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48 Hours #1
The Vanishing
One kidnapping. One cold case.
Two amateur investigators.
Only 48 hours to solve the crime...
Jazz’s best friend, Anika, has been kidnapped! She can’t call the cops, so Jazz forges a shaky truce with her brilliant nemesis, Phoenix, to help her investigate. Together, they uncover clues and crime-scene evidence. Sneaking into a forensic lab, they test DNA, fingerprints and more, to piece the clues together. The results are shocking. Could it really lead to a twenty-year-old murder case?
In a race against time, Jazz and Phoenix only have 48 HOURS to collect the evidence, profile the kidnapper and find their schoolmate’s location, or Anika will die. The clock is ticking...
Two amateur investigators.
Only 48 hours to solve the crime...
Jazz’s best friend, Anika, has been kidnapped! She can’t call the cops, so Jazz forges a shaky truce with her brilliant nemesis, Phoenix, to help her investigate. Together, they uncover clues and crime-scene evidence. Sneaking into a forensic lab, they test DNA, fingerprints and more, to piece the clues together. The results are shocking. Could it really lead to a twenty-year-old murder case?
In a race against time, Jazz and Phoenix only have 48 HOURS to collect the evidence, profile the kidnapper and find their schoolmate’s location, or Anika will die. The clock is ticking...
240 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2019
31 people are currently reading
268 people want to read
About the author
Gabrielle Lord
108 books238 followersGabrielle Craig Lord is an Australian writer who has been described as Australia's first lady of crime.
She survived being ‘razed’ by the nuns, acquired an education despite this, and after working in many different areas, sales, teaching, brick-cleaning, peach-picking and packing, and in the Public Service as an employment officer, started writing seriously aged 30.
Her first two manuscripts ended up composting the tomatoes at her market garden – another attempt to make a living – but the third one FORTRESS was picked up internationally and made into a feature film starring Rachel Ward. A later novel WHIPPING BOY was made into a telemovie starring Sigrid Thornton. The film rights money, coinciding with her daughter leaving school, allowed Gabrielle to resign and instead of getting up at 4.30am and writing for several hours before heading off for work, she could write full-time and lead a more ‘normal’ writer’s life – hanging around with scientists and detectives, badgering forensic anthropologists (she studied some Anatomy at Sydney university) and doing work experience with a busy private security business and of course, writing.
Research is everything, she says. ‘Out of my contacts with experts (who are always far too modest to describe themselves that way) I get not only the fine-tuning necessary for today’s savvy readers, but also wonderful incidents and images that enrich and enlarge my books.’
Gabrielle’s interests are very simple. ‘After a misspent youth, I don’t have many brain cells left so I enjoy walking, meditation, singing, gardening, chatting with close friends, being with my family and grandkids, feeding my goldfish and keeping up to date with bodywork and enlightened psychotherapy.’
Gabrielle has now written fourteen adult novels and a novel for young adults. Once the 12 books of Conspiracy 365 are completed, this tally will be a tad bigger! Following this mammoth endeavour she already has plans for another three adult novels and two more YAs.
2013
She survived being ‘razed’ by the nuns, acquired an education despite this, and after working in many different areas, sales, teaching, brick-cleaning, peach-picking and packing, and in the Public Service as an employment officer, started writing seriously aged 30.
Her first two manuscripts ended up composting the tomatoes at her market garden – another attempt to make a living – but the third one FORTRESS was picked up internationally and made into a feature film starring Rachel Ward. A later novel WHIPPING BOY was made into a telemovie starring Sigrid Thornton. The film rights money, coinciding with her daughter leaving school, allowed Gabrielle to resign and instead of getting up at 4.30am and writing for several hours before heading off for work, she could write full-time and lead a more ‘normal’ writer’s life – hanging around with scientists and detectives, badgering forensic anthropologists (she studied some Anatomy at Sydney university) and doing work experience with a busy private security business and of course, writing.
Research is everything, she says. ‘Out of my contacts with experts (who are always far too modest to describe themselves that way) I get not only the fine-tuning necessary for today’s savvy readers, but also wonderful incidents and images that enrich and enlarge my books.’
Gabrielle’s interests are very simple. ‘After a misspent youth, I don’t have many brain cells left so I enjoy walking, meditation, singing, gardening, chatting with close friends, being with my family and grandkids, feeding my goldfish and keeping up to date with bodywork and enlightened psychotherapy.’
Gabrielle has now written fourteen adult novels and a novel for young adults. Once the 12 books of Conspiracy 365 are completed, this tally will be a tad bigger! Following this mammoth endeavour she already has plans for another three adult novels and two more YAs.
2013
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
December 19, 2021
The vanishing is the first in the 48 hours series focusing on Jazz and Phoenix who try and solve the crimes. The book is a modern YA young adult mystery/crime novel with no smut whatsoever.
Jazz's best friend Anika disappears and she must team up with Phoenix to save Anika and find out why she was taken. The book was somewhat predictable but the endearing characters made it a fun read. I wish there was an app like Crime Seen in real life.
The book also features enemies to friends with Jazz and Phoenix displaying this trope.
Jazz's best friend Anika disappears and she must team up with Phoenix to save Anika and find out why she was taken. The book was somewhat predictable but the endearing characters made it a fun read. I wish there was an app like Crime Seen in real life.
The book also features enemies to friends with Jazz and Phoenix displaying this trope.
December 19, 2021
I remember reading this when I was about 8 and being so freaked out I couldn’t sleep.
Anyways it was a good book!
Anyways it was a good book!
June 14, 2020
I really enjoyed reading this, it kept a straight plot and had me not wanting to put it down
November 17, 2021
At first when I started reading this book, I thought that it was going to be super cheesy and predictable. Even though it was for the most part, I enjoyed it. 48 Hours: The Vanishing, is a modern day young adult, crime-based suspense that once you get into you won’t be able to guess what’s coming around the next turn. Gabrielle Lord does a great job holding the readers attention once it’s in her grasp. I will definitely by reading the next book in the series The Medusa Curse.
May 5, 2020
Même si ça paraissait un peu surréaliste, j'ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture. J'ai lu ce livre en une journée. Il fallait que je sache qui avait enlevé Anika. Des images apparaissent au fil de l'enquête et cela permettait d'être encore plus imprégnée dans l'histoire au côté de Jazz et Phoenix. L'écriture est addictive et le dénouement est loin d'être celui auquel je m'attendais.
January 26, 2025
Got this book assigned for English, didn’t thing I would like it since it’s a book from school. Turns out that the book had me on my feet and always made me want to read more, the suspense and the 48 hours coming to an end made the book even better, good book to read if you want to read a short thriller.
May 4, 2018
On the original English cover we see Jazz and Phoenix.
It all starts when Anika disappears mysteriously. His friends Jazz and Phoenix apprentice investigators will seek by all means to find it.
A captivating story with endearing characters, eager to read more.
It all starts when Anika disappears mysteriously. His friends Jazz and Phoenix apprentice investigators will seek by all means to find it.
A captivating story with endearing characters, eager to read more.
October 5, 2019
Very good! Love mysteries!
January 20, 2021
48 hours the vanishing
The author of 48 hours is Gabrielle Lord. the Lexile level of 48 hours is 1360 And the main characters in the story are Phoenix, Jazz, Anika, mr. Belmont, mrs. Belmont, and Sinclair. The objection of the book was Anika was kidnapped by who they assumed was Sinclair but turned out to be the step sister of Sinclair and they had 48 hours to gather all the evidence they needed to use against her.
The theme of the story was Jazz's best friend Annika was kidnapped and they couldn't call the cops because the kidnapper would have hurt Anika so Jazz and Phoenix had to use their collected knowledge of how to solve crimes together and try to solve the crime within the 48-hour timeline the kidnapper gave them. In the beginning of the story Jazz was frantic and couldn't focus but over time they collected more details about the kidnapper and things they could have used to find out who did it slowly over time and over the plot they got closer and closer to finding out who did it. One of the things that increased action in the book was they found a hidden door "this panel looks like it's lifting away from the wall Phoenix started yanking at the panel hard toward him he almost fell backward it's pulled away easily Jazz dared in astonishment. instead of wall behind the panel there was nothing just a dark gaping hole in the ministry " . one of the reason they thought it could have been Sinclair is because Anika's Journal was stolen and it had a story of a husband that could have killed his wife and she blogged this on the internet for everyone to read and when she was about to post the part on who did the murder She was kidnapped they thought it was Sinclair cuz they found the journal at his house "they may not have found Annika but now they had the evidence they needed and so Journal Jazz pulled it triumphantly from the Shelf " .
It was a good book it was good read and wasn't terribly hard the plot got better and better as I tried guessing who it was but the plot twist had me confused because the step sister was the one who killed the wife of Sinclair and kidnapped Annika but we had never heard of the stepsister in the story so you the reader couldn't have guessed who did the crime which I didn't like. the ending was kind of lame step sister got into a car drove off down the road with the journal so she would have still been innocent because they had no evidence she actually did it but then she got hit by a train. I felt the ending was a bit lame it would have been better if she would have been arrested. the author give good detail and kind of wrote it just as a mystery horror and I would suggest it to other people it's a fun shorter read and it's not incredibly hard and it was just fun most the time.
The author of 48 hours is Gabrielle Lord. the Lexile level of 48 hours is 1360 And the main characters in the story are Phoenix, Jazz, Anika, mr. Belmont, mrs. Belmont, and Sinclair. The objection of the book was Anika was kidnapped by who they assumed was Sinclair but turned out to be the step sister of Sinclair and they had 48 hours to gather all the evidence they needed to use against her.
The theme of the story was Jazz's best friend Annika was kidnapped and they couldn't call the cops because the kidnapper would have hurt Anika so Jazz and Phoenix had to use their collected knowledge of how to solve crimes together and try to solve the crime within the 48-hour timeline the kidnapper gave them. In the beginning of the story Jazz was frantic and couldn't focus but over time they collected more details about the kidnapper and things they could have used to find out who did it slowly over time and over the plot they got closer and closer to finding out who did it. One of the things that increased action in the book was they found a hidden door "this panel looks like it's lifting away from the wall Phoenix started yanking at the panel hard toward him he almost fell backward it's pulled away easily Jazz dared in astonishment. instead of wall behind the panel there was nothing just a dark gaping hole in the ministry " . one of the reason they thought it could have been Sinclair is because Anika's Journal was stolen and it had a story of a husband that could have killed his wife and she blogged this on the internet for everyone to read and when she was about to post the part on who did the murder She was kidnapped they thought it was Sinclair cuz they found the journal at his house "they may not have found Annika but now they had the evidence they needed and so Journal Jazz pulled it triumphantly from the Shelf " .
It was a good book it was good read and wasn't terribly hard the plot got better and better as I tried guessing who it was but the plot twist had me confused because the step sister was the one who killed the wife of Sinclair and kidnapped Annika but we had never heard of the stepsister in the story so you the reader couldn't have guessed who did the crime which I didn't like. the ending was kind of lame step sister got into a car drove off down the road with the journal so she would have still been innocent because they had no evidence she actually did it but then she got hit by a train. I felt the ending was a bit lame it would have been better if she would have been arrested. the author give good detail and kind of wrote it just as a mystery horror and I would suggest it to other people it's a fun shorter read and it's not incredibly hard and it was just fun most the time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2021
The 48 Hours Vanishing is a book written by Gabrielle Lord. The genre of this book is mystery because they are trying to solve a crime and a murder. The book is focused on a girl named Jazz. She is obsessed with crime stories and tries to find mystery’s every day. So, when her best friend Anika is kidnapped Jazz decides to take it upon herself and try to find her with in 48 hours. Since the kidnapper is threatening to hurt Anika, Jazz realizes she can’t call the cops and needs help from someone else. Then Jazz is forced to work with her enemy, Phoenix, to find her best friend. The reason Anika is kidnapped is that she writes a blog on a woman’s life and then someone unknown didn’t want her to have it. So, Jazz and Phoenix start looking for suspects. They go through many different suspects, including the woman’s husband. In the end, they find out who the person was that saved Anika and they save her while working together. This book is written in third person with the main characters being Jazz and Phoenix. There are many other smaller role characters such as all the suspects that Jazz and Phoenix were suspecting as the person who kidnapped Anika. My favorite parts about this book are that there is a lot of suspense and action which kept me interesting. I also really liked how the author included all the emotions of the characters, especially when they were going through which people, they were suspecting to be the kidnapper. I really enjoyed this book because it allowed me to keep making guesses on who the kidnapper is based off the information that Jazz and Phoenix are finding. Some things I didn’t like about this book was that the main plot twist started to become confusing because of who the kidnapper turned out to be. One other thing that I didn’t like was that the ending was boring and lame because the kidnapper died of an accident and was not arrested. The character I connected with the most was Jazz because I understood how she felt when she realized she was going to have to work together with someone she does not agree with. This book will stick with my memory because I learned that friendship is a huge deal and you should never hold a grudge against someone for no reason.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2017
This is the latest title from Gabrielle Lord, a writer who has been called “Australia’s Queen of Crime Fiction”. We had high expectations for this series based on the popularity of her earlier YA series Conspiracy 365 and we were not disappointed. This is the first in a series based around two intrepid teen investigators who solve three gripping and dangerous crimes. Jazz is obsessed with crime and investigations so when her best friend Anika is taken she knows she is the best person for the job. To make matters worse Jazz and Anika had been having an argument, as school friends often do, before Ankia was kidnapped and Jazz feels terribly guilty. The friends had been arguing over Anika’s mysterious discovery of a journal, an item that is essential to the investigation.. Jazz has read enough crime fiction to know that the first 48 hours are crucial in a crime investigation so she enlists the help of the brilliant school hacker Phoenix to help. This is a fast paced action series with accidents, near misses, tension, arguments, poisons and chases!
Suitable for 12+ criminal investigation, code breaking, forensics, kidnapping
Suitable for 12+ criminal investigation, code breaking, forensics, kidnapping
November 28, 2017
I brought home an ARC...but it has taken me a while to get to it.
I am not of the intended age group .... so it took me a short while to get used to the style. I am increasingly finding the writing in children’s novels to be ‘clunky’....my term for slightly jarring. However, it is probably because my age is increasingly spiralling upwards.....
The characters are around 14 years of age...but I think this can be read by a much younger audience. This is actually the main reason I read the book....to make sure it is ok for a Primary School audience...and it is fine.
I enjoyed the storyline. The pace was fast. Plenty of action. Plenty of (deliberate) awkward interaction between girl and boy protagonists. Satisfactory finale. Lots of modern methods used in the solving of the crime....drones, DNA, hight tech equipment....that will have its own appeal.
It sort of reminds me of an up to date ‘Secret Seven’ or ‘Famous Five’ (Enid Blyton...for you young ones)......especially as our young sleuths are out all hours of the day and night ....without too much concern from the adult population.
Anyway... I am happy to recommend it to the young people in my life.
I am not of the intended age group .... so it took me a short while to get used to the style. I am increasingly finding the writing in children’s novels to be ‘clunky’....my term for slightly jarring. However, it is probably because my age is increasingly spiralling upwards.....
The characters are around 14 years of age...but I think this can be read by a much younger audience. This is actually the main reason I read the book....to make sure it is ok for a Primary School audience...and it is fine.
I enjoyed the storyline. The pace was fast. Plenty of action. Plenty of (deliberate) awkward interaction between girl and boy protagonists. Satisfactory finale. Lots of modern methods used in the solving of the crime....drones, DNA, hight tech equipment....that will have its own appeal.
It sort of reminds me of an up to date ‘Secret Seven’ or ‘Famous Five’ (Enid Blyton...for you young ones)......especially as our young sleuths are out all hours of the day and night ....without too much concern from the adult population.
Anyway... I am happy to recommend it to the young people in my life.
May 2, 2020
A shocking kidnapping, a murder left unsolved for 20 years, two amateur detectives, and a ticking clock. Will Jazz and Phoenix be able to solve the case and rescue their friend before time runs out?
This book checked all the boxes for me for a great young adult thriller. It has plenty of action and suspense, a well-developed mystery in which readers work right along with the characters to solve the crime, and a shocking turn of events at the end. I also appreciated how the modern-day setting, with the characters engaging with and utilizing various types of digital media, will help make this book especially relevant to young adult and tween readers. Parents may also appreciate that this book carries an implicit message of being cautious about what you post online. Overall, I think this book will definitely get readers turning the page to figure out what happens next, while maybe even sparking an interest in forensic science. I would definitely recommend this book for tweens, teens, and even adults who love an action-packed, suspenseful thriller. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
This book checked all the boxes for me for a great young adult thriller. It has plenty of action and suspense, a well-developed mystery in which readers work right along with the characters to solve the crime, and a shocking turn of events at the end. I also appreciated how the modern-day setting, with the characters engaging with and utilizing various types of digital media, will help make this book especially relevant to young adult and tween readers. Parents may also appreciate that this book carries an implicit message of being cautious about what you post online. Overall, I think this book will definitely get readers turning the page to figure out what happens next, while maybe even sparking an interest in forensic science. I would definitely recommend this book for tweens, teens, and even adults who love an action-packed, suspenseful thriller. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
March 4, 2022
Short summary
Jazz’s best friend has been kidnapped and she takes it upon herself to become an amateur sleuth to investigate what has happened on her mission to save her friend! After all, the kidnapper has threatened Anika’s parents that no police can be involved! She buddies up with arch enemy Phoenix to uncover clues and crime scene evidence to analyze in Phoenix’s mother’s forensics lab. It turns out that they have drudged up a 20 year potential murder case! Can they find their missing friend before time runs out?
Overall review
I don’t read a lot of YA fiction, but this was a page turner for me and I really enjoyed it! I especially liked the amateur sleuth and crime scene investigation aspects of this book. The twist was completely unexpected!
Overall rating - 4⭐️
Jazz’s best friend has been kidnapped and she takes it upon herself to become an amateur sleuth to investigate what has happened on her mission to save her friend! After all, the kidnapper has threatened Anika’s parents that no police can be involved! She buddies up with arch enemy Phoenix to uncover clues and crime scene evidence to analyze in Phoenix’s mother’s forensics lab. It turns out that they have drudged up a 20 year potential murder case! Can they find their missing friend before time runs out?
Overall review
I don’t read a lot of YA fiction, but this was a page turner for me and I really enjoyed it! I especially liked the amateur sleuth and crime scene investigation aspects of this book. The twist was completely unexpected!
Overall rating - 4⭐️
August 16, 2023
I'm not even exaggerating at all when I say that this book is one of the best books I have read. This great mystery/crime book has led me into wanting to read more books like it!
The plot line was intriguing and at the end of each chapter or two was a very suspenseful cliff hanger.
I could read this over 100 more times if I had the chance, it was that good.
A lot of people come up to me in school or just in general for book recommendations, when anyone that likes this kind of book comes up, I immediately think this book/series. I had a great experience reading this book and my eyes were glued to it for the time that I read it in.
Would definitely recommend to anyone that likes mystery/crime!
Props to ya Gabrielle Lord, one of the best authors I have read.
The plot line was intriguing and at the end of each chapter or two was a very suspenseful cliff hanger.
I could read this over 100 more times if I had the chance, it was that good.
A lot of people come up to me in school or just in general for book recommendations, when anyone that likes this kind of book comes up, I immediately think this book/series. I had a great experience reading this book and my eyes were glued to it for the time that I read it in.
Would definitely recommend to anyone that likes mystery/crime!
Props to ya Gabrielle Lord, one of the best authors I have read.
June 16, 2021
It was an easy read which I liked. I was able to fly through it. But I don’t think I liked a single character. All of them acted like 5th graders despite them being in high school. Also they weren’t phased by Anika’s disappearance at all. Like every few chapters they’d mention how upset Jazz is but she gets over it within seconds. Even after they found her the first thing they did was take a selfie pretty much. Also some stuff in the book just didn’t make sense. Like they said that there was a link that tracked people. As far as I know links don’t track people. If one of them were to click on the link, sure I’d agree with that, but no one did.
January 1, 2019
For a children's book, this is incredibly thorough and similar to a detective mystery novel for adults. A captivating story with real life machinery, facts and action, this book has it all for a younger audience while having full characters and an interesting mystery that's fun to explore. Pulling you in one direction then another, you want to solve the mystery along with these two amature detectives. A nice read to start of the year and would recommend to anyone wanting to read a thriller.
September 21, 2021
So I purchased this book because I recently became an Usborne consultant and I have an adult party coming up who doesn’t have children. I wanted to actually read some of the books that consultants recommend to adults so I could actually give a valid recommendation. That said, this was a GREAT read! Very quick read, drew me in very quickly and kept me wanting more. An AMAZING red herring and great villain reveal. Highly recommend and now I need the second one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2021
Not the absolute worst thing I’ve ever read, but that’s about the best say regarding this story. Absolutely predictable in every way and it hit just about every single horror/murder/mystery plot points you can think of. All of this after spending the entire intro meeting what felt like a main character only for her to never again play a major roll in solving her best friends kidnapping because she had to keep her grades up…sure.
January 14, 2024
I am not exaggerating when I say that this is one of my most favorite books and this particular book made me want to read even more than I did! I love reading this over and over again because it's just such a good plot. Gabrielle Lord is literally such a great writer and I hope she gets even more famous than she is currently!
January 11, 2023
This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Definitely didn't expect to end the way it did though. I could read this book again it was so good. Very easy to read and short chapters. Perfect for my ADHD brain haha.
August 10, 2023
I read this book with my year 4s and we were obsessed! The kids would beg me to read everyday and beg me to keep reading when I said we needed to stop and do some work 😆 it was thrilling! We’ve started the second book in the series.
April 15, 2024
I sell this book through Paper Pie so I wanted to read it. It is a great mystery with some twists! It is for teenagers. My 12 year old daughter loved it, but it depends on the child. It does have kidnapping, murder, and a lot of suspense.
August 6, 2018
Good thriller for younger readers
March 23, 2019
I think that the thrill and excitement was amazing and it was sometimes even breathtaking.
August 23, 2019
It's pretty good. It's a good mystery solved by a couple of very smart teens.
Read
September 13, 2019it was an alright book the storyline was average it was written well i would recommend it to year 6.
May 26, 2020
It is an amazing book it has so much mystery I wanted to keep on reading I couldn’t stop
June 1, 2020
Really good! The writing felt like YA, but it IS a YA book so I didn’t mind it. Loved the fast-paced story! I enjoyed Jazz and Phoenix and how they worked together to solve the mystery.
August 21, 2020
Fast paced, adventurous read, not for me but the kids will like it. Wasn't happy about the ending in this one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews