Vanishing Rose: A Small Town Riveting Kidnapping Mystery

By: Hazel Holmes

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

A single night, a vanished child, and a hidden truth that turns desperation into a deadly game

In this riveting abduction mystery, Chloe's world shatters when her daughter vanishes, dismissed by police as a custody issue. Driven by maternal instincts, she embarks on a frantic search, uncovering a personal vendetta against her by a ruthless predator. As Chloe battles against time and a psychopathic kidnapper, she's drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse. This heart-stopping novel offers relentless suspense, a courageous heroine, and a villainous twist that will leave you breathless. Perfect for fans of high-stakes tension and chilling narratives.

The story has good bones

While all the right pieces of a great book are present, they are played too superficially. The characters provoke the same feelings in me as the family that lives behind me. I know their names. I can tell you, based on the well attended parties, in which months birthdays occur. I know who wins the argument over whose turn it is to clean the grill and which sports each of the kids are trying to get better at. The one I feel that I know the best, however, is the dog. He is the one I spend the most time “neighboring” with. The plot is good. It can be summed up solidly enough to draw me close in one sentence. I could have done without that one sentence being repeated over and over throughout the book, though. There are a few parts of the book that drag enough to make me want to shove it back into my library shelf. Having been taught to finish what I start, though, I shared my commute with Chloe and Harper to the end. The story itself moved along nicely. In my opinion, though, the writing seemed very middle school. Lots of time spent glossing over (and over and over) the gists of Chloe’s feelings about her husband. There were, however, many missed opportunities for the action, excitement, and suspense to be described in ways that would turn my knuckles white. I’m not entirely sure, however, that the tempo and intonation of the AI influenced my opinion that the writing could be significantly more mature. I’m willing to give another book by the author a listen before I decide. Hopefully I can find one that is narrated by a human.