New Release: The Vanished Boy by Harmony Kent

by Joan Hall
on April 14, 2021

Hey everyone. It’s my pleasure to welcome back fellow author and Story Empire contributor Harmony Kent to my site. She’s here to talk about her newly released book, The Vanished Boy. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t wait to read this one.

Harmony, take it away!

Hi everyone. Harmony here. Thanks so much, Joan, for letting me visit with you today. I’m so thrilled to share the launch of my latest book with you all.

The Vanished Boy is a mystery suspense novel based around a teenaged boy, who’s gone missing. The book follows the mother as she trawls through her missing son’s online life and realises, to her horror, how out of the loop she’s become.

The inspiration for this novel came from watching a number of movies based on how our lives both revolve around and are influenced by the Internet and mobile devices. Although these movies covered many genres such as murder/mystery, thriller, and the supernatural, they all centred around the same theme: Apps and living life online. This led me to ponder how many of us spend our lives in digital pursuits rather than physical—both the old and the young? For many people, their actual physical lives become but a shadow compared to their online existence.

Mostly, the shift to a digital world happens slowly. It’s incremental and, too often, insidious. All of which led me to ask how well do we actually know our children? Our loved ones? Those around us? What might be going on in the shadows?

From that inspiration and questioning, this story was born. Much of life and our actions originate from the same needs and wants: to be loved and accepted, the ability to differentiate between truth and lies, and the things we do to cover our mistakes and make ourselves look better than the reality instead of owning who we are. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Below is an excerpt from the book:

For the briefest of moments, all feels right with the world. And then she remembers with a jolt that Jayden isn’t simply at school this morning. He’s missing. Possibly dead.

For the first time since Jay failed to come home, Carole doesn’t automatically refute the idea that her son might not be alive. Not only is she a widow, but she might also now be childless. It strikes her as ironic that there’s a neat little word for a spouse who’s lost a partner, but not any simple descriptor for a parent who’s lost an only child. Technically, in the same way she’s still a wife though a widow, she’s also still a mother, even if she has no living children. So, what does that make her?

Unlucky.

It’s so remote out here. Anything could happen …

A missed phone call in the night is all it takes.

When Carole’s 18-year-old son goes missing, she breaks into Jayden’s laptop to try to understand his life.

All too soon, Carole discovers just how little she knew her boy.

And when one lead after another dead-ends, the distraught mother has to face the unthinkable.

Sucked into a sticky web of deceit and lies, nothing is as it seems.

When your life turns

inside out and upside down,

who would you trust?

Author Bio

After spending around thirteen years as an ordained Buddhist monk, living in a Zen Buddhist temple, and six years after a life-changing injury following a surgical error, Harmony Kent returned to the world at the tender age of forty.

Now, she is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She’s even won a few awards. Harmony lives in rural Cornwall with her adorable husband, ever-present sense of humour, and quirky neighbours.

Harmony is passionate about supporting her fellow authors.

Links

Website: https://harmonykent.co.uk/

Story Empire (co-authored): https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @harmony_kent

Amazon Author Page: author.to/HarmonysBooks

Goodreads: Author Page

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/harmony-kent

The Vanished Boy Sales Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0924XCTLV

Categories:

Guest AuthorNew Release

Tags:

FictionHarmony KentStory EmpireSuspense

39 Responses

  1. Thank you, Joan, for showcasing Harmony and The Vanished Boy. I’m so looking forward to reading it. On my Kindle, waiting! Congratulations, Harmony! 💗

    Reply

  8. Harmony, you are a very busy lady today! 🙂

    It’s wonderful seeing The Vanished Boy getting so much attention and love in the blogosphere.
    I can’t wait to dive into the story! Congratulations on the release.

    Wonderful job hosting, Joan!

    Reply

  10. Great tour, Harmony! Your book is a hard one to out down. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

    Thanks for hosting, Joan 🙂

    Reply

  11. These keep getting better and better! Thanks for having Harmony here today, Joan. Super excerpt! And I’m still sending you congratulations, Harmony, on releasing what sounds like a surefire hit book! Fingers crossed that it explodes off the charts! 😀❤

    Reply

  14. This has been one of my biggest fears since giving birth to my son. The idea that someone might rip him away from me still weighs heavy on my heart. That excerpt was a sucker punch in my core. Great job, Harmony! 🙂

    Reply

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