The Night She Vanished is a thrilling stand-alone read. This is the first book I have read by his author.

Nicole left town with her then boyfriend at the age of 15 when her best friend went missing. Lori was never found. Nicole believes her father killed her best friend. Everyone believes her parents to be the perfect people they portray themselves to be, but Nicole believes they are far from perfect.

Lucas and Nicole are married and trying to have a family. One day her mother calls out of the blue and tells her that her younger sister Aimee is missing. She needs to return home. She turns to Lucas and says, "It's happening again."

Believing her father is responsible for Lori being missing, she is keeping herself at an emotional distance from both her parents as she tries to get information about Aimee, but they are only telling her the least amount possible leaving more questions than answers and leaving Nicole to continue to think the worst about them.

Shortly after arriving bones are discovered on a local farm, and the evidence proves it is Lori. Spiraling from fear Nicole reaches out to a journalist and begins to tell what she remembers after Lori disappeared.

Another body turns up in a nearby forest. Nicole starts accusing her father when he then informs her, he was only protecting her. He tells her the evidence led him to believe it was Nicole that killed Lori. Nicole believes her parents are lying about everything. the more she remembers and uncovers about the past will make her question everyone, her parents, her husband Lucas, and her friend Kurt. Everyone is keeping secrets from her and is more determined to throw caution to the wind by exposing her parents first in order to find her sister.

This story is about an estranged family where everyone believes the very worst of each other. It is a riveting thriller leaving the reader desperate just as Nicole is in order to find her sister and finally learn the truth about everything.

As soon as Nicole returns home they story explodes. I can't get over how intense this story was early on. I kept glancing at how far along I was in the story and couldn't believe I was less than halfway thru. I had it narrowed down to two suspects, but I was totally way off base. The ending was a total shocker, and I couldn't have been more pleased with the book.

Thank you once again to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for allowing me to read and review #TheNightSheVanished by #WendyDranfield. This is the first book I have read by Wendy. To say it was excellent is an understatement. I loved the story, the drama and the suspense. It grabbed my attention from the start to the end. I cannot wait to devour all her books.

A big thank you to NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of this book. I was spellbound! It was an amazing thriller that I took just 3 days to read - it was that good!

A mid-western murder mystery dealing with 4 closely knit high school friends; life changes when one mysteriously died and her body is not found.

I thought I had it figured out - but the identity of the killer blew me away. This was an intriguing and enjoyable read that I will share with my book group.

Nicole left home and never returned. She regretted leaving her little sister Aimee, but after accusing her father of killing her best friend, Lori, she turned her back on her family and her home town.
Now she has been called back by her parents, because Aimee has disappeared, and is heavily pregnant. They were hoping that Nicole's return would bring Aimee home.

I wish I could say that I loved this book.
I liked the plot, but it was very drawn out. I could not stand any of the characters. There is no communication between them, and they seem to throw accusations at each other without proof.
Saying that, I have read other Wendy Dranfield books and loved them. This one is the exception.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the oppotunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for an Arc of this book. I read it in one sitting . I thought I knew where the story was going and I was wrong which I loved. Unpredictable and tense. This was my first read of this author. Definitely not my last!

The book releases on March 14.

Nicole is estranged from her family because of the murder of her best friend. Her sister who she hasn’t seen for many years goes missing and she goes back home to look for her. Lots of twists and turns and a surprise ending for me.

Book Title: The Night She Vanished
Author: Wendy Dranfield
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: March 14, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars

When I saw Wendy Dranfield had out a new novel I knew I wanted to read it ~ went into this story without any knowledge as to what it was about. Other than I love this author.
I have only read three of her novels ~Two Detective Madison Harper stories "Shadow Fall" and "Little Girl Taken". I also read "The Birthday Party" ~ all were GREAT!

The blurb on this story states ~
My parents seem to be the perfect couple. But no one knows what I know…

Nicole’s best friend Lori Peterson vanished when they were just fifteen; Nicole believes her dad has something to do with this situation; although, there are neither clues nor a body only blood on some grass.
Everyone in the small Midwestern town of Henderson believes her parents - a midwife and the town sheriff are perfect parents. However, Nicole cannot wait to leave Henderson and does so as soon as she graduates from high school.
Now, twelve years later, Nicole and her husband Lucas who is also from Henderson are very happy and hoping to start a family. Nicole gets a call her parents that her younger sister Aimee who is 8 months pregnant did not show up for her high school graduation.
This happened a few days ago and they were sure she would show up but since she hasn’t they believe Nicole should know about her disappearance.
Nicole and Lucas return home. She knows having her husband with her will be a tremendous support -especially now that they have found some bones.

No spoilers you need to read for yourself!!

Have to admit I found myself yelling at Nicole A LOT! Why was she was so willing as well as quick to believe her parents especially her dad the sheriff was guilty of many things?

So many secrets and everyone seem guilty of something!!

I always love reading the author’s note and getting the inside scoop.
In “A Letter from Wendy” Our author tells us she has not lost her enthusiasm for coming up with fictional towns with twisted crimes and complex characters”. She goes on to say ~ These characters are all complicated with secrets, resentments and unresolved trauma holding then from moving on.
(Oh so true!!!)
Yes! There is a big twist at the end.

As a big thriller fan – I know to suspect everyone - so whodunit wasn’t a major shock.

This is another great Dranfield story and I certainly am looking forward to her next fictional town with complicated/complex characters!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 14, 2023

Five stars! I love this author and this book was no exception. It was wonderfully written. The characters are so relatable and like able. This has so many twists and turns and different directions you don’t see the end coming. Jaw dropping revelations through out. Break neck speed and a rollercoaster of fear! Absolutely unputdownable! A must read

Wendy Dranfield has become one of my favorite psychological thriller authors and this standalone novel, The Night She vanished has become one of my favorite thriller books!

Nicole's sister Aimee goes missing. Nicole believes that her own father is responsible for the disappearance, just like he might be responsible for the disappearance of Nicole's friend Lori's disappearance nearly ten years ago. Soon skeletel remains have been found in a local farm and Nicole wonders if her own father is responsible or if someone else is responsible for the murder.

This was truly engaging and I simply couldn't put this book down! The story itself is completely unexpected, with unexpected twists and turns along the way. The ending left me so baffled that I am still reeling from the ending! The characters in the story was well developed and probably unreliable as we don't know which of these characters could be responsible for the murders. This was also fast paced which is actually a plus sign in thriller books. So if you like to read thrillers that will give you a roller coaster ride, that is unputdownable and a page turner, I highly recommend this book to you--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

This book had me from the start. A woman loses her best friend as a teenager. She leaves home. Her younger sister disappears pregnant by a secret lover. Who can she trust? Who is telling the truth? She must figure this out once she returns home to try to find her sister.

What we know is that Nicole is estranged from her family, but is called back home to help her parents find her missing sister Aimee. We know that her best friend Lori was murdered and the killer has never been found. Based on the description of the book, I was hooked! I had to read to find out what happened. Overall, I really liked the idea of this book. It had the makings of really great things! I just felt that the overall flow was a bit choppy. I enjoyed the twists and turns but wish it had all been a bit smoother of a plot. I will read more from this author, though! I’m excited to see what she comes up with next.

Talk about family secrets and lies! Nicole has always suspected that her parents had something to do with the disappearance of her friend Lori all those years ago and she's stayed away but now her sister Aimee is gone and she's come home. Then bones are found in a field nearby and she's forced to question her assumptions. How twisty this is depends on how willing you are to give over to Dranfield's plotting and stop thinking that you, like Nicole know what's happening. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

First I will say that town was a hot mess and the people in it…YIKES.

I think I may still have whiplash. I knew the author was going to give it to me at the end, she always does. But WOW. Such a twisted tale of deceit.

I’m still mulling it all over and I slept on it. But let me say I’m pretty sure I would high tail it out of there and never go back, not even for family. So many lies and so many things could have been different if only people did the right thing.

What a great mystery! This book was filled with family dynamics, family secrets, an enthralling plot and multiple characters. It was fast paced right from the beginning and will have you constantly questioning the outcome. I thought I had it figured out multiple times only to be continually proved wrong- which makes for a great read!! We get current and past timelines, multiple mysteries, small town drama and intriguing characters. There are multiple twists throughout making it a wild rollercoaster ride to the end!

The only criticism I have is that the main character had some traits that I felt like weren’t flushed out and I had some frustration with a few of the characters actions that I wanted more explanation on.

Overall, an excellent book and I look forward to reading more from Wendy.

If you’re a mystery lover, I definitely recommend this one. Can you solve this decade long mystery before the end?!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC and trusting me with an honest review.

Thank you to Bookouture, Wendy Dranfield and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This had the potential to be a great book, but it fell flat to me. I actually enjoyed the plot and it had great twists, but the pacing was all over the place and I wasn’t a fan of the writing or the characters. I feel like none of them were developed enough for me to care about them, and Nicole was just very whiny. Everyone had a lot of unfounded suspicions and were very quick to jump to conclusions without explaining why or how they got there. Nicole in particular took every bit of information at face value, and instead of asking questions she kept changing opinions and making damning accusations about some pretty big things without thinking twice.
The writing itself had a lot of telling and not enough showing even though it never told me the things I actually wanted to know, and it felt very repetitive at times.

Overall it was a great premise with execution that felt amateurish. I’m giving it 2.5 stars rounded up because I think it has redeeming qualities and a lot of people will enjoy it, it just wasn’t for me.

The description of this book had me hooked and when I opened the cover, I knew that I was reading a novel that would stay with me for a long time. The book started out with a young girl, Lori going missing. Fast forward fifteen years and another girl Amee is also presumed to be missing. The problem with this however is Amee is our main character Nicole’s, younger sister, and the missing girl at the beginning, was Nicole’s best friend. Both missing girls must be connected, and Nicole finds herself drawn back to the town and her family that she once swore to leave behind, if only to find out what is going on behind these disappearances and to find a way to get her loved ones back. I loved the characters in this book there were very realistic in their interactions with each other, and they came to life with their own flaws and strengths. This book was all about secrets and every time I thought I knew one another one was revealed to me. I loved trying to get to the bottom of what was going on at the same time as Nicole. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole ride and I found myself completely unable to put it down for any reason. When everyone is a suspect its fun to try to decide for yourself if they are guilty or not. There were so many twists and turns but every one of them was a shock to me but fit the story perfectly. The writing was fantastic, the story was very strong, and the characters were amazing, you either loved them or you love to hate them. I really liked our main character and how strong she was even in the face of all her pain. This was a fantastic read the only thing I didn’t like was how quickly I managed to finish it. I’m so glad that I was able to check this book out and I can’t wait to read some of Wendy’s other works because a mind like that doesn’t stop at just one work of genius so I can just imagine how good the other books are as well. If thrills are your genre and if you don’t have anywhere to be then this is one book that I highly suggest but be prepared to get lost in the words and have all other responsibilities for the time being just drift away.

This was my first book by Wendy Dranfield and what a rollercoaster it was! I was so confident that I knew what the twist would be, but I was very wrong! This was well written and everything came together well, with all storylines intersecting in a way that made sense and was a very enjoyable read.

I’ll be reading her others soon! Highly recommend!

4.5 / 5 stars ⭐️

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Nicole is estranged from her parents but is called home when her younger sister Aimee is missing. For some reason she is afraid of her parents. Her best friend Lori was killed when she was 15 and Nicole suspects that her dad is responsible, and her mom helped to cover it up. Reading the synopsis had me hooked. I mean, her parents killed her best friend. Why? I HAD to find out. The book starts out strong with decent character development. As I got further into the book, I found myself getting frustrated with the main character, Nicole. Instead of using common sense she jumps to horrible conclusions. Lori's body is found after Nicole arrives and somehow that means that her father is responsible for Aimee's disappearance. How is this? Instead of Nicole asking people questions she jumps to conclusions that don't make sense. She makes damning suppositions to a reporter with absolutely zero proof. She claims this will help to find Aimee, but I don't see how. Also, she gets dizzy, weak kneed, trembly legs, and lightheaded a LOT in the book. There is also a lot of back rubbing in the book, anytime someone needs consoled. Overall the idea of this book is great, but it doesn't flow very well. One character needs to tell someone something but instead of saying it we go to a different subject. It's like the author was trying to make it dramatic but it just ended up being a bit annoying.

Where do I start? I liked the cover and the writing style. I'm also a big fan of stories about small towns with many secrets.

Unfortunately, the Night She Vanished was very middle of the road for me. The story felt so drawn out. I think I may have enjoyed it more if it had gotten to the point quicker. I wasn't invested in any of the characters. The dialogue between Nicole and her parents felt clunky.

Some folks will enjoy this book. It wasn't my cup of tea but a great writing style. Thanks for the advance review copy.

Nicole’s best friend, Lori, vanished and was presumed dead years early. She soon left her hometown after it became too hard to live there. But now she’s back because her younger sister has disappeared. Could this be the same person involved years earlier with her best friend?

Wow! I was not expecting all these twists and secrets! There was a post in the middle where I felt it was getting a little long (like we needed a twists ASAP) but overall the book was a quick read. I could not figure out what happened to Lori or her sister but when we find out l…😳😳😳

The one thing I wanted was an epilogue!! I needed a little more closure with everything that happened at the end!

4.5⭐️

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC💕