I’m convinced I’ll love anything Laura Griffin puts out. She does such a good job of blending a solid mystery in with the romance, which makes her book page turners for sure. Plus her books are primarily set in Texas, and as Texas girl myself, I love that I generally am familiar with the areas she’s writing about.
After the death of her father, Ava Burch, has left her corporate law job in Houston to start her own office in Cuervo Texas. She’s also decided to continue her father’s job and start working with search and rescue dogs. When her dog Hank and her, find an abandon campsite on one of her first search and rescue jobs, her first instinct is to record the site and report it to the local police. Through this, Ava meets detective Grant, who is just as suspicious of the site Ava found. When the two realize the site has been cleaned up, they dive headfirst into some cold cases together.
Ava and Grant are such great characters. They are matched perfectly together and while this is not a ‘love to hate’ romance, it’s definitely along those lines. I could really feel both the initial spark and the frustrations the two had with each other. And while they’re great together, both Ava and Grant were well developed, complex, and well-rounded characters in their own right.
From a plot standpoint, Griffin always delivers a seamless murder mystery. Would I say her mysteries are the most complex? No, but they are well crafted with sustainable plots and little to no plot holes. I also always love the way she incorporates the Texas landscape and environment into her stories. As someone who has normally been to the areas she describes, this book along with Griffin’s other books always have such a sense of familiarity and are definitely comfort reads for me.
I don’t know what sorcery Griffin has but it doesn’t matter what she writes, her characters are always spot on. They’re realistic, flawed, and the chemistry between our leads is always perfectly on display. I love her books and hope this one turns into a series since I loved our main characters so much. Can’t wait for more of her books to come out.
Vanishing Hour is out now! Huge thank you to Berkley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.
