Dot Hutchison

A recent abduction becomes an unexpected link to a decades-long spree of unspeakable crimes. Eight-year-old Brooklyn Mercer has gone missing. And as accustomed as FBI agents Eliza Sterling and Brandon Eddison are to such harrowing cases, this one has struck a nerve. It marks the anniversary of the disappearance of Eddison's own little sister. Disturbing, too, is the girl's resemblance to Eliza--so uncanny they could be mother and daughter. With Eddison's unsettled past rising again with rage and pain, Eliza is determined to solve this case at any cost. But the closer she looks, the more reluctant she is to divulge to her increasingly shaken partner what she finds. Brooklyn isn't the only girl of her exact description to go missing. She's just the latest in a frightening pattern going back decades in cities throughout the entire country. In a race against time, Eliza's determined to bring Brooklyn home and somehow find the link to the cold case that has haunted Eddison--and the entire Crimes Against Children team--since its inception.

The Vanishing Season

Ciel Zero

[ BOOK IG: @clumsyciel ]

overall rating: 4/5 ⭐️
time taken to read: ~4 days
number of notes: 66

TW: SA, murder etc

"Even when your scars come from escaping something, they’re still scars." (page 37)

TVS is the fourth and final book in @dot_hutchison 's The Collector series. it is written in the perspective of Eliza Sterling, first introduced in TROM during Priya's case. she joins the Quantico Three (now Four) in TSC.
a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes goes missing in a deemed 'safe' neighbourhood - exactly what Sterling looks like. this reminds Eddison of what made him want to join the FBI; the unsolved case of his little sister, Faith's disappearance.
as this agents delve deeper into this new case, Eddison's old scars reopen and bleed as they connect the dots.

there is a pattern: a girl with curly blonde hair with blue eyes goes missing every few years.
this case is hits closer to home than you think.

[ SPOILERS AHEAD! ]

things i liked/loved!
-> Eliza's POV! as mentioned in my review of TSC, having the POV change of it now in the eyes of an FBI agent really made the book. it shows what goes on behind the scenes and how they rescue and help the survivors.

-> flashbacks leading up to Faith's disappearance! younger Eddison bonding with his sister was so pure. 

-> Eliza and Eddison's character development - both individually and as a couple. Eliza finally realises why she can't let go of her supposed-to-be-wedding-dress, and Eddison gathers the courage to investigate cases that are incredibly similar to his sister's. as a couple, they balance each other out and help the other by being their pillar of support.

-> an update on Mercedes! she finally gets a better girlfriend who understands and supports her! :D

-> more updates on the girls from TBG and TROM! the girls are now adults and thriving in life, but they always go back home to their family - the ones who helped them move on and heal; the Quantico Four. 

-> Eddison and his family finally get closure on what has happened to Faith after all these years. honestly i love Eddison so much, he deserves all the love. what a precious babe <3

things i disliked
-> though i liked the plot, i feel like there could have been more development for the 'mystery' and 'crime' part. maybe because the cases for the past three books were so extreme; but the case for this book wasn't as just.. extreme per se.

-> the killer... i never felt any sympathy for any of the killers in the past three books, but this one is different. i still feel a burning hatred for the killer in this book, but i have a small twinge of sympathy for them, just because of what caused them to do their crimes. the killer just missed their daughter, but what they did was still not right. 

overall, TVS was an incredible book, just like the three books before it. the epilogue was so sweet, literally made me cry happy tears. i miss the whole team already, including the girls. fifth book, maybe? <3

i would only recommend reading this if you have read TROM, as it gets rather personal with Eddison.

Colleen

3.5 Stars
 
*A wonderful wrap-up to a thrilling and emotional series*
 
ARC provided by Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
 

  



I have such mixed feelings about The Vanishing Season. It was a solid story. I easily read it in under twenty-four hours. And I’m satisfied with the way things ended… But I’m only satisfied, not mind-blown. Although Hutchison’s writing has become more polished throughout this series, none of the subsequent books elicited anywhere near as visceral a reaction as did the first book, The Butterfly Garden.
 
The Vanishing Season reads more like a straightforward, mainstream thriller. The story is told almost entirely in first person, present tense from the POV of Agent Eliza Sterling. There are a few flashback scenes that don’t add much to the overall story, but everything else is told by Sterling. And unfortunately, Sterling is the weakest link in this book and probably the whole series.
 
I never connected with Sterling. Maybe I just got tired of hearing how young and gorgeous she was. Maybe I never entirely bought into her purported level of intelligence. But it boils down to the fact that I simply did not find her a compelling lead character. I was pretty ambivalent about her as a side character, but I was hoping she would bring more to the table as a lead. But her narration and her personality were so inconsistent. Sometimes she was cold and clinical. Other times she was frilly and almost ditsy. I felt so disconnected from her. It was engaging when she was analyzing the case, because following along with the logic of criminal profiling and narrowing the suspect pool was right up my alley. But the second the story switched to Sterling having a personal moment, my interest would lag.
 
I also never got used to Eliza referring to Eddison as “Bran.” Don’t change how a character is referred to four books into a series!
 
One aspect that I loved about the previous books was the exploration of various effects of violent trauma. From Stockholm Syndrome to survivor’s guilt, the previous books expertly presented the far-reaching ripples of these crimes. But that was barely present in The Vanishing Season. There was a small look at treatment of families of the perpetrators and some repetition of lessons from previous books, but all of that took a backseat to the rest of the story. And I greatly missed both the emotion and intellectual intrigue of exploring those difficult subjects.
 
This story still made me cry, but it was overall the least emotionally impactful to me of the four books. I enjoyed the parts pertaining to the case more than the interpersonal relations. Sterling was so stiff that I wasn’t invested in her romantic relationship at all. And my connection with the other characters was more due to the events of the first three books than anything specific in this installment. If anyone read this as a standalone, they wouldn’t be nearly as invested. But it bears repeating that this book literally made me cry, because I rarely cry at books. So keep that in mind despite the amount of critiques in this review. This was still an intriguing story with a strong emotional component. I enjoyed it thoroughly; it just was not as amazing as its predecessors.
 
According to the author’s note, this is the end of the series, and I’m very glad of that. I said after The Summer Children that as much as I enjoyed this series, I want it to end before it drags on and the quality tanks. I’m satisfied with the way things wrapped up, and I hope this truly is the end. I’m excited to see what Hutchison does next with a new concept!


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 5 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Leah Patton

So sad this series is over but it will always be one of my favorites

Jill Basilone

The perfect ending to this series. 

I was a little disappointed that I would have to wait until May to finally finish but I am so grateful that I got a copy and can share my review. 

The Butterly Garden will definitely be my favorite as it first brought me in to this world of Crimes Against Children and the agents who used their owns struggles to help others. BUT this book was an emotional ride and a very close second. Getting to know the agents through the first three stories gave this book such a different meaning. 

The team is brought in when a little girl disappears. Her resemblance to Eddison’s missing sister is apparent immediately. Their search for one girl uncovers more than they could even expect to find. 

It may have to do with the fact that I’m a blonde haired, blue eyed girl but this book was eye opening to just how quickly life can be changed when a child is alone on the street. You’d care about her even if you didn’t know her. The fact that the case brings you so close to Eddison’s life it felt way more emotional. Over the course of three books he’s grown into so much more than a rough edged agent he was in The Butterfly Garden. Eliza’s envolvment brought the agent perspective we’re so used too. Her involvement with Eddison allows use to understand how truly difficult it can be working with the families of children who are missing or have been found with a less than ideal outcome.

chloe mcpherson

It's sad to say that the last book in this series, being The Vanishing Season, was my least favourite in this whole series, and if i could I would give this one a 2.5.
The first book in this series, The Butterfly Garden was one of the best books I read, it was creepy, twisted and nail biting.
The next two books being Roses of May and The Summer Children weren't as good but they weren't terrible.
And as much as the vanishing season wasn't terrible it wasn't great either.

The problems I had with this book were,
- the kidnapping of 8yo Brooklyn just seemed to be overshadowed by one of the agents having similar features to the child (having blonde hair and blue eyes) and another agents traumatic issue with his sister's disappearance when he was younger.

- this book mainly focused on the personal lives of the agents on the team, and their love lives and the book didn't seem to centre around the crime. And the book just seemed way to juvenile, i would forget the agents were in their late twenties/early thirties and 16.

-The book was way longer than it needed to be, the killer/kidnapper is revealed around 70% and the last 30% of the book is just the aftermath of finally catching the killer.

What i did like about this book was the killers backstory, it wasn't all that shocking who it was, but you couldn't help feel bad for their character because of his own traumatic life experiences.

Thank you net galley for giving me access a copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

danielle bush

** spoiler alert **
           This is the fourth and final book in the collector series and I would def. recommend reading the others before this one. The series follow a unit of the FBI that solves cases against children. Each book is told from one of the members point of view. The Vanishing Season is told from Faiths point of view, and starts out with the disappearance of a little girl while she was walking home from school. This brings up thing from the past for special agent Brandon Eddison whose sister was taken the same way like 20+ years ago.. 
I highly recommend this series, and am really looking forward to Dot Hutchinson's new book that is releasing this year

Dan Denney

Familiar characters but a new vibe

I feel like I know this group of characters, but this one took it to a new level. I couldn't put it down but this one was more heart-wrenchimg than suspenseful.

The Vanishing Season

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