I liked it. It wasn't that gory . I recommend it for those who like a good mystery

3.5/5 Overall a good read, but there were a lot of strange coincidences that just felt too manufactured and kept me from getting completely engaged with the story. The basic premise is that a girl who was captured and tortured by a serial killer is now all grown up and a police officer looking into a possible serial killer case. To the average person, these disappearances don't look related at all, but to our protagonist they must be because it's always around her birthday and she survived so it's her punishment. Oh, of course. That makes total sense. Then when the killer is caught and tells their motivation, it's just really weird- especially with the prologue. I thought it was really reaching for something, but never really got a solid hold on anything that made logical sense.

A debut story that leaves me excited to see what else this author comes up with.

Loved the premise and the writing style is good and shows lots of promise for more suspense stories in the future.

While the story starts off strong it quickly gets a little too drawn out. lots of unnecessary details that just had me jumping pages to find dialogue to advance the story. The characters were good and well developed, it just lacked a little spark.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Joanna Schaffhausen for the opportunity to read and review her debut novel - it's a good one. Well, if a book about a creepy serial killer can be good!

Ellie is the sole survivor of a serial killer's rampage when she was just 14 years old. She was saved by an FBI agent who saw something no one else did. Ellie bears the scars, both physically and mentally, of the torture she endured at the hands of his killer.

Ten years later finds Ellie working as a police officer in a small town. She's changed her name and has strict rules about who she lets into her life. Which is really no one expect her rescue dog, Speed Bump (arguably the star of this book!). However, there has been a string of missing people in her small town - one every year for the last 3 years, always in the beginning of July, which happens to coincide with Ellie's birthday. Ellie is convinced these incidents are related, though no one else believes her. She finally calls upon Reed, the FBI agent who rescued her who is dealing with his own demons, to help her investigate.

While I may have seen the ending coming, it in no way took away from my enjoyment of this book. A great read!

This was not my usual type of read. I love a good murder mystery, but am not so much into the cop drama. That being said I did enjoy this story. I had the kidnapper figured out right when they were introduced into the story. The ending felt rushed. This was a quick read for me.

The Vanishing Season kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. It’s a highly entertaining read with a sympathetic, likeable protagonist and a clever mystery with a satisfying and realistic resolution. As the story careens towards its ultimate thrilling conclusion, Schaffhausen includes lots of twists and turns and several red-herrings which add to the building tension. It wasn’t too hard to figure out who the murderer was but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. The book is pretty creepy which I would have preferred to know going in, but it wasn’t so creepy that I had to stop reading it.

My favorite thing about the book is that it is a page-turner. I didn’t want to set it down to do anything else. The two small things that did not appeal to me as much were the amount of graphic detail included (it is fairly gruesome at times and the bizarre cover – the girl looks pregnant. I had to look at it for a long time to finally make sense of the picture. I am a firm believer that a good cover is invaluable to a book, and this one just doesn’t hit the mark.

The Vanishing Season is an entertaining and thrilling debut, and I look forward to Schaffhausen’s next book. Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

Joanna Schaffhausen is a gifted writer, every time I thought that I had this puzzle put together, a new piece was added sending me down a new path with a new suspect in mind. I love it when an author does not intentionally mislead a reader but rather lets little parts slip in that opens up new directions to explore.

As a child, Abby Hathaway was abducted and held captive by a brutal man that liked to keep souvenirs. FBI Agent Reed Markham was determined to find this psychopath before he could claim another victim. A bond was forged between these two in a harrowing rescue. Now twenty years later with Markham mirroring John Grisham and Abby, going by her middle name of Ellery, a member of the Massachusetts’ Woodbury Police Department, their world’s collide again when Ellery calls on him when people start disappearing every July around Ellery’s birthday and cards appear that let her know that her secret is no longer safe.

Though a twisty tail, the plot does not follow the unreliable narrative that so often befuddles this genre. The reader is given the bits and pieces that move the intrigue along, without insulting your intelligence and at the same time, making your brain work sorting out the details and at the end you realize a giant clue was given to you in the beginning that you had brushed away as unimportant fluff.

Fourteen years ago Francis Coben terrorized the nation as girl after girl went missing. When the bodies began turning up, it was clear Francis was more than your run-of-the-mill twisted killer. The man was sick: after torturing the girls he would cut off their hands as keepsakes – and what he did with those hands was too disturbing for even the media to disclose. So when 14-year-old Abby Hathaway was taken one night, it was a race against the clock to find her. But find her one young agent did and overnight the pair became famous: Reed for being the rescuer (and later went on the write a runaway bestseller detailing the crime) and Abby, the sole survivor.

A decade and a half later, Abby – now Ellery – has taken on a new life away from the place she called home. Now a police officer, Ellie avoids any talk of her past, playing off her scars as the result of a childhood bike accident and disregarding her birthday altogether. However, with three new girls now missing, Ellie believes there may be a copycat killer at work, though she can’t get anyone to believe her – until she pays a call to an old FBI agent from her past. Reed is the only one who knows Ellie’s true identity, he’s the only one who believes her suspicions, especially after she shows him a secret stash of birthday cards she’s been receiving: Ellery was kidnapped on her birthday and has made a point of never divulging the date to anyone in her new town. Whoever has been sending the cards not only knows who she is, but also knows where she lives. It isn’t until Ellery receives a gift-wrapped present – a severed hand – that the Woodbury PD finally realize Ellie’s theories may actually hold some truth.

Although The Vanishing Season is less than 300 pages, it packs a HUGE punch and I was glued to the page. Ellery’s determination to run from her past, her insistence that the missing person cases are linked – and frustration at not being believed, the vulnerability that’s revealed once the new (??) killer makes their presence known and every inch of her home is inspected, I simply couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. On the surface Ellie seems cold and closed-off, not interested in forging relationships or getting to know her fellow officers. She has a dog and has a friendly relationship with the guy who runs the shelter, but that’s as far as buddy goes. It isn’t until Reed enters her home that he discovers the nailed-shut closets. Every single one. For days Ellie was held in a pitch black closet, only let out for another of Francis’s unspeakable acts. Fourteen years later she’s still carrying that with her.

Reed didn’t fare that well either and, though not physical like Ellie’s, he’s still baring scars from the past. Once the star rookie agent with a book deal, Reed soon gave more of himself to his work than to his family and, while technically still married, he and his wife have separated. He adores his little girl, but he’s struggling to make good on his visitations with her and counseling sessions with his wife. Even worse is that he’s currently on mandatory leave after dropping the ball on a major case. He realized all too late that they had their guy; once he was released he went out and killed a little boy.

Ellery is no longer the terrified teenager, Reed has fallen from grace and a good chunk of The Vanishing Season is watching these two navigate their ideas of who the other was with who they are now. I will say, though, that I am THRILLED the book didn’t stray into romance when it so easily could have. There’s a 13 year age difference, so it’s not like it would have been unthinkable, especially given their past, but the book is all the better for avoiding even a hint of romance.

Clearly this is a book I seriously enjoyed, seeing as how I can’t stop rambling about it, so I’ll try to wrap this up. I avoid spoiler talk in my reviews unless it deals with an animal, specifically dogs. At 93%, during the final showdown, Bump is shot off-screen so to speak, and is assumed dead. I’m happy to say he survives and is well on his way to a full recovery the next time he appears.

The mystery in The Vanishing Season was SO fun (or as fun as severed hands can be) and I truly didn’t want to set the book aside for anything. This was one of those novels where, if I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it and counting down the time until I could return to it (thanks to pesky things like work and sleep – who needs ’em). Looking back, I should have easily pegged the killer since there are so few characters, but I’m glad I didn’t and that I got to sit back and enjoy watching it all play out. I’m both excited and heartbroken that this is Joanna’s debut: I’m thrilled to see what she does next but oh how I would love to be able to read more of her work now!

I’ve done it! I’ve finally done it!! I’ve found an author whose writing is worthy of being compared to Tess Gerritsen in a sentence like “I’ve finally found an author as good as Tess” or “This book had everything I love about Tess books and more, and it’s not even written by Tess!”

Friends, please allow me to introduce you (if you haven’t already discovered her) to Joanna Schaffhausen. I’m going to go out on a limb here and call it early ... remember this name because Joanna’s ability to immerse you in her character’s world has bestseller written all over it. I feel as though nothing I say here can possibly do justice to her debut but I’ll give it a shot and encourage you to read it yourself so we can gush together about how much we loved it.

Ellery Hathaway is the sole survivor of infamous serial killer Francis Michael Coben. Saved by Agent Reed Markham before she became Coben’s seventeenth murder victim, Ellery now works as a police officer in a quiet town where no one knows who she really is. She is the only one who believes there’s a link between three seemingly unconnected disappearances in three years in her town, which all occurred around her birthday, the day she was abducted fourteen years ago. Ellery’s next birthday is approaching and she calls Reed, knowing he is the only one who will believe her.

I wanted to both rush through The Vanishing Season and read as slowly as possible to draw the experience of the first read out for as long as possible. I became immersed by about paragraph 3 and each time I came back to where I’d left the story I got sucked straight back in. I wound up so engaged that I didn’t realise I’d said, not thought, “I knew it!” until one of the people that had been respectfully honouring my ‘don’t you dare interrupt me until I finish my book or there will be dire consequences’ look came from the other side of the house to find out what my outburst was about. Oops!

I know a book has its hooks in me when I start repeating a phrase to myself while reading, as if the number of times I repeat it can magically increase the likelihood of my being able to influence the outcome. Yes, in my mind I wield that much power! In this case I had two magical phrases:
1. “Please don’t let Bump die!”
2. “Let the killer be anyone but 🤚.” (And, no, I’m not telling you who the hand represents but it seemed an appropriate substitute given the content of the book.)

I adored Bump. The loyal and trustworthy male in Ellery’s life, Bump is a basset hound who loves walks and rides in the car, liberally distributing slobber over humans he likes and dreams of the day when someone will accidentally drop a piece of chocolate in his vicinity. Also, the story surrounding the choice of his name is wonderful and dog owners everywhere will relate and wonder why they didn’t think of naming their dog Bump.

I loved the people characters as well. No one was perfect. All of the major players had pasts which influenced the way they thought and acted in the situation they found themselves in. There were questionable ethics and life choices, secrets galore and issues surrounding trust were hiding beneath the surface, and shame and guilt were both explored.

I really enjoyed Ellery and Brady’s banter. Their friendship felt comfortable and their bond over 80’s music and quips about what they disagreed on made me feel like I was being included. I almost wanted to add my own opinion a couple of times. I’m looking forward to reading Ellery and Reed banter in future books. There were hints of it here but good banter takes time to develop in a friendship so I’m thankful it didn’t happen immediately.

Coben gave me a what a fantastic yet disgusting and interesting in a disturbing way vibe that was similar to the way I felt when reading about Hannibal Lecter. Which brings me to the gore. It was gruesome enough to satisfy the disturbed side of me that watches B grade movies in part to cheer when the gigantic shark leaps out of the water and takes down a plane, yet it wasn’t so focused on the brutality of the murders that it detracted from the interactions between characters and the mystery of who was behind the murders and why.

Trigger warnings include domestic violence and sexual assault.

The references to sexual assault are not gratuitous by any means but I felt the character directly affected was so realistic that if this has been your experience you are likely to see parts of your own response mirrored back at you (which incidentally I applaud because life after sexual assault is rarely written well). I wasn’t personally triggered while reading, instead feeling hopeful when I encountered ‘me, too’ moments.

I’m always interested, when someone is rescued after being kidnapped or otherwise traumatised, in what happens next. What becomes of the survivor? What does their life look like now compared to what it looked like prior to whatever happened to them? How do they cope? Do they think they’re a victim or a survivor? So many books that explore the effects of sexual assault portray the person who experiences it as either a victim hiding from the world in a corner or someone who’s taking on the world and has no residual physical or psychological impacts in their life.

The character in The Vanishing Season who’s been sexually assaulted was irrevocably changed by their experiences and is a wonderful mix of strength and vulnerability. They’ve overcome so much but there are still physical reminders on their body and in their home that speak to the pain they carry with them. They’re at a point in their life where they’ve worked so hard to no longer be the victim yet they still feel the need to hide. I loved the dichotomies and the implication that healing from sexual assault isn’t a one size fits all process.

If I were to nitpick I’d tell you that I wanted more details of the Big Bad’s background. It’s not as though we don’t know some pivotal moments in their life that help set their particular brand of crazy in motion and we’re given access to the twisted way they think, but I wanted more. To be fair, I have an interest in what causes people with similar genetic and environmental factors to take drastically different paths in life, so my need to know more says more about me than it does about this book. I was also left wanting to know what happens to Anna after the book finished.

And now for your chance to laugh at and with me, I’ll tell you my favourite How Stupid Am I moment I encountered while reading. Initially when I read the town’s name I got Woodbury confused with Woodsboro and for a while I was thinking of how funny it would be if there was a cameo of some random person in a Scream mask running through a scene. 🤪

I love debut novels but I often wind up disappointed by a feeling of knowing how good a book could have been if only that brilliant idea had the execution you usually only expect with experience. Joanna’s debut had the excitement of a first time author’s passion but was written with the character development, story arc, backstories, delightful twists and sucked into a reading black hole ability I only expect of the greats once they’ve found their feet. There were some sentences where the imagery made it feel like I was reading poetry.

I don’t even know Joanna yet I feel proud of her for writing such an impressive debut. If this is what she can accomplish with a first novel I can only imagine how much fun it’s going to be to read her future novels. If anyone has any spare stars I’d love to borrow some because ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ aren’t enough.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and St. Martin’s Press for ✨ granting my wish ✨ and giving me the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. I don’t know if I can wait for the next Ellery/Reed/Bump book to be released. I’ve found a new author whose books will be added to my to be read list sight unseen.

Did you read Final Girls by Riley Sager? I could not help but think of it as I was reading Joanna Schauffhausen’s The Vanishing Season. Not because the books are similar, but because our protagonist Ellery Hathaway is a Final Girl - the lone survivor of terrible killings; the one whose psyche has been massively impacted by her experiences and who knows that, although she is a survivor, she will never be quite the same again.
I understand that this is a debut novel, but honestly starting to read this book was like slipping into a very comfortable pair of slippers. You know that way when you pick up a book and read the first few pages, you just know you’re going to enjoy the writing style and find the story interesting? Well The Vanishing Season was all of that for me.
Abby Hathaway, who these days uses her middle name, is a member of Massachusetts' Woodbury Police Department. Her survival of her childhood kidnapping has led her to alter her name and move across the country to a rural backwater whilst using her experience to help protect the community she has chosen to live in.
When three people go missing in three years, Ellie is sure that there is something of a pattern developing and that these are not simple runaways. To make matters worse, Ellery has been receiving an anonymous birthday card on each of these years, even though she has never said when her birthday is. It seems likely that someone out there knows the secret she has been trying to hide.
When Ellie cannot make the Chief of Police listen to her theories, she falls back on the one man she can believe in, the FBI agent who rescued her from the sick, sadistic, serial killer Francis Coben.
Reed Markham is that agent, though these days he is doing no more than trading on his once good reputation and has let his work and his life get into a terrible mess with sad consequences for both.
He agrees to help Ellie on what he describes as an ‘informal basis’, mainly to cover up the fact that he has been put on indefinite leave from the FBI. Together, they begin to investigate a pattern of disappearances that it soon becomes obvious are almost certainly linked to Ellie’s past.

Joanna Schaffhausen has created a fascinating character in Ellery and it is hard not to like her and her adorable dog, Bump, even if she goes to unconventional lengths to have her views taken seriously. I also liked the flawed but savvy character of Reed Markham – these two make a good investigative pair.
I did think that there could have been more weight given to Markham’s suspicions about Ellie – there was ample scope to rack up the tension there which never quite materialised.
Overall though I enjoyed it and thought it was a satisfying and enjoyable read with a strong climax. Recommended.

Went home last night and never put this book down until I got to the end. I had an idea who was the "WHO Done it?" but just had to know this killers' motive. Ellery Hathaway was the victim of a kidnapping slash serial killer when she was fourteen years old. She was the one who got rescued unlike the prior victims who lost their youth. Reed Markham is an FBI agent who was Ellery's hero then but now struggles with his job when another victim was not saved. Over a decade has passed for Ellery who has been hiding in plain site, though disguised somewhat, in a small town in Massachusetts. Working as a policewomen In Woodbury Ellery cannot shake the feeling that her past nightmare has found her. Three people have vanished each year near her birthday. Since her abduction took place on her birthday and the day is rapidly approaching again she knows someone will die again. Getting nowhere with her boss she enlists the aid of Markham. The two team to try to find the connection between the three people who have disappeared and make comparisons with the past. "A copy of this book was provided by St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

Excellent debut thriller! Just when I think I've had enough of serial killer novels, Schaffhausen found a new twist. Ellery is a survivor of a serial killer and, despite appearing perfectly sound on the surface, she's still got issues (you would too under the circumstances.). AND, she's got a good sense of when things are awry, which is why, as a law enforcement officer in a small town, she's convinced there's more to the story when people go missing every year on her birthday. Reed Markham, the FBI S/A who saved her the first time, is the person she calls to help solve this mystery. He too has his issues (classic btw) but pulls it together. These two make a good team (as does the dog) as they navigate the twists and turns. This one kept me engaged and turning pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one if you're looking for a new author whose very good with a clever plot.

As I read this book, I couldn't help but feel it could be a script for Criminal Minds tv show. The writing is very good with complex characters and good descriptions. I confess I did guess the 'bad guy' early on, but I couldn't wait to see if I was right and watch the story unfold. I especially liked the relationship between Reed and Ellery and that it didn't fall into a familiar trap of many 'hero and victim' books by making it a romance. Plenty of twists in this story!

I thought this was an excellent thriller.

Grabbed my attention right away, love the realistic characters.

3.5*
At the age of 14, Ellie was taken by an infamous serial killer. Close to death, she was rescued by FBI agent Reed Markham. Years later, Ellie is now a police officer in the small town of Woodbury, Massachusetts. Once again she turns to Agent Reed for help. People are suddenly vanishing in her small town. Is it even conceivable this could be tied to the monster from her past? Why is this happening again? More importantly how is this happening again?

It all boils down to trust…and trust is in short supply in this small town. No one seems to have any for anyone. Ellie’s carefully crafted world is crumbling around her. Now it’s a race against time to discover who’s behind the disappearances, before another victim vanishes.

I‘ve read several books dealing with serial killers lately. Though they all seem to morph from a similar theme, but this one did have an original flavor to it. Just right on the creepiness scale, and tastefully spread to make a delicious and frightening thriller. Even though I guessed the ending early on it was still an enjoyable read!
A great debut for Joanna Schaffhausen, I will be watching for her next release.

A traveling sister read with Brenda!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Joanna schaffhausen

For this review and our full traveling sister review please visit Brenda and Norma's Fantastic Traveling Sister Book Blog http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereading.wordpress.com

The Vanishing Season was another Traveling Sisters read that I squeezed in with Kaceey between our Sister reads.

The Vanishing Season is a haunting, enjoyable, fast-paced and suspenseful crime mystery thriller with a little creep added to it that had us intrigued but was a bit of a slow start for us. However, once we got to know our main characters Ellery and Agent Reed we loved the dynamics between them and we wanted to know more about them.

Joanna Schaffhausen does a good job creating a strong and interesting yet flawed character here with Ellery and we liked her right from the start. We were intrigued by her tragic past and how her past tied to her present life.

The suspense builds as clues and hidden secrets are revealed and the tension rises between Ellery and Reed leaving us questioning who to trust and not to trust. We loved discussing this between us and Kaceey figured a few things out that I, of course, didn’t. We thought Joanna Schaffhausen weaved the past with the present well for a satisfying ending.

We can’t leave this review without mentioning one of our favorite characters Ellery’s dog Speed Bump and we loved the humor, love, and devotion he brought to the story. We hope to see more of this furry character in the future. We recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Joanna Schaffhausen for a copy to read and review.

All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
https://twogirlslostinacouleereading.wordpress.com

I was surprised to realize this was a debut author. The characters were really very likable and very well thought through. Enough so that I wouldn't mind seeing them again in another novel. The main character was a fascinating character being the survivor of a serial killer, now an adult and figuring out how to work her way through life. The plot was well developed with excellent suspense pacing and clues scattered throughout to keep you reading. Will be keeping my eye out for another book by this author.

For the past 3 years, Ellery Hathaway has received the same card on her birthday. From a relative? Perhaps a friend. Uh, no. The cards may be unsigned but she knows exactly what their arrival means.

Ellie is a cop in the rural town of Woodbury. It’s a sleepy place where crimes range from petty to domestic. The cop shop is small & the only outstanding mysteries are 3 missing persons. One each July when Ellie turns another year older. She’s desperate to reopen the cases but until she comes up with some new info, her boss doesn’t want to hear it. As far as he’s concerned there’s nothing to connect the 3 & he’s satisfied with what they found.

But Ellie has more insight than most & with good reason. Turns out she has a secret & it’s a whopper. When she was 14, she became famous as the final victim of a prolific & sadistic kidnapper. She only survived because of a brilliant FBI agent named Reed Markham. But survival can take many forms. The time she spent with a mad man & ensuing media crush left Ellie with obvious & hidden scars. In an effort to escape her past, she changed her name & broke all ties. No one in Woodbury knows who she is or at least that’s what she thought. As another July approaches, Ellie fears someone else will disappear & there’s only one person who can help. Because she just got another card.

Got your attention? I hope so because this taut, atmospheric read deserves a space on your TBR pile. It succeeds on several levels but I’ll just speak to a few. First, the setting. A small town is the perfect backdrop for setting the tone. Everyone knows everyone…or thinks they do. There is a closed culture that desperately wants to believe in “stranger danger” because horrific crimes couldn’t possibly be committed by someone they know, right? The sense of security borne of familiar faces & routines can be the first casualty when a killer strikes. But that familiarity also means that someone must know something.

Then we have the 2 MC’s. Their personalities are very different but both are dealing with fallout from the case that brought them together all those years ago. There’s a plethora of crime protagonists out there that come saddled with PTSD/tortured/hidden pasts & how much I enjoy their story often depends on how they’re portrayed. When it comes to Ellie, this author struck a perfect balance (IMHO). Her public persona is cool & collected, designed to discourage anyone from getting too close. But we are privy to private moments where her thoughts & habits reveal how she copes with the permanent psychological damage from her ordeal. Especially effective are the descriptions of her home which provide a telling mirror reflection of its owner. Reed is also well developed, a likeable flawed man whose career peaked when he rescued teenage Ellie. A subsequent screw-up erased his status as golden boy of the FBI’s Behavioural Unit. When Ellie calls it’s a chance to revisit his greatest success & perhaps find a little personal redemption in the process.

There’s a subtle underlying unease that gradually builds as we, like Ellie & Reed, wait for the killer to make their next move. Questionable behaviour from several characters means you may change your mind more than once as you try to identify the bad guy. And just so you know, details from Ellie’s past are sparing & kept to a minimum. The author chose to reveal a few choice tidbits instead of full on graphic descriptions which allows your imagination to run amok & fill in the blanks.

It all adds up to deliver a creepy, satisfying read & I sincerely hope a book #2 is in the works.

I wanted to like this book but it’s so freaking implausible that I couldn’t buy into it. What kind of an alias is going by your middle and last name, both of which would make you easy to find? No WitSec, no plastic surgery, just hair dye? It seems so weak to me and the fact that Ellery is a cop and none of the other cops figured it out is beyond suspending disbelief. Nope.