“Dear Christ,” she muttered. “Christ, Christ—damn it!” she screamed.
Adele leaned back, gasping, her chest heaving, her back against the brick fireplace as she stared at the ruined corpse of her old mentor. The small heart etched in Robert’s blood was visible just out of the corner of her eye. Gasping, growling now, feeling a feral ferocity rise in her chest, Adele staggered to her feet, leaving bloody footprints beneath her where she’d stepped.
“No…” she murmured, breathing heavily. “No. No. No.” But the words themselves seemed futile. She stepped forward now, staggering toward the corpse of her old mentor. The anger was fleeting though. It had promised support, strength, but then fled as she drew near, leaving her only with an emptiness in her gut.
She gasped, choking out a sob, and found hot tears suddenly flooding down her cheeks.
A crime scene… Don’t touch him, dummy. The voice in her head wasn’t loud enough, though. The shock alone seemed to be pulsing with prickles through her skull.
“Christ,” she muttered. “No. No…” No other words seemed to come, nothing concrete fell from her lips. She stumbled toward Robert, reaching out and gripping at his chest with one hand, her fingers coming away soaked in the blood that stained his bathrobe. She collapsed at his knees.
“No, no, no,” she cried, her voice strangled. She sobbed now, shaking, her chin resting against her old mentor’s knees. Feeling, beneath her own chin, where even his legs hadn’t been spared the torture.
She collapsed, leaning against Robert’s corpse, gasping and heaving sobs into his lap, gasping and gasping, unable to breathe, unable to speak.
She’d been wrong.
The killer hadn’t fled. He hadn’t gone into hiding. She didn’t want to make it personal.
So he had.
He had come, he had taken, and he had left a small little heart etched in her true father’s window. A coy little invitation, a playful gesture, asking for her to look closer, to peel back the curtains and peer through the window.
But some sights were best left unseen.
No. He hadn’t gone into hiding at all. He was fully back now. He’d done this… because of her.
She gasped, sobbing, weeping, unable to rise, unable to extricate herself from the frayed form of Robert Henry, her tears dappling his blood-soaked garments, her breath gasping against his broken form.
The choice was gone. She couldn’t step back now. It was personal. Deeply personal.
One way or another, this wouldn’t end in a courtroom. It had started in blood, and it would end the same. Adele clenched her teeth, snarling now and gasping, desperately trembling as her fingers reached for her phone to call… call who? No one could help. Robert was gone.
Her mother was gone.
And the bastard who’d taken them was laughing.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
LEFT TO VANISH
(An Adele Sharp Mystery—Book 8)
“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists and the end brings a surprising revelation. I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Almost Gone)
LEFT TO VANISH is book #8 in a new FBI thriller series featuring Adele Sharp (the series begins with LEFT TO DIE, book #1) by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews.
When a seemingly unconnected string of murders occurs in vacation homes scattered throughout the French countryside, many involving American, German and Italian expats, FBI Special Agent Adele Sharp—triple agent of the U.S., France and Germany—is called in to cross borders and use her brilliant mind to figure out who is behind it.
Are the murders coincidental?
Or are they the work of a single, deranged serial killer?
And can Adele stop him before he strikes again?
An action-packed mystery series of international intrigue and riveting suspense, LEFT TO VANISH will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Books #9 and #10 in the series—LEFT TO HUNT and LEFT TO FEAR—are now also available!
LEFT TO VANISH
(An Adele Sharp Mystery—Book 8)
Did you know that I've written multiple novels in the mystery genre? If you haven't read all my series, click the image below to download a series starter!
Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising fifteen books (and counting); of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising ten books (and counting); of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising three books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising three books (and counting).
ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery—Book 1), WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige—Book 1), NEXT DOOR (A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery—Book 1), THE PERFECT WIFE (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book One), IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 1), and MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery—Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES
HER LAST WISH (Book #1)
HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)
HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)
AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES
CITY OF PREY (Book #1)
CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)
CITY OF BONES (Book #3)
A YEAR IN EUROPE
A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)
DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)
VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)
ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)
GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)