Vanishing Girls    by Katia Lief Order:  USA  Can Harper, 2012 (2012) Paperback, e-Book Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Martina Bexte On a cold night in December two vicious crimes hit close to home for Karin Schaeffer and her husband, Mac, both of them former cops turned PI's. Two females are found on a nearby street: one is an eleven-year-old child, a victim of a hit and run barely clinging to life; the other body bears the unmistakeable signature of a serial killer dubbed the Working Girl Killer, who's repeatedly outwitted the NYPD. When former colleague, Detective Billy Staples, is tapped to investigate the Working Girl Killer's latest horror, Karin takes it upon herself to help - she knows that Billy is still suffering from PTSD from his last case and wants to keep an eye on him. In her determination to help him, she begins to do some digging of her own that begins to shed doubt on what investigators have already unearthed. Then, the grisly case takes a shocking twist when a close friend is murdered with the same MO. Is Karin's past coming back to haunt her, or is the killer reaching out in a more personal manner to force her to back off? This is my first foray into the world of former cop Karin Schaeffer and while various references to previous books starring Schaeffer (You Are Next and Next Time You See Me) are a bit jarring, Lief fills in enough of the blanks to keep the continuity going. Lief's writing style is sharp, her plot continually twisting and her characterizations excellent, especially Karin. That's the most engrossing part of Vanishing Girls; Karin's relentlessness in not only solving this horrific and complex case, but her fierce determination to protect her family and friends - at any cost. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews