Corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of the big city and the daily grind. She grew up with her father, who raised search-and-rescue dogs, in rural Texas and has moved to the small town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park. When she and her dog, Huck, discover an abandoned campsite on a volunteer search-and-rescue mission, she’s perplexed, but she carefully photographs it all the same.
All Grant Wycoff can see when he looks at Ava is a city slicker—with her designer jeans and shiny car—who has no business on a serious team made of seasoned outdoorsmen and retired cops. But when she tells him of her findings on the trail, he sees there’s more to her than meets the eye.
Ava’s discovery reminds Grant of the unsolved case of a young woman who went missing two years ago. As they look into the campsite further, another woman disappears under odd circumstances. With time running out, Ava and Grant must work against the brutal heat from both the Texas sun and their own electric chemistry to solve the case.
Release Date: Oct 25, 2022
Heat Level: Sensual/Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $8.99
Ava Burch left a firm in Houston to open a law practice with her friend, Jenna, in the small town of Cuervo, Texas. She also volunteers as a Search and Rescue worker along with rescue dog, Huck, that her deceased father had trained. While on a search for a missing child, Ava finds an abandoned campsite that has one hiking book and a car key fob left behind. Even though the local sheriff dismisses her concerns, Ava can’t let go of her suspicions. Detective Grant Wycoff from the sheriff’s department takes her observations seriously and soon Grant, Ava, and Huck are on the trail searching for more than one missing woman. In addition to an unknown foe, Grant and Ava are also fighting their growing attraction for each other while working on this dangerous case.
Vanishing Hour is a fast-paced, suspenseful novel that is full of action to keep your interest from beginning to end. The vivid descriptions allow you to really picture the West Texas setting. The main character, Ava, is intelligent and uses her research skills to make connections between incidents of missing women that law enforcement doesn’t see. With her trained Labrador by her side, she is also able to find people and clues that others have overlooked. She has a tendency to put herself in unnecessary danger and that provides a lot of drama in the story but can become frustrating. My favorite parts of the book are when she and Huck are working together, and I learned a lot about search and rescue in the process.
Ava and Grant make a good couple when they admit to themselves how much they care for each other personally and also openly share information professionally. The investigation and the suspense are well-done in this book, but those looking for romance along with the mystery won’t be disappointed. There are only a couple of love scenes, but those scenes are passionate with a heat level somewhere between “Sensual” and “Hot.” Less successful is Ava’s friendship with her law partner, Jenna. Jenna is supportive of Ava one minute and critical the next, all the while doing her own share of questionable things. If Jenna’s character was developed more, it would better explain the reasons behind her actions. As it was, she came off poorly and was hard to understand. Her behavior was distracting from the main plot, but at least she was a supporting character. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and how the case was resolved, as well as seeing the friendship and working relationship between Ava and Grant grow into something more. The author does a good job of balancing the romance and the suspense in this intriguing story.
~ Christine
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