I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I'm a big fan of thrillers and this one didn't disappoint! A captivating, intense story that keeps you guessing.

I wanted this to be good but I feel like the plot is over done and to get a good review it needs to stand out. This was okay but not mind blwoing

Perhaps i was expecting too much. Perhaps the final version differed significantly from the advance reading copy I am reviewing. I was put off initially by the editor’s foreword, which outlined the plot twists the reader should expect. After reading it, I wasn’t surprised when most of the plot twists occurred, and then they weren’t, in my opinion, well executed. My biggest disappointment, though, was the dialogue. Many of the statements of child Chloe and wife Penny especially sounded unrealistic and awkward. In all, the plot had potential, but the execution was far from mysterious, suspenseful, or thrilling .

This book was a bit of a cliché. Prisoner turns informant to cut a deal and get out of prison early, his daughter is then kidnapped by both corrupt law enforcement and his old boss’s people. His wife turns out to be in on the plan and was booking up with his lawyer.. The man also thinks he’s a good guy when in reality he killed lots of people, but somehow he has conveniently forgot this, He also becomes a vigilante and I have never been a fan of vigilantes, A bunch of people die and miraculously the daughter and him survive and get to be together at the end. My curiosity made me want to see how the story played out, how it would end, It was predictable, but yet it was entertaining. A quick read, that had the elements that could have been something .I would give it 2.5 stars

FOUR STARS: A pretty good read though the concept was a bit of a stretch. Sidney O’Keefe just wants to spend a peaceful weekend alone with his wife and daughter in the vacation paradise of Lake Placid, New York—now that he’s been paroled after a ten year stretch in a maximum-security prison.

But any illusion of a peaceful future is destroyed when his eleven-year-old daughter, Chloe, suddenly disappears from the iconic beach scene, leaving Sidney and his wife, Penny, stricken with fear and panic.

A man named Sydney O’Keefe has just been paroled after serving a ten year jolt in an upstate New York maximum security prison for a quadruple homicide he didn’t do, as the electrifying, propulsive and gritty new novel from prolific crime fiction author Vincent Zandri opens at a family resort in northern New York’s Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid.
The Girl Who Wasn’t There, (Oceanview Publishing, $26.95, 297 pages, ISBN 978-1-60809-396-0) begins at a lakeside beach, where eleven year old Chloe O’Keefe is building a sand castle with a new friend, as both pairs of doting parents look on. But when Syd and his wife Penny go back their cabin for a few moments, Chloe goes missing without a trace. After hours of frantic searching . . . the police are called in, something Syd’s reluctant to do. He knows that as a newly released ex-convict, he’ll be the primary suspect in his daughter’s disappearance.
As the search for the missing girl casts a wider and wider net without results however, O’Keefe suspects that the gangster he was associated with—his old crime boss—Mickey Rabuffo is behind the abduction.
The police are pretty sure that O’Keefe himself, a man with a history of prison violence is the reason his daughter is missing, and most likely dead. And although the circumstantial evidence all points to Syd, he knows that it’s his past which has come back to haunt him. The only way to keep his family from being killed, is for O’Keefe to take the law into his own hands and dispense some of his own rough justice, exposing a conspiracy of epic dimensions in the process. With more twists, turns and switchbacks than a Catskill Mountain back road, The Girl Who Wasn’t There, will entertain readers from the first page to the last sentence!
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1.5 rated up
I couldn’t for the life of me finish this book. It was written poorly and a lot of the scenes were just so unbelievable it had my eyes rolling.

A good easy read about a released convict, his family, his missing daughter and a conspiracy which takes him on a fast paced action ride. Twists and turns, good and bad decisions and an unexpected ending. Recommended.

Sidney 'Doc' O'Keefe just spent 10 years in prison. Now, suddenly paroled when he was supposed to serve 25 to life, he and wife, Penny, and 11-year-old daughter, Chloe, head to the Adirondacks for a vacation. Next thing, there is an abduction, fear, plot twist, murder! Fast-paced, violent, revealing plot. Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. 4 Stars

A haunting past protruding into the present makes for an intense thrill ride that will grab and hold you from start to finish.

this book is fast paced and if you like your mob stories then this is the book for you. Unfortunately thats one thing I dont like reading about so I couldnt get into this one. Lots of actions and twists galore. Im probably in the minority but I just didnt like the book as much as I thought I would.

I reserve 1 star reviews for books I can't even make myself finish, so this one gets 2 stars; I finished it, but I wasn't happy about it. The writing was beyond bad. Two-thirds of the the way through the book, all the bad guys are in the room with Sidney/Doc (who is supposed to be knocked out cold, but of course, is only pretending) and relate the entire plan, from beginning to end, like Scooby Doo or something. The plan is retold later, just in case the reader didn't understand it the first time. Or, you know, from reading the story which shouldn't need to recap the nefarious plan.

Also, like Scoob, one of the baddies is heard to say, "Jeepers!" and also says "darn" while having no problem using the f-word - twice - in the same sentence. It was the strangest dialogue I've read in a long time. There is also a lot of medical information being thrown around needlessly (y'know, because Doc was in med school). It doesn't add to the story, it impedes whatever momentum has been gained, and like, who cares how many nerves are in the face; I think we can all agree that getting hit there hurts.

So, the plot, let's see...Sid/Doc is a twice married med school dropout who has just been released after serving 10 years of a 25-year sentence because he turned on the head of the operation and spilled all of his secrets. Now home with his family, he decides to take them on a vacation (maybe just a weekend?) to the Adirondacks and Lake Placid, NY. While the 10-year-old daughter is playing in the sand with a new friend, Sid and his wife, Penny, decide to grab a little 'alone time' and leave the kid playing by the lake. When they return, the girl is missing.

Do they go to the hotel detective or the local police or call his lawyer or parole officer (whom he never told he was leaving his home and therefore violating parole)? No. Why? Because they'll think the ex-con did something to the daughter. Ummm, ok. But of course, at some point, they do go to law enforcement - and Sid's not arrested or anything.

My thanks to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl Who Wasn't There
by Vincent Zandri
Oceanview Publishing
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 30 Jun 2020 | Archive Date Not set

Excellent book about an ex-convict who just wants to enjoy time with his family. The mystery starts when his daughter is missing. Thanks to Oceanview Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

New author for me!

4 star

Sidney recently was released after 10 years in maximum security. With his wife and daughter he goes for a reunion weekend in the resort of Lake Placid. His daughter disappears from the beach and the local police seem to think its down to Sidney. Sidney guesses if must be connected to his old gangland boss, whom he had to give some information about as the price of getting out of prison. He takes off into the mountains to avoid arrest and a trail of bloody events soon ensues.

i really enjoyed reading this book, it was a great mystery and great characters. Nothing is more terrifying than a missing child. I look forward to reading more from the author.

This book was horrible! Lots of violence and totally implausible. The writing was also poor. It started off sounding really interested but quickly had me doing a double-take. Most of the story is completely unbelievable.

Sidney “Doc” O’Keefe has just been released from prison after serving ten years for a murder he did not commit. He was a driver for mob boss Mickey Rabuffo when a routine collection of monies owed went bad and a family of four was murdered. Doc, his wife Penny and eleven-year-old daughter Chloe take a much needed vacation in Lake Placid, New York. When the couple leaves the daughter playing on the beach so they could have a little private time, she is kidnapped. What happens next is an action-packed story filled with so many twists and turns that you might get whiplash. Doc is portrayed as a smart man (former med student) whose ex-wife stole all his money causing him to work for Rabuffo to make quick money. But Doc makes some very bad decisions and assumptions in his quest to save his daughter that you might start to doubt his intelligence. If you simply go with the flow and not yell, “Why the heck did you do that?” then you’ll enjoy The Girl Who Wasn’t There.

There’s lots of violence in the book which happens at rapid speed. The continued surprises kept me in suspense making this a worthwhile read.

Rated 3.75

I got an ARC from Net Galley

Who are you ZANDRI?

I ask because this was a great story and I have never heard of you

Once I got past the name Sidney :) here is a GREAT story, storyline, action scenes; I loved it.

Whoever you are. . . great job!

I tried to get into this story but it just didn't hold my attention. I'm sure it's a wonderful novel but just not for me. I put it down when they left the hotel.