The Stranger Vanishes

The disappearance of a visitor to Lily Dale, N.Y., home of psychics, mystics, and mediums drives Staub’s busy fifth Lily Dale mystery (after 2021’s Pros and Cons). On Juneteenth, widow Bella Jordan, Valley View Guesthouse’s manager, is startled by a tall Black man seeking shelter. By morning, he’s gone, leaving only a satchel containing an old diary as evidence of his existence. Bella’s inquiries into her missing guest lead nowhere. Still, she and her writer friend, Calla Delaney, become fascinated by the pre–Civil War diary revealing a local murder by a traitorous member of the Underground Railroad. Meanwhile, Calla, frustrated with her novel’s progress and her slacker boyfriend Blue, son of the wealthy and politically ambitious David Slayton, reluctantly becomes swept up in Slayton’s run for governor. As days pass with no sighting of the stranger, spirits of enslaved people who fled captivity appear to Calla and urge her to “Help him!” But who is Calla supposed to help, and why does someone desperately want the diary? Keeping track of the many characters can be hard, and the updates on these characters don’t leave much room for plot development. This one’s for established fans. Agent: Laura Blake Peterson, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)