Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publisher, Bookouture, for this review copy given in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to Kim from Bookouture for organising the blog tour.

My first Lisa Regan book, and the first book in the Detective Josie Quinn series. For information, this book is set in Pennsylvania, USA.

The cover of this book was definitely something that drew my attention in the first instance. It is very bold and striking, and I love the colours! A good start! On the minus side, I have to admit, I didn’t read blurb as well as I should have, and didn’t realise it was set in America. I’m not a lover of American crime, so was a little disappointed that I didn’t pick up on this! On the plus side, I needn’t have worried, as this book was great!

Detective Josie Quinn is on suspension for misconduct. She has split up with her husband, Ray after he had an affair with a stripper and is now engaged to Luke. Even though she’s on suspension, she’s still looking into the case of a missing teenager. Her Chief warns her to stay away from the case, but trouble seems to be following her around and she seems to be getting herself dragged into the case whether the Chief likes it or not. Josie uncovers more details about other unsolved cases, and thinks they seem to be connected.

This book was, for me, an adrenaline pumping action thriller! It gripped me from page one and didn’t let up for the whole of the book. Yes okay, Josie isn’t someone who you might warm to at the beginning. She’s stroppy, annoying and aggressive, but as the book moves on you begin to understand why when her back story is revealed. You are either going to end up loving her or hating her! I love the way that the whole way through the book Josie isn’t actually an active police officer, obviously having been suspended, and all her investigations are done on the quiet and with a little bit of help from Luke, her fiancé, who is also a police officer. It just goes to show the determination of this character and I can’t wait for more in the series to see where she takes this.

The story itself was hard hitting, full of suspense and literally had me holding my breath towards the end, fearful of what may happen next! The twist in the book was fantastic, and was something I was completely not expecting. This book left me wanting more when I’d finished the last page, so hopefully book 2 will be along soon! A great series, a great detective and a great writer!

Well.. here we go again about being the minority in my books. The premise of the storyline was fantastic and appealed to my obsession for thrillers.

Josie Quinn is on suspension for something that happened in a previous case she was handling. Chief Harris refuses to let Josie come back to work despite being short staffed and having girls go missing left and right. I was a tad disappointed since this is nothing new in a detective novel... the main character is always on suspension for something and can never go back to work. So of course, Josie starts her own investigation. (When... come on this plays out in almost every detective novel). With this being said, I had trouble connecting to the story and Josie.

I felt like the story was unfolding and it wasn't anything special. Josie had a terrible childhood and used alcohol to cope with her past. (Again haven't we seen this plot before?) .

My attention was swaying in and out and I just was not connecting to the characters or the story. Finally, towards the end the author did have some surprise connections that were good but just not jaw dropping. Again, this is something I've seen before.

I also had some issues with how police politics/aspects were played out in the novel. It just wasn't believable and what all of a sudden ok... you're promoted? Eh.....

Overall, I just wasn't that impressed. 3 stars on this one.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date is 1/17/18.

Wow. I have found a new author to love. This is a book that I could not put down from start to finish. The story line--a missing girl is found but unable to communicate to help find a second missing girl, a cop who has no one on her side and no one to trust including an ex-husband she may or may not be quite over yet--is compelling and smart and twisty with just the right amount of hints and red herrings. Delicious reading! (Just not right before bed)

Vanishing Girls by Lisa Regan is the first book in the new crime thriller Detective Josie Quinn series. The lead character Josie is a police detective that is on the outs and suspended when a huge case is going on and is not the type to sit on the sidelines waiting for the call to come back to work.

From the opening chapter the action takes off as Josie finds a simple stop turning into a life and death situation as bullets begin to fly. This leads Josie to despite her suspension decide to start investigating the case of Isabelle disappearance when it looks like it may have something to do with Josie’s run in that morning.

This series is not quite the normal police procedural crime thriller since the main character is not actively a detective being under suspension. What we get instead is a gritty and determined character who goes rogue in her own investigating and always seems to find herself involved in the case.

It took me a little while to warm up to Josie since it wasn’t immediately apparent why she wasn’t on active duty. Once getting to know her though I really did warm up to her determination and strength that she showed all throughout the book. Josie is certainly one tough cookie and after finishing this first book I’ll be interested to see where her story goes in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

My favorite part of this book was the likability of the characters, most of them. I really developed a loved for the characters and really hope there is going to be more Josie Quinn books. I devoured this book in a couple of days, I wanted to know what happened to Isabelle Coleman and why is Detective Josie Quinn on leave ? Why does it seem like her world is falling apart ? The only reason this wasn't 5 stars is because I wasn't really shocked at the ending, because of one line particular line in the book, at about 50% if I'm not mistaken. I kind of clued in already, but this was still a great read, made me feel very on edge and I would highly recommend!

The blurb for this book cited this as a good choice for fans of Angela Marsons and that’s all I needed to start reading it. When the story starts, Josie Quinn is on suspension for excessive force. When her boss refuses to bring her back when a teenager goes missing, she basically launches her own investigation.

Josie is one messed up lady. She’s got problems with her job, her almost ex-husband and alcohol. Her childhood was a horror story. And she seems to be in the middle of every bad scene happening in Denton, Pa. I had problems with bonding with Josie before I learned the reason for the excessive force. But once I did, I could empathize with her but then I didn’t understand her boss’s hardassed attitude about having her help.

The plot definitely keeps your attention. Like Josie, I was bamboozled by the story of Ginger Blackwell. And unlike some mysteries, I found I was only figuring things out as Josie did. The ending is a bit over the top on the believability scale. I’ve knocked the star rating down to a three because of that.

This is the first in a new series and despite the ending, I will return for book two.

My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

This was my first experience with this author Lisa Regan. And I have a feeling it won’t be my last.

In “Vanishing Girls” we are introduced to Detective Joise Quinn, who just happens to be suspended from her department in small town USA. There is a teenage girl missing, and Josie just can’t seem not to investigate on her own. Which doesn’t sit well with her Chief or other members of the department, including soon to be ex-husband, Ray. Who ironically, won't sign the divorce papers. The more she investigates the more she gets in harm's way and realizes no one can be trusted, including fellow colleagues on the force.

I really enjoyed this story and Josie even with a few implausible situations, but hey, that’s why we read to escape reality. This book was full of mystery, suspense, over-the-top-action, angst, small town drama, obvious clues, not so obvious clues, and a few wrong who-dunnit guesses. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for an advanced copy of this e-book to read and review.

This is a great book, a thriller with a strong, solid storyline and the main characters are good. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lisa Regan for a copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Detective Josie Quinn is a complex, passionate individual with a complicated past. She believes in finding the truth and trying to do what is right, event when it seems almost impossible. Vanishing Girls is book one of the Josie Quinn series and will undoubtedly become a fan favorite. When Isabelle Coleman goes missing in the small town of Denton, the race is on to find the teenage girl and also to uncover the hidden secrets plaguing the police department and preventing the truth from coming out. The book is compelling and suspenseful with pacing that engages readers and keeps them connected to the story and the characters until the very end. Already waiting for Book 2!

When 17 year old Isabelle Coleman goes missing from the small town of Denton, and unusual seemingly unrelated crimes start happening left and right, Josie Quinn makes it her personal mission to find the missing girl by connecting the blurry dots. She may be currently suspended from her role as detective for a recent excessive force incident, but she’s not letting that stop her. Against the wishes of her ex-husband, and her boss, she investigates the vanishing as a civilian. Figuring out things the police seem to be missing. When a girl that no one realized was missing pops up, a whole set of new questions arise and Josie is set on answering them as well. Will she find Isabelle Coleman? Was she taken by the same man who held the found girl captive? Or is there another monster on the loose in Denton?

I absolutely LOVED this book. If you like suspenseful mysterious thrillers, with just enough emotional angst and small town drama to keep it a bit lighter then this is absolutely the read for you. Regan does a fantastic job of weaving a suspenseful story, and dropping clues without making the answers too obvious. She does a great job making just enough people seem suspicious and or guilty without it being overkill. I honestly didn’t even have a best guess at the 50% mark and usually I feel like I figure the end out by then in most books in this genre. Josie gets some help from a few characters in this story and I’d hope to see more of them as the series continues! Regan also does a great job giving Josie a background and a real life to mix in with her job. Her love life. Her past. Her job or possible lack of. I didn’t know who to trust. What to focus on or brush off. Who to hate. What to believe was true evidence and what wasn’t. It was a rollercoaster read for sure, but it was executed well!

All in all I really enjoyed this one. If you want a suspenseful thriller that is the perfect blend of heavy and light, then I’d highly recommend Vanishing Girls!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Vanishing Girls, the first novel in a projected series to feature Detective Josie Quinn of the Denton, Pennsylvania Police Department.

Josie has been suspended for assault when teenager Isabelle Coleman goes missing so, despite her best efforts to change the Chief's mind, has no role to play in the investigation. This, however, does not deter her from conducting her own investigation and uncovering other disappearances.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Vanishing Girls which seems to unfold at a breakneck pace, never letting up as Josie relentlessly pursues her own leads. It is well plotted with something new in every chapter and while some of these things are a little coincidental, serendipitous or implausible they don't overly detract from the thrill of the read because you just get caught up in it all.

The novel is all about Josie from her troubled childhood through her her fractured relationship with her separated husband, Ray to her spiky, obstinate personality. Initially I really didn't like her as she is a complete pain, feeling sorry for herself when her own actions got her suspended and trying to run the investigation from the sidelines but as the novel unfolds and I got to know her I warmed to her and her mindset. Now I'm already looking forward to meeting her again.

Vanishing Girls is a good read which goes places I hadn't envisaged at the start of the novel so I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Thank you Netgalley & Bookoutre for this ARC.

Again I find myself in the "minority" on this one. A 2 to 2.5 star rating rounded down. A good story and a fast read. But the characters were so immature & sophomoric! Josie was really the second-in-command here??? Behaving like she did would have gotten her fired from a real police/sheriff department (and likely lynched as well). And she continued believing her behavior was "justified" til the bitter end.....upon which she's appointed acting Sheriff???? and the coincidences?? Josie kills a nasty suspect while trying to escape his clutches while Grandma puts down his daddy in the nursing home? And don't let me get started on the men in this book..... an "unofficial" ex-husband who's a wimp, a handsome fiancé who indulges in Josie's sexual games (whose former fiancé is his stalker), and some love-sick newbie Deputy who thinks Josie hung the moon and the stars???

A good story ruined with Junior High melodrama.

This book was a mixture of good and not so good. When I started this book I was really gripped by the beginning and was looking forward to reading it, but the more I got into the book the storyline did not seem to make sense.

I was hoping it would have been a nice detective book but it was very hard to work out why detective Josie Quinn she seems to be in charge, even though she was is on paid leave.

It would have been nice if if the book focused on the story at the beginning and just stick to one story and give us more detail. I just felt the book was confusing maybe you have to read more but it just did not grip me.

4.25 gritty stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.25

This is the first book in this new series from Lisa Regan and it was definitely a fabulous start to the series....



Josie is a detective (currently on suspension) in a small rural town in Pennsylvania....Josie is a likable character with some demons of her own.... you can definitely see the potential for some major growth in this character throughout the series, as well as her relationship with Luke.... Luke I don’t really have a handle on quite yet, although he seems quite handy around the house and that is a true bonus in my book!

This is a police procedural with some grit... some of the subject matter was quite dark, but well handled.... there was some violence, but nothing very explicit.... if this were a movie it would probably be rated PG-13....

Girls are vanishing and even though Josie is currently suspended from duty, she cannot stop herself from trying to find these girls..... The more she digs deeper into the girls disappearances, the more secrets get revealed, and the more danger Josie and those around her are in....

The mystery was really good and as more and more twists were revealed it got more and more twisted.... not going to give any of this away, you definitely need to read this for yourself! But I do want to say Go Grandma!!!

Definitely would recommend this to fans of mysteries with a little grit, a little bit of a darker tone, and some wonderful characters!

*** thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley
for a copy of this book ***

In Josie Quinn, Lisa Regan has created a excellent female protagonist. Smart, dogged and determined to get to the bottom of the of the disappearance of Isabelle Coleman, a beautiful and well-liked young woman. Knowing that time is of the essence in abduction cases, Quinn chases every lead and finds another young woman - mute, fierce and clearly traumatized. Quinn realizes that the two girls are connected when she sees that the frightened girl is wearing Isabelle's pierced tongue stud. Josie's former husband provides her with a hint that something evil is happening right under her nose but Josie doesn't want to believe that the boy who once saved her has become a man who has lost his integrity. This is a gripping story with a truly twisted plot.

5 BIG Stars!!!!

Lisa Regan is quickly becoming a Master at writing gritty mystery/thriller/police procedural books. I also like that she writes strong female characters who aren't afraid to kick some butt! This book is gritty, but it needs to be as the plot is dealing with murder, rape, etc. Having worked in forensics for years, I tend to be very critical of portrayals criminals/serial killers/rapists, etc. ...and Regan nails it.

Josie Quinn is a police officer on suspension and is currently having trouble having her husband sign their divorce papers. She is engaged to Luke, and trying to move on with her life while dealing with her own anxieties, the issues which caused the end of her marriage, and her concern for her Grandmother who is in a nursing home. She has a lot of on her plate, but it does not stop her from conducting her own investigation after a teenage girl, Isabelle, goes missing. Then another teenage girl has been found traumatized and mute - a girl they did not even know was missing. The name "Ramona" comes up and Josie is on the hunt against the advice of almost everyone in her life.

The more information Josie uncovers concerning the missing girls, the found mute girl and a woman who had a similar story about being taken, the more Josie keeps digging. What is concerning is that the woman who was taken, and set free, was not believed and her case was considered a hoax. This causes Josie to work even harder as she begins to wonder who can be trusted? Who is keeping secrets? What lengths would someone go to keep their secret?

There are some sections of this book that tells the story of the kidnapped girl(s). We don't know who they are until they end, but I found that they enhanced the story and made things come together. Some may find these confusing initially, but i found them to be a nice touch and once you finish the book as I said, they make perfect sense.

This book is brilliantly paced. She had me from the very first page and I could not put this book down. Vanishing Girls has a well-thought out plot with enjoyable characters. This book has suspense, feelings of dread, a little romance, mystery, and grit. This is the first book in a new series and I believe we will see some more character development in the next book. I really liked that Josie was a strong female character even though she had her insecurities, she was courageous yet flawed. She was a very believable character.

If you have not read a Lisa Regan book before, get out there and do so. Fans of Karin Slaughter and Meg Gardiner will love Regan's work. Heck, so will just about anybody who enjoys a good suspense/mystery/police procedural.

Thank you to Bookoutre and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Lisa Regan book and I have to say I was quite impressed. Its very tense and suspenseful in places but a very good storyline. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened but also didn’t want it to end, now that’s the sign of a good book. I would definitely look to read some by this author

I was looking forward to reading Vanishing Girls as this is one of my favourite genres.

The overall premise is good and the book is well written, but I found the first two thirds of the book to be quite slow and couldn’t take to the lead character. The final third did pick up the pace and I did want to finish it but sadly it wasn’t one of my favourite books of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and for author for the chance to review.

The book started with the right note , right amount of tension and hook in the plot. Jo is a suspended police officer and with multiple crimes happening in the city, it is just too weird for her to be sitting out. She gets involved first by chance and then her instincts refuse to shake off the feeling that something is off. Mixed with her personal problems , the case of the vanished girl makes an engaging read. But the pseudo end to the book was a little abrupt. And after that, it became a little hard to wait for it to end. Overall a good fast read.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!