FBI profiler Evelyn Baine is working on the Nursery Rhyme Killer case. The suspect has earned that moniker because when a child is abducted, a nursery rhyme is left as the only clue to his or her disappearance.

Cassie Byers disappeared without a trace 18 years ago from the small South Carolina town of Rose Bay, the third child in the area to vanish. Cassie was Evelyn’s best friend, and Evelyn has been haunted by her disappearance ever since. It’s the reason she joined the FBI; she became a profiler so she could catch criminals like Cassie’s kidnapper.

"Heiter’s fast-paced, action-packed writing style and believable storylines have me wanting more."

Now, 18 years later, another child has gone missing in Rose Bay, and the abductor has left a nursery rhyme at the scene. It’s similar to but somewhat different from the ones that were uncovered earlier. Could this be the same individual who took Cassie years ago? Or is there a copycat at work? Evelyn is assigned to the case and is determined to find out, even when her life is put in grave danger.

VANISHED is the second installment in Elizabeth Heiter’s The Profiler series following HUNTED, which revolved around the abductions of Cassie and other children. Although I haven’t read this first book, Heiter does an excellent job of filling in the back story concerning these previous crimes, so I felt like I was “in the know” and didn’t miss a beat.

Although the characters are well-developed, Heiter has a tendency to overuse the facial expression of raised eyebrows. Almost everyone raises their eyebrows at some point in the story. This particular action is mentioned over and over again in the narrative, which gets a bit annoying after a while. Still, though, Heiter’s fast-paced, action-packed writing style and believable storylines have me wanting more. I look forward to the continuation of this series, which hopefully will come sooner rather than later.