A review by michelles_book_nook
The Vanishing Season by Dot Hutchison

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

⚠️ CW: kidnapping, domestic abuse, narcissism, child death, cancer and mentions of rape and murder ⚠️ It is a very rare occurrence for me to give every book in a series 5 stars but this series absolutely deserves it and this was the perfect ending! 8 year old Brooklyn Mercer has gone missing and as accustomed as FBI agents Eliza Sterling and Brandon Eddison are to such harrowing cases, this one has struck a nerve. It marks the anniversary of the disappearance of Eddison’s own little sister. Disturbing, too, is the girl’s resemblance to Eliza, so uncanny they could be mother and daughter. With Eddison’s unsettled past rising again with rage and pain, Eliza is determined to solve this case at any cost. But the closer she looks, the more reluctant she is to divulge to her increasingly shaken partner what she finds. Brooklyn isn’t the only girl of her exact description to go missing. She’s just the latest in a frightening pattern going back decades in cities throughout the entire country. In a race against time, Eliza’s determined to bring Brooklyn home and somehow find the link to the cold case that has haunted Eddison, and the entire Crimes Against Children team, since its inception. This book was yet again another hard hitting rollercoaster from Dot Hutchison, but as well as it being just as haunting and gripping as the others in this series I particularly loved the character development within the team and the found family aspect especially with how the storyline wrapped up at the end. This is easily a series that will stay with me for a long time and I can't wait to read more by this author. Overall, if you're a lover of dark thrillers and crime fiction then I highly recommend this series but make sure to check the CW's for each book as they do contain some graphic topics and content.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings