Braedyn Winslow will do anything to find her best friend, Nova, who vanished without a trace during their hike a year ago. Her search leads her back to the quiet, mysterious town of Starlight Grove. Local law enforcement offers little help, her eight-year-old son struggles to adjust, and her focus is dangerously pulled toward her new neighbor, a charming, glasses-wearing hacker who might be her biggest distraction yet.

Dexter Archer is finally home after resigning from the FBI, hoping to rebuild his life alongside his brothers, his great-uncle, and his niece. But Starlight Grove hasn’t forgotten who his father was, a notorious serial killer, and the Archer name still carries a shadow. The last thing Dex expects is Brae, a determined woman who’s impossible to ignore and impossible not to help.

As Brae and Dex team up to uncover what really happened to Nova, sparks ignite, and so do warning signs. Because someone in Starlight Grove is desperate to keep the truth buried. And they’ll do whatever it takes to stop anyone who gets too close.

ACROSS THE VANISHING SKY is the first book in Catherine Cowles’s Starlight Grove series, and with it, she launches another gripping small-town romantic suspense story. While the romance follows familiar and predictable beats, Cowles truly shines in the suspense. Readers are kept guessing about the villain until the very end, and as always, the culprit is the person you’d least expect.

Brae and Dex share sizzling chemistry, and their romance is one of the highlights of the book. Dex’s four brothers are intriguing characters, clearly set up as protagonists for upcoming books in the series. The Archer family dynamics feel organic and warm, and the brothers’ group chat is especially fun to read.

That said, the frequent use of words like bro and bruh was a bit irritating, and the author’s tendency to over-explain Gen Alpha slang felt unnecessary. Cowles could have easily left that out, as it may feel dated or jarring to readers a decade from now.