Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin
Narrated by Julia Atwood
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: October 25, 2022

Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin is a standalone mystery set in small town Texas. This book was incredible and I did not want it to end!!! Please let it become a series!

This fast paced mystery is filled with great characters and a fascinating story! I was hooked from the very first chapter! The story was incredible! I loved the characters and the character development! I found Ava and Grant to be wonderful and I could not get enough of their stories. I thought the inclusion of being on a search and rescue team really added to the depth of the story. I enjoyed the mystery and seeing how everything unfolded!

The narration by Julia Atwood was incredible! I loved how she brought this story to life!

I highly recommend reading this book! It was so good!!!! (Please let there be more!!!)

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Mystery, suspense with a sprinkle of romance. This book envelops the reader and takes them on an exciting unveiling of events while the friction between Ava and Grant increases. 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. This is an enjoyable story that provides a fast paced but well developed plot line with the flakes of romance. without throwing it in the readers face. The specialty of the Huck the dog as a search and rescue dog has details of the commands and working with the dog to develop these skills. The relationship between Ava and Grant is mature and light. I would recommend this book to readers of quick paced books that encompasses the reader into the story.

Ava Burch is a corporate lawyer who has seen too much corporate greed and bad behavior. She decides to take a break from city life and journeys to the town of Cuevo, in rural Texas with her rescue dog Huck. She and a friend open a small law firm and in her off time, Ava volunteers with search and rescue operations. While searching for a missing boy, Ava stumbles upon a campsite that appears to have been long abandoned. Intrigued, she takes picture of the campsite and then continues with her search. She reports the campsite to the sheriff, who brushes her off, but she’s got the attention of deputy Grant Wycoff, who asks her to take him to the site. But when they get there, everything is gone and even more disturbingly, a search of the area turns up the remains of a missing woman. It turns out that missing women are far too common place in Cuevo. The sheriff may not be concerned, but Ava is, and she has found an unlikely ally in Grant. Griffin’s mysteries are gritty and realistic, there’s nothing cute or cozy here, just a damn good story

I thought the story/murder mystery itself was well written, complex and intriguing. The narration however was flat and unemotional. I would recommend the book but not the audio. Thank you for the listening opportunity!

Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin
Narrated by Julia Atwood

Ava Burch had been a big city corporate lawyer but she wanted to get away from the big city grind. And her mostly estranged dad had died not long ago, leaving her his SAR dog, Hank, and his love of Search and Rescue. So when a friend and colleague had to move back to Cuervo, TX, near Big Bend, eventually Ava followed her. She lives in a little house on her friend's property and enjoys her more low key life as a small town lawyer.

Hank and Ava volunteer when a dog and handler are needed for search and rescue missions. On a search for a missing little boy, Ave notices an old camp site. She knows a girl went missing two years ago, she'd been camping and hiking in the area and the camp looks like it could have been hers. Then Ava realizes there were more missing girls and things start looking more ominous than a person just getting lost.

Deputy sheriff Grant Wycoff doesn't like it when Ava sticks her nose in this old missing person's case but that feeling is overshadowed by how he likes the jeweled pockets on her designer jeans (or what's under those jeweled pockets, to be more exact). And Ava's noticed Grant is easy on the eyes. There is actually a lot of ogling although neither want to admit it. Overall, the attraction is there but it's not overbearing. Grant is a professional and very focused on his job. Ava is apprehensive of Grant because she's afraid he could have some of her father's not so good traits.

And then there is Hank, an awesome lab who can't help chomping on a few shoes, loves steak, and might chase his roadrunner friend for kicks. There is work tension and attraction tension between Grant and Ava but you can't help wanting the best for both of them. I would not mind seeing more of these three in the future and I love the location since I've spent so many years in west Texas.

I was able to enjoy both the digital and audio versions of the book. Julia Atwood did a fine job with the narration of the audiobook and it was nice to be able to follow along with the digital book, especially when I wanted to look up locations and needed the correct spelling of places.

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the digital and audio ARCs.