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After a night out, Roger and Lauren Heller are viciously attacked by thugs in an Econoline van, leaving Lauren unconscious and Roger missing. Knowing that his uncle, Nick, is the only person who might be able to find his stepfather, Lauren’s teenage son, Gabe, calls for help.
Nick hasn’t been on the best of terms with his brother in recent years, but he loves Lauren and Gabe and will do whatever it takes to find Roger and bring him home. Right from the start, he suspects that Lauren isn’t telling him everything he needs to know in order to find her husband—that is, if he’s even still alive. And, if he is, Lauren needs to stop keeping secrets, or she might just get Roger killed.
The more Nick uncovers about his brother’s life before his disappearance, the more baffling things become. Roger seems to have a whole other side—much like their father, who’s serving time in the state’s correctional facility for fraud—and he’s become mixed up in a world that could cost him, his wife, and his stepson their lives. Nick, however, isn’t about to let that happen, and he’ll face an influential and lethal enemy to keep his promise.
A high-velocity and character-driven story, with twists and turns thrown in to shake things up, Vanished whizzes by right up to the end that you almost won’t see coming. You’ll most definitely feel compelled to find out what Roger’s up to—is he a victim or something more? What about Lauren? Is she really as innocent as she wants you to believe? Mr. Finder gives his readers enough doubt, either way, to keep us curious and uncertain.
Nick Heller is a stubborn and determined investigator with a private intelligence firm and Special Forces training—which you’ll get to see up close and personal several times throughout the book. Mr. Finder blends action with his knowledge of defensive and counter attack moves to make the experience and the action feel truly authentic. Not many authors can do that without it sounding like a step-by-step educational guide, but Joseph Finder pulls it off flawlessly.
Will I snatch novels by Joseph Finder off bookstore shelves in the future? You can bet your annual salary I will—even if I have to elbow the person next to me out of the way to get to it. Okay, maybe I wouldn’t be that mean to get one of Mr. Finder’s novels, but I sure would be tempted, because Vanished, with its compelling and action-packed plot, has put him within radar range of some of my favorite authors.
