Ok, I started reading this and wasn’t sure about it. I was wrong I loved it. The twists were amazing and unexpected! This was a very good read, in my opinion! We have the FBI and the local police, all the families! Itjustworks!

The Vanishing Wife by Nichole Severn is a mystery which is not the usual genre I remember reading by this author. She brings her wonderful writing style and character development to this FBI story. This becomes personal since it involves a missing friend. Then the story takes a turn for the worse when another female is missing.

Not only a mystery of who-did-it but also one of what did they do. A wonderful main character, and the development of the story is excellent. You must solve this one along with FBI criminologist Leigh Brody, since there is no easy answer. Just the kind of thinking mystery I like so much so that I purchased the first book to get to know Leigh from the beginning, I guess you would say. Mystery that keeps you guessing, read The Vanishing Wife today.

4.5 Stars

The Vanishing Wife
by Nichole Severn
Pub Date: Sep 12 2024

The Vanishing Wife is the 2nd in the Leigh Brody FBI Mystery series but can be read as a stand-a-lone. A very fast paced, unputdownable thrilling and easy read! A lot of cop/FBI procedures that were really interesting, like watching an episode of "Criminal Minds!" I definitely recommend this suspense/thriller and mystery 5 star book!

Synopsis: Her friend is missing. A teen has been murdered. And Leigh will have to put everything on the line in this serene town where secrets simmer below the surface…FBI criminologist Leigh Brody arrives at her friend Elyse’s beachfront Alabama vacation home and walks straight into a crime scene. Blood spatters the floor, and Elyse’s worried husband and reserved teenage daughter have no idea where she is.

Many thanks to #TheVanishingWife #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for providing me with an E-ARC of this 5 star book!

I really, really liked the first book in this series. I was looking forward to reading this next installment. FBI agent Leigh Brody's friend, Elyse is missing. She has been at her beach home for 2 weeks with her family for a vacation. One night she leaves a message for Leigh. When Leigh tries to call her back, there is no answer. Since Leigh is on medical leave, she decides to go to the beach house and check on her friend. When she gets there she discovers that Elyse is missing, and there is a puddle of blood on the floor. She discovers that Elyse had been attacked a week before, but the police could not find who had attacked her. Leigh also discovers that teen girls are missing from the area.

This story is told through 2 times: the present, and the previous weeks following up to the disappearance of Elyse.

Ok- the best way for me to approach this is with what I liked, and what I struggled with.

What I liked:
1. Leigh Brody. I really like how she is growing as a person and dealing with her childhood trauma. I also like how she approaches investigations, and notices things that seem irrelevant. She is intelligent, yet also honest in her personal struggles.
2. I liked the lead detective from the area, Detective Henrietta Moore. She is a strong female, intelligent, and carries a lot on her shoulders. She has a connection to the missing girls case.
3. The relationship/beginning of friendship between Leigh and Henrietta. At first they are at odds. However, they begin to respect each other and see that they have more in common than they thought.
4. The first third of the book. I was pulled in by the opening chapter, where Elyse comes home and has blood on her. However, she doesn't know what happened to her, where the blood comes from, or where she was. This leads into the weeks before she disappeared, and I wanted to know what happened. The author really drew me into this part of the story.

Struggles:
As the story continued, I felt it was a little far fetched. And I could not empathize with Elyse. The investigation part was strong. But the "villain" aspect seemed a bit forced. I understood the reason for the murderer to want to do what was done, but it was a bit over the top, and did not have a natural flow to it. I was really taken out of the story by this.
There is a "twist" at the end, but I had that figured out when the story started going down the path of discovery.

So, while I thoroughly enjoyed the first in this series, this was not what I was hoping for.
Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

FBI Agent Leigh Brody was on medical leave when she received a message from her friend Elyse saying she needed help. So against everything she knew was right, Leigh took a flight to Gulf Shores, Alabama, heading for the beach house where Elyse and her family were having their annual vacation. Leigh met with the local detective, Henrietta Moore, who was against Leigh's attendance, but Leigh was determined - and the blood spatters confirmed that yes, there was something very wrong.

When the body of a young girl was discovered, and others had gone missing, it looked like they had a serial offender on their hands. Moore and Brody worked side by side, Moore reluctantly, and gradually Leigh could see that her friend was attempting to catch a killer as the police didn't believe her. What was she doing? Elyse was a nurse, not a cop!

The Vanishing Wife is the 2nd in the Leigh Brody FBI Mystery series by Nichole Severn and a heads up is needed for those who haven't read book 1. There are loads of spoilers for the previous story in this book. Lots of twists and turns with a fast pace and plenty of red herrings fill The Vanishing Wife with an intense last third keeping me turning the pages. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Storm Publishing for my digital ARC to read and review.

I have all of these adjectives running through my mind, and none of them seem appropriate enough to describe this gripping story.

Leigh Brody is an FBI criminologist, who I learned in the previous book in this series, is not someone that you want to battle with. You want her on your side. Her sharp mind and keen senses, as well as personal experience with a killer have made her the best at her job. This is how she arrives at her friend's beach house. She got a strange message from Elyse and knew she needed to come to her rescue. A significant amount of blood has been found in the home, which leads law enforcement to believe the worse for Elyse, but they have not found her body. Leigh can sense that Elyse's husband and daughter are hiding something, but she cannot figure out exactly what those secrets may be, at least not yet.

At this point you can find a seat on the roller coaster known as Nicole Severn, as she takes you for a wild ride filled with suppositions, blind curves, as well as shocking twists and loops that will have you screaming what is next? Though the predator is revealed early in the book this does not detract from the story that is being laid out. This is a compulsively readable book, so forget about work, sleep or anything else in your life until you finish it. Sleep is for the weak, especially when there are good books like this one to read.

You do not have to read the first book in this series, as the author does a good job of catching you up. However, I read the first book, and I would highly recommend it as well.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Vanishing Wife is the second book in Nichole Severn 's Leigh Brody FBI Mystery series. Leigh Brody an FBI Behavioral Analysis agent, living in Quantico VA, on medical leave, recives a voice message from her nurse and friend, Elyse Portman saying she needs help. Leigh is recovering from a hysterectomy, and during her recovery she and Elyse became close. As a result of her brother being missing for several years and her father's wrongful incarceration Leigh is a private person with no real close friends. Therefore when she receives Elyse's call she boards a plane to Gulf Shores, Alabama to help Elyse; Eylse, her husband Wesley and 14 year old daughter Ava own a vacation home in Gulf Shores. When Leigh arrives she discovers that Elyse is missing, after having an accident where she fell or was pushed from from a balcony. Elyse suffered a concussion, yet as she healed she believed she had been brutally pushed. She shared this information with Detective Henrietta Moore- even showing her the home where it happened. The resident denied anything, saying he had never seen Elyse before. Moore's priority was finding Ruby Davis, a fifteen year old had been missing for almost 2 weeks; thus she failed to give much credence to Elyse's claim. That is just the backdrop of the story, more girls go missing, Detective Moore is not pleased that Leigh Brody has infiltrated her cases, add to the mix that Leigh is conducting her investigation without FBI approval and the suspense just increases exponentially. I liked the book for the most part, although at times it moved slowly and felt redundant. I struggled with the abduction and torture of her brother storyline- most likely as I have not read the fist book. All in all it was a satisfying read. Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Vanishing Wife, this review reflects my honest opinion. 4 stars.

While on medical Leave from the FBI, agent Leigh Brody, who works for the behavioral analysis unit (BAU) gets a voicemail call from her friend Elyse stating that she needs her help. Elyse and her family are spending their summer at their vacation house on the gulf shores and when Leigh gets there she finds that Elyse is missing and there is a large pool of blood on the floor. Determined to find out what happened to her friend, Leigh must work with local detectives to figure out what happened to Elyse and as she digs into the case, she finds more than she bargained for and discovers motives and deep secrets.

Even though this was the second book in the series (I didn't read the first 😬) I did not feel like I was missing out on plot points or back story. It was well established and also gave you just enough insight to understand what happened previously without sounding redundant. It flowed easily into this current story so you felt all caught up on events.

This was a really good thriller! The end was a good twist and the writing kept a good pace. The alternating timelines were the perfect way to get clues but also keep you on your toes. This book didn’t have any obvious plots that the reader was able to figure out but not the main character. Leigh was smart and while she didn’t always do things ”by the book” she got results and was able to follow the clues and her intuition as an investigator to form the puzzle together.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Nichole Severn
Genre: Domestic Thriller

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy of The Vanishing Wife.

Agent Leigh Brody is recovering from surgery and on medical leave when she gets a message from her friend Elyse that something happened and she needs her help. Leigh arrives at Elyse’s vacation home to see police officers there, a pool of blood in the living room, and Elyse is missing. She convinces the detective to let her join the case to find her friend. Not long after the investigation begins a body is found but it is not Elyse instead it is a teenager who has been missing a few weeks. Is it connected to her missing friend? The more Leigh digs the more she realizes she may not know Elyse at all.

This is the second book in the Agent Leigh Brody series. I would say you should read the first book in the series before you read this book because it gives a lot of background on how Leigh and Elyse became friends. I loved both books! I could not put this book down and I did not see some of the twists coming. It also ends on a little bit of a cliffhanger so I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

After reading book 1, I just couldn't wait to dive into this story.
This time Leigh is on medical leave when she received a call for help from a friend.
Leigh heads to the Gulf shores only to find her missing. There is blood and the mystery begins.
How are the missing teenagers connected to this crime?
So many twists and turns in this story that will leave your head spinning.
Fantastic ending and I can't wait for the next story.

Severn’s Leigh Brody series is keeping me on the edge of my seat. I really like Leigh’s character and enjoyed seeing her in a new situation. The cliffhanger won’t make some readers happy, but at least book 3 is on the way.

Gosh, the story of agent Leigh Brody in Gulf Shores, Alabama, is incredible. Agent Brody unofficially went to Alabama to help her friend Elyse, who asked for help. There is some tension between Leigh and Henrietta, the local police officer charged with investigating disappearances and murders. It is such a surprising FBI book. I enjoyed reading it, and I am sure you will enjoy it too.

Quickly thrust into the middle of danger and intrigue! The second book in Nichole Severn's Leigh Brody FBI Mystery series is quick to hook the reader with a crime occurring from the very beginning that has us in the midst of a hunt the minute we start reading. I really wanted a better developed catch up for the reader of what took place in the first book so we didn't have to recollect in dribbles throughout the story as an after thought. It would really set this book off as more of a standalone, and also refresh the memory of someone that read the first book as well. The core story was very interesting and held my attention, but there was a hard to follow aspect because we were constantly being taken back and forth in time from a week or so ago to present time over and over again. And on a personal pet peeve, there was mention of an inch of snow and ice being on the ground in September in Quantico ... uhmm ... no. This is my neck of the woods, and it's really quite simple to research weather in a particular area and find out those kinds of details, so to see a lazy research screw up like that really tweaks my irritation. Overall, I enjoyed the story substantially and will continue following Leigh Brody into another adventure should there be one. Fast paced, intriguing characters and an attention grabbing case!

I received an ARC from NetGalley

Highly recommend this read! There were so many twists and turns to keep you on edge. Just when you thought you had it figured out, another curve ball comes at you. The ending was so unexpected! Such a great read!

A book that reveals the dangers of social media and the fact that people using social media can and do pose has people they are not. A good idea well executed creating at times a dark tale but ultimately a quick read with a story to tell and entertain the reader. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I found this story to be a real roller coaster. Was Special Agent Brody going to help her friend, find the missing girls, and answer why her friend was missing? Did she really know her? So many questions, at times a little confusing but the twists and turns in the investigation kept me hooked

I look forward to reading more about Brody and her newly restored family.

I love when there are so many twists in a story that you just can't quite figure out what is going on. Yes, there are some things that are learned or at least guessed at early on, but I was on the edge of trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I loved how the story went back and forth from the past and the present rather than being told in a linear fashion. And the ending, oh my! I can't wait to see what happens next.

This is a fast paced book but in some places was quite confusing as the characters were perhaps not as well introduced as I would have liked. That said, once you can place each person in relation to the others the story is a good one- plenty of intrigue, and plenty of suspects and suspicious behaviour to keep the armchair detective guessing!

FBI Agent Leigh is back with another detective crime, when a wife and child goes missing she wants to be involved. She’s on leave though so shouldn’t get involved, but when it’s close to you, she can’t not get involved. Her friend Elyse sent her a text message that was vague. She knows she’s in trouble.

This was a brilliant, chilling read that was read in one sitting. It keeps you wanting to know more and who the killer is. Leigh is a great character that is an easy read. I really enjoy this series. A fast paced 5 star crime thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This read quickly became a page turner, I needed answers, and yes they do come, but the journey there will put your heart in your throat.
Most of what happens here I never saw coming, there a many twists and turns, and I thought one thing and then another. Yes, there are reasons given for some of the happenings, that even now I would never have thought about.
Now this is book two in this series, and I have not read book one, but I was not lost at all in reading this book.
We are given a mother that would do anything to keep her daughter safe, and her friend an FBI agent is there for her, but will their friendship survive the evil that is lurking here? We are there for the facts as they drop, but will these two be there at the end?
If you like suspense this read has it and more!
I received this book through Net Galley and Storm Publishing, and was not required to give a positive review.