The first book in the contemporary fantasy series the Vanished.
Publication year: 2020
Format: Audio
Running time: 9 hours, 37 minutes
Narrators: Paul L. Coffey, Kirsten Leigh, Ryan Jordan McCarthy
Set in the Chaco Navajo reservation. Ben Dejooli is a Navajo Nation police officer with a troubled past; his little sister vanished six years ago and his best friend Joey Flatwood was accused of it. Ben was convinced that Joey knew what had happened and testified against him. Joey refused to say anything and was banished. Many people blame Ben for it. Of course, being a cop doesn't help. That day crows started following Ben but tries to ignore them. After a fight, he faints and is brought to the local hospital.
Caroline Adams is a nurse at the Navajo hospital. She's plagued by self-doubt, especially when the patients curse her and she wonders if they're right. However, she has a special talent she hasn't told anyone about: she can see a color surrounding every person, except herself. When Ben is brought to the hospital, he's surrounded by angry colors which means he's seriously ill. But he refuses treatment. She's immediately attracted to him and wants to find a way to help him.
Owen Bennet is a doctor working in the Navajo hospital. He's close to burnout, working long days. He's also in love with Caroline but has never said anything because he screws up relationships. When he notices that she's very worried about Ben, he wants to help them both.
This isn't an adventure book. It starts slowly, building the characters, the setting, and the mystery of the crows and what happened to the little girl. We get to know how the Navajos live on the reservation. We also get to see a couple of their old rituals, too. However, Ben is an outsider who doesn't believe in the rituals but rather is humoring the people around him. His grandmother is a real interesting character who refuses to speak in English and otherwise despises white people. She's a follower of the "old ways". His sister's disappearance broke his dad who mostly drinks. His mom left the reservation and hasn't contacted them.
The supernatural elements are used sparingly at first but they become very prominent near the end. The story is told from the first-person POV of the three main characters. We get to know each one very well.
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