Josie Quinn is on paid leave from her job as a detective in the small, central Pennsylvania town of Denton. She has been suspended for using excessive force on a woman when she found her selling her four-year old daughter for drugs – and now she is being duly punished.

Her personal life is also in turmoil.  Although she is still technically married to Ray, her childhood sweetheart, her new boyfriend, a state police officer named Luke, has just proposed. Her only family, her grandmother, is in a nursing home which she visits regularly.

Now, events are conspiring her to become involved in the town’s recent case of a missing teenager. Her boss, the police chief, as well as her husband are trying to get her to drop her involvement, but Josie is like a dog with a bone.

Josie’s obstinacy will put her, and many of the people she loves, in dire jeopardy.

Anyone searching for an adrenaline-fueled read will surely enjoy “Vanishing Girls“. Tension and suspense mark this fast-paced, serial killer, crime thriller. This novel introduces a new series featuring a strong-willed, principled protagonist who will be admired by many.

The small-town setting in central Pennsylvania was well described and the locale is easily imaginable.

The story opens with a distressing and chilling prologue where a young girl is quickly and silently snatched from her back yard while her sister is hanging out bed sheets.

With themes of abduction, sexual abuse, and police corruption, there are some scenes which were uncomfortable to read. That being said, the pages almost turned themselves.

I did find some aspects of the story a tad ‘over the top’, but thought it no worse that a lot of television police dramas. Speaking of which, this would make a GREAT TV show!

At the end of the day, I would heartily recommend this novel to any reader who enjoys fast-paced suspense, and a strong female lead. Crime fiction to escape into…  Highly recommended!

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Grand Central Publishing via Morgan Swift and NetGalley.

ISBN: 9781538734117                336 pages

(originally published in 2017 by Bookouture)

Note: “Vanishing Girls” in on offer now for only .99¢ for the Kindle book. AND, I have already purchased the second book in the series of which there are SEVEN books in total to date.Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Education degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America.

She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter and Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip.

Visit Lisa Regan’s website – Follow her on Twitter – Follow her on Instagram