when he looks at Ava. But when she and Huck, her search-and-rescue dog, find an abandoned campsite while out looking for a missing boy, he realizes she's a lot more than a pretty lawyer. She's got a keen eye for detail.

Soon, Grant is taking Ava seriously. Another woman goes missing. There are strange goings-on at a nearby spa/ranch. And connections between the missing women and the people in their lives add to the mystery...and a collection of suspects.

VANISHING HOUR is a terrific thriller filled with mystery, romance, and a story-line that will keep you guessing until the end. You won't want to put this one down!