The Empty Bed

October 7, 2019
In Sadowsky’s entertaining sequel to 2018’s The Burial Society, British investment firm CEO Forrest “Holly” Holcomb asks his ex-lover, Catherine
, who heads an organization that helps people disappear, to look into a situation in Hong Kong, where Holly’s employee Peter Lombard recently took his wife, Eva, on an anniversary vacation. Peter woke up in their hotel room one morning to an empty bed and Eva gone without a trace. Catherine sends two of her best agents, the spunky Stephanie Regaldo and the no-nonsense Jake Burrows, to Hong Kong to track the missing woman. Alternating narratives build suspense as it’s revealed that Eva and Peter’s marriage is anything but happy, and, despite fears that Eva was being followed, she may have disappeared voluntarily. Stephanie and Jake’s search takes them through a variety of colorful Hong Kong locales, from seedy brothels to sophisticated cybercafés. A subplot involving an FBI agent’s attempts to locate a wealthy businessman’s missing wife and son seems superfluous, but hints at a story line for next time. Readers will look forward to the third installment. Agent: Emma Sweeney, Emma Sweeney Agency.

October 15, 2019
When a young woman goes missing in Hong Kong, a "fixer" named Catherine agrees to help find her. Eva Lombard is miserable in London; she moved there with her husband and intended to focus on getting pregnant, but Peter works all the time at his investment firm, and she feels completely isolated. So when she notices someone following her, her anxiety leads her to pick a fight with Peter on their anniversary trip to Hong Kong. Angry, they go to bed separately, and when Peter wakes, Eva is gone. He contacts his affluent and connected employer, Forrest Holcomb, who in turn asks for help from his former lover Catherine, a shadowy figure who runs a witness relocation/rescue business on the darknet, helping move and protect victims of abuse as well as high-profile whistleblowers and their families. Catherine's operatives head to Hong Kong to locate Eva, who is on the run with help from her own shadowy figures--an ex-boyfriend and a friend-turned-restaurant owner with ties to the triads, the network of gangsters who run Hong Kong. With the help of Catherine's operatives, Peter and Eva are reunited, but they remain a target for the unknown assailants. As Eva and Peter fight for their lives, Catherine investigates the man who was following them, because he looks awfully familiar...There's a definite cinematic vibe to Sadowsky's (The Burial Society, 2018, etc.) novel, especially as the characters rush around Hong Kong in Jason Bourne-type chase scenes. Catherine and her mysterious network are impressively connected and intriguingly motivated, and the woman herself is a fascinating study of power, empathy, and efficiency. The short chapters push the action to breathless heights. Surrender to the action and intrigue, leave logic by the wayside, and enjoy this whirlwind adventure in Hong Kong.

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