*Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Larkspur

When a cold case in Texas leads to a sinister string of disappearances, a newcomer to the small town helps a detective piece together the clues in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

Corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of the big city and the daily grind. She grew up with her father, who raised search-and-rescue dogs, in rural Texas and has moved to the small town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park. When she and her dog, Huck, discover an abandoned campsite on a volunteer search-and-rescue mission, she’s perplexed, but she carefully photographs it all the same.

All Grant Wycoff can see when he looks at Ava is a city slicker—with her designer jeans and shiny car—who has no business on a serious team made of seasoned outdoorsmen and retired cops. But when she tells him of her findings on the trail, he sees there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Ava’s discovery reminds Grant of the unsolved case of a young woman who went missing two years ago. As they look into the campsite further, another woman disappears under odd circumstances. With time running out, Ava and Grant must work against the brutal heat from both the Texas sun and their own electric chemistry to solve the case.

Vanishing Hour is an intense and exhilarating story filled with unforgettable characters, intricate plot weaving and intrigue. Laura Griffin is one of my favorite authors; she knows how to make romantic suspenseful stories come alive.

Ava is an attorney, and she is also a search and rescue volunteer. While Ava and her dog help to search for a young woman who is missing, she meets Grant. Grant and Ava have an immediate connection and they share tons of chemistry as they work together to try to find the woman.

I immediately connected with the two main characters, Grant and Ava and I enjoyed all of their interactions. They work tirelessly trying to uncover clues to solve the case they are working on and also try to find time to spend with each other. This spellbinding story kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this one.