Reporter Moira Harrison is lost. In the dark. In a thunderstorm. When a confusing detour places her on a rural, wooded road, she’s startled by the sudden appearance of a lone figure caught in the beam of her headlights. Though Moira jams on her brakes, the car careens across the wet pavement–and the solid thump against the side of the vehicle tells her she hit the person before she crashes into a tree on the far side of the road.
A dazed Moira is relieved when a man opens her door, tells her he saw everything, and promises to call 911. Then everything fades to black. When she comes to an hour later, she is alone. No man. No 911. No injured person lying on the side of the road. But she can’t forget the look of terror she saw on the person’s face in the instant before her headlights swung away. The person she hit had been in trouble. She’s sure of it. But she can’t get anyone to believe her story–except a handsome former police detective, now a private eye, who agrees to take on the case.
(From the author’s website.) Irene Hannon is a bestselling, award-winning author who took the publishing world by storm at the tender age of 10 with a sparkling piece of fiction that received national attention.
Okay…maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. But she was one of the honorees in a complete-the-story contest conducted by a national children’s magazine. And she likes to think of that as her “official” fiction-writing debut!
Since then, she has written more than 45 romance and romantic suspense novels. Her books have been honored with two RITA awards—the “Oscar” of romantic fiction—and she is a six-time finalist. Her books have also won a Daphne du Maurier award, a Carol award, two HOLT Medallions, a National Readers’ Choice Award, a Retailers Choice Award and two Reviewers’ Choice awards from RT Book Reviews magazine. One of her novels was also named by Booklist as a top 10 inspirational fiction books of 2011. In addition, she is a Christy award finalist.
Irene, who holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in journalism, juggled two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate communications position with a Fortune 500 company to write full-time. She is happy to say she has no regrets!
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, gardening and singing. A trained vocalist, she has sung the leading role in numerous musicals, including “South Pacific,” “Brigadoon,” “Oklahoma” “The King and I” and “Anything Goes.” She is also a soloist at her church.
When not otherwise occupied, Irene and her husband enjoy traveling, Saturday mornings at their favorite coffee shop and spending time with family. They make their home in Missouri.
My Impressions:
I think I just found the perfect series for my vacation reading/listening, at least if the first book is any indication. Vanished, book 1 in the Private Justice series by Irene Hannon, was just what I needed to get my morning walk started off right — mysterious events, a strong and capable heroine, a hunky PI on the case and a storyline that kept my interest. And while I walked along with the action, I think the next book in the series will be with me in a lounge chair by the pool or on the beach.
Moira Harrison literally runs into a mystery. While the events of the accident are hazy, she knows that a young woman really has vanished. Determined to get to the bottom of just what happened she enlists a private investigator to take on the case. With not much to go on, the two uncover murder and romantic feelings that they can’t deny.
Vanished is fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. The characters are likable and relatable. The reader is let in early on the mystery, but that didn’t lessen the suspense. There is quite a bit of cat and mouse on both sides of the investigation. If you are a fan of romantic suspense, you are sure to like this one. I listened to the audiobook. It took me a little bit to get used to the narrator’s voice, but the story soon took over. And I am definitely looking forward to reading book 2 — Trapped.
Recommended.
(I purchased the audiobook version from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
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