3.5 rounded up
I enjoyed this one which was a cross between a psychological mystery and a police procedural. The main character is on sick leave and gets entangled in the mystery of a local man in her community who has gone missing. There are many suspects, interesting characters and enough plot to drive the story forward. I found at times the pace a little slow but continued reading as I felt invested in the characters and outcome. I found at times I got a bit lost when I'd pick the book up again after not having read for a few days and trying to remember all the characters and what had happened. The timeline jumps around. This was easier the more I read. Overall this was a solid, interesting and entertaining read. I'd recommend Fiona Barton to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, police procedural or just a book to escape on a relaxing afternoon.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC. I absolutely loved this book and raced through. Brilliant story and brilliant writing - I highly reccomend!

I have read all of Fiona Barton's books and loved them all!
Local Gone Missing is no exception.
Set in the Sussex seaside town of Ebbing, a place where there is tension between locals and weekenders, it's the story of Elise King, a police officer on leave recovering from breast cancer, and a missing man, Charlie Perry.
Fiona has created a cast of memorable characters, not least Elise, herself, but also Ronnie, Pauline, Dee, Birdie and Charlie. Initially, Elise investigates out of curiosity and a welcome distraction while she is convalescing, but she is soon persuaded to come back to work.
The story is told from different points of view and the chapters are short.The story is full of twists and turns and was a very enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Unfortuantely, this book is not on par with Fiona's previous books. All of her books have been thrillers with great suspense. This book was very blah. The description made it sound super interesting but it fell flat. The back and forth was kind of confusing, there wasn't much suspense, it was just very dull to me. I hope her next book is back on par!

Excellent thriller set in a sea side village. The claustrophobic feel of living in a place where all the locals know each other’s business and are resentful of weekenders and incomers colours the whole book. Elise is a DI recovering from surgery and recuperating before returning to work but also becoming bored. She listens to local gossip as speculation goes wild over a teenage drug incident and a local man goes missing. A call for her to return to work unexpectedly means it’s down to her to solve what has become a difficult case - lots of suspects and a twisty plot. I enjoyed it.
Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for an ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Really enjoyed this story. Easily got into the book and would love to read more from the author. A number of twists and turns to sustain my interest .Thank you for the opportunity to see an advance copy.

On the whole a good solid read. At forks I felt the pace lacking and my attention waned somewhat. But I enjoyed it overall.

Excellent book with a fantastic story line which keeps you hooked throughout.

Elise King a successful and ambitious detective moved to Ebbing a sleepy seaside town and is recuperating from illness. She misses her job and her work mates but needs time to rest and get her strength back.

As with a lot of seaside towns it has attracted a lot of city types who want somewhere to go to each weekend and recharge their batteries. The locals are not fond of such with their fast cars and fancy clothes intent on renovating old bungalows into luxury homes.

When two teenagers end up in hospital following a ‘rave’ head by their me such man and a local man vanishes without trace Elise starts digging for answers, and it seems there are a lot of secrets being harboured in this small town. Elise and the police need to unravel them all and solve the case.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This isn’t my usual type of read but thought I’d give it a go to extend my reading range and I’m so glad that I did! A really good exciting read! Well written.

Can I just say that I thoroughly enjoy this author .......

Another excellent story this time introducing us to Ebbings, a slightly faded Sussex seaside town that is in danger of being turned into a weekend retreat for outsiders and their 4 x 4's. Sitting at a window watching the sea is DI Elise Knight who is slowly recovering from breast cancer treatment and she finds herself playing armchair detective with her neighbour over the disappearance of a local man Charlie Perry.

The story is told through the viewpoint of multiple characters. As each of them reveals their background and their involvement it is Elise who finally realises that the common denominator in all of it is Ebbings itself.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley and this is my honest review. I've read all of Fiona Barton's books and I've really enjoyed them all. I found that this book lacked something from her previous books, those I have pretty much finished within a day but I didn't find myself desperate to finish this one as I normally am. The story is good, there were a few twists and turns but I wasn't too keen on the way that the timeline jumped back and forth, possibly because I was picking up and putting down the book a lot so I found myself confused at times about what was happening and when. I liked the small town vibe that the book had and the author is very good at developing characters, there was just something missing in this book for me.

Another excellent book by Fiona Barton, but a completely different one from her previous works.

Here we have more of a traditional police procedure/whodunnit but the author delivers it in a very psichological way. We get to know the characters, their backstories, how their intertwine.

I liked the resolution and how it wasn't just a simple revelation but a deep intricate story with many layers and characters.

The different POVs work very well here, giving the reader different perspectives to better understand the whole story.

All in all a successfull thriller that I recommend wholeheartedly.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A nice old fellow goes missing in a village after a music festival that divided the locals between those who wanted it and those who didn't, and speculation is rife about what has happened to him. The plot jumps around in time and there are a lot of characters, none of whom are particularly memorable, and I found it quite complicated to keep track of who was who, and largely wasn't interested enough in the plot to do so.

The most interesting part of the story was the policewoman returning to work after getting the all-clear from cancer, but there wasn't enough of this element of the plot to give the characters the bulk to carry the rest of the story.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one, right from the start. The characters back stories were interesting and added to their likability (even the baddies!). I really wanted to know what was going on. Gripped!

I have read a few books from this author and loved them all but this one I did struggle with. I found it hard to get into the story line, I didn't gel with the characters and unfortunately it didn't 'grab' me at all.

On the whole I was disappointed with this read after enjoying previous books from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishers (Transworld) for allowing me to read this book.

It took me a few tries to really start getting into this one but once I did, I was pleasantly surprised! It felt to me like more of an old fashioned "cluedo" type murder mystery rather than the more modern domestic noir feel. It's the small village with the cast of well known characters who all have secrets and alibis and trying to get to the bottom of what really went on and why. Not to say that's a bad thing by any means! I like the writing style and the story being told from different perspectives and different timelines. Ots not the most fast paced boom and doesn't have any shocking twists but it was still an enjoyable read once I started to get into it. I probably prefer a little more action but if you do like the traditional who dunnit types then you'll love this!

4+

Money is the root of all evil as several characters who live in the seaside resort of Ebbing know only too well. Ebbing is a bit of a down at heel resort in Sussex with the “help“ of weekenders. It’s where DI Elise Knight lives as she recovers from gruelling cancer treatment. Charlie Perry is the “local gone missing“ in question and his disappearance causes many things come to a head and as Elise comes to fully appreciate, the whole thing is all about Ebbing, which is the epicentre of several mysteries.

The story is told from several perspectives and goes backwards and forwards in time to before and post Charlie vanishing which ought to be disjointed but it isn’t. Through this the mystery deepens, pieces of evidence appear jigsaw puzzle style which is tantalising as you are desperate to connect the pieces and see the big picture! There are plenty of plot twists, a large bundle of dark and terrible secrets and it’s all told at a quick pace. The characterisation is very good from “invisible” cleaner Dee whose eagle eyes miss nothing to the dynamic duo of Elise on sick leave and neighbour Ronnie who pair up to ‘solve‘ Charlie‘s disappearance. This is a fun team until it all starts to get very serious. I like the easy camaraderie between Elise and DS Caro Brennan too. There’s a good atmosphere created which is often tense between those that have lived in Ebbing for years with the newcomers who bring in the money and much resentment. The novel keeps you guessing throughout and there are several good plot reveals as it twists and turns its way to a satisfying finale when all the connections are made.

Finally, if you like a good mystery thriller then you like this as it’s an enjoyable, easy, well written read.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K., Transworld, Bantam Press for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

An engrossing read from Fiona Barton. She creates an air of suspense and mystery around the town of Ebbing and it keeps you enthralled all the way through.

LOCAL GONE MISSING by Fiona Barton
Published date - 9 June 2022

I stopped and started this novel three times and was prepared to give it a fourth and last read. At first, I was interested in Charlie Perry and his disabled daughter, Birdie. The story then confused me and I stopped reading, I am sorry to say, this is not for me, as I could not connect with any of the characters and disliked most of them. I struggled to read to 60 percent and, unfortunately, could not finish the novel.

I WANT TO THANK NEGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

Really enjoyed this one set in a small town were no one is above suspicion and everyone else knows everyone else's business! (or so they think)

Great character development loved the insights into the personal/professional lives of the characters and the challenges that they face are relatable too on so many levels.

Full of tension and written well, more light hearted than my usual gene but enjoyable never the less.