Customer Reviews

Vanished (Christian Chiller Series #1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this book knowing it was the first book in a series. What I did not know was that it was not a recent book and that there is no second book yet.
The story is very exciting and fast paced, I really liked the characters and cared about them, I loved the premise of the story .
It was a good thriller, kept my interest and fast paced. then I got to the end, and it ended as if something had just sliced through the story just when it was getting even better and cut it off. When I started to read the book and realized how good it was, I went and ordered three more books by this author. I assumed either one or two were the continuation of Vanished.
Now I know they are not. I would have given the book five stars and it is a five star book. But it just leaves you hanging and here it was written in 2007, its now 2010 and I am not sure if the story will continue. What a giant let down. Pat Russell, Sherman,NY

On a quiet day in a quiet community the silence is shattered by a bomb explosion in the city park. The residents of Barcester, Massachusetts, suddenly find themselves in the midst of chaos and death. A strange mist has settled around the neighborhood keeping everyone in and keeping all help on the outside. Anyone who attempts to cross the mist finds themselves on the verge of a terrifying alternate world that defies reason and logic. Now a divided community must put aside their differences and try to find a way out before the madman in their midst destroys them all.

Kathryn Mackel offers up an intriguing tale that makes for a solid beginning to a new series. Mackel's storytelling talent is on full display as she brings us a suspense filled work that comes at us from many angles. The strong characters really sell the story as we are effectively drawn into their lives and their collective search for answers. We are also treated to several creepy glimpses into the mist and what may or may not reside there. At it's heart this is a story about faith and hope in the face of danger and uncertainty. In the end we are reminded that God's love for us is greater than the chaos, fear, and despair that we may face in our own lives.

Readers need to keep in mind that Vanished is the first book in a series, even though the publishers felt the need to leave this information out of the book. This does explain the rather abrupt ending, and I have a feeling all of our questions will be answered and our expectations met as this series unfolds. I for one will be back for round two!

What? I waste all this time, dozens of unanswerable questions are raised and none of them explained? It's like the author got bored and quit! For gosh sakes, at least let the cavalry ride in! Anybody can make up freakish ideas but only a good author then has the explanations for them. The most basic of writers know that! You don't build readers that way. NEVER will i read one of her books again. You say, Ms. Mackel, the publisher wouldn't publish the second one--then why not just include the ending in this one, like everybody else does? You could have answered many questions with a few pages, is all! Aside from just some really dumb dialogue and people running all over trying to kill each other even though their world has just collapsed, this could have been a very good book. I give it one star. It deserves less. I am just so ticked off!

After reading the author's other fine books, I had high expectations for " Vanished ", and was not disappointed ! Kathryn Mackel has a raw, gritty, fast paced, style. Her ability to bring out the best (and worst) characteristics in average people, are reminiscent of Stephen King or James Patterson without King's anti-christian bias. The hand of God is seen in action without it always being overtly done. I am waiting anxiously for the second book in this series because I have no idea how this fine story might end based on the first book!

The mist must have stolen the ending of this book, because there is none.

I noticed the (Christian Chiller Series #1) after the title and assumed that meant that there was a Christian Chiller Series #2. Wrong assumption. Amazon should remove that phrase because, clearly, no #2 is in the works or will be in the works anytime soon. Kathryn Mackel has written books and screenplays since with not one hint of a sequel to Vanished.

As a reader and a writer, to get pulled into a story, invest your time and emotions in the characters and then be left hanging is not my idea of great writing.

This was the first Kathryn Mackel book I've read and it will be the last.

UPDATED REVIEW:

I've just learned that the sequel was, indeed, written. However, the publisher discontinued the series. That said, I've changed my rating to 4 (because the writing did pull me in and held me.) Some of the characters were not well developed, so I took off one star. Hopefully, Ms. Mackel can convince her publisher to rethink the decision.

I apologize for all of you who have not heard that the publisher decided not to bring out book 2. As the author, I had no control over this decision, and I am so sorry for those of you who have been left hanging. For anyone who wants to continue with the series, contact the author via [...] and make arrangements to read the second book, or if you'd prefer...just to get the answer for where the Vanished have gone.
Again...my apologies.

I, too, knew this was the first in a series, but didn't realize that the second book has never been written. Not one of the great sub-plots was resolved in this book... it cut off so abrubptly that I went to buy book #2 on my Kindle immediately upon finishing this one. To my great disappointment, it has not yet been written. This put a huge damper on my voracious taste for the first book... I was taken in and enjoyed the pace. It was relatively well-written and the characters highly believable. The premise is cool and unusual... you want to know how it continues... but alas, I am left cold...

I will probably order another of this author's books because I enjoyed the read. However, I will be more careful when choosing.

This was the first Kindle book that I have purchased for my iPod touch. I loved being able to read it on vacation. It was a great book. I got extremely wrapped up in the plot and the characters. I wish, however, that I had read some of these reviews first. The book just ended - without resolution. Being my first Kindle read, I thought something was wrong with my download or something. Oh well...
Overall it was a great book and I am glad there will be more, but I would have liked to have known that it was part of a series.

This story was very good but it ended in the middle! I even double checked to make sure that the entire book had downloaded. I was also surprised to find out that there is no book 2 and possibly never will be. The frustrating part is that I paid $9 for this Kindle edition, which is more than I usually spend and I didn't even get a whole book. I hope book 2 will come out soon or else I just wasted my money.

I wish I had never read this book!!! The writing, character development, and plot were awesome. But what the hell kind of ending was that. This is supposed to be a series but this was published in 2007 and no sequel yet. I am very disappointed in this author, make that extremely disappointed and angry. How can you just cut this off in the what should have been the middle of a book. Did Mackel not know how to end it or even know where the plot was going. I had only read one other book by her 'The Surrogate' which was excellent, so I purchased this one expecting the same, it was crafted well. But where is the sequel it has been almost 5 years now. What is wrong with her that she should leave her readers hanging like this??