Review of "Every Waking Hour: An Ellery Hathaway Mystery" by Joanna Schaffhausen

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In this 4th book in the 'Ellery Hathaway' series, the police detective searches for a missing girl. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

As a young teenager, Ellery Hathaway was abducted by a sadistic serial killer who raped her, carved her up with a knife, and shut her up in a dank, putrid closet.



Ellery was on the point of death when she was rescued by FBI Agent Reed Markham.



Hathaway and Markham's names have been linked ever since in articles, books, and movies about the perpetrator, Francis Michael Coben, who murdered at least 17 girls. The publicity adds to Ellery's distress, because people are constantly approaching her to ask questions and stare at her scars.

Nevertheless, Ellery goes on to become a Boston police detective.....



.....and sometimes works on cases with her rescuer, Virginia-based Agent Reed Markham.



After Reed's wife divorces him for being a workaholic, Reed and Ellery become a romantic couple, and Reed may be the one person who understands Ellery's PTSD, anxiety, and difficulty with physical and emotional closeness.



As the story opens Reed and his 7-year-old daughter Tula are on vacation in Massachusetts, and Reed, Tula, Ellery, and Ellery's basset hound Speed Bump (aka Bump) are visiting a lively street fair on the Boston Common.



Tula and Bump are having an especially good time.....



.....and Bump even snatches an ice cream cone when a horde of children crowd around to play with him.



Reed, Tula, and Ellery are settling down to eat tacos Reed purchased when a woman starts screeching, "Help! She's gone! Someone, please help me!"



The woman, a nanny called Margery Brimwood, can't find her charge, 12-year-old Chloe Lockhart. Margery explains that Chloe went to buy a snack from a food truck an hour ago, and never returned - and she's not answering her phone.

Ellery and Reed immediately start to search for the girl. They learn that Chloe's parents, Teresa and Martin Lockhart, instructed nanny Margery to keep a close eye on Chloe at ALL times.



The reason for this is a tragedy in Teresa's past. When Teresa was married to her first husband Ethan Stone, their 12-year-old son Trevor was murdered in their home, as was the housekeeper. The killer has never been caught, and Teresa lives in constant fear that something will happen to Chloe.

Chloe's close supervision leads to suspicions that she sneaked off on purpose, to get a taste of independence. Still, with Ellery's abduction constantly in the backs of their minds, Ellery and Reed take Chloe's disappearance very seriously. They get CCTV footage from the area around the fair; question nanny Margery Brimwood; interview Chloe's parents; visit Teresa's ex-husband Ethan Stone; speak to Chloe's school friends; publicize Chloe's photo; ask the public for assistance; and so on.



Because of the hubbub of the investigation, Reed and Tula move from their hotel room to Ellery's apartment, so the detectives can work together and discuss the case. Tula is thrilled with this, since she gets to play with Bump, but Reed's ex-wife Sarit STRONGLY disapproves, because she thinks Ellery is troubled and unstable.



The search for Chloe gets off to a slow start, but soon picks up. Ellery and Reed uncover many secrets and scandals as they desperately look for the missing girl, who they hope to bring back alive. The hunt is especially distressing for Ellery, who gets flashbacks to her own abduction.

In the midst of the case, Ellery's teenage half-sister Ashley hops a bus from Michigan, for a surprise visit with her sibling.



Ellery's houseguests now include Reed, Tula, and Ashley, which is hard on Ellery, who views her small apartment - with its triple-locked door - as her personal sanctuary. Still, Ellery deals pretty well, with Tula on the sofa, Ashley on an air mattress, and food from take-out and delivery shops.



By the end of the book Ellery has made important discoveries about the case and herself, and the reader gets a hint of what to expect in the next addition to the series.

This is an engaging police procedural that takes the reader on a wild ride through Boston and its environs.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author (Joanna Schaffhausen), and the publisher (Minotaur Books) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars