‘Lane worried at the cuff of his shirt, rubbing it between the fingers and thumb of his other hand.’

Lane Holland is in prison. As a convicted criminal, he will never be able to work as a private investigator again. His parole hearing approaches, and a set of quite fortuitous coincidences see Lane Holland going undercover under the guise of a prison training scheme to investigate a disappearance. The Karpathy farm is a remote and mysterious farm community, one where some people seem to disappear.
There is plenty of tension in this story, and more than one mystery.

I had to suspend a little disbelief to accept Holland’s placement on the Karpathy farm but once I did so I quickly became caught up in the story. Holland has plenty of questions for the residents at the farm but must be careful not to arouse suspicion. Most of the residents keep their distance, but Holland finds help from a surprising source.

And I will stop right there so as not to spoil the story.

While you could read this as a standalone, I would strongly recommend reading the three novels in order. Several characters appear in the earlier books, and both backstory and character development add value to this instalment.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia and New Zealand for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I love Shelley Burr's books so much, she is definitely on eof my most favourite authors. I devoured Wake and Ripper and was so excited for this early copy of Vanish.

Vanish is the third book with private eye Lane Holland. If you have read Shelley's previous 2 books, you'll remember that Lane is currently in prison. Being in prison doesn't stop him from investigating or asking questions and when he finds a link between the prison warden's missing daughter and some other missing young people, he finds himself undercover at a farm under the guise of a prison rehabilitation program. Despite the cold reception from the tight lipped residents of Karpathy, Lane isn’t one to back down from asking hard questions. Something about the place doesn’t sit right with him. It has a strange, almost cult like atmosphere. It’s the silences and the things left unsaid that truly unsettle him. Lane is relentless and even as danger creeps closer, he refuses to walk away.

This book is amazing like her others - a great setting, lots of twists and turns and short chapters (which I love as I can always squeeze a few more in!).

Thanks Netgalley. One of my favs for this year!

This is the book that got me out of my reading slump. I was very impressed with the first in the series Wake and this, the third Lane Holland outing is just as good.
Lane a former Private eye is in jail for murdering his father. (Read Wake and Ripper to appreciate the backstory here). One unsolved case haunts him, the disappearance of Matilda Carver 20 years ago, who also happens to be the daughter of the Governor of the prison Lane is incarcerated in. He has carried on covertly looking into Matilda’s disappearance while inside and comes to the conclusion that Karpathy Farm, a remote, commune like farm is at the centre of not just Matilda’s disappearance but others as well. He does a deal to go to the farm, with an escort, under the pretence of an outreach program for offenders who want to learn about farming.
It’s a really good read with a few twists and intriguing characters.

#Vanish #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Hatchette Australia for this advanced electronic copy of Shelley Burr’s upcoming third novel featuring Lane Holland.
Having read the previous two novels, I was excited to be approved for this and dove in right away. I was then immediately hooked by the themes - undercover, mystery, Australian rural setting and cult vibes. Highly recommend this when it is published- and go back and read the previous two novels if you haven’t already!

Vanish is the third book in Shelley Burr’s Australian crime series that started with her debut, the award winning Wake. Investigator Lane Holland is back, still in prison when the book opens but is soon investigating again, in a limited capacity. Also back in this book are characters from earlier books including Lane’s sister and the person he went to prison for Mina McCreery. Once again Burr manages to deliver an Australian rural crime novel that does not quite follow the mould of many of her contemporaries.
Carver, the head of the prison where Lane is serving his sentence is still keen to find his daughter Matilda, missing for twenty years. And it turns out that Lane has become a little obsessed with the case also, continuing to investigate with a contraband phone and finding out that Matilda was last scene at a farm in the Riverina where another young person went missing. That farm, run by a family called Karpathy, is more of a commune and Lane suspects some sort of cult. Carver uses a prison outreach program to get Lane placed at that farm (together with one of the guards) in the hope that he can uncover what happened to Matilda. On the day Lane arrives a member of the community at the farm dies in a car accident and he soon finds that there has been at least one other mysterious disappearance.
Burr does a great job in Vanish in slowly building the pressure. Lane can see all of the techniques used by Karpathy to control the people on the farm but on the other hand, can not quite seem to be able to prove that that control is coercive. She keeps both Lane and the reader off balance as the clues build but fail to make a coherent picture. Meanwhile, Lane as always, goes slightly beyond his remit, potentially making himself a target and putting his chances of parole at peril.
While it opens with flooding, bushfire has become the existential threat that seems to make an appearance in every Australian rural crime novel at the moment. And Vanish is no exception, adding an extra layer of jeopardy to the climax.
While part of a trilogy, Vanish it is more of a sequel to Wake, bringing many of the hanging threads from that novel to a satisfactory resolution. Vanish is another great crime novel from Burr, showing an ability to continue to bring new insights and approaches and stand out in the crowded Australian rural crime genre.

Lane Holland went to prison years ago, paying for his crimes. But as his parole approaches, he is approached to help investigate a missing persons case. He needs to go to a farm community led by Samuel Karpathy, one that attracts lost souls, some of whom are never seen again. As he goes undercover at the farm, the circumstances surrounding him become complicated and it is impossible to know who to trust.

This one was filled with suspense and mystery. It was one of those books where you see people heading straight into danger and it kept me on the edge of my seat. The author's writing was brilliant and this is my favourite novel by her yet. 4.5*

I absolutely loved Wake and Ripper so when I received the ARC for Vanish I was thrilled! i am happy to say that it had me hooked from the very start and lived up to my now high expectations from Shelley Burr. I seriously couldn’t put this book down. There was so much tension and mystery that I just had to know how it was going to end. Just brilliant stuff.

This is book 3 featuring PI Lane Holland. Now if you have read the first 2 books you will know that he is currently in prison. This doesn’t stop him from working cases though, far from it. When he finds a link between the disappearance of the wardens daughter years ago, and other missing persons, he finds himself going undercover on a farm under the guise of a prisoner training program.

Lane is not afraid to ask questions, even though the other residents of Karpathy are not the talkative type. There is something strange going on at this place, which feels a bit cultish to Lane. It is what people are not saying that worries him., but he won’t give up, even when his life is once again in danger.

Shelley Burr has done it again with Vanish. It is dark, suspenseful and so so addictive. She is an absolute must read author for me and should be for everyone.

Thanks so much to Hachette Australia for my early copy of this book to read. Out on April 30th.

This is the third book in the PI Lane Holland series. They go as follows: Wake, Ripper and Vanish.
This one is interesting as Lane is coming up for parole, if you haven’t read the series, Lane is in jail, which adds a real difference to these books. He is offered to go and stay on a farm for an agriculture certification so he has something to do after jail. When people are going to the Karpathy farm and never returning or are seen again, Lane is tasked to figure out why. There is more to this but I won’t spoil it as this plot runs through the three books.
The farm feels like a cult but is it really? Is it a just a group of people working towards a common goal?
I didn’t like this one as much as the other two books. It was missing something that made me want to devour it. I think I had guessed a lot of it early on. It was still a great read.

An engrossing and captivating crime fiction story, that is frighteningly plausible as it is inspired by a true criminal case.

I have enjoyed the previous stories featuring Private Investigator Lane Holland – Wake (#1) and Ripper (#2). Vanish (#3) is another engaging story by Shelley Burr, with beautifully interwoven subplots, a creeping sense of unease, with complex characters and connections.

This story opens with a gripping prologue, that hooked me completely. Then we get re-acquainted with Lane Holland who is still in prison and haunted by the cold case disappearance of Matilda Carver, over twenty years ago.

Ex-PI Lane is not a rule follower, so despite no longer having a PI licence, he finds a link between the disappearance of Matilda and the mysterious Karpathy farm. It appears to be a place that collects lost souls of the desperate and vulnerable. Is it a commune, or cult, or simply an alternative community? Could it be something much darker?

Lane ends up going undercover at Karpathy farm through a prisoner training programme, to attempt to find how it is linked to multiple missing person cases. What follows is a building tension, untangling character connections and backstories, plenty of plausible suspects and an abundance of unexpected twists.

I appreciate the short chapters, as it made it so easy to keep reading long into the night.

With special thanks to Hachette Australia, Shelley Burr and NetGalley for this e-ARC to read and review.

Shelley Burr continues as an auto-read for me, as her stories are an enjoyable Australian crime fiction read. I am excited to read what she creates next!

Vanish by Shelley Burr is another gripping installment in the Lane Holland series, and it certainly lives up to the high expectations set by its predecessor. With a chilling blend of suspense, mystery, and dark secrets, Burr weaves a narrative that pulls you in from the first page and doesn't let go until the very end.

What stands out most in this book is Burr's exploration of cult elements. The psychological tension and eerie atmosphere surrounding the cult add a layer of complexity to the plot that is both fascinating and unsettling. The way Burr gradually reveals the depth of the cult’s influence is masterful, building a sense of dread while keeping the reader hooked with constant twists and revelations.

Highly recommend!!

Vanish by Shelley Burr is book three in the Lane Holland series. And once again I have found myself dropping everything to read it.

Lane is still in jail but he is almost up for a parole hearing when he has a great idea. He wants to go to Kaparthy farm for some learning experience to be a farmer. But this is all just a cover story. He is still helping with an unsolved case of Matilda Carver. Two decades ago she went missing and the last place she was seen was Kaparthy farm. Lane has found out that some more people have vanished from the farm. This mystery is one Lane would love to solve. He gets some help with a surprise visitor - Mina. Is this a cult or just a commune?

I flew through the chapters of this one and finished it in a few days. I loved coming back to older characters I've been accustomed too with the series. I also enjoyed the new characters and trying to work out who we can trust. This book ticked all the boxes with the great setting, twists and turns and short chapters (always a winner for me).

Thank you Hachette Australia and Netgalley for sending me a gifted copy of the book for my honest book review.

This book has a great premise and I like Lane Holland as a character so I was keen to read it, but this fell a little flat for me.

As we know from the end of Ripper, Lane is still in jail but is being recruited by the warden to see if Lane can find out anything about his daughter Matilda's disappearance.

This allows Lane to participate in a prisoner training programme at a farm near the NSW/Victorian border that he thinks Matilda stayed at.

This is where this story drifted for me. There was so much happenstance and coincidence that after a while it didn't surprise me anymore. The supporting characters were weak and didn't even seem to know they were being interrogated by Lane.

There was certainly a building sense of menace and unease when Lane could not figure out what was happening and who might be behind the disappearances.

The conclusion was okay but there were still a few questions unanswered.

i enjoyed the book it was fast to read and i enjoyed the book
would have liked more depth in the story
like the characters

Rating: 4.5 stars
Out: 30 April 2025

Stop what you’re doing ✋ and add this to your TBR immediately! 👆

I’m now a fully confirmed, card-carrying Shelley Burr fan — Wake, Ripper, and now Vanish have cemented her as a master of the Australian crime thriller. While each book can be read as a standalone, reading them as a series reveals a compelling thread of consequences, regrets, and choices made in the shadows.

Vanish is twisty, tense, and totally addictive — brimming with flawed anti-heroes, a reunion of sorts, and a haunting cold case that kept me guessing right up to the final page.

Lane Holland’s career as a private investigator ended the day he went to prison. With his parole hearing approaching, one unsolved case continues to haunt him: the disappearance of Matilda Carver two decades ago.

Never one to play by the rules, Lane follows a lead to a remote farm community run by the enigmatic Samuel Karpathy — a place that promises new beginnings for people with nowhere else to go. But those who arrive… often vanish without a trace.

A commune? A cult? Or something even darker?

Inspired by a real-life criminal case, Vanish is another nail-biting triumph from Shelley Burr — smart, suspenseful, and impossible to put down. The atmosphere is unsettling in all the right ways, and the layered storytelling just gets better with each instalment. I absolutely loved it.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hatchette AUS/NZ for the ARC.

I have followed PI Lane Holland from book 1 and Shelley Burr has cemented her place as one of my favourite Crime Authors (and an auto buy) by book 3. This did not disappoint and I was eating out of Lane Hollands cuffed hands and lapping up his convictions about the Karpathy farm of lost souls. The fact that I myself am very interested in permaculture, sustainable farming and organic practices just meant I was tickled pink by this book.
This book had me as paranoid as Lane. I couldn't trust a single character. It was unpredictable and I never foresaw or predicted the brilliant ending.
It was wonderful to see Mina (book 1) again, making meaning out of her own tragedy. I hope there is more Lane Holland in our futures because I still haven't had enough of his story and I think there is definitely potential for more. A crime book written from the perspective of a now ex PI investigator felon is just so refreshing. The morals in this book are not black and white.

Bonus points for excellent pacing and short chapters. The only reason I haven't given 5 stars is that the first third of the book was rehashing a lot of what happened in books 1 and 2 and didn't see Lane moving anywhere. I think it's definitely a better reading experience if you had read the first 2. And lastly, I hope the ending suggests a not so lonely future for Lane but it is ambiguous and I may need to seek out Shelley Burr myself to find out exactly what it meant!

Mind blowing twists and turns and a book that you will not stop reading until you have finished it. It’s such a great crime thriller! Shelley Burr has gotten me wanting to read all her books! I legit finished it within 2 days!

Private investigator is in jail for a crime he might not have committed but he has been given an opportunity to absolve himself by solving another disappearance of the Jail Heads daughter, who disappeared almost 20 years ago! While he cannot get involved as a PI due to obvious reasons, he gets himself sent to a farm as a “learning experience” and starts discovering some bitter truths about the place. It’s could be a cult or a crime front or just a plain old farm giving people hope. But one things clear, people disappear from this place…how will he solve it without disappearing himself?

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me an ARC of this super amazing thriller. Absolutely loved it and will recommend!

Vanish is the third book in Shelley Burr’s series, and I absolutely loved it. While I found the second book a bit confusing with its many characters, this one was completely engrossing. The storyline was compelling, and I never felt lost—just fully immersed from start to finish. I tore through it in no time!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.