Watch Her Vanish by Ellery Kane
Rockwell and Decker #1
Mystery Thriller
Bookouture | October 9, 2020
About the Book:
The beam from the lighthouse slices through the dawn sky as she runs down the rocky stairway to the beach. She tries to take it all in—the waves crashing against the cliffs, the whip of salt grass in the wind—before finally dragging her eyes down to the innocent girl’s blonde hair, strewn across the bottom step like seaweed…
Returning home to Fog Harbor, California, to be closer to her little sister, Olivia Rockwell is struggling to adjust to life in a town so small she can hardly breathe. That is, until the sound of a scream leads her to the body of a local teacher in the shallows nearby. All the evidence points to Olivia’s most threatening criminal psychology patient, Drake, who is safely locked up behind bars…
Convinced of Drake’s innocence—and desperate to believe in the system that’s keeping her murderer father in prison and away from her sister—Olivia gets to work on her own suspect list. All her life she’s run towards trouble, but this time she’s treading on the toes of Detective Will Decker, whose past mistakes mean this case is his last chance to make amends.
Then a second woman’s body is discovered, strangled while out on an evening jog. The strip of blue material used to choke her implicates Drake once again, forcing Will to admit he needs Olivia’s special talent for understanding the minds of killers. It’s clear more innocent women will die if they don’t get one step ahead of the murders, and Olivia knows she will need her estranged father’s help to get close to Drake.
But when Olivia’s profile leads them to believe Drake could be masterminding murders from within the prison walls, a message written on a scrap of paper found in the latest victim’s car leads them to a terrifying realization: Olivia’s little sister will be next…
An addictive and unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Kendra Elliot and Mary Burton.
To start my review, I was a very hard sell.
I’m two books deep into Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake series and I’m in love. Starting Watch Her Vanish, I worried my love for Stillhouse Creek would bleed into my enjoyment during my first Ellery Kane novel. In the beginning, I was right. In the end, I was wrong.
Watch Her Vanish straddles the line of Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspsense. It’s normally the type of book I’d love, like a newer In Death series, or a biblio version of Castle or Bones. You know what I’m talking about, the strong detective and the beautiful forensic psychologist, determined to ignore their attraction to each other and focus solely on the case. I worried it would detract from the story, and I think I held a little of myself back.
I worried I wouldn’t be able to write a glowing review.
I was wrong.
I’m writing this within moments of reading the last page of Watch Her Vanish, and I’m hooked. I guess I’m the target audience for this type of crime thriller, whether it’s on my television screen or bound in a book form. I liked the chemistry between the two main characters. Ms. Ellery Kane did a fabulous job convincing me Deck and Olivia were better as a team, then when they worked on their own.
She wrote a fantastic mystery, full of twists and turns, with a concrete ending, but a bit of a cliffhanger. She’s a smart author, leaving us just enough to bring us back. And I will be back. Hopefully on another tour.
This is an author I’m happy to promote.
‘Grabs you by the heart, then grabs you by the throat and shakes up all your cells.’
Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
Forensic psychologist by day, novelist by night, Ellery Kane has been writing–professionally and creatively–for as long as she can remember. Just like many of her main characters, Ellery loves to ask why, which is the reason she became a psychologist in the first place. Real life really is stranger than fiction, and Ellery’s writing is often inspired by her day job. Evaluating violent criminals and treating trauma victims, she has gained a unique perspective on the past and its indelible influence on the individual. And she’s heard her fair share of real life thrillers.
Ellery lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, a picturesque setting that provides the backdrop for many of her novels. If you don’t find Ellery interviewing murderers behind prison walls or pecking away at her latest novel, she is probably at the gym landing a solid jab-cross to a punching bag; riding bicycles with her special someone; or enjoying a movie the old-fashioned way–at the theater with popcorn and Milk Duds.
Ellery was previously selected as one of ten semifinalists in the MasterClass James Patterson Co-Author Competition, and she recently signed a three book deal with Bookouture for her new Rockwell and Decker mystery thriller series.
If you’d like to receive a notification when new books are released, please sign up for Ellery’s newsletter at ellerykane.com. Ellery also signs e-books on authorgraph.com.
Birdie Bookworm 
Tbr for me! Will have to read this when I get a chance..
Fantastic review! Thank you so much for sharing it!
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Thank you!
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So welcome! Always happy to add another book to the collection!
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