Got to love a good mystery and a 20 year old mystery is definitely a good mystery.

The story is told by two main narrators, Jenna, a newly separated journalist, venturing into podcast territory, creating an interest piece looking back at the strange disappearance of three girls, following a car accident 20 years previously. Olivia is the second narrator, the girl who was found after the accident when her three friends disappeared and her viewpoint allows the reader to see how she has struggled to come to terms with her life since the tragedy.

As the story unfolds, there are also intermittent chapters, written in italics, detailing what seems to be an entirely separate narrative and I was totally engaged, trying to work out when this story would tie in.

This is very much a character-driven story. The main characters are authentically portrayed, and I found myself in the story with them. Claire Douglas is a skilled writer, engaging the readers empathy with a characters plight one minute and adding in suspicion and doubt the next. The cast of complex characters in the story is large, and again Claire has successfully differentiated each character and their traits brilliantly, making some distinctly unlikeable whilst others you immediately like and then doubt your own judgements.

The village of Stafferbury, with its Standing Stones and surrounding forest is a fabulous setting for a dark and suspenseful mystery. There are myths, legends and a lot of chat about the folklore surrounding the area and it seems everyone has an opinion in what happened. Put that alongside secrets and strange behaviours and you have a gripping read.

Claire Douglas is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors as I know I am guaranteed a fast-paced, thought provoking mystery. Loved this book! 5 🌟 recommendation.

Good gripping story that has twists and turns. Author has given you a great description of surroundings that makes it more exciting. Good ending that could lead to a follow on. Really enjoyed this book.

Wow what a page turner from the start full of twists and turns and love the characters.
It starts 20 years ago with Olivia Rutherford driving three friends home when a figure in the road causes her to swerve and crash. Regaining consciousness, she finds herself alone in the car - her friends have vanished. Forward to now as a Journalist Jenna Halliday visits the town Stafferbury to find answers to the missing girls, love how Olivia tries to cope with the questions and Jenna who never gives up trying to find answers for her podcast.
A gripping read and highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley & Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, Penguin for a advanced copy.

Loved the book! Solid 4.5 stars from me!

What a clever, well-paced and pulling thriller with clues scattered about - did you also see those twists coming?

I thorougly enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the lookout for any new books from the author, Claire Douglas!

The book was so fun to read, it kept me hooked and guessing the twists ahead of time. Loved the setting, the remote cabin in the middle of the allegedly haunted woods.

No one truly is who they seem...

Thank you so much for the ARC, NetGalley!

📖BOOK REVIEW📖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TheGirlsWhoDisappeared by #ClaireDouglas

⏩for synopsis

This my first CD book and certainly won’t be my last! This book is a solid and dependable read - your in safe hands here. The mystery is presented very well and played out beautifully; characters were relatable and believable, and everything concluded satisfactorily. I loved the settings and creepy goings on - it was very atmospheric all the way through.

I loved it being presented from a journalists point of view; how she slowly gathered all the information and together we worked it out - Jenna was a great lead character.

Ok so it didn’t blow my socks off and if I’m being honest I would have liked more from the reveal with all the build up BUT it did exactly what it said on the tin and that’s ok, I still really enjoyed it.

With thanks the author, @netgalley and @penguinbooks for allowing us to read this one early!

RELEASED: September 15th

-EMILY

@the_book_girls_1

The girls that disappeared was a good thriller that was well written it’s focus is a cold case from 20 years ago that a BBC journalist, Jenna, visits Wiltshire to make a podcast to shine a new light on the mysterious circumstances of three girls who disappeared from a car accident that their friend Olivia survived ,I did feel it was a little muddled with the two timeline stories which only started to come together nearer the end but the book didn’t give up its secrets until the very last page. Another good read from Claire Douglas.

In a rural Wiltshire town, a car containing four young women crashed on the Devil’s Corridor, but when the crash was discovered, only Olivia was found. Twenty years later, journalist Jenna Halliday is making a podcast covering the case of the missing girls.

Douglas is an excellent mystery writer. Her novels are always suspenseful and atmospheric, and incredibly readable. The Girls Who Disappeared is quite fast-paced. The story unfolds in the space of five days which means secrets are uncovered and the mystery is unravelled pretty quickly.

I liked Jenna’s character. She was tenacious and believable. The only thing that annoyed me, as it usually does in books of this genre, is that she obviously had to be having relationship troubles and difficulty back home. This was completely irrelevant to the story and didn’t even really add much to Jenna’s character or back story in my opinion. Why couldn’t she just be a happy journalist covering a story before going home to her son?

However, the plot was very good with an intriguing mystery, supernatural vibes, and plenty of red herrings.

I absolutely loved this twisty tale. Hooks into our obsession with true crime podcasts, making you feel like you are right in the middle of an investigation. Will keep you up into the night to find out what happened to the missing girls. My favourite Claire Douglas so far.

This book follows a cold case from 20 years ago. A journalist named Jenna, from Manchester is trying to make a podcasting the mysterious disappearance of three girls following a car accident , where only the driver, 18 year old Olivia survives! This intriguing read takes many avenues, with plenty of small clues along the way which keeps you guessing to the very end, especially the final page!! Would definitely recommend reading this book to my friends. And will be searching for more books written by Claire Douglas in the near future. ☺

Twenty years ago Olivia is driving herself and her three friends home after a night out. She swerves to avoid a person in the road... a while later she wakes in the car, legs pinned, to find herself alone. Her three friends never to be seen again.
Back in the present and journalist Jenna Halliday is presenting a podcast on the case. She travels to the rural Wiltshire town in which it happened. Staying in a cabin in the woods. As well as covering what happened she also fancies herself to maybe possibly solve the case. Or at least find new evidence. But, as you can imagine. With no sign of the missing girls since that night, the locals have tried hard to move on and are not at all happy to have it all dredged up again after twenty years... And then there's a suspicious death...
This was a thrilling ride which kept me on my toes throughout. I really needed to know what happened. Were they alive somewhere still, and if so why no contact? Was there a more spookier explanation? Or is the simplest answer the right one? And the big question... does Olivia know more than she's saying? And is the current death connected or coincidence?
The interest started instantly and the intrigued slowly ramped up as more was revealed, or not as the case may be. We had all the usual ingredients for a book of this genre - secrets, lies, duplicitous behaviour. All wrapped up in small town mentality and closed ranks.
Pacing is a bit hit and miss - often it races, occasionally however it did drag a bit. And the ending when it came, well, although it fitted the narrative and what had gone before, I can't help not being wholly satisfied by it. I can't exactly put my finger on why and I can't even try to explain as it would inevitably include spoilers. But it just left me wanting something...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

After a night out with 3 friends, Olivia Rutherford crashed her car on the way home. Badly hurt, when she woke Olivia realised her friends had disappeared without a trace.
Twenty years later there has been no sign of the three missing girls and Olivia feels her life is on hold until she knows what happened.
Jenna Halliday is a journalist tasked with looking into the story, the only problem is Olivia won't talk to her. She has never spoken about that night, and she has no intention of doing so now.
As Jenna speaks to locals about what happened that night and, on the build up to it, she seems to have more questions than answers. The only people who can help her don't want to talk, but, when a local is murdered, the shockwaves seem to open something up. Can Jenna finally get to the truth and how much danger will she face first?
If you like a pacy, original, mystery full of twists you have to read this.

Claire Douglas is a new author to me - and I am glad I have found her books - since reading this book I have purchased another, which is ready to go on my kindle.
Thanks to Net Galley for the free read.
I read this book in one day as I could not put it down. The reader follows a journalist (Jenna) who is about to carry out research for a podcast, on a missing persons case. The book follows two timelines which merge to the present day where all is revealed as to how they are linked. Olivia was driving her car with 3 of her friends as passengers when she was a teenager. There was an accident and 'the other girls disappeared'. We find out what happened after the accident and follow Jenna's investigations which coincide with the reopening of the case.
There were lots of twists and turns along the way, as well as some surprises that I did not expect..
Thanks again to net galley for this free read.

I love Claire Douglas and I always have a good ride with her books.
This book was no exception to this.

I have to say though, that the more this book went on, the less I enjoyed it and the stars were getting knocked off for me. To begin with, I loved this. Straight away the premise had me gripped and I was desperate to know how on earth this mystery could have happened. I was gripped and buckled up and ready!
However at around 70% the plot just became so far fetched that I lost interest. The whole 'drug' issue was very 'blockbuster' and just didn't seem relevant to the beginning and style of the book. I appreciate that Douglas was possibly trying to show that drug issues can happen in small towns, and maybe that was part of the reasoning - but for me it just came out of nowhere.
Up until this point, this book was going to be a 5* read.

I still enjoyed this book, just disappointed with the far fetched final third.

I will still keep reading Claire Douglas as I adore her writing, and adore her premises - great talking points - even though I cannot rave about this one.

Another gripping, twisty thriller from one of my favourite authors, this time with suggestions of ghostly goings on. I loved it!

The story centres around three girls who, twenty years ago, vanished after a car accident. Olivia, the fourth girl in the car, survives. In the present day, Jenna, an ambitious journalist, intends to make a podcast of the long unsolved mystery. But when Jenna begins investigating, talking to the locals and trying to uncover what really happened all those years ago, she finds that someone is desperate to make sure those dark secrets stay buried....

The setting was wonderfully eerie, especially The creepy Devil's Corridor, and the characters were believable and made you root for them, especially Jenna. The local characters were richly drawn and the plot certainly kept me guessing all the way through. The final twist was also unexpected, brilliant!

I definitely recommend this book if you enjoy twisty, dark mysteries. I'm already looking forward to Claire's next book!

Thanks to author, Claire Douglas, publishers Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was set over two different timelines and it wasn't until very late on in the book that they both came together. There were lots of twists and turns along the way but everything got tied up in the end.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This is a good easy to read mystery in the author's usual reliable style. The story kept me interested throughout although I have to say I found the ending somewhat lack lustre. When the story revealed what had actually happened to 'The girls who disappeared', I was, well, a little disappointed. I can't say this one gripped me but like I say it was an easy read with a good storyline.

A great twisty read from Claire Douglas.
A crash takes place twenty years ago , the driver Olivia is trapped and when she gains consciousness she is the only one there and the three passengers are gone.
In the present day, Jenna is a journalist who is recording a podcast and comes to Stafferbury to investigate the case.
Olivia is left with long lasting injuries from the crash , and it also seems she has mental scars too. Is Olivia telling the truth about the crash , does she know more than she is saying?
There is a dual timeline in the book and it works well , the writing is excellent and it kept me hooked until the end .
I found the story line intriguing and I was kept guessing right until the conclusion.
Overall an enjoyable read!
Highly recommended !
Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House.

The Girls Who Disappeared follows the story of Olivia and Jenna.

Olivia is the sole survivor of a strange car accident years ago where the three friends she was travelling with had disappeared without a trace when she came round. Still suffering many after effects as a result of the crash, not all physical, Olivia is trying to continue with her life, but as the anniversary of the accident looms, it brings up a lot of memories and still asks the question of what happened to her friends.

Jenna is the journalist who has come to the small town to research for a podcast about the disappearance. The residents do not seem very happy to see her and when some strange things start happening, she starts to wonder what she has let herself in for.

I enjoyed the majority of this book, the atmospheric setting, the slow unraveling pace and a well-drawn cast of characters. Sadly by the last third, I think it had lost my interest after being a bit repetitive and although I thought the ending was OK, I didn't feel gripped.

An intriguing mystery with a haunting setting, The Girls Who Disappeared is a pacey and well-developed thriller with compelling characters and a hint of the paranormal.

I loved the true crime documentary approach to this story as Jenna interviews those involved in the disappearance for her podcast, working alongside a local detective to try to discover the facts. The main characters are all very engaging which keeps you invested, and they are all strongly developed which makes them even more relatable.

The setting also plays an important part in the story and The Devil's Corridor is described well enough to give you a chill as Jenna navigates this new town full of mystery and secrets.

With a third narrative taking place in the past alongside Jenna and Olivia's present-day perspectives featuring an unknown set of characters, I had no idea how these two stories would weave together, and couldn't predict how the story was going to play out. It left me guessing right until the end, and the final conclusions left me very satisfied.

Another brilliant thriller from Claire Douglas, I definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy of this one!

The Girls Who Disappeared is a dark, twisty tale that I enjoyed particularly for the first 3/4 of the book, but I think it tailed off a little towards the end. I also think I have very high standards for Claire Douglas as I’ve loved so many of her novels, so although this certainly wasn’t my favourite book by her, it’s still well worth a read!

The story follows Olivia, the driver of a car with her friends in the back, many years ago, which crashed. When she is rescued from the car, her friends have somehow all gone missing. This mystery has followed Olivia and the rest of the town ever since. What on earth happened to them?

Fast forward to the present day, and journalist Jenna is visiting the town to make a podcast about the mystery. She’s met with resistance by many but manages to dig further into what happened. More and more secrets start to unravel.

I enjoyed the various time frames in this novel – we see the lead up to the accident many years ago as well as the present day timeline with Jenna investigating, and also an array of chapters told from the perspective of some teenagers visiting Thailand which adds some extra mystery – just who are these characters?

As is always the case with books by Claire Douglas, there’s a good sense of atmosphere throughout the book. Even the place where the characters are based feels like it has a life of its own – I felt like I could imagine the kind of town it might be, and its dark streets.

Although the pace feels a bit slower at times, there are still plenty of twists in the story and a good dose of mystery which meant I raced though this book very quickly. Many of the characters aren’t the most likeable, but that didn’t bother me and I found myself warming to Jenna more as the novel went on. I found the last quarter or so started to lose my interest a bit but the ending was satisfying and, although The Girls Who Disappeared didn’t blow me away, I still really enjoyed reading it.