Gone in the Night: A Detective Annalisa Vega Novel

The fifth installment of the beloved Annalisa Vega series

Detective Annalisa Vega hasn't forgiven her brother for his role in a murder, and he hasn't forgiven her for turning him in, so she's surprised when he asks her to visit him in prison. Turns out, he has a possible case for her: one of his fellow inmates, Joe Green, may be innocent of the murder that landed him behind bars.

Joe is doing hard time for killing his ex-wife's lawyer, but an anonymous letter sent to the prison warns that the eyewitness in Joe's trial made up her story. With her private investigation business foundering, Annalisa is desperate enough to start poking around into Joe's meager case. She immediately finds two problems: One, the eyewitness definitely lied about what she saw the night of the murder, and two, Annalisa's husband Nick was the cop who arrested Joe in the first place.

Faced with correcting Nick's mistakes, Annalisa digs deeper into Joe's past and discovers he has two ex-wives with nothing good to say about him. The women may have orchestrated an elaborate frame to put Joe in prison, but one wife has completely disappeared since then. Did Joe somehow kill her? Or is he the real victim? Annalisa's search for the truth tests the bounds of her marriage, her family, and her own sense of justice. Meanwhile, a devious killer keeps sending men to a watery death in the vastness of Lake Michigan. If Annalisa doesn't figure out the truth about Joe soon, her husband might be next.

Author: Joanna Schaffhausen
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 08/12/2025
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.10w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781250904171


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/23/2025
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2025
Booklist 08/25/2025

About the Author
JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN wields a mean scalpel, a skill developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain--how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter. She is also the author of The Vanishing Season, No Mercy, All the Best Lies, Every Waking Hour, Last Seen Alive, Gone for Good, Long Gone, Dead and Gone, and All the Way Gone.