The Vanishing (Jayne Ann Krentz) – Review & Excerpt

January 6, 2020 Book Reviews 5 ★★★★

The Vanishing (Jayne Ann Krentz) – Review & ExcerptThe Vanishing by Jayne Ann Krentz
Series: Fogg Lake #1
Published by Berkley on January 7, 2020
Genres: Paranormal romantic suspense
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible
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four-stars
Also by this author: Copper Beach, Dream Eyes, River Road, Secret Sisters, Eye of the Beholder, Lost and Found, Sharp Edges, When All the Girls Have Gone, Smoke in Mirrors, Falling Awake, Hidden Talents, All Night Long, Untouchable, Sleep No More, The Night Island, Flash, The Golden Chance

Decades ago in the small town of Fogg Lake, The Incident occurred: an explosion in the cave system that released unknown gases. The residents slept for two days. When they woke up they discovered that things had changed—they had changed. Some started having visions. Others heard ominous voices. And then, scientists from a mysterious government agency arrived. Determined not to become research subjects of strange experiments, the residents of Fogg Lake blamed their “hallucinations” on food poisoning, and the story worked. But now it has become apparent that the eerie effects of The Incident are showing up in the descendants of Fogg Lake.…

Catalina Lark and Olivia LeClair, best friends and co-owners of an investigation firm in Seattle, use what they call their “other sight” to help solve cases. When Olivia suddenly vanishes one night, Cat frantically begins the search for her friend. No one takes the disappearance seriously except Slater Arganbright, an agent from a shadowy organization known only as the Foundation, who shows up at her firm with a cryptic warning.

A ruthless killer is hunting the only witnesses to a murder that occurred in the Fogg Lake caves fifteen years ago—Catalina and Olivia. And someone intends to make both women vanish.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.

This book contains mature content and may not be suitable for younger readers.

Review

I was over the moon to discover that Jayne Ann Krentz has returned to paranormal romantic suspense with The Vanishing, the first book in the Fogg Lake series!

Catalina Lark and Slater Arganbright will feel familiar to Krentz fans. Catalina is smart, determined, and psychically gifted: she has visions of the immediate future (four or five seconds ahead.) Slater is recovering from an accident that left his psychic abilities changed, both more powerful and unpredictable. The several months he spent “locked in the attic” (for his own safety) left their mark on his psyche as well; his outlook, at least in terms of his own future, is somewhat pessimistic. Nonetheless, Catalina learns she can rely on him to have her back as they search for her missing friend Olivia and try to figure out the broader puzzle of who is after Catalina and Olivia and just what those people want.

The result is everything I expect from a Jayne Anne Krentz book: suspense, romance, sharp dialog, and an exciting plot full of twists and unexpected turns. I enjoyed every minute of it, and would have read it through in a single night if I hadn’t also been working a lot of extra hours.

I did wonder as I read The Vanishing whether the Fogg Lake “world” connects with the Arcane Society books, because there are some significant parallels. Arcane is never mentioned in The Vanishing, but much of the overall world seems very similar to that of the Arcane Society — a world where some people possess significant psychic powers, and where secret organizations, both governmental and private (and both benign and malignant) explore those powers and how to create, enhance, or control them. Overall, the Arcane Society and its members are a more organized and knowledgeable than the groups and individuals in this book, but I can easily imagine the Fogg Lake series connecting up at some point.

If past history is anything to go by, the next book will come out in January of 2021. And already I can’t wait to read it!

Excerpt

Hover over the bottom of the excerpt, then click the down arrow that appears in the menu bar to read the second page.

Krentz_JayneAnn_FoggLake-01_TheVanishing_EXCERPT


Read for the 2020 POPSugar Reading Challenge: (46) A book by an author who has written more than 20 books

four-stars

About Jayne Ann Krentz

author photo of Jayne Ann Krentz (2018 photo by Marc von Borstel)

The author of over 40 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense, often with a psychic and paranormal twist, in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.

She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.

Ms. Krentz is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington.

Pseudonyms: Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick, Stephanie James, Jayne Bentley, Jayne Taylor, Amanda Glass.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • COYER with Friends (Winter 2019-2020)
  • POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2020

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