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liralen's review against another edition
3.0
● This is the third small-town mystery I've read in the last couple weeks in which it's been established that the interrogation room at the police station doesn't have a 'fancy two-way mirror or intercom technology' (224). I'm amused.
● Insufficient proofreading (for shame, St. Martin's):
- 'and it would soon the sizzle would be perfuming the downstairs' (61)
- '"you are stay away from my wife"' (151)
- 'If he was on the job with a badge behind, him he never would have dared' (162)
● I initially misread Sam's age as 'twenty-two years old' instead of 'twenty-two years older', which threw me off for the entire book (since his wife is described as 'middle-aged' (232), Sam's hair is 'an honest salt-and-pepper black' (5), and he 'worked his way up through the ranks in Boston before taking the small town position in Woodbury as chief of police' (5), none of which seem to fit with a twenty-two-year-old!). My fault for misreading, of course. Fun fact: he's 50, not 22.
● I'm reluctant to say that the book pulls punches (partly because I think I use that phrase too often), but I do wish it had followed through on some potential sources of tension.
- Reed is portrayed, at the beginning, as a womanizer and potential alcoholic. He's supposed to be the grizzled old hand battling demons, I guess. But neither women nor alcohol is ever an issue throughout the book: at most, Reed makes the decision to prudently limit his alcohol intake. It ends up feeling as though the book was going for the sense of a grizzled demon-battler without any of the actual complications.
- Ellery is having an affair with her boss, the police chief; this is established from the first chapter. On her part, it's a calculated move: he has more to lose than she does, and he'll be in a great deal more trouble if the affair comes out, so this gives her some power over him. But although their power struggle crops up on and off, it's never in a hugely significant way, and neither of them does more than make idle threats about exposing the affair.
- Ellery stays dead silent about her past for as long as she possibly can. On the one hand this makes sense (who wants to be at the centre of that kind of attention?), but on the other hand... I don't know. A couple problems with her silence, I guess: first, she really does have info that the other characters don't, and she's in a much better place to have insight into the killer's actions than anyone else. Plus, if he's actively targeting her, that's information that the (rest of the) police should have. And second, it has the potential to make her look guilty, especially when. Reed considers her as a suspect, of course, but he pretty quickly 'clears' her (to himself), and after a small hissy fit when they find out her past, Sam and the other police officers get over it. Feels like a missed chance for conflict.
- Reed's profile of the killer is kind of...wrong, no? Which is fine (it's not like it's an exact science), but I'm a little surprised that that doesn't end up being a character-development point.
●
● Overall, it was a solid read but felt a bit standard. I think that's best illustrated in the bit about the interrogation room: not that anything here is done badly, but it's been done before. Scarred heroine who was a killer's only survivor; corrupt police chief; that lack of two-way mirrors; etc.
● Insufficient proofreading (for shame, St. Martin's):
- 'and it would soon the sizzle would be perfuming the downstairs' (61)
- '"you are stay away from my wife"' (151)
- 'If he was on the job with a badge behind, him he never would have dared' (162)
● I initially misread Sam's age as 'twenty-two years old' instead of 'twenty-two years older', which threw me off for the entire book (since his wife is described as 'middle-aged' (232), Sam's hair is 'an honest salt-and-pepper black' (5), and he 'worked his way up through the ranks in Boston before taking the small town position in Woodbury as chief of police' (5), none of which seem to fit with a twenty-two-year-old!). My fault for misreading, of course. Fun fact: he's 50, not 22.
● I'm reluctant to say that the book pulls punches (partly because I think I use that phrase too often), but I do wish it had followed through on some potential sources of tension.
- Reed is portrayed, at the beginning, as a womanizer and potential alcoholic. He's supposed to be the grizzled old hand battling demons, I guess. But neither women nor alcohol is ever an issue throughout the book: at most, Reed makes the decision to prudently limit his alcohol intake. It ends up feeling as though the book was going for the sense of a grizzled demon-battler without any of the actual complications.
- Ellery is having an affair with her boss, the police chief; this is established from the first chapter. On her part, it's a calculated move: he has more to lose than she does, and he'll be in a great deal more trouble if the affair comes out, so this gives her some power over him. But although their power struggle crops up on and off, it's never in a hugely significant way, and neither of them does more than make idle threats about exposing the affair.
- Ellery stays dead silent about her past for as long as she possibly can. On the one hand this makes sense (who wants to be at the centre of that kind of attention?), but on the other hand... I don't know. A couple problems with her silence, I guess: first, she really does have info that the other characters don't, and she's in a much better place to have insight into the killer's actions than anyone else. Plus, if he's actively targeting her, that's information that the (rest of the) police should have. And second, it has the potential to make her look guilty, especially when
Spoiler
her saliva is on the envelopes for the missives she's received- Reed's profile of the killer is kind of...wrong, no? Which is fine (it's not like it's an exact science), but I'm a little surprised that that doesn't end up being a character-development point.
●
Spoiler
I'm kind of disappointed that Reed, and not Ellery, was locked in the closet at the end. Not that I wanted Ellery to suffer more, of course, but...seems like a chance for her to conquer her demons in a big way? Plus, we effectively have Reed being locked in a closet and escaping and saving Ellery's life, which is not necessarily what I'm looking for with a female protagonist. I can see an argument that it would be too expected for Ellery to be the one trapped again, but still...● Overall, it was a solid read but felt a bit standard. I think that's best illustrated in the bit about the interrogation room: not that anything here is done badly, but it's been done before. Scarred heroine who was a killer's only survivor; corrupt police chief; that lack of two-way mirrors; etc.
gareindeedreads's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is one I have been eyeing for quite a while now and was so thankful that Minotaur Books sent me a copy of it to review! The opening was downright terrifyingly cinematic and menacing...I was immediately hooked.
I loved not only the creepy plot to this one, but you could tell that the author really took their time planning out every small detail, every plot twist, and every word and motion that each character portrayed...and the writing was brilliantly flawless. This story is one that is so unique right from the beginning that it is no doubt in my mind when reading it that it is a book by Minotaur as they have really found a knack for printing brilliant crime fiction. I cannot express enough how chilling and ominous the opening to this one was, drawing me into this sleepy suburb of Massachusetts and holding me hostage until the violent and shocking conclusion.
This is a story ripped from the headlines tying in a multi-layered plot that weaves a cold case serial killer storyline in with what would appear to be an eerily similar case or a plain old copycat murderer. The thing that I really found struck me with this one was the ingredients to this novel. It was part character study, part suspense, part police procedural, and all around addicting. The way the author had a handful of characters that carried this story from beginning to end was not only well executed, but had me shocked at multiple points, regardless of the rather lengthy chapters. Usually when reading, I enjoy the novels with shorter chapters as it's easier to push myself a little farther before taking a break, but with this one I actually felt the lengthier chapters worked well in its execution as the storyline mounted with tension, each chapter focusing on a different part of the story.
I absolutely loved the raw honesty of Ellery and Reed as they reunited fourteen years after their first initial meeting and was blown away with the way the author showed the reader how these characters have changed and what they've been through, each becoming a little lost and really damaged. By no means were these characters ones that reeked of fiction. They are lively, brutally honest, and harrowing. As for the rest of the characters, I really think the author has a specialty in making each one shine in different scenes, whether they are key central characters or just there to state a purpose, not one moment of dialog or action is wasted.
While I enjoyed this story a lot, this was on track to be a five-star read for me, although I did have a few questions left unanswered during the ending, which to me seemed a little rushed, but was still effective. The author got to the point we wanted, but I was still left feeling that I wanted just a little bit more insight into the motive during the reveal. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed this novel from beginning to end.
If you're looking for a brilliantly eerie and claustrophobic novel that features a chilling plot, remarkably real characters, and tones that are reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs, this is the novel for you. Mark my words, this is not the last of Joanna Schaffhausen.
*Special thanks to Minotaur Books for sending me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
I loved not only the creepy plot to this one, but you could tell that the author really took their time planning out every small detail, every plot twist, and every word and motion that each character portrayed...and the writing was brilliantly flawless. This story is one that is so unique right from the beginning that it is no doubt in my mind when reading it that it is a book by Minotaur as they have really found a knack for printing brilliant crime fiction. I cannot express enough how chilling and ominous the opening to this one was, drawing me into this sleepy suburb of Massachusetts and holding me hostage until the violent and shocking conclusion.
This is a story ripped from the headlines tying in a multi-layered plot that weaves a cold case serial killer storyline in with what would appear to be an eerily similar case or a plain old copycat murderer. The thing that I really found struck me with this one was the ingredients to this novel. It was part character study, part suspense, part police procedural, and all around addicting. The way the author had a handful of characters that carried this story from beginning to end was not only well executed, but had me shocked at multiple points, regardless of the rather lengthy chapters. Usually when reading, I enjoy the novels with shorter chapters as it's easier to push myself a little farther before taking a break, but with this one I actually felt the lengthier chapters worked well in its execution as the storyline mounted with tension, each chapter focusing on a different part of the story.
I absolutely loved the raw honesty of Ellery and Reed as they reunited fourteen years after their first initial meeting and was blown away with the way the author showed the reader how these characters have changed and what they've been through, each becoming a little lost and really damaged. By no means were these characters ones that reeked of fiction. They are lively, brutally honest, and harrowing. As for the rest of the characters, I really think the author has a specialty in making each one shine in different scenes, whether they are key central characters or just there to state a purpose, not one moment of dialog or action is wasted.
While I enjoyed this story a lot, this was on track to be a five-star read for me, although I did have a few questions left unanswered during the ending, which to me seemed a little rushed, but was still effective. The author got to the point we wanted, but I was still left feeling that I wanted just a little bit more insight into the motive during the reveal. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed this novel from beginning to end.
If you're looking for a brilliantly eerie and claustrophobic novel that features a chilling plot, remarkably real characters, and tones that are reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs, this is the novel for you. Mark my words, this is not the last of Joanna Schaffhausen.
*Special thanks to Minotaur Books for sending me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
knit_and_purl's review against another edition
3.0
While reading this book, I often thought about Thomas Harris's "Silence of the Lambs." It's not as sinister, but it definitely recreated the nervous feeling I got when reading that book. There are a few plot holes here and there (would it really have been that hard to track down Ellery when she only changed her first name?), but I was willing to let those go. The pacing was strong and the tension was certainly present.
alaznehm's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
mehleigh's review against another edition
4.0
The moment that I saw the cover for The Vanishing Season I was hooked, it conveyed the right amount of mystery, eerie, and beauty that I love to see in genre fiction. I know that the saying is to 'never judge a book by its cover', but as a designer myself a good cover always wins out. After checking out the description I knew that I had to read this book, it seemed like everything I was looking for in my next read.
I think my biggest gripe is that I actually wish this one was longer, and in order to achieve that I think there were certain things that could have been expanded on, certain things that felt as though they were left a little unfinished, but that probably stems more from the fact that I enjoyed it so much and I didn't want it to end. I wanted to know more, I wanted to spend more time with these characters because I really grew to like Ellery and Reed.
This is an ARC provided to me by NetGalley for an honest review.
I think my biggest gripe is that I actually wish this one was longer, and in order to achieve that I think there were certain things that could have been expanded on, certain things that felt as though they were left a little unfinished, but that probably stems more from the fact that I enjoyed it so much and I didn't want it to end. I wanted to know more, I wanted to spend more time with these characters because I really grew to like Ellery and Reed.
This is an ARC provided to me by NetGalley for an honest review.
writing_inthemountains's review against another edition
5.0
The three people that disappeared aren’t searched for by the police because Ellery is the single officer who believes there is a connection between them, otherwise there’s none, well maybe just one: they all disappeared in the beginning of July, when Ellery birthday is.
She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer all those years ago.
Agent Reed became “famous” in the police force when he found Ellery and saved her, he was just 28yo. Working for the FBI in the behavioural science unit, he made no mistake when catching killers, until he made one. A kid died. He lost it from then on.
Now he and Ellery try to solve the disappearences whilst solving who is stalking Ellery because Coben is confirmed still in jail on death row.
But Ellery receives a hand on her bday… It’s the hand of one of the disappeared persons.
Fast paced thriller that I’ve truly enjoying, it is a serie that I will continue reading, I’m actually really loving it.
It’s engaging, I do recommend it, it’s not necessary a Halloween read because the action is packed in summer but the vibes are there!
She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer all those years ago.
Agent Reed became “famous” in the police force when he found Ellery and saved her, he was just 28yo. Working for the FBI in the behavioural science unit, he made no mistake when catching killers, until he made one. A kid died. He lost it from then on.
Now he and Ellery try to solve the disappearences whilst solving who is stalking Ellery because Coben is confirmed still in jail on death row.
But Ellery receives a hand on her bday… It’s the hand of one of the disappeared persons.
Fast paced thriller that I’ve truly enjoying, it is a serie that I will continue reading, I’m actually really loving it.
It’s engaging, I do recommend it, it’s not necessary a Halloween read because the action is packed in summer but the vibes are there!
kbfrantom's review against another edition
4.0
Ellery is the one victim who escaped from a serial murderer when she was 14. Years later, she has changed her identity and is working for the police when a set of kidnappings happens in her small town. She asks for help from the FBI agent who rescued her years ago. Even though this was a mystery, I was less concerned about finding out who did it and more interested in Ellery and the FBI agent. They both have been affected for years by what happened years before and it has changed both of their lives. I liked how the author alluded to the violent acts committed by the serial murderer and didn't go into detail.
xokristim's review against another edition
4.0
I love that it takes place where I live and I knew the landmarks they were talking about. Books that contain serial killers always seem to catch my attention, and this book was no exception. I would definitely consider this a good, solid read.
Ellery was a great character, she was so determined to help and fix everything she possibly could. It took me a bit but I did end up really loving Reed. He was a very complex character, as was everyone in this story. They had all been through so much and it still wasn’t over. Found myself second guessing all of the characters.
Definitely didn’t see the end twist coming, caught me completely off guard. Ending was very intense and I had to finish in one sitting. I needed to know what was going to happen. I really enjoyed the story, but wished the pacing was a little different during the middle, or maybe just more even throughout. Overall I enjoyed this read and would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a good, solid thriller.
Ellery was a great character, she was so determined to help and fix everything she possibly could. It took me a bit but I did end up really loving Reed. He was a very complex character, as was everyone in this story. They had all been through so much and it still wasn’t over. Found myself second guessing all of the characters.
Definitely didn’t see the end twist coming, caught me completely off guard. Ending was very intense and I had to finish in one sitting. I needed to know what was going to happen. I really enjoyed the story, but wished the pacing was a little different during the middle, or maybe just more even throughout. Overall I enjoyed this read and would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a good, solid thriller.
guardyourhonor's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this, and I've already read most of the rest of the series. The mystery was very well done - I was able to guess who did it, but not until shortly before the reveal, so I felt smug about figuring it out rather than annoyed that it was obvious. I love a mystery where I can put things together along with the characters. Speaking of whom, I loved Ellery and Reed. I like the alternating between their viewpoints, since they both bring something so different. Their relationship is also really complex and engaging and emotional.
Lastly, I loved the way the book neatly critiqued the culture around True Crime.
Lastly, I loved the way the book neatly critiqued the culture around True Crime.
skymmkay's review against another edition
5.0
THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!!! any crime junkies i recommend. had my heart racing. had to take several breaks. cannot wait to read the next one