Book Review: Vanish by Tom Pawlik

Title: Vanish
Author: Tom Pawlik
Publisher: Tyndale House
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 365
ISBN: 978-1-4143-1893-6
Genre: Christian suspense

An established lawyer finds everything about his life suddenly turn strange. Conner thinks strangers are staring at him. Then he notices a man working on an air conditioning unit on the building across from Conner's office. Conner becomes convinced that the worker is spying on him. Later, Conner's dinner with his daughter ends on a sour note when he questions her involvement at his ex-wife's church. As if things haven't been strange enough that day, an odd storm rolls up from the lake. Red, amber, and blue lightning flash in the clouds. That is the last thing he remembers.

When Connor wakes, he can't find his daughter. In fact, most of Chicago seems deserted. As he searches for answers, he runs into a few other survivors who can't understand why they are alone . . . but then again, they keep hearing whispers from faceless creatures. The creatures begin to stalk them, and the band of survivors must all face the question. Are they ready to die?

Vanish captured my interest from the beginning. Pawlik jumps right into the action. He spares the reader from long chunks of backstory. Instead, he weaves in these details throughout the novel. In fact, Pawlik employs a clean writing style all around. Every scene moves the story forward; he doesn't include purposeless scenes. I got the feeling that he had been very intentional about what scenes and viewpoints to include. The result? Pawlik held my interest through every single page of Vanish.

Short chapters end with cliffhangers. Pawlik uses these devices to build suspense and hold interest. However, unlike some other books that fall under the suspense genre, Vanish does not depend only on clever plot moves. Pawlik's characters also have depth. They hurt, question, grow, and change. The combination of fast-paced action and believable characters, in my opinion, produces the best novels.

Vanish won the 2006 Operation First Novel contest held every year by the Christian Writers Guild. As contests go, this is one of the higher-profile, higher-quality ones in the Christian publishing arena. After reading this book, I can easily understand why Vanish won the nomination. Unlike some first novels, Vanish comes from a writer who has honed his craft and produced a high-quality story. I would highly recommend this novel to readers across the age spectrum.