Gillian McAllister is my new jam. I absolutely loved Wrong Time, Wrong Place, so was really keen to read Just Another Missing Person. It certainly does not disappoint. It asks the question ‘What would you do to protect someone you love?’ and then applies it to DCI Julia Day, a by the book, morally upright police detective whose career is exemplary except for one incident, deep in her past, that only she and her daughter Genevieve know about.
Or so she thought until she began to investigate the disappearance of 22 year old Olivia Johnson, who has gone missing with few clues as to what has happened to her. Olivia was last seen on CCTV going into a dead end alley but she was never seen leaving. In effect, she has vanished into thin air.
Told initially from Julia’s perspective, with other Pov’s coming in later, this is a book which takes a good cop and puts her firmly on the horns of a massive dilemma.
Gillian McAllister has the ability to keep surprising her readers; just when you thought you knew where this book was going, she blindsides you with her misdirection. This is next level plotting and it works so well that I was genuinely shocked at the plot developments.
This book works so well because McAllister builds authentic characters and enables you to understand and really pick up on their emotions and the differing perspectives they bring to the situation. Her pacing is immaculate and she builds suspense so well.
She portrays different aspects of parental love from Olivia’s father to the mother of the man accused and Julia’s own desire to protect her daughter come what may. This is a powerful form of love that drives the players in this case.
Verdict: Brilliant plotting and beautifully layered. A strong, emotional and thrilling police procedural that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

When twenty two year old Olivia Johnson disappears one night, last seen on CCTV entering an alley way with a dead end and not re-emerging, the case is passed to DCI Julia Day to investigate, but this case is way more complex than she imagined when she realises the person behind it all knows a secret, and it's a secret that could ruin Julia's life and her career, which is why she cannot find out what happened to Olivia and must make sure someone else is framed for her murder. How far will Julia go to protect everything she holds dear?

Just Another Missing Person is the latest thriller by McAllister and, after being blown away by Wrong Place, Wrong Time I wondered if this next one could beat it. This one starts off slowly and the pace builds through the first part of the book and then, as you'd expect from this author, the twists come thick and fast. It's a complex plot, told from the perspectives of the three main characters Julia, Lewis and Emma in the present day with flashbacks to a year earlier and, with many other characters in the mix, you do need to concentrate to get your head round what's going on. This is a tale of three parents, all from different walks of life, with one thing in common, the children they are doing their best to protect and do right by, whatever the cost to themselves, just as any parent would in their situation. It's an intense read which will keep you on the edge of your seat and second guessing throughout. McAllister really set the bar high with Wrong Place, Wrong Time and although this is an intriguing and compelling story which I really enjoyed, it didn't quite hit the spot like that one did. Having said that I would still highly recommend this one to anyone that loves a good police procedural.

I'd like to thank Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

Gillian McAllister never fails to leave me gobsmacked!

Julia's latest case is puzzling, to say the least. A young woman, Olivia, has gone missing. She was caught on cctv going into a dead end alley - but she never came back out. How is that possible? Well, it's Julia's job to find out. However, she has a secret of her own and when she is left with the choice of framing someone for Olivia's disappearance or putting her family in danger when that secret is revealed, she really has no choice ... or does she?

Having read all of Gillian's novels, I was very excited to have this one to look forward to. I never fail to be amazed at how different each book is and this one was like nothing I've read before. What a quandary Julia is in; damned if she does and damned if she doesn't! I kept putting myself in her shoes and soon found out that didn't help - I couldn't see any way out. This is a thrilling, exhilarating ride - with an ending I could never have anticipated. Terrifically exciting and absolutely meriting all five glittering stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review..

Just Another Missing Person is the fifth book by Gillian McAllister that I’ve read. They have all been excellent books, tense, tightly plotted and completely compelling reading. But this one surpasses them all.

Needless to say but I was totally gripped and baffled – how could Olivia just disappear from a dead-end alley without being seen coming back out? The investigating police officer is DCI Julia Day, a detective with a passion for solving things, piecing things together and helping people to get to the truth. But she has come up against what seems to be an impossible crime and to make matters worse she has her hands tied because she has a secret. And one person knows what she did and is threatening to reveal it unless she frames someone for Olivia’s disappearance.

It’s very readable and well written, with clearly defined and believable characters, and a complex plot with plenty of twists and turns. There are two major twists – the first one that shocked me and took me completely by surprise, whilst the second one, also surprising, I’d figured out but only just before it happened. The pace is quite slow to start off, but soon ratchets up as the tension rises. It really is a book that keeps you on your toes. You need to concentrate, paying close attention to details. It’s told mainly from Julia’s perspective with further insight from the other characters’ points of view.

Just Another Missing Person is simply excellent, written with assurance and with great insight into human nature. It is without doubt one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Many thanks to the publishers for a review copy via NetGalley.

I am an ardent fan of Gillian McAllister's writing, particularly when she creates a story that hinges on a moral dilemma, as she has done in Just Another Missing Person but whilst this was a good solid plot, with the characterisation we have come to love, I'm afraid this wasn't one of my favourite reads by this author.

The plot is intriguing with a missing woman who seemingly vanishes once she has entered an alleyway combined with a young man who is arrested for her disappearance, despite being with his mother at the time she vanished. Indeed as the story progresses this is a story all about mothers and their children or more accurately the fears that they have for those precious offspring.

The plot resolution is clever, but it was at this point that I felt the plot separated from being enjoyable to being just that bit too ingenious perhaps?

DCI Julia Day is leading the investigation into the disappearance of a young woman named Olivia. Julia finds herself with a difficult choice to make when she is blackmailed by a mysterious stranger to frame someone for Olivia's murder or risk her own secret being exposed.

An exceptionally clever thriller that will keep you hooked until the very end.

I absolutely adored this book. The plot is so unique and thoroughly addictive that I simply couldn't put it down. The moral dilemma really gets inside your head and makes you wonder what you would do in Julia's situation.

The characters were very well-written because they had so much depth and felt genuine. It was the little details about their lives and thoughts that brought the book to life.

Another outstanding book from Gillian McAllister that should be at the top of everyone's reading lists.

Thank you Penguin for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

When a 22-year-old woman goes missing, the detective who catches the case is determined to find her. Olivia is captured on CCTV entering a dead-end alley & after that she seemingly disappears into thin air. This is the second case of a missing young woman that Julia has worked on recently, but the first woman, Sadie, was never found. Julia feels guilty over this as she knows her eye wasn't on the ball due to an incident involving her daughter, Genevieve & she vows to do better with Olivia's case. As she heads out to go to the house where Olivia had recently moved to, she is panicked to find a masked man sat in the back of her car. He hands her a bag containing a cigarette butt & a glass & tells her that if she wants her (& Genevieve's) secrets kept under wraps, she needs to frame someone called Matthew James for Olivia's murder. Can Julia find out what happened to Olivia & prevent a possibly innocent man from being blamed without endangering herself & her daughter?

I really enjoyed the author's "Wrong Place Wrong Time" so requesting this ARC was a no-brainer. The first half was a bit slow & I didn't really enjoy it much due to the main character. This is a police detective of experience & yet when she is being blackmailed & forced to frame Matthew James, Julia immediately starts 1) trying to get CPS to charge him for murder with no body found, 2) missing vital avenues of evidence, 3) accessing online records & recordings & leaving a digital trace of what she was doing - in short, acting so squirrely that all her colleagues notice there is something not quite right. Surely the opposite of what she would have wanted when trying to protect her daughter.

It also bothered me that the evidence against Matthew was basically a cigarette butt & fingerprints on a glass - both found in the missing girl's room. Now, maybe I've watched too much CSI, but it struck me as strange that nobody pointed out (even Matthew's solicitor) that the only DNA evidence at the scene was found on portable items & that his fingerprints or DNA (not even a stray hair) were not found anywhere else in the room or indeed the house, & that those items could easily have been planted (which indeed they were). None of the above is a spoiler by the way, it's all laid out very early on.

The second half of the book actually saved it though. There were some good twists & the main plot line itself was very well done. I did find it a bit annoying how easily Julia forgave her husband for cheating with a colleague after the memorable line of (I'm paraphrasing) "I was so drunk, it could have been anyone". Well, I mean, that's ok then?! Verdict: first half slow & MC was difficult to empathise with, but the second half pulled it round with some well-timed twists. 4 stars

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Random House/Michael Joseph, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I absolutely loved Wrong Place Wrong Time so couldn't wait to get my teeth into Gillian's latest book. I certainly wasn't disappointed and raced through it. The characters were all really well fleshed out and as a reader I couldn't but connect to Julia and feel awful about the impossible position she was put in. There was plenty of mystery weaved throughout the plot and I really liked how the twists were done, I didn't actually see any of them coming which is always a huge plus.

I've knocked one star off purely because I think the ending was rushed which was a great shame as it was a really enjoyable read and I felt this let it down slightly. Regardless, I'll definitely be recommending this book to friends and family and look forward to what the author releases next!

Gillian McAllister is the absolute queen of clever twisty thrillers and Just Another Missing Person doesn’t disappoint, it’s absolutely fabulous!
A mess of missing girls, desperate parents of only children and police who have distracting home issues - it grabs from the first page and then delivers the most astonishing mid point twist which literally upends everything you have read before. I can’t say more without giving the plot away.
I can’t recommend this enough, just totally brilliant!

Just Another Missing Person ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

22 year Olivia was last seen disappearing into a dead end alleyway and Julia is the detective in charge of finding out where she went, but somebody knows Julia’s deepest secret and is using it to bribe her into framing an innocent man for Olivia’s murder.

There was a great twist in the middle of the book which alleviated the niggles I was beginning to have and I flew through it in just a couple of days in order to get the answers to the many questions I had running around my brain!

I thought all the different portrayals of parental love were really well handled, from the father of the missing girl, the mother of the accused and Julia’s need to protect her own daughter, a scary reminder that you never stop worrying about your children.

I don’t read many ‘crime’ thrillers but really enjoyed all the police procedural insights and would recommend this to those who enjoy a complex and clever thriller which will really get your brain ticking!

I loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time so was super excited when I was given this ARC of Gillian's latest novel: Just Another Missing Person.

It took me a while to get invested in this one, I think because there are a number of different characters, I was trying to get my head around who was who and how everyone was linked. But I was soon hooked! There is a huge twist about halfway through and then she blindsides you just before the end with yet another twist! 🫨

Another brilliant book by this author!

I was looking forward to reading this as I loved Wrong Place Wrong Time.
This is a twisty page turning thriller and I read the book so quickly as I couldn't wait to fit all the pieces together.
Gillian does a great job of weaving different storylines together, keeping us in suspense whilst drip feeding us bits of information, gradually unravelling what has gone on.
I liked how it explored from the points of views of the missing and suspects parents and also the main character and detective Julia also being a mother and what they will do to protect their children.
I loved the mid point as well did not see that coming.
I will be recommending this book to others and looking out for any future new ones from this author

I enjoyed this intriguing crime mystery. Three very different parents, a detective investigating the disappearance of a missing girl, the father of another missing young woman and connected to the two are another mother of a young man implicated in both cases. It kept til the end and the denouement was brilliant. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc

Another cracking book from another one of my favourite authors! Honestly, if this is your genre and you haven't discovered her yet, do yourself a favour and crack on with all her books. They've all been so refreshingly different and so very clever... This one being no exception...
This time we "meet" Olivia when she has been missing for one day. She was last seen on CCTV entering a dead end alleyway. She never came out and there is absolutely nowhere else she could go. Leaving the Police completely flummoxed. Especially Julia who is heading up the investigation.
But then a curve ball. Julia has a secret. A bad one which could, if exposed, make her lose everything. And someone knows it. And someone wants to use it against her...
And that's all I am saying as it really is best that you go into this book as blind as you can as the twists and turns it delivers are a masterclass in such things and it would be a shame if you didn't get the maximum impact that the author deserves...
Suffice to say that it had me on the edge of my seat all the way through. I did have an inkling about something but, as it turned out, I was only half right and the real truth was oh so much more than I ever imagined! My mind was completely blown, once it had finished exploding! How does she do it, again and again and again!
But as well as all that tight plotting and executing, it's also quite emotional, bonds between families, protective parents, secrets and lies. All quite vulnerable. And the characters all playing their parts exceptionally well.
All in all, another cracking book from an oh so favourite author. Leaving me wholly satisfied but, once again, hankering for her next one. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The title may be ‘Just Another Missing Person’. the plot however is something else. Gillian McAllister captivates her readers attention with this very clever, twisty, dark thriller, the surprises keep the reader invested right to the last page.
DCI JuliaDay has another missing person case, a young woman, Olivia, has mysteriously disappeared in a dead end alley, no where to go! . Having failed to find out what happened to Sadie last year, she blames herself as she knows she was distracted. Julia is therefore doubly determined to find Olivia,
This cleverly woven plot includes lies, secrets, blackmail & corruption. Julia her entire police career has always followed the book, but how corrupt will she let herself become to protect her own daughter and herself. As Julia digs to find the truth, it becomes clear the two cases are connected.
Great characters, I loved both Julia’s daughter and her husband Art, the unique relationships she has with them both. Another very interesting character is her police informer Price.
This is an addictive read so once you open the book you need to keep reading.
Another best seller for this very clever and talented author.
Huge thanks to Net Galley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Just Another Missing Person is the latest standalone crime thriller from McAllister featuring DCI Julia Day based out of Portishead, Somerset, England, and once again the author has excelled at not only penning a riveting piece of crime fiction but imbuing it with a complex and compulsive moral dilemma that only adds to the tension, fear and excitement running throughout the pages and both serve to keep you utterly glued to the story from the opening page, and that's just for starters. When twenty-two-year-old Olivia Johnson disappears without a trace, work-obsessed and obscenely dedicated DCI Day jumps at the chance to investigate and search for the young woman despite having been rudely interrupted while having a family dinner with her husband and daughter at the time. This is not a singular occurrence either and it has begun to place a strain on said relationships, but it is still something she cannot seem to help despite it destroying her private life.

Meanwhile, Olivia's vanishing act is causing absolute befuddlement among investigators as she is spotted on CCTV heading into a dead-end alley but not leaving, yet she is not there. As Julia sets out driving to Olivia's apartment, she's cornered by a guy who has managed to conceal himself in her backseat and who has a startling message for her - she is told that she must plant evidence that will pinpoint a guy named Matthew James as the one involved in Olivia's untimely demise. The leverage the blackmailer uses to try to ensure Julia's compliance is that otherwise, he will disclose the fact that a year ago she covered up a crime committed by her daughter, Genevieve. However, when the missing woman turns up, she isn't exactly who Julia believed her to be. Can Julia work out who can be trusted with her secrets so that she can attempt to connect the disparate ends of a previous case to this one and to her daughter's mistake and keep a firm grip on her job in the process?

This is an impeccably crafted police procedural and a twisting exploration of workplace and familial responsibility, the dangers of internet anonymity and how good people can often find themselves slipping towards criminality when attempting to save a loved one; Julia's adoration of her daughter, and the potency of a mother's love really shines through here. It's a compelling and deeply chilling mystery that takes off immediately, so you don't have to wade through a tedious build-up to reach the juicy and most edge-of-your-seat parts of the narrative. With more and more shady characters becoming involved in the conspiracy as the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, the pages are replete with whiplash-inducing twists and turns of such intensity that they take your breath away. Fast-paced, but with enough moments that linger on to hold you gripped for the duration with the suspense and tension rising sharply as time goes on, this is a compulsively readable thriller with a fascinating and believable moral and ethical dilemma at its centre which I devoured.

This is definitely another bestseller, from the fabulous, QUEEN OF MISDIRECTION, QUEEN OF OMG TWISTS
and the QUEEN OF JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER. This is not your average missing person case, it's so far beyond that and it's very, very clever. I love Julia and like any parent, she will protect her daughter at all cost. The twist are just mind blowing and my jaw hit the floor half way through the story. Absolutely bloody brilliant. The relationship between informer Price and Julia is a normal police/informer relationship, or is it? that's where a twist comes in and it's literally, shockingly phenomenal. This needs to be picked up by Netflix/Amazon or in fact, any of the TV networks, it would make a brilliant film or series and I would love to see Julia, Ark and Genevieve, plus Price return in another book. I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK, Characters brilliant and plot OUT OF THIS WORLD PHENOMENAL.

Really, really enjoyed Wrong Place, wrong time and this book is just as good. The writing and twists are so good I couldn't put it down.

The book was a total joy to read from start to finish. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to this brilliant story.

Another brilliantly and twisty read from Gillian McAllister. I think this is her best one yet. I couldn’t put this down. So gripping!

It starts off slow. Julia is having dinner with her family when she gets a call from work - a young woman called Olivia is missing and it’s high risk. Tbh I wasn’t quite sure why Olivia was seen as high-risk and found Julia initially patronising with her spiel that an attractive woman is missing according to her housemates and that should be enough. It felt a little very white feminist to me. But then the plot kicks in when Julia is blackmailed by a man to plant evidence at the scene of the crime and frame a young man called Matthew or her secret will be exposed. Who is this man? And what really happened to Olivia?

I will be honest - I found Julia incredibly unlikeable. I get her that she made certain decisions to protect her daughter but she comes across as sanctimonious and conceited and tbh I wasn’t really rooting for her. It helped that the book as a multiple POV narrative, and I found the other characters such as Emma, Matthew’s mum, and Lewis, father of the missing young woman, much more relatable and interesting. There’s plenty of pace and the second half was so engrossing once the twists start to drop. After the midway turn I couldn’t put the book down. A brilliantly gripping read with flawed characters and twists you won’t see coming.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This was a well-written, with lots of twists, and turns book.

Detective Julia is in charge of the case of missing Olivia, who was last seen going into an alley, but not coming out of it.

She is against the clock, that too when someone informs her, that he knows a secret of her family. Then she’s blackmailed to do something that puts a person in the frame for the murder of Olivia's murder, she either does this, or the secret will be revealed.

The alternating chapters are told from different viewpoints and timelines.

I highly recommend this book.