Title: The Vanishing Hour
Author: Seraphina Nova Glass
Publication: May 30, 2023
Publisher: Graydon House
Genre: Thriller, Psychological Thriller
Pages: 285
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets.
But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.
When a surge of disappearances brings the investigation to her door, Grace finds herself unwillingly at the center of it all and doing everything she can to keep her distance. Because Grace knows something…something that could change everything. And when the truth comes to light, getting justice for the vanished might be more than Grace can handle alone…
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but honestly we should absolutely judge a book by its cover with this. The cover of The Vanishing Hour by Seraphina Nova Glass is stunning. This book had a lot of raves going up about it so I knew I had to take a peek!
I was hesitant at the beginning as the book started because it seemed to be confusing. There were multiple storylines happening and multiple missing people with no semblance of being related in any way. There was a plethora of characters introduced fairly quickly and it took me a few chapters to get them all straight and who they were in the story. With that said, the intrigue from these missing people in this small town had me hooked. I had to know how all these characters would tie together and I definitely had to know where these missing girls were. Why is it always in small towns there is no one really looking for these girls. That was a bit infuriating in the story, but definitely made it believable as that happens often.
All the characters seemed to have deep, dark pasts that we slowly got to know. I like how the characters kind of came together to help each other but also clearly trusted no one, including each other. This kept me on my toes and I was convinced I was about to have my mind blown on who the bad guy was. Glass definitely knows how to keep you guessing. She also knows how to throw a complete left turn at you! The ending literally had my jaw drop open and I may have made an exclamation out loud that I shouldn’t put here. The twists and turns at the end definitely brought this intricately woven story to a head in shocking realizations.
This is a dark mystery for those who love a story that will keep you guessing and surprised around every corner. It’s also a cleaner mystery with no graphic torture, abuse, or bloody scenes, so you are safe to read this if those types of scenes bother you. I’ll add Glass to my must-read list now and cannot wait for her future novels.
