The Vanishing at Pinecrest
Sam Rivera standing in a vast ancient library on a glowing sigil, a cyan pendant at his chest.

The Barrier Keepers · Book One

The Vanishingat Pinecrest

Four students just vanished from Pinecrest — one of every kind. Sam Rivera has three days to bring them back before the cycle closes for good.

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Cover of The Vanishing at Pinecrest by Ty Swartz.
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ALWAYS FOUR  ◆  ALWAYS IN SPRING  ◆  ALWAYS WITHOUT A TRACE  ◆  ALWAYS FOUR  ◆  ALWAYS IN SPRING  ◆  ALWAYS WITHOUT A TRACE  ◆  ALWAYS FOUR  ◆  ALWAYS IN SPRING  ◆  ALWAYS WITHOUT A TRACE  ◆  ALWAYS FOUR  ◆  ALWAYS IN SPRING  ◆  ALWAYS WITHOUT A TRACE  ◆ 

The Pattern

It has happened before. Four are already gone. The clock is at three days.

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Taken this cycle
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Years between
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Documented cycles
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Days to find them

The Story

Some secrets are buried for a reason.

When fourteen-year-old Sam Rivera arrives at Pinecrest, four students have just disappeared — the way four always do, every twelve years, every spring. The school sits on the grounds of the old Whitmore Plantation, and the ground remembers what happened there.

Sam’s own father vanished months ago chasing the same ritual, and the clues lead straight back to Pinecrest. With three unlikely friends and three days on the clock, Sam has to find the missing before the cycle closes. And some people will kill to keep it buried.

The Four Who Vanished

One of every kind. Gone.

The cycle always takes one Scholar, one Artisan, one Leader, one Healer.

Aaron Mitchell sitting on the floor of a library aisle, reading among glowing shelves.Missing
Scholar · Taken

Aaron Mitchell

Eidetic memory — he saw the pattern before anyone. Taken before he could warn them.

Last seen — spring, Pinecrest
Sofia Alvarez channeling cyan energy between her outstretched hands.Missing
Artisan · Taken

Sofia Alvarez

The youngest. She drew what was coming. No one understood the drawings in time.

Last seen — spring, Pinecrest
Caleb Johnson standing in a library vault beside a glowing doorway.Missing
Leader · Taken

Caleb Johnson

The one who held everyone together — until the spring he didn’t come home.

Last seen — spring, Pinecrest
Lily Robertson kneeling to touch a glowing wall of runes in a library.Missing
Healer · Taken

Lily Robertson

She could mend almost anything. Then the cycle took her too.

Last seen — spring, Pinecrest

The Ones Searching

Four left to find them.

An unlikely found family, racing a clock no one else believes is ticking.

Sam Rivera standing in a vast ancient library on a glowing sigil, a cyan pendant at his chest.
Scholar / Leader

Sam Rivera

New to Pinecrest. Sees the pattern no one else can — and won’t stop pulling the thread.

Noah Chen crouched before a wall of glowing blue holographic screens, a tablet in hand.
Leader / Scholar · Tech

Noah Chen

Writes code that shouldn’t run. If it’s buried in a system, he’ll dig it out.

Leila Washington reading a glowing book by lantern light in a candlelit library.
Leader / Artisan

Leila Washington

Grandma Diane energy. Her family has fought this since before she was born.

Mia Patel at a stone balcony railing overlooking a moonlit bayou landscape.
Healer

Mia Patel

Feels what everyone feels. She’s the reason the team doesn’t fall apart.

Four are gone. Three days on the clock.

Find out who comes home

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What Readers Say

★★★★★ 4.7

Verified Amazon readers — “couldn’t put it down.”

Very easy to read!
A great read — very creative and imaginative. Once I sat down to read it, I couldn’t put it down. Just got the 2nd book to continue the story!
Kim BowersPaperback · Verified Purchase
Great new read!
An interesting read that I greatly enjoyed. Good suspense and plot reveal — looking forward to the next one!
Megan McCayPaperback · Verified Purchase
Outstanding for young adults and adults
This mystery was very intriguing. I especially loved how events in Ecuador and the United States tied together. The author shows great respect for all ages.
Ruth ShirkKindle · Verified Purchase

The Pinecrest Dossier

Open the case file.

Every twelve years, four students disappear from Pinecrest — one Scholar, one Artisan, one Leader, one Healer. Always four. Always in spring.

After You’ve Read It

Find your place in the world.

Every Keeper is one of four. Which one are you?

Three Days

Start it tonight. Finish before the cycle closes.

The first book in The Barrier Keepers — the mystery readers fall into at midnight.

The Barrier Keepers · Vanishing at Pinecrest
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