My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Jayne Ann Krentz is one of my ‘no worries, simply read’ author. She has always managed to lift my mood with her perfect mix of mystery and suspense in her story without too much drama. As Amanda Quick, she has written a lot of romantic suspense books with a paranormal angle, especially the Arcane Society series of which I have read a few. And I really have enjoyed reading them. There’s mystery, there’s romance, psychic protagonists adding a paranormal layer to the story with an eclectic mix of characters that makes reading them a pure delight.
The Vanishing is book #1 in the Fogg Lake series and the first book does provide the promise for a wonderful series in the future. Olivia and Catalina as teenagers belonging to a close-knit community were witness to a murder that no one believes happened in the Fogg Lake caves. The caves are the site of an ‘incident’ as the locals refer to, that has given the residents of this small-town uncanny abilities and psychic powers. The girls escape from the murderer by going deeper into the caves and manage to stay hidden until dawn and thus escape.
15 yrs. later, Catalina and Olivia are running a private investigation agency but keeping their psychic ability a secret as Catalina has already suffered the skepticism of the press being branded as troubled and fame seeking woman during the course of helping her ex-lover. When Olivia is kidnapped by persons unknown and there’s a scientist from the Foundation in her office, Catalina knows that the past has come calling. Slater Arganbright is himself a psychic and recovering from an experimental accident that makes him a danger to himself but sparks of love flare up between them when Slater decides to help in the investigation of missing Olivia and coincidences that surface becomes too hard to ignore. The hush-hush government project that was shut down and the villains trying to find the closed labs for their own nefarious purposes makes for some interesting read.
The author has created a wonderful story that is yet to be fully divulged in its entirety as this the 1st book in the series but I loved the beginning. The town of Fogg Lake and its quirky residents, I am sure, have more secrets to be revealed. The chemistry between the leads was lovely and the supporting characters like always in her books a pleasure to read.
If you are fan of romance with mystery and intrigue with a touch a paranormal element added to it, then definitely go for it. The Vanishing is a solid treat for her fans.
P.S: Absolutely loved the book cover💙💙💙
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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.