Rachel agrees to help Venus, especially since her pit bull, Dash, is also a trained therapy dog and will be a perfect cover. She does approach the assignment with a bit of trepidation because she’s not sure what Venus wants her to do: prove Harry’s death was murder and find the killer, find Lady, protect Venus from whatever it is she is so afraid of, or find out if these events are somehow connected.

Venus will be feeding information to Rachel is during work-outs every night at Venus’ gym.. It takes several sessions for Rachel to draw information out of Venus and she feels certain Venus holds more secrets. Unfortunately, an “accident” in the office leaves Venus unconscious and Rachel without answers and without a whole lot of information to go on.

In Rachel’s mind, many of the answers lie with Harry’s will --- rewritten a short time after his wife’s death. Rachel must decide who stands to lose the most from this new will: Dr. Eli Kagan, now the sole owner of Harbor View, his son Samuel, a therapist at the center, or Harry’s sister-in-law and her two children, who stood to gain a handsome inheritance with the first will, but may not be aware of the changes that have been made.

Rachel races against the clock to uncover all of Venus’ secrets before the reading of the will and to locate Lady. She and Dash have integrated themselves nicely into the Harbor View community and have made some breakthroughs with the residents. Rachel feels some may have been witnesses to Harry’s and Venus’ “accidents,” if only she could get them to communicate what they saw.

Lady Vanishes is a tightly written story that moves at a fast pace. You need not be a dog lover to enjoy this novel. Those personally unacquainted with therapy dogs will marvel at what Dash is able to accomplish and be amazed at how he is able to reach outwardly unreachable people. The residents of the home are very likable characters and readers will be as rewarded as Rachel with her small breakthroughs.

The other characters were, for the most part, flat, but not because that is the way they were drawn, but because that is the way they really were in life. The only exceptions are Samuel Kagan and the custodian of Harbor View, Homer, who, like many of the residents is getting a chance at a good life at the center.

The mystery, while the vehicle for Rachel and Dash to be at center stage, takes a back seat to the interaction between the residents and the staff and Dash. Lady Vanishes is an enjoyable read with many secrets to uncover and several mysteries to solve. What really steals the book, though, are the residents of the center and the warm people who care for them.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry