Vanishing Point: A Short Mexican Yoga Mystery

by Daniel Pembrey

Lawyer John Farnsworth returns to the site of his wife’s disappearance the year before: a yoga retreat on the Yucatán Peninsula led by the sinister Yogi Raja. As his former wife’s story becomes clearer, John’s own life starts to unravel, with shocking consequences. Can we ever escape the pull of our pasts? A chilling, enigmatic read. (Length: 65 pages).

65 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2016

About the author

Daniel Pembrey grew up in Nottinghamshire, England — beside Sherwood Forest. He studied history at Edinburgh University and spent over a decade working in America and more recently Luxembourg, coming to rest in Amsterdam and London — dividing his time now between these two great maritime cities. He is the author of the Henk van der Pol detective series and several short thriller stories, and he contributes articles to publications including The Financial Times and The (London) Times. In order to write The Harbour Master, he spent several months living in the docklands area of East Amsterdam, counting De Druif bar as his local.

To receive occasional email updates and offers of free exclusive content, please sign up at www.danielpembrey.com. Daniel is also on Twitter, @DPemb.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes we can feel uncomfortable watching someone's life unravel. This may be just a novella, but the characters feel very real and both Jenny's solo journey to a Cancun yoga retreat and her husband's trip there a year later, when he tells others that Jenny met her death in the sea nearby, are well realised. The setting is lovely and suspense builds gradually. The two stories are interspersed so we can puzzle out the truth and feel chilled amid the Mexican heat.

I've read several of Pembrey's stories, which usually involve crime and interesting locations. I can recommend them all to the armchair traveller and suspense reader.

An ARC was supplied to me. This is an unbiased review.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full rating for Daniel Pembrey's latest novella, Vanishing Point: A Short Mexican Yoga Mystery. Mr Pembrey uses his honed skills as an author to craft his work, and thus is able to give the reader the total satisfaction of an excellent read.
Pembrey portrays the vulnerability of those blindly following others trying to seek out the truth, whilst depicting the sinister, power-hungry egotistical characterisics of others. Is everything as it seems with Jenny's husband?
In the beautIful surroundings of Mexico, nothing is what it seems to be. Will the truth be found?
In all honesty, I nearly missed the conclusion. There I was, feeling pleased with myself for having had the pleasure of having read an superb novel when it hit me and I had to pick up the book and reread the last few pages. 100% for sutleness Mr Pembrey, for taking me down so many roads and still managing to confound me.
Daniel Pembrey is a great author and I look forward to his future works.
I was given a copy of Vanishing Point: A Short Mexican Yoga Mystery and I have given a totally honest review. Thanks.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always amazed by authors who write novellas and short stories. They manage to fit in everything needed to 'fully' tell the tale. This novella is no different. You will find no superfluous words in here. The story is engaging, haunting, evocative, anger-inducing, and yet somehow oddly beautiful.

The majority of the characters are ordinary women searching for something missing in their lives. They think they will find it at a yoga retreat in Mexico. No, they succumb to someone who is taking advantage of this vulnerability.

I can't say that I 'enjoyed' this story due to some of the content, but I did find that the words stayed in my mind for a long time afterwards. So, for me, that is the sign of a good author.

This is the first piece of work that I have read by this author, and it will not be the last. Mr Pembrey was kind enough to give me a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and honest.

[Donna Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Pembrey has once again penned a wonderfully atmospheric mystery novella, this time at a yoga retreat in Mexico. The author excels at making the setting so vivid and real that it almost becomes a character in and of itself.

Although Daniel's longer works are just as absorbing and suspenseful, I've come to really appreciate his talent and mastery of the shorter art form. He drops you into the middle of a setting and with an economy of words, is able to pull you into the lives of his characters, mesmerizing you with their loves and losses.

This is an excellent story with which to while away a lazy afternoon, and once you've finished, you definitely need to check out all of his other titles. A new book by Mr. Pembrey is always a rare treat.

[Marcel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always excited to see a new story from Daniel. I've enjoyed all of his past work and this was no exception.

This is an easy, quick and compelling read and despite its short length it manages to do a great job of managing two timelines while developing a sense of mystery and uncertainty. As always with Daniel's work, the prose is very descriptive and the story and characters remained well after the book ended.

The first works I ready by Daniel were more familiar territory for me (The Woman Who Stopped Traffic and the Harbour Master) and I've enjoyed the fact that Daniel's more recent work has moved to very different settings while remaining eminently enjoyable.

I'm already looking forward to the next work!

[Timea · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a quick read to fill an hour of your time, then look no further: this short mystery is perfect for that! It has everything you could ask for and some more. Exotic location, 2 timelines, death, guilt and of course some unexpected events. I really liked this book and would highly recommend it.