Vanish, by Tess Gerritsen

Every once in a while I have to get my “thriller” fix, and Vanish was an excellent choice for this. I’ve not read Tess Gerritsen before, and I’m always looking for a new author to explore. I will probably seek out some more of her work after enjoying this book.

Jane Rizzoli is a Boston police detective and is a recurring character in Gerritsen’s books.  In this episode, she is very pregnant at the beginning and has a baby during the story. Of course, she and her baby are in dire straits before the end of the book.

At the beginning, there are two stories going on – one is about girls from foreign countries who are brought to this country with the promise of jobs and end up in slavery and forced into prostitution.  The second story is about a woman psycho who takes hostages in a hospital – and Jane ends up being one of the hostages because she is there to have her baby.

It really took me a while to figure out how this was all going to come together, but I liked the uncertainty. I don’t usually want to be able to figure everything out right away; that’s the fun of a thriller! I tend to like authors who use the same characters in books.  I love Alex Cross (my guilty pleasure) and Temperance Brennan because they become your friends after reading about them over and over again. You really get to know them and follow them through their entire lives. However, jumping into the middle of this series was fine. I didn’t feel like I had missed out on anything, and I did feel a connection to Jane and her family.

The only question I had, and it isn’t that big of a deal, is why is the book named Vanish? I don’t get who or what vanished. When I can’t relate to the title of a book, I won’t remember it. By the end of the year when I see this title, I won’t remember the story without reading a blurb.

Gerritsen spins an intriguing yarn, kept my heart pounding until the end, and had me cheering for the good guys (and sometimes the bad guys, when I thought that they were good.)  I think these books are appropriate for teens who are interested in this genre.  A very enjoyable, easy to read book. If you haven’t experienced this author before, I would recommend her.  

Please let me know in the comments if you have a favorite thriller author you think I should try.  Thanks!

Published by Ballantine in 2005
Copy obtained from the library
336 pages

Rating: 3.5/5