Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the gifted copy of The Vanishing Hour {partner}

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Trope: Missing Person(s)
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 10.25.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Okay, that's it; I've decided that I want to read every single book that Laura Griffin has written. So far, I've read two of her books this year, and they were both such easy five-stars! She introduced me to romantic suspense and is a pro at writing for that genre. Griffin's writing is uncomplicated and always feels natural, with well-developed and believable characters.

I made the mistake of starting Vanishing Hour before bed one night, and I couldn't put it down. The whole book was like that, I'd swear I had only been reading 10 minutes and it had actually been an hour.

The Vanishing Hour combines romance, suspense, and action flawlessly. I loved the characters and, of course, the dog (btw, do not worry, nothing happens to Hank). The chemistry between Ava and Grant could be felt through the pages, and I genuinely appreciate that Griffin didn't make me wait until the end for something to happen between the two.

🤩 🤩 Combination of romance, suspense, and action
👌🏼 A storyline that feels real
🐕‍🦺 Hank (the search & rescue dog)
🔥 Chemistry between Ava and Grant
📖 Easy to sit and get lost in the book👌🏼 🐕‍🦺 🔥 📖

I highly recommend adding Vanishing Hour to your reading list. The other book from Griffin that I loved was Midnight Dunes (another 5-star).

Laura Griffin is one of my favorite authors so I was looking forward to Vanishing Hour. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the experience overall, this will not go on my favorites list. I liked Ava and, of course, loved Huck but until halfway through the book, I was ready to shove Grant off a cliff. This book seemed to have a bad case of "tell not show." Much of the conflict was told to us and then was resolved without us seeing any of it. We were told Grant was a great investigator but he didn't seem to know anything about the victim. We were told Grant was attracted to Ava but he was downright rude. We were told Ava had issues about her father that were then resolved without even an internal monologue. This felt like a great idea for a book that wasn't fully developed. I would rate it 3.5 stars but rounded up because I still enjoyed it.

Ava was a lawyer in Dallas but got tired of the city and moved to Cuervo. She has a practice with Jenna, her friend, and has a dog named Huck which she volunteers with the Search and Rescue teams. When she is called out to find a missing boy, she comes upon a campsite that looked old but had some stuff in it. She takes pictures and tells the Sheriff, who just brushes her off. Grant is a detective and has been searching for a young woman that went missing two years ago. Grant thinks Ava is a high maintenance woman but he’s still attracted to her. When Ava shows Grant where the tent was set up, it’s gone. There have been three girls missing in the state park and Ava investigates but Grant wants her to stay out of it.

I could not put this down. I was on the edge of my seat and could not figure out what was happening to the girls. Action. Mystery. And a little sex. It will keep you turning the pages until the very end. I absolutely loved it. I hope there is a book for Jenna.

* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

Loved the mystery and the main character. The romance was not for me. This was my first book by the author and I didn't realize that there was romance in her stories. The dog was one of my favorite parts too.

At the invitation of a friend, Ava Burch leaves her corporate lawyer job in the city and moves to Cuervo near Big Bend National Park with her search-and-rescue dog Hank, joining her friend in opening the only law firm in the area. While Ava is a lawyer, she also volunteers for SAR missions on the side. When a child goes missing, she joins the search for the boy with Hank, a rescue dog who was trained by her late father. While searching, they come across an abandoned tent with things inside covered in year's worth of dust including one shoe and a vehicle key. Ava finds it very odd and disconcerting so she snaps some pictures and moves on in her search for the boy. Upon leaving the park, Ava reports her findings to the local sheriff who abruptly brushes her off; however, Deputy Sheriff Grant Wycoff is very interested and convinces Ava to take him back out to the site of the tent the next day. Imagine Ava's surprise upon arriving at the spot to find the tent gone. Someone moved everything overnight. Why? While searching, Ava, Grant and Hank discover the skeletal remains of a woman. From there, a complex investigation ensues as other missing women cases come to light. Ava is troubled by the events and begins her own investigation discovering clues ignored by the sheriff's office. However, it's soon obvious she's making someone very nervous. It now seems someone wants her and her dog Hank dead.

Vanishing Hour is a complex romance thriller with the perfect blend of a budding romance with extreme physical attraction and a murder investigation. Ava and Grant are both hesitant to connect as both are carrying some unwelcome baggage, but the more they team up searching for missing women, the hotter the chemistry between them flames. When Ava's life is threatened, Grant goes into protective hero mode, and who doesn't love an overly protective hero?

The breathtaking setting in Vanishing Hour is simply stunning as it stimulates all five senses and sets the dangerous backdrop for this story as it's as deadly as it is beautiful. People can't survive long without adequate prep and supplies and often find themselves at the mercy of the desert - which plays a major role in this story. Griffin does a fantastic job of pitting well-developed characters against a formidable Mother Nature to deliver an intriguing tale. While there are scenes where Ava barrels headfirst into some questionable situations, overall these characters are likable and believable. Vanishing Hour is a highly entertaining story with just the right amount of romance and suspense. Highly recommended to fans of romance suspense!

Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for introducing me to Laura Griffin! I was lucky enough to read her novel The Midnight Dunes earlier this year and since then have been gradually making my way through all of her books. Have I mentioned how much I love realizing I am late to discover an author who has lots of books for me to consume? Berkley Romance provided me with a free copy of Vanishing Hour and I immediately downloaded it and read it.

I must admit, I forced myself to slow down and read it more thoughtfully, because I am getting close to having read all of her books. After reading Vanishing Hour, I think I am still partial to her Texas Murder Files series, but this one was also enjoyable!

Laura Griffin manages a nice balance between mystery/ thriller and romance. In this most recent novel, Ava Burch is a corporate lawyer who has picked up and moved to rural Texas after her father passes and she inherits his search-and-rescue dog, Huck. Ava has embraced the adrenaline rush of participating in SAR callouts with Huck, but when they discover an abandoned campsite near Big Bend National Park, something feels amiss to Ava who stops to document the site. Once she reports it though, she can't help herself, she has to go back to the site with Grant Wycoff she is shocked when they arrive and the campsite is gone.

Ava's now invested and her curiosity is concerning to Grant who doesn't think the flashy woman from the city is prepared for the darkness they may be lurking under the surface of this mystery. While the two try to ignore their chemistry, they also keep finding themselves forced together as Ava keeps digging.

As more women keep disappearing and the connections start to add up, the clock is ticking and Grant is worried for Ava's safety.

Read if you like romance and mystery! Don't if you don't like spice in your books! I enjoyed it and cannot wait to read her next! Thank you Berkley Romance for continuing to provide me with great reads!

A perfect blend of romance and suspense!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bear with me for a bit because I think I am going to gush a bit.

This author has been growing on me over the years. I have read so many of her stories and each one of them is unique and absorbing!

I love the characters and the settings. She just pours so much into each story it is hard to not want to read more and more! Vanishing Hour is exactly what I just described!

The setting is awesome. The stark desert with blistering heat you can almost feel. The landscape that hides secrets for decades. The beauty in the skies. The rock formations that call your name.

Griffin tells a story loaded with fabulous characters that are interesting and keep us wanting more. Grant and Ava balance each other perfectly with their passion for what they do, smart thinking, and building feelings. I love that this is a fabulous blend of romance and suspense with police procedurals and intensity too! This steamy story hits the mark!

Vanishing Hour is a book that I could not stop reading. With gutsy characters, formidable conditions, and steam rolling off in waves, Griffin will grab a hold of you with her writing finesse and not let you go.

I need more!

Ex-corporate lawyer Ava Burch has moved to western Texas to start a new life. Her estranged father has died leaving her his search and rescue dog Hank. She and Hank have been doing some SAR work since her arrival.

While out looking for a missing three-year-old, Ava stumbles onto a well-hidden campsite that looks like it has been there for quite a while. She takes some pictures but the search for the child takes priority. She talks about the site to the local sheriff and the head game warden and prints out the photos for them when she gets home.

Sheriff's deputy and chief investigator Grant Wycoff is interested in the pictures because they may help him solve a cold case that has been plaguing him. Molly Shaw went missing after going camping alone two years earlier. There have been other cases of lone women disappearing too. Deanna Moore's death was attributed to a fall but there are some inconsistencies. And Brittlyn Spencer disappeared the previous June. Brittlyn's mother has devoted her life since that day to finding her daughter and keeping her case on the minds of the various investigators.

When Grant and Ava hike out to where she had seen the campsite, they are surprised to find that everything is missing. All that is left are the few pictures Ava took. Ava becomes intrigued with the idea of solving the case much to Grant's dismay. She investigates and finds some clues the sheriff's department missed which give Grant new leads to follow. Her investigations also put her and her dog Huck into danger. A rattlesnake in the back of her car, strange footprints under her window, and someone shooting arrows at her while she is working a SAR rescue, indicate that someone doesn't want her to keep investigating.

Meanwhile, Grant and Ava are beginning a relationship made complicated by Ava's unresolved issues of abandonment by her game warden father and by Grant's sense of duty which makes him keep breaking dates with her.

This was an entertaining and engaging romantic suspense title. I liked the characters and understood where each was coming from. I also really liked Huck who was great at SAR but also doggy enough to eat shoes and steal steaks.

Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin is a romantic suspense book. Ava Burch, who has moved on from her big city corporate law job, is now partnering with an old friend in Cuervo, Texas. She also is part of a SAR (Search and Rescue) team in the area along with her SAR dog, Huck. Missing women have garnered Ava's attention after Huck finds the skeleton of one. Ava has met local sheriff detective Grant Wycoff and keeps on the trail of clues of the missing women to feed the clues to Grant. Grant is concerned about Ava's safety after a couple of strange events. Ava and Grant's chemistry is off the charts and Grant feels the need to protect Ava and his interest and caring is crucial to the storyline.

I couldn't put this book down. I really like the two main characters and the secondary characters are quite interesting too. What a gripping, suspense-filled story!

I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin
@LauraGriffinAuthor
Pub date: October 25, 2022

“The utter cruelty of people was hard to comprehend.”

This is a page-turner! Ava Burch is the kind of hero I can get behind. She’s a corporate lawyer who’s gone back to her roots to a rural area in East Texas. Practicing law in a small town, she and her late father’s search and rescue dog, Huck, are about to delve into a murder mystery that is complex and far reaching.

Ava meets detective Grant while out on a search and rescue and there’s a delicious chemistry between them. Not a love/hate exactly but let’s call it love/irritation! And while there’s some levity in this story it’s not without darkness. I think the author wrote a perfect balance of light and dark, with characters that are complex and flawed in a way that most can relate to.

The rugged terrain of East Texas is beautifully described and this combined with the discovery of a few dead bodies gives what once was serene and peaceful an eerie and foreboding shade, making an atmosphere that I loved! The plot is tight, layered and twisty and I was so satisfied when I got to the last page.

My thanks to @BerkleyPub for this gifted copy that I’ll be recommending to all fans of the genre!

In Laura Griffin’s latest novel “Vanishing Hour” Ava Burch has left the big city and moved to west Texas. Partner in a small law firm, Ava and her dog Huck do search and rescue on the side helping to discover a missing child and an elderly man. During a search Ava comes across an abandoned tent which leads to her getting involved with a local detective on a missing person case. Fast paced romantic suspense which, as usual, I couldn’t put down!

Ava's father recently passed away and she inherited his Search and Rescue dog, Huck. Ava and Huck volunteer for rescue missions in the area. The story begins with a search for a child that has wandered from the family campsite in Silver Canyon State Park. Ava and Huck have joined the search mission. They come across an abandoned campsite, one that appears to have been there awhile. Ava takes several pictures before continuing on the search in which they successfully find the child. After returning to the starting point, Ava relays her findings of the campsite to the county sheriff who is not interested but one of his detectives, Grant Wycoff has questions It's a struggle for him to investigate the disappearances and to keep Ava safe. Not quite the quality of some of the author’s other work, but a good read nonetheless.

City slicker Ava flees her Houston law firm to hang out her shingle in Big Bend-adjacent Podunk, Texas. Ava has brought her shiny red Fiat, designer jeans, pricey leather hiking boots and search-and-rescue dog Huck. Hunky detective Grant Wycoff of the county sheriff's office thinks Ava seems pretty high maintenance. Nevertheless, they team up to find out who's killing young women in the remote wilderness park.

The plot clips along nicely with numerous suspects and their various motives. The desert hikes with the cute Lab are fun. Surprisingly, the most affecting character turns out to be the mother of one of the missing girls. The haunted woman's pain as she relentlessly badgers the local and federal authorities for non-existent news scalds the reader.

Ava, unfortunately, suffers from a bad case of the TSTL blues. She pokes, she prods, she pries. Her Nancy Drew shenanigans result in several injuries and a final showdown with the killer. I thought she got off kind of light. Always take the dog! 3 stars for the stellar depiction of West Texas.

Okay, I did really like a lot of things about this book; but I feel like it had so much more potential! I’ll still recommend it because I did enjoy it, I just felt like it fell a bit flat.

Great book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a good who done it and great police work! It even had a great romance! The storyline was crazy interesting and had me glued to my Kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! It was such a great read! I definitely enjoyed reading this one! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Ava and her search and rescue dog, Huck, volunteer to find a boy that goes missing while his family is camping. They find him, but Ava and Huck also find an abandoned campsite that she tells the local sheriff about. He is not too interested but one of his detectives named Grant is. Together Ava and Grant go back in search for the campsite, and when they do, it is gone. Ava's dog Huck however, does find the remains of a girl named Molly Shaw that went missing two years ago. Soon Ava also finds out about other missing woman over the years. Are these cases all related?

This is my second book by Laura Griffin and it did not disappoint! I just love her writing! If you are looking for a nice way to spend the day, I highly recommend VANISHING HOUR. I'll be adding more of her books to my future TBR!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted on Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

One of the most trusted voices in mystery today! Laura Griffin delivers a stunning example of mystery romance. Like a Texas sunrise Griffins' Vanishing Hour is a multifaceted work of art. A shocking and gritty adventure awaits the reader anytime you pick up any of her novels and Vanishing Hour is truly one of her best.

Laura has done it again! A compelling plot, great chemistry between the characters, and you can feel the Texas heat. It’s definitely a page turner. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

There is nothing that Laura Griffin cannot do. Yet another outstanding book! Excellently plotted mystery, palpable nuanced chemistry between our MCs and excellent writing. I felt the west Texas heat and dryness while reading this book.

Laura Griffin creates another amazing story full of layers of intrigue and mystery in Vanishing Hour. Ava took over search and rescue with Huck from her father. Ava is a lawyer but does search and rescue secondary and she has typically found those she is searching for alive, very few has it been a recovery mission. When she goes out with Grant she doesn't expect to find remains hidden in the woods. No one wants the remains found and different things start happening to her. They work together to find the person responsible for not only harassing her but the murders as well. There is a lot going on in this book so it can be a lot at times and you may need to take breaks here and there just to let everything settle in your brain, but it is really good. I highly recommend this book.