Our life experiences, both positive and negative, make us who we are. How we deal with them can either allow us to grow or leave us emotionally stuck. The protagonist in the recently released book Vanishing Girls, Karin Schaeffer, has decided not to allow the pain from her past to dictate how the rest of her life will evolve. Even though Karin has demonstrated the strength to move on, she still struggles with a painful past that involves a serial killer who murdered her first husband and their child. She later miscarried a daughter while married to her second husband, "Mac" MacLeary. While those memories are still fresh and can sometimes intrude without notice, Karin remains steadfast in moving forward with her life.
Vanishing Girls (Harper) is the third novel by Katia Lief to feature Karin Schaeffer, an ex-cop turned private investigator, after You Are Next and Next Time You See Me. Her husband, Mac, is also a private investigator and while he is suffering from a serious case of the flu, Karin assumes his duties in a case involving the hit and run of a young child and the murder of a young woman who appears to have been killed by the so-called "Working Girl Killer," who has eluded capture for many years. When Karin arrives at the crime scene, she encounters Detective (and family friend) Billy Staples, who has an interesting back story as well. During a shoot out with an ex-lover, Billy lost an eye and now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is currently impacting his work, especially when working crime scenes. While Karin appears empathetic and caring, I wondered if she actually has feelings for Billy, since she goes to great lengths to protect him, while also encouraging him to seek counseling for his PTSD.
As the story evolves, Karin and Mac are pulled into a series of disturbing events that reveal a connection between the hit and run accident and the murder, which produces a series of suspects, including a priest, a group of men who have criminal records, seemingly benign neighbors, and even Billy, whose emotional problems may be impacting him more than he admits. As the web unfolds, issues of human trafficking and child abuse make matters more complicated for Mac and Karin, who find their lives rapidly changing, for better or worse.
While Vanishing Girls is suspenseful, I would not classify it as a thriller, since the principal characters are generally not in grave danger. The majority of the carnage is discovered after the fact, instead of while it is happening. That is not necessarily a criticism, just an observation. I would classify this effort more as a socially conscious crime drama with a flawed, but very likable main character. Karin appears to want to save the world and is deeply concerned for other people, but she also tries too hard, at times, to do the right thing and has issues with boundaries, which causes her undo stress. Karin's heart is in the right place, but it sometimes negatively impacts her judgement.
Vanishing Girls is the first novel in the series that I have read, so I cannot compare it to the aforementioned titles. However, I did enjoy learning about the details of the day to day activities of the principal characters who still have lives to lead, in addition to trying to solve a series of crimes that will come to impact them personally. The inclusion of minor details also allows for character development, which is essential for any novel. Overall, Vanishing Girls is an interesting, sometimes exciting, and extremely detailed effort by Katia Lief.
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