Vanished by Kendra Elliott

Narrated by Nick Podehl and Amy McFadden

We often take for granted that our children could be abducted. Imagine the horror of finding out that your child never arrived at school? What would you do? Vanished centers around a child kidnapping taking place just a few days before Christmas, the crucial steps the extended family takes to try to avert disaster, and its effect on the family. No one is immune to scrutiny. In that regard, this book somewhat reminded me of the Clue board game. There is also a secondary mystery and some elements of romance to keep you entertained and guessing as to the ultimate direction of this story. Please note though, that this novel is much more weighted towards the mystery/suspense, rather than the romance.

Local detective Mason Callahan is having a bad stretch. First, he is informed that one of his longtime, confidential informants, a prostitute, has been murdered. Then, he gets a call from his ex-wife seeking his help to track down her 11-year-old stepdaughter, Henley, who has gone missing.

Thanks to the quick thinking of the family, including Mason who agrees to take time off of work to serve as the family spokesperson, the FBI quickly assembles a special taskforce to investigate this case. Chief among the agents is special Agent Ava McLane, who is specifically assigned to be a liaison to the family. As Agent McLane and the other members of the taskforce begin working the case, secrets surrounding the family members, including Mason, his ex-wife, her new husband, and Mason and his ex-wife’s son, a college student, begin to be revealed.

Working tirelessly and hand-in-hand to bring Henley home safe, Mason and Ava develop a mutual admiration for one another. Soon one thing leads to another. But can their connection developed at a time of danger, prevail once the case is closed?

As is frequently the case in dual narrations with a male and female narrator, Nick Podehl narrates the chapters that are told from a male character’s perspective and Amy McFadden the ones from the females’. This style generally works in this book although I have to say, that I preferred Nick Podehl’s rendition, as I absolutely fell in love with his style. Amy McFadden’s performance is also a great one, particularly for the female roles, but Mr. Podehl’s voice became the one that I associated with Mason and the other men.

Nick Podehl is amazing! This was my first experience with his work, and I truly hope it’s not my last. He is a natural at narrating FBI/law enforcement stories. I almost thought I was listening to America’s Most Wanted. Moreover, he miraculously was able to make every single character, irrespective of gender, sound different and authentic. His speed and cadence were also particularly well suited for this fast-paced, action-packed, mystery adventure.

My favorite part of Amy McFadden’s depiction was her enactment of Ava. Her strength and vulnerability are both evident. In particular, her emotional empathy and her feelings towards both Mason, and the large cast of family members, are well communicated. I also appreciated that Ms. McFadden created distinct intonations for every character, making it unnecessary to rely on dialogue tags.

All in all, Vanished was an interesting departure from my more typical romance listens. While I am an avid fan of romantic suspense, Vanished contained much less romance than what I am typically accustomed to finding in similarly labeled stories. Nonetheless, the mystery and suspense elements of this novel held my attention, and the narration helped drive it all home, making this a decent audiobook choice overall.

BJ

Narration:  Nick Podehl – A and Amy McFadden – B

Book Content:  B

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  Fighting

Genre:  Mystery/Suspense with elements of romance

Publisher:  Brilliance Audio

Vanished was provided to AudioGals by Brilliance Audio for review.