Vanished by Elizabeth Heiter

Eighteen years ago, Evelyn Baine was a twelve year old girl, living with her grandparents in a small town after fleeing her single mother's unsafe household.  Evelyn's world changed forever when The Nursey Rhyme kidnaper made her best friend, Cassie, his third victim.  None of his victims were ever found; all that remained were the rewritten nursery rhymes the kidnapper left behind to taunt the families.

Her experience changed Evelyn and set the course of her life.  Now she is one of the FBI's most highly regarded profilers.  When she hears that new victims of the Nursery Rhyme predator are being taken, she gets herself assigned to the case over the reservations of her boss.  Evelyn is determined to find the criminal this time around.  What made him start up again after so much time?  What really happened eighteen years ago?  Was Evelyn herself one of his targets all those years ago?

Potential suspects start to emerge.  There is the town pariah, a young man who was convicted elsewhere of child molestation and who returned home to live with his parents after his jail sentence was served.  There is a man in a neighboring town who has an unsettling match to Evelyn's profile and a determination to insert himself into the investigation.  There are other men who match the profile in various ways.  Evelyn must find the answer to which man is the criminal as more girls are kidnapped.  Can she overcome her past to find the solution?

This is the second in Elizabeth Heiter's Evelyn Baine series.  Fans of the TV show Criminal Minds will find this an attractive reading option.  The case is intriguing while giving readers a view into Evelyn's mind and background.  She must overcome her past while racing the clock to save the latest victims.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.