"Vanishing Girls"

Born in France to American parents, Katia Lief moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in Massachusetts and New York. She teaches fiction writing as a part-time faculty member at the New School in Manhattan and lives in Brooklyn.

Lief's Karin Schaeffer novels include You Are Next and Next Time You See Me.

She applied the Page 69 Test to Vanishing Girls, the latest book in the series, and reported the following:

Page 69 of Vanishing Girls finds Karin Schaeffer with her friend Detective Billy Staples at a community meeting where the police are giving Billy a Distinguished Officer Award for Bravery in the Line of Duty. He hates getting this award because of the price he paid for it: his right eye. When he gets up to take the plaque is also the moment when the locals realize that he's the lead detective on a multiple murder case currently scandalizing the neighborhood. People want answers, but Billy doesn't have any. He gets out of there as fast as he can. Down on the street with Karin, he refuses her offer to introduce him to a police peer assistance group who might be able to help him cope with his ballooning PTSD. Billy is in trouble, but he won't accept help. Karin won't accept not trying to help him. As the story moves forward, this tension weaves into the solving of a complicated case.

Learn more about the book and author at Katia Lief's website.

Writers Read: Katia Lief.

The Page 69 Test: Next Time You See Me.

My Book, The Movie: Next Time You See Me.

--Marshal Zeringue