A Vanishing Act  by Edwina Kiernan

This is a book about redemption. The ultimate redemption of salvation. It’s a clean, Christian mystery set in 1940’s Hollywood. It’s about two people from different social strata who’ve been around each other for a long time but in this book finally find each other.

Selwood and Sanders are the big screen’s hottest acting pair. Kent Selwood is an arrogant, angry, lost soul. Stella Sanders is his leading lady. And they’re making great movies together. The problem is, Selwood can’t stand Sanders and doesn’t feel she deserves the success she’s getting.

Stella Sanders disappears, and all evidence points to Kent Selwood as the person responsible. The entire studio turns against him, except for a seamstress named Bonnie Roseland. These two team up and hunt for Stella Sanders.

This is an entertaining and fast read, as well as being inspirational. It’s only around two-hundred Kindle pages. There’s strong characterization with the main characters and several of the minor characters. Elements of the mystery kept me guessing. About two-thirds through I had an idea of who was behind the disappearance, but that idea turned out to be only partially correct. There were several surprises, some red-herrings, and a few twists and turns. The romance during the story is heavy, but on an emotional, internal scale. The reader gets a lot of internal dialog from the two main characters about each other. There’s also a good amount of humor, especially in the two character’s thoughts.

For the non-Christian reader, there is a long presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bonnie is a strong Christian woman with a high moral standard. But don’t let that stop you from reading the book. I think you’ll find the story inspirational as well.

The story is fashioned after a fairytale, so of course, it has to end happily ever after. The sub-title for this book is “A 1940’s Fairytale-Inspired Mystery”.

My only complaint is the lack of setting to put the story in the 1940’s. Without being told when the story is set in the subtitle, I would not have known. There’s no cell phones or social media, so I would have guessed twenty to thirty years before present. However, the 1940’s has unique details that could have been brought out as well as strong historical elements, like, for example, World War II. Depending on when in the 40’s, either during the war or just after the war. I would have liked a stronger milieu. This would have made the story come alive even more.

The book is a clean read. No profanity. No sex. And no graphic violence.

It’s a four out of five-star read. But given the other two I’ve read this year it falls to number three.

1. The Record Keeper by Charles Martin
2. The Samaritan’s Patient by Chevron Ross
3. A Vanishing Act by Edwina Kiernan

Commission earned