Vanished

by Margaret Daley

As a detective in Chicago, J.T. Logan had put away a lot of criminals and had made a lot of enemies. However, the last thing the widowed father and current small-town sheriff expected was a crime in his own backyard. Until his young daughter was kidnapped.

FBI agent Madison Spencer found herself working with J.T. again, on a case painfully different from their previous one. She could only watch as he struggled to remain coldly professional while his heart was in anguish. And what of her own heart? Romance should be the furthest thing from their minds. All she could do was hope-and pray-for them all.

Genres: Love Inspired Suspense, Romance, Love Inspired, Christian, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Mystery Thriller

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Margaret Daley, an award-winning author of seventy-six books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at http://www.margaretdaley.com.

Reviews

[Anna Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one just didn't win me over.

And it's not because she didn't do a good job of writing it. Her characterizations, storytelling, and pace were really quite good.

The problems were insurmountable, though.

First, there is *NO WAY* that the FBI would allow the father of an abducted child be on the case, cop or not. It's a conflict of interest, and could jeopardize the child/operations. And there is *DEFINITELY* no chance they'd let his children participate in *any* capacity. The whole premise is supremely flawed.

There should be a limit on the amount of times an author uses the word 'anguish' in a book, too. Argh, it was a *LOT* here. Too much, honestly.

It makes no sense that Kim (a teenage girl) would show up to a church service aimed at praying for her sister's abduction with her hair 'in disarray' due to her anguish. People do actually brush their hair for church services, even when its aimed at honoring the memory of a lost one, for the love of Pete. It was just WRONG.

Then the author says that a guy was shot in the head, but the bullet was 'too damaged' to run tests on. ?!?!??! What the farts, Daley?! Because the body was set on fire, after? Bullets are *METAL*, they're not gonna melt in the heat, hello... And I'm pretty sure the dude didn't have a titanium plate in his brainpan.

And when J.T. goes to the booze store for liquor, the author has him drive it TO THE POLICE STATION to sit in his car and *NOT* drink it. If he were serious enough to buy it, he would take it HOME, not to work, in the dark of the night. It makes no sense.

I'm not a huge suspense lover in the first place, but this felt more like a "timeline of events" mixed with a "how to conduct a missing persons case" than a story. It didn't feel like it was pulling me in at any point.

So... mmmmmno. Sorry.
But I'll give it stars because she *CAN* write.

More, the descriptive writing is abysmal. You never know what anyone looks like - we don't even find out Kim has curly hair until pg 148, or that J.T. has black hair until 2/3rds of the way thru the book. GAH, that drives me crazy. And what's with the name? J.T... we're never even told what it STANDS for, hello.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4.0 stars (rating may vary depending on whether sites allow half star ratings)--A friend sent me this book. I have not read the previous book that introduced JT Logan and Madison Spencer, but I was mostly able to follow along. I did not suspect who the culprit really was until the characters found out.

Overall I liked the characters. While I did not like that a young girl was kidnapped, I did like the life lessons and having faith sustain you that came from that. I thought the process used to find her and to find who took her was more true to life than most fiction makes it. I liked how the town cared for its sheriff by bringing food and that there were people JT could trust with his kids while he tried to do his job.

I didn't like the revenge angle (though it does make for good fiction) and that they had to suspect so many townspeople who weren't involved in the kidnapping/revenge plot. I also didn't like that JT and Madison got married so quickly after telling each other that they loved each other--The book doesn't specify exactly how long it was--I suspect about 6 months or so--but I also don't know how long or how well they knew each other from the previous book (though it didn't seem they'd kept in touch after that previous case).

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting too much from this book, but was pleasantly surprised by the way the narrative drew me in and held my attention from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed the characters, and the tension some of the main characters felt between trying to do their jobs and trying to live their lives in the midst of terror and tragedy. While the subject matter was not light, I appreciated how the author covered it with truth and grace.

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Love Inspired suspence book about the kidnapping (for revenge) of the young daughter of a small town sheriff. Well written with twists in story that cause you to go back and reread. Good story.

[Sandra Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! You can never go wrong with a book by Margaret Daley!!!

[Wendy Sparkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sequel to So Dark The Night. Although you meet Sheriff J.T. Logan and Madison Spencer in the previous book, you don't need to have read it before this one.

J.T. Logan's younger daughter has been kidnapped and it's a race against time to find her. J.T. has a horrible feeling someone from one of his past cases has a grudge against him, kidnapping his young daughter in revenge.

Madison Spencer from the FBI is back to help him. She finds herself not only working to help him find Ashley, but reaching out to support the family as they deal with the horror. She didn't expect the effect the family would have on her heart.

J.T. feels a failure. He failed his late wife. He's failed to keep Ashley safe and can't find her. He's failing his older daughter Kim, her guilt eating at her because she didn't keep a closer watch on Ashley, and he can't seem to reach or reassure her. He feels blessed to have Madison here helping. Her quiet support of him is helping keep him sane during this nightmare. He appreciates how she is able to reach out and comfort Kim, talk with Neil and keep the family together. He's growing very fond of her - but he can't let her too close, because he's scared it will only be a matter of time before he fails her too.

I enjoyed this very fast paced, very intense (probably because it's a child who has been taken), but also very compelling story.

[Kim]

I like reading this book very much.

[Theresa Ashwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was good, although not what I expected. I haven't read anything in the series but was able to follow. I think the story ends rather quickly. It did keep me interested until the end, when the kidnapper was revealed. I found myself speeding thru just to get to the end. Wasn't much romance between Madison and JT other than her crush on him and a few kisses toward the end. All in all, however, a good book.

[Juanita Wickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book some time back but was kept on the edge of my seat in many parts of the story. Even though it was in 2011 I still remember the story. I plan on reading it again. I love Margaret Daley's books. She is a gifted writer. I have over 200 or more books of Love Inspired, etc., from many authors. I love reading because the books are entertaining, inspirational and realistic in most cases. juanitawickey@gmail.com

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book to get sucked into. It was a page turner with lots of twists. All of my muscles were tense from the stress!! As always, Margaret Daley did a good job telling the story of a kidnapped daughter and all the emotions and actions that go with it. She made you feel everything they were going through. This is a book that takes less than a day to read!

[Madison A]

I enjoyed the novel, it had a stable plot, however, it was slow at times and I think the vocabulary could have been higher level for the type of book it is and the genre it is. I thought the development of the characters was good but it was a traditional romance novel.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It definately grabbed my attention and kept me reading to find out what would happen next!

[Joanna Herndon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read this author before, but this particular book was hard for me to get in to. I may try another by her eventually, but this book didn't do it for me.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOt my favorite Margaret Daley novel, but it was pretty good if you are looking for a light read. Has just the right mixture of suspense, mystery, and 'clean' romance.

[Susan Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
this book pairs with So Dark the Night by Margaret Daley

[Brandi Nyborg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is was a quick one. It has enough suspense to keep you reading and the mystery wraps up in an unexpected way. This book is a great light read.