Member Reviews
When a young woman named Olivia vanishes into an alleyway one night without a trace, DCI Julia Day is assigned to the case. After she failed to find another missing woman the year before, she is keen to solve the mystery – and quickly. But someone wants to stop her: a man who knows Julia’s worst secret. And unless she derails the case and frames someone else for Olivia’s murder, he is going to expose everything and ruin the lives of Julia and her family.
This is a very well-written book and the style is engaging. It made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen. The plot is fast-moving as we find out more about the missing woman, Olivia, and the secret that Julia has been hiding. I enjoyed the little details about British life and the quirks of the characters laced throughout the text and I was increasingly hooked as more information was revealed.
The plot was quite complicated with multiple points of view, different time periods and some characters speaking in second person. I recommend making notes to keep track of everything that happens. It was helpful to read back on these and notice all the little things I hadn’t noticed when different plot points were revealed.
It seems as though everything hinges around the twist and at times, this compromises the story. For example, I found some of the events, characters’ actions and coincidences hard to believe and they sometimes felt a bit forced in order to make the twist work. That said, this is a strong thriller and it kept me asking questions, which is the main thing.
It’s clear that the author has spent a long time on characterisation and this absolutely shows. I got to know each character well and I especially enjoyed the sections from Lewis’s point of view. His relationship with his daughter and wife is conveyed strongly, as is his frustration when dealing with the police.
This was a satisfying and enjoyable read and although it was a little over-complicated, the strong writing and characterisation made up for this.
I love Gillian McAllister’s books and was absolutely delighted to be approved to read this one!
Olivia is missing without a trace. A young beautiful girl has walked into an alleyway and vanished. DCI Julia Day is in charge of the case and is determined to find Olivia, especially after another young woman, Sadie, went missing the previous year in an unsolved case.
But Julia has her own worries to contend with, which are alluded to in the prologue. When these cases and worries combine, it makes for a charged thriller, with twists and turns when you least expect them.
Gillian is the master at writing books that keep the reader guessing and speculating throughout. A brilliant book.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting for this book to be released as Gillian McAllister is one of my favourite authors.
It certainly didn’t disappoint and I raced through it.
As always with her books, the plot is very clever and the writing style accomplished, but also very engaging.
It’s one of my favourite reads this year, and a book that I will definitely be recommending.
wow wow wow. Gillian has such a unique style of writing; I don't know how to explain it. This was another wonderful book by her! The twists in this story made my jaw drop more than once! Julia, a police officer, has a secret she shares with her daughter from a year ago. A masked man knows this secret, and blackmails Julia into helping him plant evidence at a crime scene of a kidnapping. Who is the masked man? What is his connection to the kidnapped woman? The story is told in different perspectives and how they all connect is something the reader will never guess!! So many shocking twists!!!
Gillian has released yet another great thriller
I was so eager to read this book and immediately picked this up upon being accepted by the publisher.
The book was very slow to begin with but as soon as it hit a certain point, the action picked up and I was immediately engrossed in the book and found it hard to put down
Gillian knows how to write the perfect legal thriller and this will not disappoint for her previous fans
Highly recommended
Just Another Missing Person was one of my most anticipated books of the year, so you can imagine my excitement at receiving my copy. I can safely say that this did not disappoint! DCI Julia Day is tasked with finding Olivia, a recently missing woman, but soon finds herself in a moral dilemma, juggling her family and her job. What follows is a complex, clever, emotional story. One that I struggled to put down once it got going.
Although the first half is well written and gives the reader content to make sense of the story, it wasn’t until the second half where I was truly invested and where you are introduced to a twisty, mind bending mystery. It took a lot of concentration to fully appreciate the way the pieces all came together but was well worth it. Overall this was a very solid thriller, with well written characters and a clever mystery. With a focus on how far you would go for the ones you love. 4.5 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this copy in return for an honest review.
Gillian McAllister's books are unfailingly excellent, so this shot to the top of my to-read list upon receipt of an advance copy.
DCI Julia Day is investigating the unfathomable disappearance of Olivia Johnson, a young woman who walked into an alleyway and apparently never reappeared. Julia's an honest and dedicated officer, devoted to her job - somewhat to the detriment of her family life - but she's also hiding something which is about to put her, and potentially the investigation into Olivia's disappearance, in danger.
This is a densely plotted thriller where nothing is as it seems. Around half way through, all the pieces were suddenly flung up into the air and everything went totally WTAF, before things started slotting into place. I read so much in this genre that I'm generally pretty good at spotting misdirection, but this was so well done that I missed it completely.
A great read. Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy!
Julia is assigned the job of locating Olivia, a missing person, in this well crafted novel. I didn't think that Gillian Mcallister could beat her last book, Wrong Place Wrong Time, but this novel is equally full of twists and turns that make it a real page turner. I had to read until the novel was finished. I would recommend the book highly.
My review is going to read as if I didn't like this novel. I did like it, but there were some drawbacks for me personally.
The phrase that comes to mind when I think of this book is 'trying too hard': I tried too hard to enjoy it because I have enjoyed some of the author's previous books, and the author tried too hard to make it work as well. In the acknowledgements, she says she was wedded to her twist, and I think that really shows. It's like she made the twist work at the expense of a more interesting plot and better characterisation. I really enjoy how the author slots little personal anecdotes into her writing, but it felt a little overdone in this book.
Some niggles for me: 1. I was surprised that a woman would find it odd that another woman would own clothes in different sizes. I personally own clothes in 5 different sizes, and so do a lot of the women I know, just because of how arbitrary UK dress sizes are. 2. There was a character named Nathan Best who was introduced at the beginning, we learned a bit about him and then he never showed up again for the rest of the novel which was odd. 3. Olivia's house-share seemed to be arranged 2 days before she moved in, and yet she developed a close text relationship with her new housemates in this time? A little hard to believe really.
Negativity out of the way, I did like Lewis as a character, I found him to be very warm and believable. Side characters such as Price were really well-written too. The story definitely held my interest and I was keen to get back to the book to find out what was going on.
Overall I did enjoy the book, and there is a lot to like about it. I think it suffered because I wanted to be blown away, but I wasn't. Possibly an 'it's not you, it's me' situation.
This is, as you would expect from Gillian McAllister, a masterclass in writing with an outstanding twist midway through that made me so regretful that I had to go to bed before I could continue - and plenty of other twists and turns throughout. When a secret is used to force someone to commit a crime it sets in motion a chain of events no one could have predicted. Julia Day is a dedicated DCI who always did things thoroughly and honestly until a tragic event caused her to act against her own morals to protect her daughter and in doing so unwittingly gave someone leverage to force her to try to set up someone for the murder of a missing girl. Julia has to try to find the missing girl before her corrupt actions are uncovered. Meanwhile Lewis is struggling to come to terms with his daughters disappearance and unhappy with the way Julia is investigating it, and Emma finds her loyalties pushed to the limit when she finds herself questioning if her own son is indeed a murderer. The different perspectives of these three characters add great dimension to the story as each battle with their own issues and really do have you questioning just what is the truth in all of this. Whilst the high point of this for me was definitely the twist at the end of part one the rest of the story did a fantastic job of unravelling the mystery of the missing girl and ultimately it was surprising to find yourself questioning just who the antagonists and protagonists are.
I am a big fan of Gillian McAllister and was thrilled to receive her latest book to read and review. I have to say I was disappointed. The style of writing seems to be deliberately obscure to hide the twists of plot that are coming, but I found this confusing and I had no idea what was going on until a long way into the book. I often had to refer back to find out who the characters were as they did not stand out, and the different points of view sounded similar. From the start I did not agree with what Julia did, so did not warm to her as the main character. The whole plot did not ring true at all for me. However, the twists were shocking and satisfying although I did not enjoy the journey to get there.
Superb..
A missing person, apparently vanished into thin air in a seemingly impossible situation, opens up a catalogue of twisted and bizarre events in this slow burn, tense and accomplished suspense. Julia, the detective on the case, is mystified but determined - but what exactly is Julia herself hiding? A tense and choppy narrative, a deftly crafted cast and a plot populated with hair bend twists provides everything the reader needs for a tension fuelled read. This author has a knack for providing the reader with true moral dilemmas- what would you do? - and this one has that in spades. Whilst this reader found themselves suddenly feeling disappointed by the point of denouement, by a potentially unrealistic finale, along comes that final dramatic, unexpected twist and…..voila - satisfaction guaranteed. Superb.
Just Another Missing Person - Gillian McAllister
I've been a big fan of Gillian McAllister's books ever since I read Anything You Do Say during lockdown 2020, I binged all of her other books and have eagerly awaited every new book since. How To Disappear is an all time favourite of mine.
DCI Julia Day is the star of Just Another Missing Person. She's morally conflicted, trying to be the best cop and best mother, she's also under pressure to break the law to protect her family.
A young woman, Olivia, disappears. Julia must lead the missing person's hunt knowing that solving the case might destroy her family's lives. It's complicated.
I recommend keeping a list of the characters, there are several and chapters from various different perspectives.
With the complex overlapping plots it takes a while to set up and get going. I won't say slow, but the author makes the reader work for it.
Imagine trying to solve a jigsaw, without seeing the picture on the box - now imagine tipping out two more jigsaws, mixing all the pieces together and then trying all three jigsaws. Very satisfying when it clicks together but frustrating not seeing the bigger picture.
It is a highly involved and complex multilayered plot. There are some lovely touches in the writing and shocking moments of clarity when the pieces slot into place.
In my favourite books by this author she weaves unique plots around believable, fully realised, thinking characters. I'm glad I read this book, but found it a little over-complicated.
I might sound like an old curmudgeon but I miss the books Gillian McAllister used to write. I can't get as involved with the characters if I'm having to work to keep track of the various plots.
Mixed feelings, This book makes you work to keep track of what's happening and for the thrills.
Recommended if you enjoy slower complex builds and very involved plots.
Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House
After reading and loving this authors last book which was THE book of the year for me I wasn’t sure how she could beat that as it is pretty unbeatable. But it can be equalled and this book is equally as good which shows Gillian McAllister consistently writes some bloody good books.
I read this in hours. There were moments where I shouted WOAH! Some fantastic twists that were impossible to predict. Just amazing!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.
DCI Julia Day works out of Portishead station. The opinion of her from her small but loyal group of fellow officers, is of a honest, dutiful police officer, totally devoted to the job and to getting justice for all. After the failure to solve a missing person case from the previous year, her instincts are on full alert when another woman is reported missing. The events that unfold make this a bizarre and troubling case, even more so when a personal incident involving Genevieve, Day’s daughter, gets caught up in the mix. What choice does she have?
Gillian McAllister must be considered as one of todays most accomplished authors, she never disappoints. A complex, multi layered plot, alongside the most perfect characterisation gives the reader a thrilling, tense and heartfelt ride.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time remains one of my favourite books of recent years, but this is very good too. A definite recommendation.
Thank you NetGalley.