I was thrilled to learn that Dot Hutchinson was expanding The Collector Series to more than three books, and let me tell you this book did not disappoint!

This book once again follows the FBI's Crimes Against Children team. Like the other novels in this series, this book has a new narrator: Eliza Sterling -- FBI agent and love interest of Brandon Eddison. The Vanishing Season begins with the disappearance of eight-year-old Brooklyn Mercer. Brooklyn's blonde and blue-eyed and was abducted walking home from school. Eddison's own sister was eight when she was abducted after school almost twenty-five years ago. But what starts out as a coincidence turns into a frightening pattern going back decades in cities throughout the entire country.

The Vanishing Season brought the Collector series full circle for me. Dot Hutchinson did a great job of subtly bringing in elements from the prior three books to tie into the narrative. A must read for the spring!

Dot Hutchinson has created a group of books titled "The Collector Series." This is the fourth in the series, and the second one that I've read. From what I understand, this is the final book in the series.

The story starts out with the abduction of a little girl. FBI agent, Brandon Eddison, takes on the case as the disappearance hits close to home. Eddison is a recurring character from the other books. Both his intellect and determination are engaging.

So as of now I have read this book and #3 but I will be sure to go back and read 1 and 2. This is the conclusion to the series and she does a nice job closing it out and even doing a final chapter a few years later. I liked book 3 from Mercedes perspective bettter than this one from Sterlings perspevtive probably becaause Mercedes is a much more interesting character to me overall. The mystery got solved rather quickly it seemed but it tied some longer term storylines up too. Overall an enjoyable quick read.

I was so excited to read the last book in this series. The Butterfly Garden was just un-put-downable. I’m so disappointed this is the last book. The team gather again and this time to search for missing 8 year old Brooklyn Mercer on her way home from school. A real horror moms have and worried could happen. The emotions and faced paced setting of looking for this litte girl, just make this book so great. The writing as always is amazing and I’m just sad this series has come to an end. If you haven’t read any of the books, do yourself a favor and read them in time for the last book

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the 4th book in the series, and I recommend starting from the beginning if you haven't read any yet. Eliza became a character full of depth and compassion. The growth among the characters seen in this book is incredibly written. Eliza receives a case of a missing girl, but details sound all too familiar. Heartbreaking and powerful.

The final book in this series and I can safely say I am sad to see it end.
A little girl is kidnapped and it is up to the FBI to find her, what they uncover is the unthinkable.

Will it end happily ever after?

Having read the rest of the books in this collection, I wasn't sure what to expect with the fourth and final one. The first, The Butterfly Garden, is haunting and chilling, but the succeeding books were very hit and miss.
With The Vanishing Season, however, Hutchison is back on track with a cold, unsettling tale.

The characters are three dimensional and relatable and the horrific crime that unfolds over the book is engaging and interesting. I read this in one sitting.

Eight-year-old Brooklyn Mercer has gone missing. And as accustomed as FBI agents Eliza Sterling and Brandon Eddison are to such harrowing cases, this one has struck a nerve. It marks the anniversary of the disappearance of Eddison’s own little sister. Disturbing, too, is the girl’s resemblance to Eliza—so uncanny they could be mother and daughter.

With Eddison’s unsettled past rising again with rage and pain, Eliza is determined to solve this case at any cost. But the closer she looks, the more reluctant she is to divulge to her increasingly shaken partner what she finds. Brooklyn isn’t the only girl of her exact description to go missing. She’s just the latest in a frightening pattern going back decades in cities throughout the entire country.

We've finally reached the end of The Collector series. I loved this series, it was such an emotional and gut wrenching story. I'm sad that the series has finished but happy to have the answers I've been waiting for!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheVanishingSeason
Pub Date: 21 May 2019

Eliza and Bran are such an amazing mix. I think this is one of the best book series that I have read in a log time. The way each book in this series connects the agents and people together was brilliant. The twists, the story, the people, the hidden truths...all were fantastic. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

In this stunning conclusion to the Collector series, Dot Hutchinson weaves a tale of urgency and intrigue. A young girl has been abducted, and it brings a long mystery into sharp focus. I really loved how well done this book is. All the old characters make appearances and there is laughter along with tears. I'm for sure a dedicated reader of anything Hutchinson writes!

Wow another great one from this author!! Love this series... always keeping you on your toes and totally invested in the book. Hope this isn't the last of them. Can't wait for more from this author.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

The Vanishing Season was a must read for me as it is by the author of one of my favorite creepy books, The Butterfly Garden. This book was not as thrilling or on the edge of the seat page turning as The Butterfly Garden. It is on par with books 2 and 3 in this series. The book follows a case that involves a lot of the characters that reappear from the other selections, but does not have the same exciting story as book #1. I am sure my library will purchase this book and I will continue to recommend this book to mystery readers, as we own the rest of the series and I am still holding out hope that Dot will produce a storyline as good as The Butterfly Garden.

Absolutely engrossed by this novel, read in one sitting as very addictive, another fantastic book in this series and I do so hope it is not the last one

Highly recommended

After reading through this book a bit it's apparent that it isn't really connected to the first in the series which I absolutely loved, The Butterfly Garden, and has further devolved into a fairly mediocre (for me anyway) storyline which has been upsetting because as I said, the first one wowed me but the others are only loosely related.

I received a copy of this book for an honest review



Trigger warnings for child abuse, death, murder, and emotional abuse.



I don't know what I can say about this novel. It was amazing. I laughed and I cried. I saw characters I have grown to love and new characters that were amazing. I was appalled, horrified, relieved and amused.



This is the last installment of this series and I am sad to see it end. But oh, what a great ending.



This novel gives us an ending to a series-long question; What happened to Eddison's sister?



I downloaded it on Kindle and didn't stop reading until it was over.



I loved the way the author handled an ongoing theme of abuse in this book and making sure characters are accountable for their actions. This book is filled with strong woman and characters who are deep, have their own scars and rise above their pasts to challenge and live their best lives.



This is also a very diverse book.



I do not recommend reading this unless you've read the others. Go now and buy them, then gobble them up. But have some tissues nearby and be prepared to need self-care afterward.



Thank you Ms. Hutchison- I have very much enjoyed the ride.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Dot Hutchinson for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw that this book was available to read now on NetGalley I was so excited. I have loved Dot Hutchinson’s the Collector series ever since reading The Butterfly Collector and have been eagerly awaiting the fourth installment since last summer.

When the team get the call that eight year old Brooklyn Mercer disappeared on her way home from school they immediately know this will be one that affects them even more than usual. Brooklyn has disappeared the week before the twenty fifth anniversary of the disappearance of Faith Eddison, the younger sister of Agent Bran Eddison. Like Brooklyn Faith was eight years old when she disappeared on her way home from school and the girls look so alike they could be twins.

The team receive information from a retired detective possibly linking Brooklyn’s disappearance not only to that of Faith Eddison, but a number of young girls of the same description that have gone missing in various cities over a number of decades. With Bran increasingly struggling to hold it together Eliza is heightened in her resoluteness to not only find Brooklyn before it’s too late, but to solve this case and bring his little sister home at last.

The Collector series focuses on the Crimes Against Children division of the FBI and it’s team of agents. Each book has focused on a different team member using their histories, strengths and weaknesses in relation to the case they are trying to solve and having that particular agent as the narrator. For me this makes each book seem distinct, and almost like a stand-alone, while also having the familiarity of a series. Being so distinct you could read any book in this series as a stand-alone.The author provides the information a new reader needs to understand the dynamics of different relationships and certain events, or that will refresh the memory of someone who has read the previous books. That being said I always think you enjoy any book in a series even more if you’ve read the previous books.

This time it was the turn of Eliza Sterling to tell the story. Eliza transferred to the team four years earlier after working with them from a local field office when they investigated another case. She is known to get so focused on cases that she forgets to eat or drink unless instructed and will even be so engrossed in her work that she stays at her desk long into the night and sometimes even until the next morning. Each team member has a different strength based on what they’ve gone through in their lives and Eliza’s is that she is the person who is best at dealing with the families of the perpetrator and reminding them this isn’t their fault and they weren’t to have known what their loved one was hiding from them.

After waiting so long for this book the only disappointment was that it is the last in the series. This was a compelling thriller that I didn’t want to put down but also didn’t want to finish as I was enjoying it so much. The tension never waned and surged as they learned their case was even more disturbing than they’d originally believed. Finally learning more about both Faith and her disappearance after knowing so little in the previous books was something that was heartbreaking but great as a reader. Bran’s refusal to even discuss Faith has shown how deeply he’s affected by not knowing what happened to her and I had always hoped we’d someday find out more and that he and his family would get the answers they’ve spent so long searching for. I enjoyed the dynamic between Eliza and Bran as they switched between colleagues and lovers, and was rooting for not only the case to be solved, but them to survive such a traumatic and testing experience. I also liked that yet again I could find no obvious suspect for the crimes and that I was grasping for clues along with the agents.

The Vanishing Season is an absorbing thriller that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers and crime fiction. While I’m sad there won’t be any more stories from the Crimes Against Children division, and would like to use this opportunity to implore the author to change her mind and continue the series, I am excited to see what Ms. Hutchinson writes next.

This was the last book in The Collector series and it was so good. I am so pleased to have got my answers to the vanishing of Bran’s sister and what happened to Bran in his teenage years. The ending was very satisfying and there are no open ends for anyone on the team or the families. And, yes, I cried, again. But it’s a sign for good writing, right? Loved this whole series and highly recommend the books.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer!

What can I say after finishing the 4th book by Dot Hutchison and having all the characters to myself forever, I feel happy and yet sad to say that they are now gone. But in the end it's pretty nice that Eliza and Brandon Eddison tied the knot and were expecting a baby girl. What ensued was a case of a small girl (8 years old) that was kidnapped by an aggrieved father that had lost his daughter to leukemia when she was 8 years old. It takes many people to put together this case and resolve it to find the girl in question, but you need to read this book to find out how hard it was to catch him. I gave it 5 stars out of 5. I like Hutchison's prose and her ribbing throughout the story.

This series has had me hooked for the first word and every time I see that a new one is coming out I get super excited. So I was pleasantly surprised and excited to read this book before I even read the first page. While I had high expectations this one didn't disappoint and just like the rest had me pulled into the story right from the beginning and refused to let go until the very last word. This book just like the rest of them was very good at having its own identity but also connecting with the others in the series. It also had everything a good mystery needs, a plot that keeps you hooked and guessing, a list of characters with interesting backstories as well as the need to solve the case before the detectives do. I couldn't get enough of this book. When a young girl goes missing two detectives try to do everything they can in order to get her safety returned. I liked how the first book was told through the eyes of the kidnapped while this one was told through the detectives eyes it put a nice spin on the series. While the first book in this series was the best one by far this last one did not disappoint and I'm very glad that I got the chance to read this one. This series is one that will stay with you long after its finished and if you haven't read it yet I highly suggest it.

This novel is the fourth in a series. I would highly recommend reading the books in order. It is necessarily required, but it does make it seem less like you're starting in the middle. There is a lot of content that is a bit confusing if you haven't kept up with the series.
When a child goes missing, everyone is a suspect. The Crimes Against Children's unit of the FBI is called in as soon as possible, so that every possible thing that can be done to find the child, safely, is done.
Agents Eliza Sterling and Brandon Eddison have worked together for a long time in this unit, and both have a history when it comes to abducted children. Brandon's younger sister was abducted 25 years ago, almost to the date that their newest victim, Brooklyn, was. Eliza, being blonde and blue eyed, has the distinct dishonor of looking almost exactly like the girls who have been abducted; to the extent that the parents can't handle being forced to see her.
In a case where stakes are so high, the team must work together as quickly as possible in order to bring Brooklyn home safely. But is this case a part of something larger?
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers and police procedurals.