This book is definitely NOT on my keep list. I just felt nothing for it. ( )

They celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary; they’re still in love with each other. They make love and settle down to sleep in their beautiful home in Gulfport, Florida. In the middle of the night Mason Seaforth wakes to find Samantha (Sami) is not in bed. He gets up and progresses through the house – she’s nowhere to be found. Her car is still there; there’s no sign she packed. What is going on? He thinks of all of the possibilities – maybe she went jogging? He doesn’t want to relay his concern to their daughter who is away at college, but as time lingers on, he confides in Marcie, Sami’s close friend. The police contact him and he holds his breath as he thinks they’re relaying news about Sami; they’re not. They’re eliminating suspects in the brutal murder of James and Joan Briscoe, a Tampa couple. Mason’s shoes happen to match the prints of the shoes worn by the killer.

This is a complex story of the police investigation; Mason and Marcie’s own investigation; and the killer’s team keeping the lid on things. We know the killer’s name early on – Greg Johnson, and we know he’s referred to as ‘The Force’. What we don’t know is Sami’s condition — if she is alive or dead – and we don’t know why. It’s a good story and it had me at the start. Even though I was completely pulled in, I did find that there were ‘unreal’ situations, like the patience of the bad guys. Usually the bad guy mentality leads to much impatience. Also, for being professionals, I find it hard to believe they’d overlook a back-door with which captives can escape. I rated The Vanishing Wife at 3.5 out of 5. ( )