JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON by Gillian McAllister
I loved
McAllister’s previous novel WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME, especially its unusual
format, and I am happy to report that her latest book also held plenty of
surprises.
22-year-old
Olivia has been reported missing by her housemates after texting one of them
for help. CCTV footage from a nearby bar shows her entering a blind alley but
never coming out. How could she have just vanished into thin air? Things get
even more complicated and tangled when the detective tasked with solving
Julia’s case encounters an obstacle that will jeopardise her investigation (not
giving any more away here). Told through multiple POVs and social media posts
from the missing girl herself, this story turned into a hell of a tangle before
the threads finally started to unravel and reveal their secrets.
Admittedly,
it took me a while to get into the flow of the story, and even though the
audiobook version was brilliantly narrated, it probably wasn’t the best format
for me, as I missed a few vital clues along the way and was a bit slow to catch
on. But once I did, I realised how cleverly plotted this story really was!
There was one point in the book where I just stood there, mouth agape, as all
the cogs slotted into place – WHAAAAAT???? It was like unwrapping a massive
pass-the-parcel and finding you are finally holding that one crucial piece of
information that upends all you have believed so far.
With flawed
and yet complex, enigmatic characters McAllister again explores the length
parents will go to to protect their children, whilst delivering one heck of a
thriller. I love mysteries that can blindside me, and this one certainly did. I
love McAllister’s writing and can’t wait to see what she will come up with
next.
NONE OF THISIS TRUE by Lisa Jewell
Josie Fair is having her 45th
birthday dinner with her husband at a local restaurant when she overhears
people at a nearby table who are having a merry party for one of their group.
As strange coincidences go, this woman, Alix Summers, is also celebrating her
45th birthday. Josie finds out that the two women were not only born on the
same day, but also in the same hospital. This chance encounter may have been
the end of it, but now that Josie has found Alix, she will not let her go that
easily.
I admit that stalkers and uninvited
houseguests are some of my worst anxiety triggers in thrillers, so this book
kept me up all night! As tensions escalated, I had to keep reading until I had
all the answers, which was way past my bedtime (I advise to start this book
when you have lots of free time).
NONE OF THIS IS TRUE is probably one
of Jewell’s darkest books and one where she takes the unreliable narrator theme
to an extreme (as hinted in the title). As a very seasoned and talented
storyteller, she ratcheted up the tension slowly but steadily until it was
impossible to put the book down. There were quite a few hair-raising moments
(and a few EEEEWWWW ones, too), and I felt like helplessly watching a train
speed towards the abyss. Considering this unbearable tension, I felt that the
ending lost a bit of steam and felt strangely anti-climatic to me, though overall
this did not detract from the unique premise of the story. I loved the podcast
and Netflix-series style of the novel, which gave it a very contemporary feel
and allowed for short, punchy chapters and different POVs without losing its
flow.
In summary, NONE OF THIS IS TRUE
showcases Jewell’s talent as a storyteller and creator of original storylines.
Like other thrillers that rely on untruths and hidden secrets, it’s best to go
into this one blind and let it take you on a journey. It certainly kept me
enthralled until the very end and not much sleep was to be had until I found
out the answers.
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