The Vanishing Hour by Seraphina Nova Glass Published by Harlequin on May 30, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Small Town & Rural, Fiction / Thrillers / Domestic, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Women
Pages: 286
"Glass weaves a taut web of suspicion, murder and revenge in this chilling tale."—Liv Constantine, internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish, on Someone's Listening
From the Edgar Award–nominated author of On a Quiet Street comes a shocking thriller about secrets…and the lengths some people will go to keep them.
Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets.
But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.
When a surge of disappearances brings the investigation to her door, Grace finds herself unwillingly at the center of it all and doing everything she can to keep her distance. Because Grace knows something…something that could change everything. And when the truth comes to light, getting justice for the vanished might be more than Grace can handle alone…
Other thrillers from Seraphina to keep you up all night:
- On a Quiet Street
- Such a Good Wife
- Someone’s Listening
Seraphina Nova Glass writes intriguing, thrilling, and entertaining thrillers. I liked her previous novel, ON A QUIET STREET, and I also enjoyed her upcoming book, THE VANISHING HOUR. Coming out on May 30, 2023, THE VANISHING HOUR focuses on three people linked to a series of kidnappings and murders of young women in Maine. Grace is the victim that was lucky enough to get away quite a few years ago, and she’s lived a life of fear ever since. Kira’s daughter Brooke is the latest kidnapping victim and she’s desperate to find her daughter before it’s too late. Aden’s father has gone missing as well, and the entire town is out looking for him. But there’s also the point of view of someone locked away in a dank and dirty basement.
This small vacation town is quiet now for the season, but there’s a long history of women going missing from a street in the seedier part of town–all around the same time of night. Grace was lucky and escaped, but she now lives a very sheltered life running a bed and breakfast for tourists. She’s very guarded and keeps to herself with only the local grocer making deliveries as her friend. But this changes once Aden arrives in town to search for his father…
Aden is a widower with a teenage daughter that he had no idea how to handle, so he shipped her off to private school. His newly sober brother still lives at home with their parents and the entire family has a bit of dysfunction to them. I honestly enjoyed their interactions so much since they were so messed up–especially the aunt and uncle that are keeping the mother company. Aden tracks down his dad’s last known whereabouts and uncovers some not so savory looking things, but he won’t give up until he finds his father.
Kira grew up in this town, but she wasn’t keen on her daughter living there by herself. Once Brooke had gone missing, Kira just knows that the local police are not going to be able to find her daughter. She’s going crazy not knowing or doing anything to find her daughter, so she bands together with Aden and Grace to solve all their mysteries.
I give THE VANISHING HOUR a four out of five. This book was quite the slow burn with some really dark and twisted moments. I really enjoyed the author’s writing and I certainly didn’t guess who was ultimately being held captive somewhere. I enjoyed that twist. The story does jump back and forth quite a bit with the different point of views, but once the story kicked in and everyone was established it all read smoothly. I felt that the ending was a bit rushed and the ending the offender received was justified but a bit anticlimactic. Overall, this was a fun thriller with unique characters and a dark and foreboding backdrop.
Find THE VANISHING HOUR
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Books-a-Million | IndieBound | Google Play | Apple | Goodreads
About Seraphina Nova Glass
Seraphina Nova Glass is a professor and playwright-in-residence at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she teaches film studies and playwriting. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Smith College, and she’s also a screenwriter and award-winning playwright. Seraphina has traveled the world using theatre and film as a teaching tool, living in South Africa, Guam and Kenya as a volunteer teacher, AIDS relief worker, and documentary filmmaker.
Find Seraphina Nova Glass
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
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