Archaeology lecturer Fiona Grey travels to Orkney, responding to a cryptic call for help from her old friend, Madison, who is working on a dig there, led by celebrity TV archaeologist Iris Barclay. When she arrives, though, Madison is nowhere to be found, her rented cottage deserted. Nobody seems to have a clue where she is, but Fiona’s sure Madison wouldn’t just take off without telling anyone. Worryingly, too, there are signs that her stalky ex-boyfriend is up to his old tricks again.

This was an absolutely cracking read which I thoroughly enjoyed. The windswept island setting is very well rendered and I could picture it quite well. Fiona was a really engaging character and I loved her tenacity, loyalty and courage as she strives to uncover what’s become of her friend, even to the point of putting herself in danger. I had a hunch who might be involved, which turned out to be correct - but it was no more than a hunch and I certainly didn’t have a clue where the plot was going. While we see little of Madison directly, her personality too emerges strongly through Fiona’s recollections and her interactions with the people around her. There’s a nail-biting denouement which had me glued to the page.

The island setting was a bit reminiscent of Ann Cleeves’ Shetland books (one of those featured an archaeological dig, too, I think). Helen Callaghan’s book compares very well - and that’s high praise.

I enjoyed this story, with an atmospheric setting. The tension built up and it was hard to guess what was coming next, and who might be the perpetrator, overall I would recommend it.

I didnt really enjoy this book unfortunetly. By the time I was getting to the end I didnt care what happened to any of the characters and what they had done. Not a book I will be recommending.

A compelling and eerie thriller about archaeology and friendship.

Fiona has had some odd messages from her friend Madison, begging her to come and visit her on an isolated island in Orkney where she's taking part in an archaeological dig. Though their friendship has had its moments over the years, Fiona knows Madison wouldn't ask unless she was needed. But when she gets there, Madison has disappeared. The rest of the archaeological team are vaguely sympathetic but not particularly helpful.

What if Madison's stalker has re-emerged, Fiona worries? Out there, staying in the cottage Madison was supposed to be living in, staring at the ocean and wondering about the secrets it holds, Fiona could believe almost anything. She feels compelled to stay and figure out the mystery - but in doing so, is she placing herself in danger?

Callaghan obviously knows her subject well and the story is told in a very solid and believable world. I really felt Fiona's concern for her friend (though she does weep an awful lot) and there was good tension between Fiona and the men and women Madison had been working with. The plot kept me guessing until pretty close to the end.

What I loved the most about this book was the friendship between Fiona and Madison. It was so real, we all have these friends, sometimes who makes us so happy but sometimes could become incredibly toxic.
I didn't see the end coming, and through enjoyed it, especially the archaeological side of the things were interesting to read.
I would recommend people who love reading psychological thrillers, also missing person mysteries, this was a gripping, page-turning read.

I really enjoyed this book & the setting in orkney. This is a tense read which I flew through I would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This like all the others I’ve read by this amazing Author, is absolutely brilliant. Great storyline, characters that work really well together. Brilliant well written fantastic story. Well worth 5stars.

I enjoyed this book as I got into it. I loved the Orkney setting and the archaeological background. I found the characters a little shallow at the beginning but they did develop as the story progressed. I felt that it was meant to be a book about ambition but the main ambitious character only appears part way through and the other two main characters' ambition was a bit thin, really focusing on their competition for success.

The second half of the book lays a misleading trail towards the villain and I felt that this was successful.
I recommend this book

Quite an unusual twist placing an archaeological dig at the centre of a missing person mystery. The story kept you guessing as to what happened to Madison, why and who was the perpetrator. However, there’s only so long you can keep the reader in suspense and this story nudged the boundary. Some books leave you breathless and wanting more but sadly this wasn’t one.
A couple of niggles….petrol does not power a car’s heater, at least not directly and was the car at the bottom of the cliff or in the depth of the ocean? It switched quite frequently.

Thriller/mystery set in Orkney on a remote archaeological dig. Not entirely believable as far as the "finds" go. Characters are good and interesting,story moves quickly to its conclusion.

Utterly, utterly brilliant! What an edge of your seat thriller!! There were moments when I wanted to read on, but was also apprehensive as to what might actually unfold - heart in my mouth moments!! Fantastic read, one that keeps you on your toes!!

To begin, I’d like to thank Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for sending me an ARC of this book, and to NetGalley for facilitating. And a thank you to Helen Callaghan for another thoroughly enjoyable read!

I read Dear Amy and Everything is Lies a while ago and loved loved them, so when I saw that Helen Callaghan had written another I was desperate to get my hands on it! And to my delight, I was sent an ARC to my Kindle! Again, as with the past 2 books, this couldn’t be more different to the previous offerings but it was equally moreish!

I won’t spoil this book for anyone so my review won’t contain any spoilers!

There are a lot of “girl is missing” books around at the moment so the genre is really getting tired with that theme at the moment. This is not like those books. It was full of suspense and twists. The characters were so diverse and and easy to identify and form a relationship with. And again the way that Helen Callaghan has described the places, I could see them so clearly, and Helly Holm was terrifying - as was the journey over there!

The story line was less “detective tries to track down missing girl before it’s too late” (which I must’ve read a million times in the past couple of years) and more “friend tries to find the truth in a sea of lies”. Usually with this genre I can tell quite early on who is the “baddie” but with this book it was probably only a page or two before the reveal that I had a lightbulb moment. But I still couldn’t figure it all out!

I had a lot of fun reading this book because it was like a puzzle that I was trying to solve from the first page to the last. It wasn’t a passive read for me, I felt thoroughly involved and when I wasn’t reading the book I was thinking about the book and trying to unravel the truth!

Massive thanks again to Helen Callaghan! Loved this book, I can’t wait to see what’s next!! After 3 fantastic reads I am adding Hellen Callahan to my “follow” list on Amazon and Goodreads so that I don’t miss any of her future books!

Fiona arrives in Orkney at the invitation of her friend, Madison, who is working on an archeological dig and found something interesting. It soon becomes clear that Madison is evading Fiona and has disappeared. So who has brought Fiona here and what has happened to Madison?
I really enjoyed Helen’s previous books and this was no exception. It’s so well written and the description of the land, the weather and even the food and lifestyle was spot on! (I travel up North to Caithness and Helen summed it up perfectly!)
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a huge Helen Callaghan fan but Night Falls, Still Missing still shocked me.
I’ve had to take a full 24 hours between finishing the book and writing my review because I’m honestly in awe!

One of those thrillers that grips you from page one. As expected there’s a lot of suspicious characters and red herrings. I had no idea how the story was going to end and that’s a big thing for me.

This is THE book of 2020. You don’t need to read a long review about Night Falls, Still Missing. You need to buy this!

I don't tend to read many psychological thrillers (I could write an essay on why - suffice it to say it's mostly down to what I perceive as their often misogynistic, or at least misogyny-adjacent, treatment of the 'hysterical/mentally ill woman' trope) but had enjoyed a previous Helen Callaghan so thought it was worth giving Night Falls, Still Missing a try. And, overall, I'm glad I did. Although presenting few surprises (the who- and why-dunnit were exactly what I predicted from about 20 pages in), it was a very readable thriller which particularly benefited from the evocative, and well described, Orkney setting.

With NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING we find Sunday Times bestselling author, Helen Callaghan doing what she does best. Delivering heart-stopping thrills against the backdrop of poignant human relationships and dilemmas.

There are plenty of things to love about NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING, starting right from the title and the cover art. The engine of the piece is the dynamic between the two main characters, Fiona and her best friend Madison (who has gone missing while working on an archaeological dig on Orkney). Both women are archaeologists, although with different skills sets. While Madison is used to digging in the wilds, Fiona is normally to be found working in a lab on items sent back from such digs. The pair are best friends with a long and varied shared history. But who are Fiona and Madison when no one else is looking? What drives them to get ahead, to fall in love, or get their own back? Is everything as it really should be between them? Who is keeping secrets and more importantly, why? Ms Callaghan never misses a chance to tease the reader through the twists and turns of these questions. By delving into the intricacies of this female relationship where they are by turns closer than family, yet by turns not always so sure, NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING more than delivers on its promise of being a ‘psychological’ thriller.

The story itself races along. Without wishing to risk any spoilers, the main thread is that when Fiona arrives on Orkney to visit Madison, she discovers that her friend has gone missing. Madison has been working on this highly sought after dig (think 'Time Team') which could lead to TV opportunities for all concerned. Has professional jealousy and ambition got the better of someone else on the dig? Or have some other aspects of Madison's chaotic personal and family life also followed all concerned to Orkney?

All of these threads would be more than enough in their own right to keep you turning pages well into the wee hours. But because they are all happening on Orkney, where the weather changes ten times per hour and the coming and goings of the tides can suddenly leave you stranded with nothing but the raging elements for company, Fiona finds herself juggling emotional and physical peril the whole time.

I always love it when the characters have interesting careers and in NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING, the nature of what it is to be an archaeologist is brought into service deftly. Helen Callaghan is an archaeologist by training and so it probably no surprise that she excels at bringing the present to bear on the past and vice versa. The moments in which the activities of the dig itself are brought to bear on the story are beautifully done and left me wishing I could visit the site myself. Something tells me I won't have long to wait. I'm sure NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING will make an amazing Netflix series, with (some of) the characters from this story ending up on troubling digs in other spectacular locations.

With thanks to Michael Josef and Netgalley for letting me see an advance copy of this title.

#NightFallsStillMissing #NetGalley
A must read of 2020. Highly recommended.
Do you believe in friendship? Do you have a best friend? Did they ever ask you for help?
On a cold, windswept night, Fiona arrives on a tiny, isolated island in Orkney. She accepted her old friend's invitation with some trepidation - her relationship with Madison has never been plain sailing. But as she approaches Madison's cottage, she sees that the windows are dark. The place has been stripped bare. No one knows where Madison has gone.As Fiona tries to find out where Madison has vanished to, she begins to unravel a web of lies. Madison didn't live the life she claimed to, and now Fiona's own life is in danger
My jaw was dropped as the story starts unraveling itself. After a long time, I read such a great book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for giving me an advance copy.