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The Vanishing Walk
Margo Reed's daily walk through her suburban neighborhood is as routine as they come until the moment she witnesses two 11-year-old boys being dragged into a green pickup truck. In a split-second act of stunning courage, she intervenes, saving one child but finding herself trapped in the kidnappers' truck alongside another—eleven-year-old Ethan.
Hauled across state lines by two masked men, Margo and Ethan are thrown into a world of fear and uncertainty. Their captors are Victor, a cold, calculating man driven by a massive payout, and Mason, his reluctant accomplice, whose conscience is cracking under the weight of their crime. As the brothers' volatile relationship fractures, Margo realizes their only hope for survival may lie in exploiting the growing rift between them. Trapped in a dark, remote trailer, she must use every ounce of her wit to outmaneuver her captors and protect the young boy who now depends on her.
In a gripping tale of maternal instinct, manipulation, and the thin line between victim and survivor, The Vanishing Walk How far would you go to save a child who isn't yours? And what happens when heroism turns you into a target?
Hauled across state lines by two masked men, Margo and Ethan are thrown into a world of fear and uncertainty. Their captors are Victor, a cold, calculating man driven by a massive payout, and Mason, his reluctant accomplice, whose conscience is cracking under the weight of their crime. As the brothers' volatile relationship fractures, Margo realizes their only hope for survival may lie in exploiting the growing rift between them. Trapped in a dark, remote trailer, she must use every ounce of her wit to outmaneuver her captors and protect the young boy who now depends on her.
In a gripping tale of maternal instinct, manipulation, and the thin line between victim and survivor, The Vanishing Walk How far would you go to save a child who isn't yours? And what happens when heroism turns you into a target?
198 pages, Paperback
Published December 6, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 2, 2026
What a ride!
The Vanishing Walk by J. Laura Childs is exactly the kind of thriller I love to read. When school teacher, Margo Reed is out on her daily walk in her quiet suburban neighborhood, she interrupts an abduction of two boys. Yet, in this heroic effort, she is taken along with one of the boys - at gun pour, no less. Soon she realizes she’s a loose-end, a problem her abductors need to be rid of. The narrative then becomes a nail biting, page turner of a ride as stakes are raised and Margo fights for her life and that of Ethan, the boy taken with her, the one she couldn’t save.
What I love about this story is it has the right amount of characters. Just enough to feel like we are a part of a larger community, from the detectives in the case, to old man Joe, to Margo’s and Ethan’s friends and family. But not so much that the reader needs a cheer sheet for reference. On the contrary, I felt as though each character was fully fleshed out and belonged in the story. Childs wastes no effort on toss away characters. Even the captors, Victor and Mason, are very human. In some ways, they remind me of Perry and Dick from In Cold Blood.
Child’s prose is smooth and reads like a modernized classic crime novel. I now have a new favorite indie author who others should definitely follow. So, if you like a solid crime novel, grab your copy of The Vanishing Walk!
The Vanishing Walk by J. Laura Childs is exactly the kind of thriller I love to read. When school teacher, Margo Reed is out on her daily walk in her quiet suburban neighborhood, she interrupts an abduction of two boys. Yet, in this heroic effort, she is taken along with one of the boys - at gun pour, no less. Soon she realizes she’s a loose-end, a problem her abductors need to be rid of. The narrative then becomes a nail biting, page turner of a ride as stakes are raised and Margo fights for her life and that of Ethan, the boy taken with her, the one she couldn’t save.
What I love about this story is it has the right amount of characters. Just enough to feel like we are a part of a larger community, from the detectives in the case, to old man Joe, to Margo’s and Ethan’s friends and family. But not so much that the reader needs a cheer sheet for reference. On the contrary, I felt as though each character was fully fleshed out and belonged in the story. Childs wastes no effort on toss away characters. Even the captors, Victor and Mason, are very human. In some ways, they remind me of Perry and Dick from In Cold Blood.
Child’s prose is smooth and reads like a modernized classic crime novel. I now have a new favorite indie author who others should definitely follow. So, if you like a solid crime novel, grab your copy of The Vanishing Walk!
December 28, 2025
AMAZING story!! Great characters.
January 7, 2026
Everyone needs a Margo (aka an amazing and influential English teacher) in their life. My Margo happens to be the author of this book!
January 19, 2026
Why aren’t more people talking about this book?!?!? EVERYONE NEEDS A MARGO!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews