Title: My Daughter is Missing
Author: JD Kirk
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Cathleen McCarron
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: April 16, 2025
My Rating: 3.2 Stars
Pages: 319

A missing child is any parent’s worst nightmare. I remember when I went took my two daughters shopping and the three-year old wondered off to the top departments. I was a wreck. There was a call over the PA that a little girl's mommy is lost. I hurried and found my little girl sitting chatting to the security guard eating a cookie!
SO I cannot imagine when a child is really missing.
In this case Elizabeth is helping to chaperon the school’s costume party.
When the winner has been announced and Hollie did not win, Elizabeth knows she would be hurt so if looking for her. How could Hollie have passed by her and gone out the door? She had on a huge butterfly costume that was hard to miss.
After parents and teachers helping to look for Hollie with no luck, Hollie’s teacher suggests calling the police. Elizabeth immediately shakes her head no and says perhaps she make a mistake. The teacher has a suspicious look as do I.
Elizabeth knows that the police cannot get involved.t know. Elizabeth knows deep down that Hollie didn’t wandered off. She has been taken. Someone must know the truth about Elizabeth; we readers suspect it has something to do with her sister, Hollie’s aunt Sasha.

I was somewhat prepared for an emotional story since it involves a child. We are given clues slowly.
The ending was a wild ride!

This is my first JD Kirk. He also writes as Barry Hutchison an award-winning author, screenwriter, and writer of comics.
JD Kirk lives in the Highlands of Scotland with his wife, two children, and a number of sturdy umbrellas!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Day Scheduled for April 16, 2025.

My Daughter Is Missing by JD Kirk
Narrated by Cathleen McCarron
Bookouture Audio
Publication Date: April 16, 2025

This was a wild ride! An action-packed psychological thriller from start to finish with shocking twists at the end. Cathleen McCarron had the perfect accent for this book. She did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and making you feel their emotions.
4/5

#NetGalley #MyDaughterIsMissing #JDKirk #CathleenMcCarron #BookoutureAudio

I was lucky enough to receive this audio as an ARC from NetGalley and Mr. JD Kirk. Thank you so much for this opportunity.

Nine year old Hollie goes missing from a school Halloween costume party. Her mom (I’m American 😂) wont stop at anything to find her except maybe she will when it comes to telling the truth… Follow Elizabeth while she spends the weekend finding her daughter.

I really enjoyed this book finishing the audio quickly. Short chapters are always a plus for me and this book was great about that. I was guessing non stop about who took Hollie and what the secrets were that her mother was keeping. I guessed one of the twist fairly early on but still was shocked by the ending. I did feel a little uneasy in the last sentence as to “who” actually got Hollie back! Very exciting and fast pace. Great story, great narrator.

I read the Q&A for this novel and the author is pretty funny and sarcastic which I appreciate. Some dark humor in the book as well.

My Daughter Is Missing by JD Kirk

A BIG thank you to #NetGalley and #BookoutureAudio for sending me this ALC in return for my honest opinion.

About the book: Elizabeth’s whole world begins to crumble when she discovers that her daughter Holly has gone missing from a school Halloween disco. Elizabeth was helping out at the disco, so how did her daughter get past her without her seeing?
Elizabeth is in a complete state of panic, however, after a teacher and principal offer to call the police, Elizabeth instead acts like she has made a mistake. She does not want to get the police involved in fear of them finding out about her past. Elizabeth needs to find her daughter on her own and before it’s too late. What unfolds nexts is a fast paced roller coaster of events.

What I thought? This book starts off with a bang and it’s super fast paced all the way through. There are so many twists and turns to the point I was a little confused at times. All in all this book kept me hooked and I enjoyed it. I would rate this book 3.5/5 stars.

The narrator #CathleenMcCarron did an amazing job!

This book releases April 15, 2025

4.5*

I was so excited to listen to this standalone by one of my favourite authors. The plot deals with every parent's nightmare, when Elizabeth's daughter goes missing from a PTA event at her school. Holly has been kidnapped and Elizabeth can't call the police, so asks her batshit crazy sister, Sasha, to help. We are given no backstory except that there is something in Elizabeth's past that she needs to hide. The book is very fast paced and hurtles along, building up the tension., and Elizabeth's fear is palpable. There is a lot of violence so the book is not for the faint hearted.. I did guess the main twist but that didn't spoil my enjoyment.

The narrator, Cathleen McCarron, did a fantastic job, brilliantly conveying Elizabeth's frenzied search for Holly

Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture Audio and JD Kirk for the audio Arc of My Daughter is Missing,
Narrated by Cathleen McCarron

I'm ashamed to say this is the first JD Kirk books that Ive read and what have I been missing?!! I sat and listened to this one pretty much in one sitting as it was so captivating, We follow our main protagonist, who takes her daughter, Hollie to a school but when she goes to pick her up. She has gone missing. No one knows or has seen her. In a panic, Elizebeth recruits her sister to help her find her daughter and the mis-endevours that happen on the way.

What I like about this book is you are constantly questioning where this book is going. Is Elizebeth an unreliable narrator? Are the police really that unhelpful? Why has no one seen Hollie? The pacing and the plot spins you around a few times and then sets you off in a direction that I didn't expect for a while. I did however pick up on some very clear foreshadowing. Something else I love about speculative psychological thrillers. It keeps you guessing but if you read/listen well, the answers are there for you to find. I loved the big finale.

This book was also narrated by Cathleen McCarron. A new narrator for me but I absolutely loved her voice. It suited the mystery/thriller and pacing of this book completely.

4.5 stars for Storygraph, 4 stars for other review sites.

JD Kirk keeps the reader guessing throughout with this twisty mystery following Elizabeth, a woman whose daughter goes missing as her own secrets threaten to get in the way of her frantic search. It's well written and the narrator is great! There's some pretty gritty themes so be cautious if you're sensitive.

JD Kirk will keep you guessing in My Daughter Is Missing. This psychological thriller depicts any loving parent's worst nightmare: a child is abducted from a school event on Halloween night. Elizabeth, the main female character and single-parent, refuses to notify the police after she learns that her daughter Holly is missing. Is Elizabeth a unreliable narrator, or are the police genuinely not trustworthy? This tensive narrator technique heightens the pacing which is interspersed with dark, biting humor. My reviews are usually longer, but I do not want to spoil anyone's read. The pacing and content reminded me of Freida McFadden, S B Caves, and Gillian Flynn.

Audiobook: I am an audiobook enthusiast. I have my top 10 narrators that I will listen to, even if I don't know the author. I highly recommend Cathleen McCarron. She is more than a narrator; McCarron is a voice actor. Her work draws you into the story. Her range for voice acting is exceptional. I truly appreciated the accent; it built the story credibility.

My only dislike: the author held back for too long regarding why Elizabeth did not want to contact the police.

Thank you to #JDKirk, #CathleenMcCarron, #BookoutureAudio, and #NetGalley for my audiobook-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Invested from the beginning!
This book has you questioning everything.
Fun, easy to follow and, for me, mildly predictable ending. Which took zero value away from the ride this story takes you on.

Not my favorite and maybe it’s because of the Scottish accent throughout the audiobook I know that meshes with the story, but I found it distracting. I didn’t feel invested in the story. .

I’ve only read JD Kirk book before, A Litter Of Bones, around the time I was moving away from Police Procedurals. Seeing this new Psychological Thriller gave me the spark to try another one of his books.

My Daughter Is Missing tells Elizabeth’s story as she searches desperately for her nine-year-old daughter Hollie, who disappeared from a school Halloween disco. Elizabeth has secrets and won’t involve the Police or tell her partner the truth, it’s just her and her sister Sasha searching.

I really got into it as Elizabeth tries everything she can think of to try and track down her daughter. There’s a rich strand of sarky, often bleak humour. Cathleen McCarron does a brilliant job as narrator, looking at her credits she did Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and many Val McDermid audiobooks that I’ve enjoyed. You know you’re in safe hands.

There’s a particular twist which I wasn’t keen on, I’ve read it several times before and it very rarely comes off. It’s a shame, as soon as I suspected it was coming it affected my enjoyment. The effect that it will have on you depends how many times you’ve seen it done before.

Overall, very good, and the audiobook narration is excellent!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio

This book is full of drama and betrayal. I don't know how to give a review of this book without giving away spoilers. It's a page turner, and will have your emotions engaged.

3.75-4⭐️

I had the audiobook performed by Cathleen mcCarron who does a good job, the Scottish accent is subtle making it accessible for a wide audience.

Holly goes missing at a school Halloween disco, how did she get past her mom Elizabeth at the tuck shop, and why won’t she alert the police?

A departure from Kirk’s very popular Scottish crime series with this Scottish based Psychological thriller. It keeps the same short snappy fast paced chapters as his crime series. It has an easy going chatty style.

There’s a lot going on, it gets quite dark, but I found after a high tension start that for much of the book the tension levels were much lower. There was the constant wondering about the lack of action in one regard of the mother. It utilises one of the tropes that isn’t a favourite for me, as it also uses several other tropes, so it worked ok for me.

For a first delve into psychological thriller I feel that it’s accomplished, it’s a wild entertaining ride, but still managed to lag in the mid section for me with everything coming to a head at the end. I hope that he pursues in this genre.

I was completely surprised by the ending. What I thought was happening wasn’t it at all. I really enjoyed the suspense and story line. As a mom, it makes you wonder what lengths you would go to if you were in this situation. The characters were really dimensional and had depth as well. I enjoyed this story.

JD Kirk is a new author to me and I shall certainly be hunting out more of his books.

This wasn't what I was expecting, the pace was more frenetic and that, plus the narration coupled with my own active imagination had me turning this into a French farce at times ( with added gore).

I'd score this a 3.5 which is purely personal. The characterisation was good and the pace as described above was fast. However I still found some areas felt quite slow, especially in the middle. Lots of allusions to deep dark secrets which were somewhat explained. I worked the main twist out partway into the book so would have liked more around this but appreciate unless it were to be revealed earlier it would be hard to do.

It is quite difficult to review this fully without spoilers. On the whole I enjoyed it and suggest you settle down one afternoon, suspend belief and prepare to be entertained.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARaC which was very much appreciated.

This book was a true Rollercoaster ride full of twists and turns. I really enjoyed this author and will be recommending this book to all of my fellow readers! I look forward to reading more books by this author.

My Daughter Is Missing is the author’s first dabble into the psych thriller genre. As the DCI Jack Logan books are one of my favourite series, I was eager to dive in.

The book starts with a familiar scene, the PTA fundraising disco. Elizabeth has drawn the short straw, manning the snack table; the self appointed Queen Bee, Mabel Walker, allocating her the worst job. Meaning she is unable to see her daughter, Hollie, enjoying herself. As the monotonous evening draws to a close, it becomes apparent that Hollie has inexplicably disappeared.

The story starts at a pace, wasting no time. Hollie’s disappearance and Elizabeth’s desperate search for her, raise many questions. It quickly becomes clear that Elizabeth is hiding secrets. Secrets that have put her beloved daughter at risk, and secrets that make her isolated in her fear.

The characterisation is as good as you would expect from JD Kirk. The cast are all fully formed individuals, with their quirks and insecurities in tow. Though Elizabeth’s backstory is intentionally vague.

The narration is strong and sinister, giving a good sense of place, keeping me interested. Each character is distinctive and nuanced. Mabel’s voice in particular is perfect. When I hear it, it feels like someone is running their nails down a blackboard, which is how Elizabeth must feel when she hears her voice too.

I found myself a little frustrated during the middle part of the book. The story started at a pace, but then didn’t seem to progress at the same level, though the twists and turns kept coming. As the pages keep turning, everyone’s secrets are revealed in all their glory.

I found the ending to be slightly ambiguous, the intention possibly being for readers to join up the dots in their own minds. I did see part of the plot, before the reveal, but maybe this was part of the plan of the author. I love reading the DCI Jack Logan series, and I wanted to love this book too, but I just don’t think I was the right fit for the book. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I didn’t quite connect with it.

What is even happening! Elizabeth’s 9 year old daughter Hollie is missing. Apparently they had gotten into a fight and mom has some secrets. She says she will do anything to find her daughter, but proceeds to illogically blame everyone for her disappearance while trying to find Hollie herself. But, there is no reason she would create such chaos and not alert the police to help her.

Elizabeth’s sister Sasha is insane! I almost thought she was an Elizabeth’s split personality.

There is no backstory at all. The book just eludes to some mysterious nefarious past. But, nothing that connects to what would happen to Holly. The author provides no information to help the reader try to guess what is happening.

If this was not an ARC I would have DNFed it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. It will be published April 16, 2025

Elizabeth's 9 year old daughter goes missing at the end of a school celebration event triggering a wild roller-coaster ride of twists, turns and sinister events.
Fast-paced, gripping and intriguing right until the very last twist.
Expertly narrated creating a truly immersive experience.
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced listener copy of this gripping psychological thriller.

Finished this book in one day! I kept trying to guess the ending and had all sorts of predictions on what the outcome would be. Lots of surprises along the way that I wasn’t expecting though. Great narration and phenomenal book that keeps you wondering what the ending will be.