Oh my god what a book! I love Claire Douglas so I knew I would enjoy this one but I wasn’t prepared for just how good it was going to be. The writing is brilliant as always; the plot is unlike anything I’ve ever read and the mystery at the heart of things is just so completely gripping; with a resolution that I just didn’t see coming. Absolutely loved it, can’t recommend it enough. 10/10 read for sure.

I think I am in the minority but I found this book a bit trite and some of the characters downright annoying. There are lots of red herrings to keep you guessing until the end and the ending itself leaves you revising most of what you think you know, but for me this book just didn’t make the mark.

The very definition of unputdownable!

The Girls Who Disappeared is a mystery written in two POVs with another interesting strand woven cleverly throughout. Intricately plotted with well developed characters who all could be suspects. Douglas' writing is on point, clever, and very engaging.

Brilliant and highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

What a gripping and intriguing novel. Four girls are on their way home from a night out, 30 years ago. They have a car crash and Olivia is the only one to survive. However, her 3 friends have disappeared. They are not in the car and no bodies are found. 30 years on, Jenna, a journalist visits the town to try and find answers. What happened to the girls and are some of the town's residents covering up what really happened? This is a must read and I loved it.

A gripping, compelling thriller that keeps you guessing!

The Girls Who Disappeared tells the story of Jenna, a journalist who undertakes the creation of a podcast about the mysterious and unexplained disappearance of local women twenty years prior in the small town of Stafferbury. The case concerns four young women who were involved in a car accident along a desolate road dubbed the Devils Corridor. Three of the women disappeared without a trace, leaving the driver, Olivia, without any memory of how the circumstances of that night unfolded. But as Jenna begins her investigation, she realises that the close-knit community of Stafferbury is guarding secrets. Will she uncover the truth?

The novel is narrated from three perspectives - Jenna's and Olivia's, with the third focusing on a group of friends on holiday (this becomes relevant as the book goes on). The three perspectives expertly supplement each other and provide an in-depth exploration of character motivations. There are a lot of themes explored in this novel - infidelity, survivors' guilt, and abuse - but I found that they were not depicted in an overly explicit or upsetting way.

I found Jenna and Olivia to be compelling protagonists due to their complexities. Jenna is a wife and mother going through a separation from her husband - which he instigated - leaving her confused and sorrowful. While Olivia is haunted by the accident and deals with a substantial amount of guilt. You feel bad for the women while simultaneously seeing their flaws.

The pace of the novel is relatively slow, but each chapter reveals something new, so you never fall into a slog - it provides you with plenty of time to piece together the clues about the fate of the missing three while keeping you captivated.

I would like to have seen a more thorough explanation of the relationship between Jenna and her husband. However, overall, this was a strong, well-written mystery thriller with intriguing twists, good characterisation and a satisfying ending.

I would like to say a huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the title followed closely by the description so I knew it would get moved up the to-be-read-list and I am glad to say I wasn't disappointed I did so!

'The Girls Who Disappeared' by Claire Douglas introduces us to Olivia and her three friends who, twenty years ago to the day, went out for a night out. On their way home the girls had a car accident and when Olivia came round she found herself trapped in the car, completely alone. Presuming they had gone for help she focuses on getting herself out the car, only to find out later that her friends have completely vanished without a trace. Twenty years later the truth about what happened to the girls has never been uncovered so when journalist Jenna comes to do an anniversary podcast on the disappearance, well, no one is expecting the secrets that are uncovered...

Have devoured this in a couple of days and could easily have read it in one sitting if I could! The writing style keeps you wanting to read that next chapter to find out more, I also really enjoyed the intertwining story sideline which appears at just the right time, adding more clues to uncover the secrets - it threw me on the completely wrong track at first I will admit but it has a very clever link to the final outcome once revealed. Claire has a great way of writing that keeps you wanting more, would definitely recommend!

What a fabulous read! I really couldn’t put this book down and read it at every opportunity. A great thriller which kept me guessing right until the end and I didn’t see it coming either! Can’t wait to read more by Claire Douglas. 5*

A sense of unease runs through this book from the start. A well written story with a good plot. I did not really work out the ending which is always good. Recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Random House, Penguin for the advance copy of this book.

A haunting thriller with a gripping hook – twenty years ago four girls drove home after a night out and got in a car crash. But when all the dust settled, only one girl remained. Where are the other three girls?

I absolutely loved this one and think it might just be my favorite Claire Douglas book yet. Gripping, pacey, and wonderfully twisty, it hits all the right points for a fantastic thriller. Claire has a way of writing vibrant, emotive characters that feel like they could be real. The story has hints of ghostly happenings and a nice creepy vibe. I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was one hell of a deliciously dark, engrossing, proper twisty thriller.
From the get go I was intrigued.. I just needed to know what happened to them girls. Little did I know how it would pan out I didn't have the foggiest!

Not only do we have the storyline of the missing girls to sink our teeth into but there is another running alongside about a group of friends story to Thailand... I'm like eh how is any of this relevant... but read on readers... the story unfolds!!

A huge thank you to Netgalley, Claire Douglas, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random house for the E-ARC in exchange for my review.

Well I don't know where to start, Claire Douglas never disappoints, this book dragged me in at the beginning and didn't let up, a brilliant story, all mixed up and came together at the end, for me a real heart stopping read, loved it

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m sure it won’t be my last.
I loved it from start to finish! I was hooked from the beginning and at first couldn’t understand an additional storyline for Stace and JP but once it all started to come together, I thought it was very clever.
I didn’t want to put it down.

The story is based around the unsolved disappearance of 3 young women following a car crash 20 years ago. The driver, Olivia, was found badly injured but survived and is viewed with suspicion by the rest of the town and the parents of the missing girls. Along comes a journalist who is hoping to make a podcast by interviewing parents, witnesses and Olivia. There is no end of suspects to tease the reader and I was constantly changing my guesses. Running alongside this story is another, apparently unrelated tale of a another group of young people enjoying a free holiday that turns out not to be quite as it seems. Eventually the two stories join up to create an exciting, if slightly implausible conclusion. Even after the story seems to have ended there is one final twist that turns the whole story on its head. I personally felt this final revelation did nothing to improve the story and could easily have been edited out as it added to the implausibility of the plot. This is an exciting, entertaining thriller but you may need to suspend your disbelief in places.

Olivia and her 3 friends are travelling home after a night out on a stretch of road known as the Devil's Corridor when a masked figure steps out causing a crash. When Olivia regains consciousness she is trapped in the car but her friends are missing.
Cut to 20 years later a journalist comes to investigate the case in a village where there are other strange happenings.
The locals aren't happy with this stranger's arrival. Least of all Olivia.
Jenna soon starts receiving threatening notes and it is clear someone wants her out of the town.
I was gripped from the start and read the book in a few days. Would like to read more by this author.

I love this thriller grabbed my from the beginning and kept my attention all the way through.

4 girls go clubbing in Wiltshire only one is ever seen again or so it appears. 20 years later Jenna is sent to make her 1st podcast for BBC Sound and well she's not that welcome. But there are a couple of detectives that she has the support of the retired Brenda and the returning serving Dale.

The characters are an interesting butch in the way you need for a good thriller you don't know who to trust or not to. That's the advice she keeps getting trust no one. Due me this is a easy five star it had my attention kept me guessing and allowed me to escape from reality for several hours. It wasn't hard to read I and the ending was not only believable it was well written like the whole book.

My advice get it and enjoy and keep on guessing found it better then dancing 💃 🕺

What an extraordinary book. So many peoples stories interweaved. All heading for the same place. The people are so normal, for a lot of it it's sort of 'there but for the grace of God go I', and then it all changes and it's more a case of being grateful that it isn't you.

Loved it. It haunted my dreams.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Rounding up to three stars.
this was merely ok for me. I think a lot of the time I kept reading to see how the two stories merged.
It all got a bit over the top by the end.
Add that to the fact I was a bit fed up of any mention of Gavin and you have a book and reader that just didn't match.

Journalist Jenna Halliday is still reeling from Gavins need to take a break from their marriage, but she’s not going to let that stop her from making the most of the chance she has just been given. She’s been tasked with doing a podcast about a 20th year old mystery where 4 girls had gone for a night out, and only one came home. Olivia Rutherford had been driving the 4 of them home that night but has little memory of what happened on the Devils Corridor.

I liked the premise of this book, especially as there are urban myths surrounding the area of the road accident. Supposedly 3 girls had gone missing in the area 200 years previously, with sightings of a man in a long coat and children heard crying in the woods nearby. The story is told from Jenna and Olivias points of view, with a third story coming in of 8 friends on holiday. But this became more relevant as the book goes on. In fact there are some lovely twists, some you can work out quite easily but a couple really unexpected. Well constructed plotting, good characterisation and an unexpected twist at the end. Recommended. 4 1/2🌟

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Twenty years is a long time for three girls to be missing for. Four girls travelling in a car which went out of control, only one was found. It was this mystery which intrigued journalist Jenna Halliday sufficiently, to investigate. Presenting whatever she found out in a podcast. This mystery thriller was very well written and all the tools are used to build a feeling of looming menace. Dark forests, standing stones, leaden skies, rain, hail, feeling watched, haunting sounds etc. Interspersed with this, is another story set in Thailand, which the reader may conclude is somehow linked to this mystery in rural Wiltshire. Strangely, it reminded me of the charismatic Charles Sobhraj and his story laid out in the TV series The Serpent. I suppose if one girl goes missing there's a chance she may be found alive after twenty years, I doubt the same could be said of three. I was about ninety percent through the book before the truth started to come out. I feared, wrongly, that the conclusion would be unsatisfactorily shallow but it did seem plausible. This novel kept me engaged right to the very end, so for me it would have to be a five star review.

Never read anything from this Author before but hopefully this won't be the last of her books I read.

Very well written and intricately plotted story that got my interest from the start and maintained it right to the very end.