When I picked up Vanishing Hour, I didn’t realize that it’s a romantic thriller. The mystery of a series of women going missing from a local state park over the span of several years as well as the involvement of a woman and her search and rescue dog was what hooked my interest. Actually the woman and her SAR dog were probably the main attraction for me because you don’t see a lot of series set in the SAR world or featuring characters who work in that field. Paula Munier’s Mercy and Elvis Mystery series features a character who works in SAR with her former military service dog, and it’s a great series.
Recent Cuervo (Texas) transplant Ava Burch has inherited her father’s Search and Rescue dog and embraced SAR volunteer work. When that work leads to the discovery of the body of a young woman last seen hiking in the very state park she’s searching, Ava can’t let the case go. Soon she’s (somewhat ill-advisedly) interviewing the woman’s friends, passing leads to the detective investigating the now hot case (who is trying to both discourage Ava’s side investigation while pursuing a romantic relationship with her), and researching the local dude ranch/wellness retreat run by shady proprietors. All of which leads to Ava being targeted by someone who is also trying to discourage her investigation (for more nefarious reasons than the detective’s) by booby trapping her car with a poisonous rattle snake and taking pot shots at her with a bow and arrow. This is why it always makes me nervous when civilian characters involve themselves in investigating crimes.
The urgency and tension permeating the case escalates when another young woman, who also worked at the shady dude ranch, never returns from her two day hike through the same state park that swallowed up two young woman in as many years. Is this a coincidence or is she the latest victim of some unknown serial killer using the park as his personal hunting ground?
Grant Wycoff has a lot on his plate: a formerly ice cold missing person case turned homicide investigation that’s suddenly white hot after years of stagnation, a beautiful civilian who won’t stop meddling in his investigation, a difficult boss prioritizing his re-election over pursuing the investigation, and a new romance with that same beautiful civilian despite her reluctance to get involved in a relationship with a man who works in law enforcement. Honestly Wycoff should propose that his sheriff’s office hire Ava as a consultant considering the leads she’s broken in the short time she’s been meddling in the case. I mean, stick her on a computer to collect research and intelligence if you don’t want her in the field.
The suspense and twists draw the reader in not to mention the mystery of what’s happened to these women and why.
A Series of (Un)Fortunate Reviews 