Former NYPD detective Liliana Slavik is still recovering from a nervous breakdown, after a shooting that killed her fiancé and ended her career. Seeking refuge in her peaceful hometown, she soon discovers hundreds of people have disappeared in the Pine Barrens nearby. She becomes determined to fight through her panic attacks, team up with the man who betrayed her, and solve the sinister secret.

Liliana uncovers information about the famed Jersey Devil as well as Native American lore which tells of monsters which haunt the vast New Jersey forests. But, the anxious investigator knows there’s only one way to reveal the truth. She must enter the woods herself…

Can Liliana face and defeat the terror before she becomes the next missing person?

Purchase: Amazon

Goodreads: The Vanishing

Review

*I received a copy of this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 5 stars

When former NYPD detective Liliana Slavik returns to her hometown after losing her fiancé in the shootout that ended her career, she finds herself becoming involved in investigating a series of strange disappearances in the town. Teaming up with her ex-boyfriend who is now on the local force, Lil soon starts to suspect that there may be a more supernatural explanation for the missing people. That it could be the work of the Jersey Devil.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Vanishing. I’m not familiar with the Jersey Devil story and I went online to find out more before starting to read The Vanishing. I loved how the author weaved the tale into the novel, but with their own spin on it as well.

It has all the ingredients needed to make a truly terrifying tale; a mysterious creature, local legends, missing people, a brave lead with her own inner-demons to overcome and an epic final showdown. This was all put together flawlessly to create one of the best horror stories I have read in recent years. I knew it was going to be good – no great – from the opening scene. A classic horrifying opener in which a man is carried off by the Jersey Devil. It had me gripped from the start and I had to read more.

This is an excellent horror story based on local legends and I highly recommend you putting this on your Halloween TBR list!