Review: Vanished in the Night by Eileen Carr

 

Title: Vanished in the Night by Eileen Carr
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: July 26, 2011
ISBN: 9781439183878
Pages:352

    Vanished in the Night begins with the discovery of human remains at a construction site in Sacramento, California.  When the police arrive to notify Veronica Osborne that the remains belong to her long missing brother Max, she is both saddened and relieved.  She finally knows what happened to her brother.  Panic takes over when she realizes that the officers suspect her father in the death which is quickly ruled a homicide.  She knows her father, George Osborne, is a hostile drunk with a history of abusing Max but she can't give in to the possibility that he might have killed Max.  Veronica decides to conduct her own investigation to protect her father and find out what happened to Max.  Her desire to keep her dad out of harm's way is only intensified by her annoyance and lust for the detective on the case Zach McKnight.  Neither does Zach expect to develop feelings for Veronica who utterly annoys him with her meddling in the investigation and refusal to let him do his job. As more deaths occur, the police delve into the past to figure out the killer's motivation and try to stop him.  The increasing danger of the case brings Zach and Veronica together.  This togetherness sets the killer off and he makes Veronica his next target.  Now Zach has to stop the killer before he gets Veronica.

Vanished in the Night is a pretty quick,enjoyable read; I read it in one day. We learn pretty early in the book who the culprit is but we are on edge waiting for him to finish his plan or be caught by the police.    The main characters are well written - Veronica as the eager to please child of violence and alcoholism and Zach as the reform school graduate turned cop.  The choices made by the characters seem in keeping with their personality as described.  The only detraction for me was some of the pop culture references and dated slang; all in all, this book was a great read for a summer's afternoon.


**This book was provided by the publisher Pocket Books in exchange for my honest opinion.**

Book Swag #3

My latest acquisition Silencing Sam, courtesy of Pocket Books:

 From Julie Kramer's website:

When a widely despised gossip columnist is found shot to death, TV reporter Riley Spartz must secretly investigate a case in which she becomes the prime suspect. Amid murder, our heroine discovers news and gossip have more in common than she ever imagined.

Trouble begins when Riley publicly clashes with newspaper gossip writer Sam Pierce, throwing a drink in his face, after he implies in his 'Piercing Eyes' column that she cheated on her dead husband. When clues to the rumormonger's homicide lead to her, Riley is charged with the crime. The police seem unwilling to look any further for perpetrators though numerous local news makers have reason for revenge - even motive for murder.

Meanwhile, competition between journalists increases with newsrooms facing financial meltdowns. While Riley struggles to interest her boss in a story about rural wind farm bombings and dead bats, a new Channel 3 reporter spikes the station ratings with exclusive stories about the headless homicide of an unknown woman whose decapitated body is found in a city park.

Riley must fight to stay out of jail, ahead in the ratings, and even alive in a killer showdown not fit for television audiences.