Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Disappearance by Amanda Stevens Narrator: Caroline McLaughlin
Published by Harlequin Audio on January 27, 2026
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 6 hours, 7 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
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To find her brother ...they must first find a killer.
āI need you. Hurry!ā Itās the worrisome text from her brother Connor that brings criminal analyst Claire Tinsley to picturesque San Miguel, Texas. There, sheās stunned to find her brother has vanished without a trace. Could he have murdered his employer and gone on the run? Claire refuses to believe it, and finds help searching for evidence from Ben Dornan, an undercover federal agent posing as a former cop. As they retrace Connorās steps, Claire becomes intrigued by yet distrustful of the attractive man she believes is a cop. But sheās thoroughly shaken by a revelation that connects her to Connor and Benā¦and puts a target on her back.
In small town Texas, an unusual and gruesome murder has rocked the community.Ā Claire Tinsley, is headed there because of an urgent text from her brother, only to find he is nowhere to be found and there are suspicions he may have been involved in the murder. The Disappearance is currently a stand alone story that I think could go on to one or two more books.Ā There is a slight romance in the book as well but that is definitely not the focus.
Claire, and her brother Conner, have leaned on each other since their father was murdered when they were eight.Ā She will do anything to find her brother in the artist community he ended up in.Ā As a criminal analyst, she has the mind for this but not the practical experience.Ā There is another man in town, Ben, who is also looking for Conner, he needs to make sure Claire doesn’t draw too much attention to her brother’s current absence and the possibility that Conner was not the person who sent the text to get Claire to town.Ā There is a connection between Claire and Ben that is undeniable, but can the recovering FBI trust her with all of his secrets and their shared past.
This was a solid mystery.Ā I didn’t guess the reveal at the end and that is a huge win for me in a story.Ā I liked the small town with an artist community in it and some of the busy bodies of the town.Ā The setting and backstory was well done.Ā I do wish there was a little more overall development of the characters and a few more threads unrelated to the murder mystery hashed out before the story ended.
This is going to be great for those who like a book with a lot of meat of the story and not much fluff.
Narration:
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Because the story is told in third person there is only one narrator even though some of the chapters focus on Claire and others on Ben.Ā Caroline McLaughlin is a new to me narrator and did a good job with the alternating PoVs and voices.Ā I was able to tell the major characters apart throughout the story.Ā Overall she did a good job with the pacing and flow capturing the mysterious nature of the story.Ā I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
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I do love my thrillers and mysteries with more meat then fluff
I read a different series she wrote that was a bit different as it dipped into the paranormal. This was a better mystery though. I don’t read a lot of mysteries but I flew through it pretty fast.
This sounds like the kind of mystery that I’d really enjoy! I grew up in a small Texas town, so the connection to the setting makes me want to read it even more.
I love small town stories. The characters in the towns and the way everyone knows every bodies business is really fun.
I love her Graveyard Queen series, but admit I haven’t read much of her HQN books. Great review!
Yes!!! That is the series I read by her and loved it.
I like the sound of this one.
It is a solid quick read