Review by shaove24 -- Void by Tayma Tameem

[shaove24]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Void" by Tayma Tameem.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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This review is for Vanished by Tayma Tameem. Vanished is the first of the Void book series, but it is a good stand-alone book.

This is the story about a family whose infant son, AJ Gallager, was abducted. The book follows the lives of his parents, Sally and Ryan Gallager, sister, Jessica Gallagher, immediate family, neighbors and detective, Alan Banks. The Gallagers went from having a day of celebration with family and friends to a devastating discovery that AJ had been abducted from this room with no evidence or clue of who would do it.

What I enjoyed about Vanished is that each character is relatable. The character development of Sally and Ryan called for a high level of empathy for me. The way Sally interacts with her mother I’m sure many people can relate with. Vanished addresses everything that can come with such tragic situation like this from the shame and fear of the parents to the ill intentions of those who will try to benefit from the tragedy. Amy Sloan, a newspaper reporter, used this case as way to make a name for herself with no regard for the family. Unfortunately, this has and continues to happen in such cases. I’m glad that Tayma didn’t shy away from addressing it. I enjoyed the sense of community and family that develops between The Gallagers and their neighbors, between Ryan and Karen (Sally’s sister) and Detective Alan Banks.

I can appreciate that Tayma decided to use coffee as a common ground for comfort with the characters. It was kind of like no matter how tense a conversation became the offering of coffee would slightly neutralize things. If you are a coffee lover be ready to possibly have a craving for coffee while reading. I also enjoyed that Tayma allowed for flashbacks as well as further developing the story timeline into the future. That allows you to see how the family, those associated with them and the case evolve. Even though it takes time, everyone begins to move on with their lives, all except Detective Alan Banks. Tayma chooses to develop Detective Banks's character in the most amazing way. Despite his training as seeing things objectively, Banks still has empathy and drive to help the Gallagers. It was more than just another case, it was personal for him.

For me, there were no negative aspects to address.

There was one grammatical error that I found in Chapter 17: Community. It states: “Sally attempted to glare at his sister.” Instead, it should say “Sally attempted to glare at her sister.” Other than that, I didn’t see any other errors which gives me the impression that it was professionally edited.

I would give Vanished a rating of 4 out of 4 stars . It kept my attention. Tayma developed the characters very well. When I thought I could predict what would happen next, I was thrown for a loop which made it even more interesting. The grammatical error mentioned took nothing away from the body of work overall.

I would recommend Vanished[]/i to other readers. Just be aware that as you get into a book and its characters you may tear up at numerous points of the book. Vanished by Tayma Tameem is definitely is worth the read. I must say the ending caught me off guard.

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Void
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[MsH2k]

It sounds like the author has devoted significant time to character development in this story, and the surprise ending has piqued my curiosity. Thank you for your recommendation!