An absolutely gripping story full of twists. I couldn’t put this book down. I love Gillian McAllisters writing and have read many of her books. This is possibly my favourite.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and share this book.

Just Another Missing Person is yet another captivating thriller from one of my favourite authors. Gillian McAllister knocked it out of the park with Wrong Place, Wrong Time and this is another belter!

The protagonist, Julia, is a strong and relatable character, but her life takes a dark turn when a well-guarded secret puts her in a morally challenging position, threatening her career, family – everything! The narrative is mainly told from Julia’s perspective so I really felt like I related to her and could empathise with her situation, but we also get some chapters from other people involved in the case which adds extra depth to the plot. I found myself deeply invested in Julia’s journey, including her complex relationship with her husband, Art, and her daughter. It’s not just the central case she’s investigating that draws readers in, but the intricate dynamics of her personal life that kept me engrossed.

The story is so intriguing and tightly plotted, with plenty of suspense and a skilful way of making the reader consider what they would do in the same situation. The book blurs the boundaries of what is ethical. I loved the twists which I did not see coming at all!

Gillian McAllister is an author whose back catalogue I now want to read everything from (I’ve read a lot of her books already and there’s a few more to discover) as well as everything she releases in the future too! Her books have some of the best twists I’ve read and Just Another Missing Person is no exception!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this twisty thriller. It wasn't as fast paced as some of her other books but the plot was really interesting. I did find it a little disjointed at times, something would be happening in the plot and then suddenly we'd go into quite great detail about the characters thoughts and feelings at that point so sometimes you would get lost with what was happening with the story.

But on the whole really enjoyable.

WOW! WOW! WOW! Gillian McAllister, you dropped this 👑!

Just another missing person? Yes…and SO MUCH MORE! 👏🏻

It took me a few chapters to get my head around the writing style - Lewis is talking to his missing daughter, Emma is talking to… we don’t know who, initially, and Julia, a well-respected police detective is being blackmailed and turns to a known criminal for help.

The plot is incredible! So much detail, so well planned and brilliantly executed. And when the first big twist hits, around halfway through the book… O.M.G.!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Gillian McAllister and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Just Another Missing Person was a highly anticipated summer read for me and it didn’t let me down! Gillian McAllister is so good at writing emotionally driven psychological thrillers with inventive curveballs. Just Another Missing Person does, in fact, centre around a missing person storyline, but it’s a clever, engaging take on the genre that puts a moral focus at its core.

Set in Portishead, Somerset, we meet Julia Day who is a devoted mother to her teenage daughter, Genevieve. She is also devoted to her career as a detective. She loves the thrill and satisfaction of helping people and solving crimes. This obviously means she is called to work at crazy hours and finds herself in both dangerous and emotionally draining situations. It takes its toll on her home-life.

She’s having dinner with her daughter and husband when a missing person is called in – Olivia Johnson. As she starts the case, Julia notices one too many things that don’t add up and she sees similarities to a missing person case from the previous year. Sadie was never found…

Things then take a very difficult turn for Julia when she is forced into a situation that breaks all her personal morals but she has no choice as the one person she would do anything for is under threat: her daughter.

Blackmail, lies, twists, emotion all come together at the perfect pace to reveal just how the two cases are linked.

The lengths a parent will go to to protect their child is a key theme explored in Just Another Missing Person. It’s also one that featured in Gillian McAllister’s previous book, Wrong Place, Wrong Time (one of my favourite reads from last year).

It’s this emotive layer that gives Gillian McAllister’s thrillers a deeper feel that really resonated with me. It meant I connected strongly with both the characters and the story.

Also, when you add in the moral decision that Julia faces – that’s where the heart of this book comes from and what makes it stand out from the crowd.

This is a brilliant read – enjoyed every page!

Julia Day is a very driven DCI in Portishead police. She has sacrificed her family life in pursuit of solving crime for over 20 years.

Her latest case, the disappearance of a young woman Olivia,little O, has her perplexed.

She is threatened with exposure of her darkest secret if she doesn't plant evidence incriminating a local young man.

Does she stray from the straight and narrow and become a corrupt cop and protect her own child at the expense of someone else's?

Another great psychological thriller from Gillian McAllister!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House Publishing for the chance to read and review this book

This book was very well written with twists and turns galore I really like this authors books and this book didn't disappoint me I enjoyed it very much I would definitely highly recommend reading this one

I really enjoyed this one, I will admit that I did get a few of the plot twists but that in no way diminished my enjoyment of the book (if anything it just made me feel smug for being able to recognise the little clues). The great thing about this authors books is that they are so firmly set in reality you can really see the struggles these characters are facing and you come to question yourself and how you would react in that situation and by the end of her books you will absolutely have changed your mind about 8 times, she shows that nothing is ever as clear cut as it might seem and that we need to look at all the details before making snap judgements.

Just Another Missing Person had me reading far later into the night than I ever intended!
Olivia is missing, she is seen on cctv walking into an ally and disappearing, it is a dead end and she doesn’t come back, where has she gone and how did that happen? Julia is the lead detective investigator in this case, she was unable to find a girl last year and this is still at the back of her mind but she’s going to find this one until someone makes themselves known that they have found out her secret and she is never to find Olivia.
I am not a lover of police procedural books as I feel they just drag out with the end being the end you knew was going to happen from the start nine times out of ten but this dragged me in from the start. I did get a little confused between characters but I feel that could have been my fault at the beginning trying to read as quick as I could! I loved the pull Julia had of the right and wrongs and her family dynamic’s especially with her daughter and it’s true you would do anything for your children. Julia was a well rounded lead character that I enjoyed following and had me at times undecided what i would have done. Twists galore along the way to keep you up reading! The ending left me with no questions unanswered.
Gillian McAllister you’ve done it again!!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A tension filled thriller.
Olivia is reported missing by her housemates and detective Julia Day takes on the case, leading her down an unexpected path.
She is blackmailed, and her family’s safety depends on not finding out what happened to Olivia and framing someone else.
Told from Julia’s POV it’s a totally addictive thriller.
So twisty and character driven with a touch of moral dilemma thrown in.
The perfect holiday read.
Thanks @gillianmcallister, @michaeljbooks & @netgalley for the eARC

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister
Publisher: Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House
Publication Date: 3/8/23

⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gripping thriller with an ingenious twist. Characters you will relate to and believe in, this is first class story telling. I was engrossed to the (satisfying) end.

Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Finally read my first McAllister and it will not be my last! Huge thank you to Michael Joseph Books for this gifted copy of Just Another Missing Person which is out August 3rd! Now for my thoughts on the book!

While I'd love to say I was hooked from the first few pages, that was not the case but hear me out. I found the first 50% of this book good but a little too slow. I was enjoying it yet didn't feel overly compelled to pick it up. But when I reached the half way mark?! Oh my days, I couldn't get enough! It was so good! It may have taken me 2 or 3 days to read up to that point but you better believe I finished it in a few hours because I could not stop!

I don't want to give anything away because this is of course a spoiler free zone but the twists and revelations came hard and fast! I loved how McAllister wrote this entire novel and how everything comes together so seamlessly. It's smart, engaging and just such a treat to read! I can't wait to read more of her work!

* Please look up trigger warnings before reading *

I SPED through this! I was gripped right from the start, completely believing in Julia's character and what you would do for those you love. The twist was brilliant, totally didn't see it coming and like nothing I've read before which is quite something. All in all a really great read – and I'll have to look into more of Gillian McAllister's books. There's not many books I'll stay up until the small hours to read!

This is my first Gillian McAllister novel and it will not be my last currently ordering authors previous work. I stayed up until 2 am to finish this gripping thriller. I felt at times so engrossed it what was happening in the story that I forgot I was reading it. Highly recommend checking this one out when it hits the shelfs on the 3rd of August.

4.5 stars
As a big fan of Gillian McAllister's previous book, I was incredibly excited to read Just Another Missing Person and it did not disappoint.
This kept me gripped the whole way through.
There were plenty of great twists and turns and each of them were incredibly satisfying.
It was an incredibly smart and interesting plot and seeing what one woman would do to protect her child made it hard to put this book down.
The ending was the only thing that let it down/stopped it from being a 5 star read. But overall, it was a definite hit.
Gillian McAllister has quickly become one of those authors who is an instant buy for me. And I can't wait to see what she does next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of this author's work, I was so excited to begin this book. Unfortunately, overall, I found it to be an OK read.

Julia is a police officer with a daughter who she dotes upon, and a husband who has been unfaithful. She's a determined force and when a young woman is reported missing, you have every faith that Julia will leave no stone unturned in order to find her. Then, there's a twist where Julia becomes compromised. So far, so good....
As I began this book I was very interested in the premise and the characters. However, after reading about a third I had become confused in the storytelling and had lost interest in the characters, especially in that of Julia.

It's a decent thriller with twists and turns, I just wish I hadn't found it so difficult to follow and the switch between first and second person in the telling definitely didn't help.

Overall, a decent OK read. Just not as good as I was hoping and very confusing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the opportunity to preview.

Julia is a Police Detective committed to her job but inside hides an uncomfortable secret after protecting her daughter from a crime she committed. Now this has come back to haunt her with a vengeance as she is blackmailed to plant evidence in a missing person case or her daughter and herself will be exposed. Julia is tormented between her head and heart as she realises her career and maybe even her freedom is at stake.
Another gripping, fabulous read from Gillian McAllister with twists galore. Just brilliant!

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC.

If you haven’t read a McAllister book before, then why not?
She is the master of grippy, twisted crime thrillers and this latest book is no exception.

We have the police. Corrupt or otherwise, trying to do their best at solving a number of females that have disappeared.
We have a handful of families related to the victims, some criminals and those who we are not sure which side of the fence they are on.

Told through multiple accounts, it leaves us with gaps in our knowledge throughout. One approach that will make you read this until the early hours.

One police officer that wants the truth but is too sleep deprived to actually fulfil this mission. One father who is hellbent on finding out the truth, no matter the cost. One single mother who is helplessly lost raising her son, one that she is not sure she can trust.

As with all of her previous novels, I throughly enjoyed this. The twists along the way were very good. I even worked one out this time! The ending always provides a lot of answers, some I’m sure you won’t work out due to the elaborate construction of this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I am a massive fan of Gillian McAllister so I was really looking forward to reading her new book. I have to say I am very impressed, each book gets better and better. I found myself very invested in the characters and I was desperately hoping for a good outcome. The book has a few brilliant twists which is always a bonus for me. A fabulous thriller which I highly recommend. A massive 5 stars from me.

My Thoughts

This is my fourth Gillian McAllister that I have read. And each and every time I read one of her books I'm always left in utter awe. She writes plotlines that are clever, intellectual and purely just great. I would love to spend a day in her mind to see how it comes up with such clever concepts.

Just Another Missing Person is a story about...well a missing person 😊 Olivia Johnson, was last seen on CCTV going down a blind alley, and never came back.

It's the job of DCI Julia Day to try and solve this baffling case. How can a person go down a blind alley and just vanish? I had so many theories, yet I didn't once think of the correct outcome.

The story is told from multiple points of view. Which is a concept that I always enjoy, as we get to see the story for differing opinions.

I read this book in a day, I whizzed through wanting to find out what was going on. A few times I found myself huffing to myself that I didn't figure something out, and as is always the case with a McAllister book I found myself applauding the pure genius of the plot twists.

There was one point where I did get confused and had to re-read the start of a chapter. I did think there was an error in the narrative, but when it dawned on me what was actually happening I did a complete eye roll, in a good way. Such a simple detail changed the whole story.

Obviously I can't explain properly what I mean as that would just spoil the story for you. What you need to do is go hug the book, pick it up, read it. Enjoy 😊