I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tore through the first three books in this series, and found quickly that number four, The Vanishing Season was no exception. The Quantico detectives are back and this time they're investigating the disappearance of an eight year old girl.

At first I thought it was slower than the other three books, but it kicked into high gear quickly. What I love about these books is how quickly you fall in love with the characters. I could read volumes about each of them.

Brooklyn Mercer goes missing, she's 8. No one saw anything suspicious, nothing out of place, it's like she vanished out of thin air. Ian a now retired detective from Florida shows up with a case file for Faith and several other girls over the years who all have the same attributes as Brooklyn, Blonde hair, blue eyes, same MO, just gone. What ensues is nothing short of heart break. It probably doesn't help that I've got a small girl myself and man if it didn't pull at my momma heart strings. This is a mother's absolute nightmare come true. You watch the team of FBI agents go through some serious ups, downs, and everything in between. Lots of closure and a lot of loss.

I have loved this series from the get go. I finished it quick. I cried and if you know me I am NOT a crier. I am sad that it is over but man, it was a phenomenal ride while it lasted. Although the first in the series is still my absolute favorite of the 4 and I re-read it often this series did NOT disappoint.

*I was gifted an advanced copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. *
There is nothing that is so simultaneously satisfying and depressing as the final book in a series. All at once you finally get the back stories, the explanation for all of the character quirks and flaws you've been experiencing; yet you also get that ultimate closure.
I've raved about the incredible "The Collector" series by Dot Hutchison for years now (as recently as last week!), and I am sad to say that we have reached the end.
As with the other books, we have a new team member narrating for us this time. In "The Vanishing Season" we hear from Eliza Sterling, who joined the team after "Roses of May", and has become just as integral a part of their family (team) as any that we've heard from so far. She leads us through one of the toughest cases the team has worked yet, one that falls too close to home.
We know from the previous books that Brandon Eddison got into law enforcement after the tragic disappearance of his sister, Faith. Her photo has sat on his desk from the get-go, a reminder to him of what he is trying to save other families from feeling. At the start of this book, another little girl- blonde hair, blue eyes, eight years old- goes missing while walking home from school. With the time of year, circumstances, and even physical description of the victim matching so closely to Faith Eddison's case, the decision is obvious for Brandon to be kept off the case.
But as the team works it, they are given new information that means this may be an even more intimate case than they initially thought.
As with any story following a child abduction, this is an incredibly fast-paced investigation, the book flying by over the course of about a week altogether.
As usual with Hutchison's work, this is a must read for any lover of procedural crime dramas. Her trademark banter among the agents had me laughing on a plane, and the family-centric drama brought tears to my eyes, as she tends to do.
This was an incredible wrap up to the series, as sad as I am to say goodbye to this team.
The final breakdown:
The Book
🌹🌹🌹🌹
Bittersweet, but still gripping from beginning to end.

The Writing
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
Still up to her full par, Hutchison doesn't disappoint with this final romp with the CAC team!

Readability
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️
Honestly considered playing sick on vacation so I could stay home and finish reading this.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

I'm a huge fan of Dot Hutchison's work, so I knew I'd enjoy this book as well. You should read the other books in the series before this one. I had to hug my kids tighter after reading this book. Some chapters left me an emotional wreck, and I hope to God I never have to experience the level of pain they did.

Read the series, you won't be disappointed.

This series is one of my all time favorites ever! The Collectors series is one of those series that sticks with you forever and The Vanishing Season was an absolutely amazing addition to the series. I have been dying to read this and I am so happy I got a chance to.

4.5 stars -- I've enjoyed all four of these books, but this is by far my favorite. I've fallen in love with these characters, and the personal stake in this story for Eddison and his parents made it that much better.

The plot is a little improbable -- how much coincidence can you tolerate? If the answer is "not much," you might want to skip this one. For me it was worth it to hear the ending of the story.

Be warned: sections of this book will leave you an emotional wreck. If you've ever wondered about families of missing children, and how they cope long term, you're about to find out, and it's not necessarily pretty. But it's also cathartic in its own way, for the characters and the reader. The author writes so beautifully about the missing girls, and about the care given to them when their bodies are found -- it made me wonder if she had personal experience with this. It's really exceptionally well done.

It's interesting to me that my main complaint with the last book was that the author hits us over the head with the whole "family is what you make it" idea. After awhile, the reader is saying, "OKAY! I GET IT!" because it's so heavy-handed. In this one, it's toned down a bit, but also seems more natural. These characters ARE family -- because of what they've been through together, because their birth families suck, because of a whole variety of reasons. And it's really a beautiful part of the story. The focus on Eliza worked well for me, too -- I like her better than Mercedes and some of the others who have been the central characters in the other books.

These books have stood out for me because of their focus on the ongoing stories of crime victims. Most thrillers end when the murderer is caught and the final victim freed -- we don't usually hear much about what the victims and their families do next or how they cope. I love knowing how the Butterflies are, how Priya is, how Eddison and his parents are. The author handles the psychological aspects of crime so well.

I'm sad to know these characters' stories have come to an end. But I look forward to what Dot Hutchison does next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Dot Hutchison, thank you for writhing this book. Thank you for reminding me as a mother that our children are so precious to us, and that danger is all around. My child is the same age as these children in this book and people have to understand that not everyone is a safe person, not everyone who comes in contact with our children are not who they seem to be. Grab tissues, because I ugly cried while reading this book.

In this book it talks about Brandon Eddison and Eliza Sterling. If you have been reading the previous books in this series, then you would know that Eddison's little sister went missing when he was younger, and she was never to be found. Brooklyn Mercer, age 8, has vanished. No leads, no motive, no ransom, nothing. This case has hit close to home for Eddison, because she is the same age as his little sister, when she vanished, in almost the exact same way. She also resembles his little sister and eerily enough, she looks so much like Eliza that they could be related. Eddison's whole work family has come to rally with him to help solve this case. As they dig deeper , they realize that Brooklyn is not the only little girl age 8 with blonde hair to go missing and never found. Could Eddison's little sister and Brooklyn's case be related? After all these years, could Eddison and his family finally have peace or more heartache?

I loved this book. I have read the others in the series and was so happy to have gotten the fourth one for review. I am so sad that this is the conclusion of the series, as I wish there could be more. The writing is beautiful, the story is well developed and the journey it takes you on is thrilling.

I really tried to like this one, but it's nowhere near to what a masterpiece The Butterfly Garden was. Too many chapters/pages go into the intricacies of the characters so that the actual subject of the book - The Vanishing of Brooklyn Mercer gets shadowed (in my opinion). Not so much of a thriller as an overly-emotional drama, something that is not my preferred genre. I would have really liked if we'd seen more of the Brooklyn Mercer case and how it tied in with the other cold cases. Also, what happened to perp in the end? There was no clarity on that either. Everything and everyone here is just a little TOO perfect for my liking.
The only good parts in this book were where I read about the actual case that drew me to this book - The Vanishing of Brooklyn Mercer. As great as The Butterfly Garden was, the rest of the series just tanked in comparison.
Thank you Netgalley, Dot Hutchinson and Thomas & Mercer for an arc.

Dot Hutchinson had me hooked ever since I read The Butterfly Garden. I am so happy she created a series because book after book, she does not disappoint!

This book, like her others, follows FBI agent Brandon Eddison and introduces us to a new narrator, Eliza Sterling, also an FBI agent. The story begins with the disappearance of eight-year-old Brooklyn Mercer, who was abducted while walking from school. This hits close to home for Eddison because 25 years ago, his 8-year old sister was kidnapped after school. What was believed initially to be unrelated, turns into an horrifying pattern dating back many years and in many states throughout the country.

Dot Hutchinson did a superb job at weaving small connections from her last three books into The Vanishing Season. Well-written story, very fluid, and likable characters. Definitely a great edition to any readers' TBR list!

I really enjoyed the plot of this book, it was fast-paced and really kept my attention. What happened to Brooklyn? Would the FBI find her in time? I did struggle a little bit with keeping track of some of the characters - I have not read the first or second books in this series and I wished that I had because the characters I struggled the most with were featured in those first books. I will likely read the first two books at some point because I did enjoy the third and fourth books.

I thought the author did a great job alternating between current events (the FBI's hunt for Brooklyn) and giving glimpses into the past to follow the storyline of Eddison's missing sister, Faith. I especially liked the glimpses into the personal lives of the agents - especially Eliza Sterling who is the main focus of this book.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing a copy for review

OO yessss this was a good one! From the very beginning I was hooked and I love those types of novels. When the main character is already so intense you know that this will be a winner. Seriously y'all go out and read this one!

Wow! I have been waiting to see how the author was going to wrap up this series in a 4th book. I definitely enjoyed The Vanishing Season more than books 2 or 3, but The Butterfly Garden is still my favorite....I wanted some part of “the collector’s” storyline to return in a subsequent novel, but alas no.

Continued character development of my FBI favs, more personal storylines and an excellent case to solve in this final book of the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

There's a line towards the end of this book, that talks about the extraordinary kindness people can surprise you with, and I think that sums up exactly what drove this series so deep into my heart. I really don't get emotional about books any more, but I couldn't maintain dry eyes throughout the last quarter. Something about these agents and the family they've built for themselves just hits such a true note that it's like having that family as my own.

We're still only just under a month from publication, so obviously this will be a spoiler-free review. As usual, though you'll miss a lot if you do, this and all the books can be read on their own - but why would you want to not go back? I do, every time a new book comes out. In terms of the other books, this is more similar to #3 - we're back with the CAC team, rather than the survivors of a horror, but in this particular case it's hard not to blur the lines a bit. The characters we've grown to love don't disappoint, and there's a host of new people to extend your heart to.

I really am very emotional about this series, and Dot Hutchison has pulled off a true miracle in bringing such hope and happiness into what can be such a dark genre. She's an author who believes in kindness and it's extraordinary powers, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

All ends tied up in a Gruesome Bow! Hutchison's Collector series is crime based on Children. Eliza Sterling works for the FBI in the CAC division. (Crimes Against Children) Her along with her team are tasked with finding Brooklyn Mercer an eight year old blond girl who has been kidnapped. Eliza's boyfriend and team partner Brandon Eddison is haunted by the disappearance of his sister, Faith, thirty years. His past and this present time case challenges him to be objective with the investigation because of their similarities. Fast Paced puzzle solving kept me awake late to finish. Hutchison has a skill for revealing not only plot but amazing characters. "A copy of this book was provided by Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion." SUSPENSEFUL OFFERING EXCELLENTLY DONE!

What a great conclusion to an amazingly macabre series. It never takes me long to finish a book in this series and this last installment was no different I am not one who normally re-reads books...but this (series) will definitely be added to my favorites pile. I will absolutely recommend this series.

DNF chapter 8. Yawn, let’s get into the good stuff. I was trying so hard to get into the book but waaaay too much cop character building. The Butterfly garden should have been a standalone book as none of these compare.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

As a big fan of The Butterfly Garden, I was very excited to see how Dot Hutchison would wrap up this series. While it did not have the suspense factor of the previous books for me, I enjoyed that she focused on wrapping up the characters lives and giving a satisfying conclusion to the personal stories and character development she created throughout the series. Highly recommend reading the books in order to get the most out of the series and especially the conclusion I look forward to reading her next endevour!

@arianna.reads (Instagram)

I have become such a fan of Dot Hutchison, and her Collector series is one I would recommend to any avid reader such as myself!

I was pleasantly surprised when I learned her previous book, the Summer Children was not the final edition for a trilogy, and that she would be releasing this fourth book! Butterfly Garden will always be my favorite (it will be hard to top, Dot!) but this book gave a solid effort.

Main agent Eliza Sterling is on the case of a recently abducted young girl... a girl who just happens to look just like fellow agent Brandon Eddison’s younger sister who was abducted years ago. Is there a connection? And can Eliza find her before it’s too late?

Good character development and any loose ends from the series were very neatly tied up. Some sweet moments, but I just was expecting a bit more action.

Great way to wrap up the dark series! Addicting to the core! I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. I highly recommend for anyone who wants a twisted series!