Watch Them Disappear

 

Watch Them Disappear by Carla Kovach
9/21/26; 350 pages
Bookouture
Detective Gina Harte #19 

Watch Them Disappear by Carla Kovach is a very highly recommended investigative thriller. This procedural hits on some timely topics. Even though this is the 19th novel in the Detective Gina Harte series it can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

When Ursula leaves her pet grooming business for the day she is more concerned about the group of unruly teens that seem to take over the street. The leader of the miscreants even threatens her on this day. Then she sees the car of her employee, Mindy, still parked outside even though she left an hour earlier. What Ursula finds at the car is a smashed phone, blood on the windshield, and Mindy's pet bunny sitting outside in it's basket. She immediately calls the police.  

DCI Gina Harte and her team respond and quickly determine that Mindy has been kidnapped. They also discover a video and email from OpenMeSmiler threatening blackmail sent to Mindy just before she left. 

During this same time period Brian, 18, is on the dark web and being pulled into joining OpenMeSmiler, which shows viewers secret camera footage from unsuspecting people. What he doesn't discover until it is too late is that watching it also means whoever is behind OpenMeSmiler has complete control of your computer and collects film of you for blackmail purposes. What is quickly clear is that there is a psychopath who has secret cameras on people and is deliberately filming them. While DCI Harte and her team have uncovered secret cameras at Mindy's house and are following clues, they have no idea about the reach, evil, and intent of the operator behind OpenMeSmile. The investigation quickly escalates.

This is another great addition to the well-written series. The investigation is complex, all the clues are logically followed, and the pace moves quickly. The whole question of filming people without their knowledge or consent, including surveillance,  personal privacy versus the public good, social media, and the dark web are timely topics in many discussions today and give the novel a timely, cutting-edge advantage while holding your attention and interest throughout. There is a lot going on in this procedural, so, follow the action and take note of the clues uncovered while following the investigation.

The chapters in the narrative follow DCI Harte and the team, Brian along  with his sister Tabby and friend Curtis, and the anonymous perpetrator. The anonymous OpenMeSmiler operator is chillingly nefarious as he controls his viewers with threats and blackmail while he is watching them to make sure they are watching his actions.

Those following the series are well acquainted with the background of DCI Gina Harte and her team. In Watch Them Disappear the personal information about and any further character development of the team members is really only focused on near the beginning of the novel and at the end. The bulk of the story is fully invested in the investigation and following clues to stop the perpetrator. This makes the novel very appealing as a standalone procedural.

Watch Them Disappear is an excellent choice for those who enjoy procedurals/investigative thrillers with a tie to cutting edge topics. Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.