Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Vanished

Vanished
Vanished
Author: Carlton Smith
ISBN-13: 9780312986094
ISBN-10: 0312986092
Publication Date: 8/2/2005
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 28

3.3 stars, based on 28 ratings
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

8 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Vanished on + 80 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
it's an ok true crime
reviewed Vanished on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I'm trying desperately to finish this book, but I'm so tired of the redundancy and repetitiveness and the name Bruce Koklich that I could vomit.

He must be strutting in his cell like a peacock knowing how many times his name was mentioned. This book could have been cut in half and it would have still been redundant .... and the money numbers were mindboggling. People don't care to read about money numbers .... they are more interested in reading about the complex relationship between the Koklichs.

I'm surprised that such a book would be written by such a well known true crime author.
aroradreem avatar reviewed Vanished on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I was disappointed with this book and surprised because normally I love Carlton Smith's books.

There was so much detail about the business ventures the characters were involved in that it detracted from the rest of the story and was confusing and boring to me. It could have been better if he'd focused more on the people and less on the AMOS and NABUCO stuff.
reviewed Vanished on + 35 more book reviews
A story of betrayal, murder, and a father's dying wish, from St.Martins True Crime Library. In August 2001, Jana Carpenter Koklich, returned home from a rock concert, went inside her house, and was never seen again. Even before her blood-laden SUV was found abandoned, in a high crime area, suspicion had fallen on her husband, Bruce.
dknees4 avatar reviewed Vanished on + 15 more book reviews
Good read about wealth/power struggles. As usuual Carlton Smith does a superb job reasearching the documentation of this case. Another husband nearly got away with murdering his devoted wife.
reviewed Vanished on + 25 more book reviews
Great book--easy to read. Unbelievable that someone can be so mean!
reviewed Vanished on + 44 more book reviews
Not as good as others by this author. Little information into the background of the couple, and too much emphasis on their business, which no one ever proved figured into Jana's disappearance. Still would recommend.
reviewed Vanished on + 40 more book reviews
Book Description

Jana Carpenter Koklich and Bruce Koklich seemed like the ideal couple. She was an attractive 41-year-old blonde, the doted-on only child of a once-powerful California state senator. He was the dedicated and loving husband. Together they owned a lucrative Norwalk, California, real estate business, and a computer business, owned a pair of luxurious houses, and drove high-end cars.

Then in August 2001, Jana Carpenter Koklich went to an Eric Clapton concert with friends.

She was never heard from again.

Bruce Koklich painted himself as the grieving husband. He turned up on news broadcasts, tearfully pleading for his wife's safe return. But something wasn't right.

First of all, there were inexplicable money problems that police traced back to some of Bruce Koklich's shadier business dealings. Then there was the shadowy business partner who came out of the woodwork and the million dollar insurance policy on Jana Carpenter Koklich's life. Topping it all off were the supposedly grieving husband's sleazy secret attempts to bed his 18-year-old niece while his wife was secretly missing!

Eventually, those who had been close to Jana grew suspicious of the man she had married. And no one was more suspicious than her father, former State Senator Paul Carpenter. He was dying of cancer in Texas, but still found in his decaying body the strength for one last fight. It would be the fight of his life: Justice for Jana Carpenter Koklich.