Just Another Missing Person
Books | Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural
3.8
Gillian McAllister
"Twisty and complex, with unexpected turns...and characters you really root for."--Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author From the author of the Reese's Book Club Pick and the New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time comes a new heart-stopping thriller in which a missing-person case unravels deeper, darker secrets that lead a detective to an impossible moral choice. Not everyone who is lost should be found... Twenty-two-year-old Olivia has been missing for one day...and counting. She was last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again. Julia, the detective heading up the search for Olivia, thinks she knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter. But she has no idea just how close to home this case is going to get. Because the criminal at the heart of the disappearance has something she never expected. His weapon isn't a gun, or a knife: it's a secret. Her worst one. And her family's safety depends on one thing: Julia must NOT find out what happened to Olivia - and must frame somebody else for her murder. If you find her, you will lose everything. What would you do? This clever and endlessly surprising thriller is laced with a clever look at family and motherhood, and cements Gillian McAllister as a major talent in the world of suspense and a master of creating ethical dilemmas that show just how murky the distinction between right and wrong can be.
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Author
Gillian McAllister
Pages
368
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Published Date
2023-08
ISBN
0063320630 9780063320635
Community ReviewsSee all
"Throughout the novel, I was kept on my toes, which is a good sign for mystery thriller. the twist and turns this book make are complex enough for me to be surprised, but simple enough to be believable. I appreciate the intricacy of all the moving parts and character motivations.
The most challenging aspect of this book was the main character, Julia. She spends much of the novel on her high horse believing that she’s never done anything wrong and is yet very easily blackmailed. (not a spoiler happens very early on.)
There’s not much to take away from this book. It was a decent mystery with an average suspense, but felt like it could’ve ended 2/3 of the way through. I read it quickly, enjoyed it, but probably won’t think about it again. “Just Another Missing Person” was not as good as “Wrong Place Wrong Time”, but had creative elements that are not typically done in the thriller genre.
3.5/5 stars"
"It took me a while to get invested in the story and characters, but once I was, it was worth it. I loved the multiple twists and adored the neat way the plot was tied up. I wish I had liked the characters more; they felt flat to me, especially Julia. Her main personality trait, in my opinion, was that she had a child. Although I really liked that the story was told from the viewpoint of three different parents, it felt like that was all Julia was. McAllister tried to give Julia her own conflict with her cheating husband, but it didn’t serve to flesh Julia out anymore; it just felt like another plot end that had to be tied up.
It also bored me that all the parents ended up doing the right thing in their own ways. McAllister was playing with the morality of being a parent, but only one of the parents actually broke the “moral code” of doing anything to protect their children. The mother that did (slightly) betray her own child ended up not facing any consequences, so the theme fell flat.
Finally, the random kidnapping at the end and subsequent deus ex machina of the revealed mastermind suddenly being shot felt pointless to me. Why reveal the big bad behind everything and skyrocket the stakes when he’s just going to die WITHOUT JULIA EVEN SEEING like three pages later?
Overall, I think this book was good. I do think it could’ve used a bit more polishing and a few more edits before being published, but can you blame a writer that churns out a book a year for phoning it in every once in a while?"
"Almost quit reading a couple of times. Slow. Good once it finally got going."
K
Kacy