"Not all those who wander are lost." This oft-quoted line from LORD OF THE RINGS played continually in my mind as I was enjoying Nina Sadowsky’s latest novel, which continues her intriguing Burial Society series.

When reading these books, I could not help but draw comparisons to the TV series “Scandal” before it went off the rails. Catherine is the leader of the Society, and THE EMPTY BED covers three separate assignments in which she and her team are involved. The most impressive of these cases concerns a British couple who travels to Hong Kong for a romantic getaway. That is, until Peter Lombard wakes up in their hotel room after a long flight to find his wife, Eva, missing.

Although the Society’s area of expertise is making people disappear, Catherine is acting at the request of her friend, Forrest “Holly” Holcomb, a British gentleman who is also one of the most powerful people in the world. Peter works for Holly, which is why Catherine gets the call.

"THE EMPTY BED is a quick and entertaining read, and Sadowsky's creation of the Burial Society sets her up for continued adventures with them."

Catherine decides to send two of her best Society members to Hong Kong to deal with the Peter and Eva situation. They are complete opposites who initially do not see eye to eye on much of anything. There is the stoic and serious Jake Burrows, who is in Hong Kong under the name “John Bernake.” His partner in this mission is the young and brash Stephanie Regaldo, aka Stevie Nichols. She has a sketchy past, but there was something Catherine saw in Stephanie that told her she could be a useful Society member with the right mentoring and coaching. The fact that Jake and Stephanie are placed on such a high-profile assignment shows just how much faith Catherine has in them.

There are two other storylines here that eventually will converge in unpredictable ways. In New York City, Federal Agent Magali Guzman is searching for Roger Elliott, who claims that his wife and son disappeared suddenly. In reality, Catherine is working with the Elliotts using her Society resources for situations at which they are best --- helping people to disappear. Catherine has them in Mexico City, Mexico, and is trying to take care of them while keeping Guzman off their trail.

Meanwhile, Jake and Stephanie are involved in what feels like an episode of “Mission: Impossible” and is quite different from their usual work. They discover that Eva may not want to be found. She had lived for a bit in Hong Kong well before marrying Peter. Her ex-boyfriend and near-fiancée, Alex, still lives there, and she very well may be looking to get back together and make up for lost time. It turns out that Alex got married and has a family, but he is overjoyed to see Eva and is willing to help her out in any way he can as the flame still burns for her.

Jake and Stephanie also find themselves immersed in some more drama involving Peter. It seems that he has made enemies of a Hong Kong gang known as the Triad, and they are not going to let these two American interlopers keep them from snatching Peter to settle some scores with him. Hong Kong is a tricky place to navigate, and the action sequences that take place there are reminiscent of Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne novels.

THE EMPTY BED is a quick and entertaining read, and Sadowsky's creation of the Burial Society sets her up for continued adventures with them. She also ends the proceedings on a cliffhanger that will have readers eager for more.