The Disappearance

Luke Garrison #1

by J.F. Freedman

A former prosecutor is determined to save a man accused of murder in this "completely engrossing" legal thriller from the New York Times-bestselling author (Detroit Free Press).
During a sleepover with her two friends, Emma goes missing. The owners of a local news network, her parents have money and power. As the police scour the city, Emma's father offers a $250,000 reward for his daughter's safe return. Eight days after the abduction, two hikers find her. Emma has been dead for days. After a year's fruitless search, the police make an arrest, picking up the network's star anchorman. As Emma's father brays for blood, Luke Garrison is the only person who dares to stand in his way. Once a merciless District Attorney, Luke became a defender after mistakenly sending a man to the gas chamber. Now he will let no one--not even a bereaved father--rush justice. But is he doing the right thing, or is he fighting to set a killer free?

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Legal Thriller, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Legal, Suspense

503 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

J.F. Freedman is the New York Times bestselling author of Against the Wind, The Disappearance, House of Smoke, and In My Dark Dreams, among other titles. He is also an award-winning film and television director, writer, and producer. He lives in California.

Reviews

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this book by accident. And I'm glad I did. It's been a long time since I found another book that I literally can't put down.

I was a bit surprised at how Freedman told the story. I was already oriented with Dan Brown, Rick Riordan and Michael Scott's writing. The sudden twists of stories. But with Freedman and this book, the author deliberately leads you on one path of the story when the real story lies on the other path. He leads you down there, erasing any doubt you first had. Then, all of a sudden, he backtracks so quick, you get the blown hard by the impact.

The story was realistic, and though it's just a story, it's a plausible one. The attitude of teenagers and their haste in experiencing the life of an adult; the adults, on the other hand, always keeping up their facades to mask their flaws. The book was written and published more than ten years ago - but the scenario still applies today - and that was one of the reasons that makes this book great.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved getting back into a Courtroom Drama, Absolutely Fantastic!!! The whole storyline was excellent, but very sad as well. :-( I could very easily see this being a true story and hopefully it won't be...
Great Great WRITER**********

[Tgordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this from a new author to me was great! I love court drama. What I also love is a great who done it and why? I figured this out early however it still had enough to keep me enjoying the story. No 4 stars because I could not engage with lawyer for the defense. It all happened too quickly and then would slow. Strange rhythm to the book. I enjoy all out or slow. This book is sorta between both of these. I want to say more but will hold to my no spoilers!

[Grace Dionne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's obvious based on the number of reviews and ratings that this isn't a super well known book, and given that it was published over 20 years ago, I doubt it's going to see a surge in popularity anytime soon. Since I had never heard of The Disappearance before, I wasn't sure what to expect going in. A crime mystery mixed with courtroom drama, sure, but how does J.F. Freedman tell his stories? Every author has a style.

I found out while reading this book that I really enjoy how J.F. Freedman tells his stories. Honestly, I think this book deserves more recognition, but I know there are enough books like this that it can get lost in the shuffle. The Disappearance was a page-turner, but not in a cheap way where events keep happening for shock value (readers can always tell when this is the case). Everyone can sympathize with how tragic it is for a parent to lose a child, and especially for a promising, beautiful young girl to lose her life, but what if the situation isn't as it appears? J.F. Freedman was painting a picture of a heart-wrenching, complicated case where I was compelled to keep reading to find out what really happened, and I didn't want to stop until I knew.

Another reason I appreciated this book was how the main character, Luke Garrison, and his partner Riva were handled. I'm accustomed to getting a cursory look, at best, at the relationships of the characters in a book like this, with all the focus being on the courtroom and the mystery. Sometimes that isn't a bad thing, but most times it prevents me from really investing myself in the characters because I don't feel like I know them. I thought The Disappearance was really well-balanced in that sense, because I did feel like I got to know Luke and Riva. They were a bit of a mystery at first, since we first meet them from another perspective, but I was glad we got to spend some time inside their heads to understand them emotionally, and I enjoyed their romance. I sympathized with Luke's internal turmoil and desire to do the right thing, and trying to figure out how he can accomplish that for himself while also pursuing justice.

I was satisfied with the resolution of the mystery, because I had some lingering suspicion about the outcome, but I didn't have it totally figured out. J.F. Freedman executed his misdirection well, and it lead me to examine and re-examine the evidence with each new revelation. In the end, nothing was simple, but it all made sense, so I was happy. Or, maybe happy isn't the right word, given the actual circumstances, but I thought he navigated the ending well.

I think this book can be enjoyed by a wide audience, although it does have some mature content. I would definitely recommend it!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Disappearance by J.F. Freedman was originally published in 1998. This book is now available in digital format and published by Open Road Integrated Media.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Luke was a high flyer in the D.A's office. He had a beautiful successful wife, was respected and admired by his colleagues. Then the worst nightmare a prosecuting attorney could ever face, happened to Luke.
Now he and his wife are divorced, he quit his job and is now taking cases for petty thieves and drug convictions. He live a long way for Santa Barbara with his girlfriend, Riva.
When an high powered TV executive's daughter, Emma, is kidnapped in the middle of the night from her own bedroom, then later discovered murdered, a local newscaster that was close to the family is accused of the crime.
A retired judge seeks Luke out and offers him the job of defending the accused. This would mean that Luke would have to face issues in his life he has been running from for years. It would also give him a second chance, not just career wise, but with life in general as well.
The story then moves on to Luke's defense, the lies, betrayals, secrets, and power struggles that come to light in the course of the investigation and a riveting courtroom scene.
If you like legal thrillers, and mysteries with lots of twist and turns and big reveals, you will like this one. This story is like an old school legal drama reminding in some ways of Steve Martini's style of writing. This one also has just a touch of modern noir as well.
There is little mention of modern technology. I think a cell phone was mentioned once. The story focused on the thoughts, actions and motives of those involved and on the legal process. I loved the courtroom scenes the most.
This was a very engrossing novel. It held my attention from beginning to end. You won't know what is really the truth until the very end.
Overall this one is an A.

[Leanne Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I admit some bias, having worked in criminal defense, but I love this book. The courtroom drama is realistic without being too legalistic and potentially losing the reader in trial procedures. The mystery surrounding who kidnapped and murdered Emma intricately weaves clues and suspects, and just when you think you know “whodunit,” there is another revelation that sends the reader back to square one, reanalyzing the evidence. I really appreciate the personal turmoil Luke went through, and his journey to discover that he was not a “bad guy,” while facing down some personal and professional demons. Of course, behind every good man, is a better woman – and Riva was amazing as Luke’s supportive girlfriend. The evolution of their relationship is also in line with Luke’s acceptance of a changed life, not necessarily a lesser life. I also love the transition from criminal defense attorneys being the enemies of justice, and shown in a more favorable light…but that may be my own bias coming through again.
This is one man’s journey to take back control of his life, instead of allowing circumstances and mistakes to dictate his future. It is everyone’s story, at some point in their lives, and Freedman does an excellent job showing that a shift in attitude can make all the difference. Sometimes what we believe is the “perfect life” is just a life lesson that leads us to where we need to be.
This review, and others, can be found at www.sparkzoflight.blogspot.com

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

February has just been a tough month for reading for me. This one starts out fairly strong, but then it draaaags. This easily could have been 150 pages shorter and still got the same story across but would have felt fast-paced and been more of a page turner. This is my first book by this author and his writing is.. unique. His sentences are long and clunky, where I found myself having to read slowly or reread sections to make sure I got what he was saying. Due to this, I 'cheated' and skimmed ahead to see who kidnapped/murdered Emma when I was about 20 pages in to see if this was going to be worth my while.

*major spoilers ahead*I was surprised when I saw that it was Glenna, so thought I'd see how well the author laid the false trail to make us think it was someone else. In this aspect, the author did so good that even though I knew for 400 pages who it was, I was still caught off guard. In the same token, this also made it so bad and extremely disappointing. Glenna was nothing more than a passing character in 95% of this book. The author instead had such a huge focus on Doug being the perp in Luke's eyes, which fair enough - he lied to the police on his whereabouts that night and the police never investigated it further. But with all the "immediate family is always suspect #1" thing, they never seemed to question Glenna at all. At the end also when Riva is still following Nicole and they ALREADY KNOW and issued a subpoena for Glenna, this just doesn't make sense. Nicole really has no reason to try shooting Luke, but Glenna does. And then it turns into a big fluke that Riva happened to go up to where Glenna was and shot her 5 seconds before she shot Luke because Riva was satisfied Nicole was going to go home with some lover. Like this is just plain stupid.

I also did not care for the way the author would reveal some super damning 'evidence' or something, but then never actually reveal what it was to the reader, but we were just supposed to accept this super vague thing and move on. At some point either right before the trial or at the start of the trial, Luke has some 'damning document' and we are told basically that the DA blanches at this document, but it is never actually revealed about what it was. This happens multiple times throughout the book and it is infuriating.

Idk, this took me 3 weeks to get through. I love courtroom dramas and legal thrillers. This just didn't fit the bill for me.

[Esther Mboche · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this during a reading slump, and nothing better than old reads. The Disappearance follows the story of a vibrant lawyer Luke Garrison who is going to defend an alleged murderer. Right from the beginning, this story kept me on edge, I loved the thrill of having lawyers against each other especially because Luke was previously a prosecutor, putting bad guys like Allison away.

Emma’s disappearance shook the whole county, and I felt like everything leading up to her disappearance was brought on by her family. Her father, who had influence through his ownership of the local news broadcast, was always too consumed with image that even in her death, he keeps insisting that they do not tarnish her name and as a result the family. Her mum was in a constant state of self-hate that kept deteriorating her life. I feel like there would have been much difference if she wasn’t focused on being the ‘cool’ mum. But all the blame cannot go to her because her marriage was not so perfect, and the weight of bringing up a child cannot go to her alone.

I didn’t like Allison from the beginning because he was too focused on himself. Every time Luke kept telling him, ‘Do not lie to me, ’ I knew he would just have something up on him. His justification of sleeping with a minor had me raging, especially remembering how he did not want to be involved with the abortion. But I’m glad Luke kept him in check.
This is my first legal drama read in a while, and I’m happy it got me out of my slump. Despite enjoying it, I felt it would have been shorter as arriving in Glenna and having the case solved felt rushed at the end.
Great Read!

[Elma Voogdt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zo nu en dan mag ik ook graag oudere boeken lezen. Daar zitten tenslotte ook juweeltjes tussen. De verdwijning van Freedman is zo een boek. Het boek heeft een goede aanbeveling van Stephen King, wat mij nieuwsgierig maakte naar het verhaal.

De verdwijning van J.F. Freedman is het eerste boek dat ik van deze auteur heb gelezen en het is best goed. Ik kan echt genieten van een goede thriller. Van begin dat het eind is het spanningsgehalte van het juiste niveau. Door het hele boek heen komen verschillende verdachten naar voren, om te eindigen met een verrassend einde .

Het is al een ouder boek, voor het eerst gepubliceerd in 1998. Dat doet niks af van de basis van het verhaal. Natuurlijk zijn in de loop der jaren de onderzoeks- methodes veranderd, dus wat je leest lijkt oubollig. Voor wie echt van lezen houdt moet dat niet uitmaken, het gaat om het verhaal. Daar zit het met dit boek wel goed mee, al moet je dan wel houden van pagina’s lange rechtbank scenes. Deze rechtbank scenes zijn zeer goed uitgewerkt. Je merkt dat de auteur goede research heeft gedaan. Je waant je echt in de rechtbank en ziet de verdachte, getuigen en jury helemaal voor je.

De rechtszaal interactie was absoluut meeslepend en dit is een boek dat je tot laat in de nacht wakker houdt, omdat je het gewoon niet kunt neerleggen. Voor iedereen die van een goede rechtbankdrama en een groot algeheel moordmysterie houdt, dan is dit een boek voor jou. Het boek is in de winkel niet meer te verkrijgen, maar via kringloop heb je misschien nog een kans.

[Denise Hlavka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke Garrison, famous Santa Barbara County DA, wins a case, which ultimately results in the conviction and the fruition of the death penalty in a murder case. Later it is determined that the wrong man was convicted. That event, plus his divorce, sends Luke away from Santa Barbara into a self-imposed exile in Northern California. Living there in peace and quiet, with a new woman, Riva, his life takes on a very different flow. His happiness is finally interrupted by his old mentor, who asks him to defend a man accused of murder back in SB, who adamantly claims his innocence. It would be his chance to defend from the other side of the courtroom, and against his better judgement and Rivas concerns, he takes the case. The accused is alleged to have murdered his bosses’ 14 year old, pregnant daughter....while also having an affair with her mother.
Nearly the entirety of this book is courtroom drama, but the plot flows quickly, and the character development is not disappointing. Actually a good read!

[Lois Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

High suspense throughout this novel. Rich family, neglected, spoiled precocious daughter who winds up dead. Not your typical whodunit to say the least. Luke Garrison a disenfranchised former prosecutor now living a quasi-hippie life style with a sharp sexy girlfriend in the hills of California is persuaded to defend a presumable open and shut case of a murder suspect. All is not what it seems, however, and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, take note please. What the police did in this case could happen to anyone of you or any member of your family. Thus your life is in shreds. The defendant is not an angel by any means, but a murderer? The trial is an eye opener as is the slam bang ending to this book. I had to put it down periodically due to the police and D.A.'s actions here led by a powerful and bereaved father. It is a tragic story and not one person is a winner at the end, but it feels like there should be one.

[Paula Galvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book from the first page. J. F Freedman writes with a clean, straightforward style that grabbed my attention and didn't let go. Though the book is much more than a legal drama, the interaction in the courtroom was believable and realistic. However, it's the characters and their relationships that made this book special. When Luke Garrison decides to return to Santa Barbara, his old stomping ground, he has no idea what in store for him. Still, he'd rather lay his life on the line to defend a man wrongly accused of murdering a fourteen-year-old girl than walk away in defeat. While he grapples with the trial of the century, he also faces and conquers demons of his own. Though the plot is was not that hard to predict, there are many surprises along the way. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

[Hannah H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that are so hard to rate. In many respects, I wish I'd never started it. "The Disapearance" was a more vulgar book than I like to read. What's more, the whole plot revolved around a series of sexual affairs. Yet, it was so well-written and I, so engrossed, that once I started: I had to finish this book. I hold high regard for this author, because he did a superb job of creating a cast of characters that was so vivacious and real. Luka and Riva had such a good dynamic, and the live courtroom action was engrossing. So, in many ways: I wish I hadn't gotten hooked on this book. At the same time, I recognize a lot of the content was necessary for the stories the author wanted to depict. An excellent, albeit draining, book to read. I could hardly put it down!

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have two to-be-read piles. One holds unknowns and one holds what I call 'safety books.' Safety books are those that aren't probably going to take my breath away but are guaranteed to provide a nice, interesting read. I had tried and tossed several from the unknown pile, so I picked up The Disappearance out of the safety pile and I was not disappointed. Luke Garrison was promising district attorney who dropped out of site after it turned out that a guy he sent to the gas chamber was innocent. The case of Emma Lancaster brought him back - but this time for the defense. It is a nice, fat, book that moves along and satisfies.

[Andrew D. [Uncle_Ratfoot] · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it’s thrilling and has a solid storyline, I honestly don’t recommend this book. While the descriptions of the murder and shallow grave are graphic, they are par for the course in a crime novel. More importantly, it has extremely graphic sexual content involving a fourteen-year-old girl (it’s “consensual” but still a no-no), and teen pregnancy involving that same girl. Worst of all, she is the victim of the murder, and the baby is not discovered until her autopsy. Also has a lot of language, but that kinda seems insignificant compared to the aforementioned items. Two stars because the story was good, but I can’t give it any more without feeling like a dirtbag.

[Jill Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I was surprised to actually give it a five stars, as halfway through reading, I was already settling on rating it four stars. I really like Freedman's storytelling method, and how the events unfolded. You'd be led on to believing a certain notion given the evidences and such, and suddenly led on to another belief, completely disregarding the previous one. In short, it was full of plot twists and moments where I just sat there, mouth agape after having discovered something new and unexpected. I couldn't put this book down at all!

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this one and the narrator did a great job of making Luke Garrison and others come to life for me.

This is about a former District Attorney returning to the small town he served in to defend a man against capital murder. All the evidence points to the man he is defending, but there are a lot of loose ends that needs to be tied up and Luke and his girlfriend set out to see where they lead.

I had figured out who the murderer was, but enjoyed the way it was resolved.

I am giving this 4 out of 5 stars.

[CarolAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished a John Grisham book so I couldn't help but compare these two courtroom tales. John Grisham was the better told story however, Freedman did an excellent twist and red herring novel. I did not find too many endearing characters but I did admire Riva and De La Guerra. I found most of the other characters too full of their egos. It was still an engrossing, high speed plot that kept me reading non-stop.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a "new" author for me. I really enjoyed this book, never knowing the "who done it," until the very end. I also didn't know until the end who was trying to shoot Luke on the beach and at his home. There were lots of surprises and some very real disappointments in how the sheriff's office handled a simple possible DUI. Too many lies to even keep track of by so many people. Got to find some more books by this author.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have made a great Trilogy!
Slow start, first half long and drawn out to an almost painful extent. The pace did pick up, and there were a lot of interesting twists and turns as we got into it, but it was tooooooooo looooong ! 486 pages became quite an endurance test to stick with it. Lucky (or unlucky) for me, I don't give up easily, and the conclusion was a good one.
OK, maybe not a trilogy, but at least a two-part series!

[Al Menaster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too long, too much personal angst of the hero. The supposedly brilliant trial lawyer keeps getting surprised by witness testimony during trial, apparently unfamiliar with Cal.'s discovery rules. Defense counsel doesn't unravel the mystery, which is solved by essentially luck. I would never have gotten through this book in published form; I listened to it in cd audio.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kept me going to find out what the outcome would be...but the ending was a bit contrived/unlikely? I guess that's what I mean. But I like Luke and Reva even if there were a lot of sick puppies in this story. I might go for no.two to see how it goes.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a well-written murder mystery with great courtroom scenes. (I love good courtroom drama.) The characters were interesting. Lots of little twists and turns. I figured out who did it and it didn’t take away from the story at all, as the fun was how would they discover it.

[Nastajja Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a different read for me and I picked it up off a whim. Loved it, I couldn’t put it down and it was just one of those books I HAD to keep reading 😇 Incredible use of words in this one, I really enjoyed the different perspectives and point of views used in this book as well.

[Donna McPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and entertaining. This is book #1 in a series featuring this protagonist, but no cliff hanger, so you can read one or all

[Sheila Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I'm not sure why I never read it. I finally picked it up and I loved it. This was a really good legal mystery.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a real page turner. I read this years ago and reread it.

[Chuck Stoehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong characters to root for and also to have sympathy for.

[Debra Kulchar]

Good. Legal mystery.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced. Characters easy to follow. Twists and turns. Couldn’t put it down!!!