Ami's disappearance on her way to school tragically leads to the realization that a serial killer is active in the area. There are multiple POVs but this was distinguished by its setting in Lombardy. For fans of the genre.

*3 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was in two minds of whether to rate this as a 2 star or a 3 star, but ultimately I chose 3 because I was quite invested in the story by the end. I'm not sure if its because this book was translated into English, but at times it does seem a little disjointed from how I think it's supposed to be.

We get a varying number of POV's in this, which at first left me wondering what on earth was going on. I figured that I would eventually discover the reasoning behind this, because in a lot of crime novels they do have varying POV's at times.

In the end it does all tie together, which I was glad to see. For me the main character that I was concerned with, was Claps. He's the one that I liked the most, even though I didn't really connect with any of the characters. The mystery of the missing girls, and how many there actually were really had my intrigued once things got going, and I was surprised at some of the outcomes at the end. Some things I was able to pick who the culprit was, but others not so much, so it was a bit of mix of both there at the end for me.

Not the best crime novel I've ever read, but it wasn't terrible either.

I wanted to like this book but honestly but I was just bored. The story drug on and just couldn't hold my interest.

I wouldn't call it a thriller but its definately a mystery

I think this may have been translated because sometimes wording was just "off"

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest review.

This was the first book I have read by this author and I then purchased the second book with these characters, right after finishing it. I really liked Dr Claps and Police Officer Sensi, it was a great police procedural book, which lately seems to be my favorite genre. A young Senegal girl goes missing on her way to school and the case quickly goes cold, until Dr Claps comes into the picture and discovers, Ami is not the only girl to have gone missing. This book is told in several voices, including our killer, who is sick and twisted, but overall, it is the story of Claps and Sensi that are most intriguing. I really enjoyed the pace of this book and the twists and turn while they try to capture a killer before more children go missing. These are great characters! Cannot wait to read the next book.

A very enjoyable thriller. Highly recommend
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I really struggled with this.
I don't know if it's because I've read similar books to this before or because I just didn't enjoy it.
The pace didn't help either.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found the novel to be slow-paced and it wasn’t until about three quarters of the way through that it began to pick up. This book was translated from its original language, so I think that may be part of the reason I had a hard time following along at times. However, I did like the plot and found the ending to be unexpected!

**Thank you to NetGalley, Aria, and Monty Marsden for the opportunity to read Missing. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.**

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read this great book. I have not read anything by Monty Marsden before, but will change that now!
The book deals with one of my biggest fear – what if my child goes missing.  What is he dies........... The reader was shown the family’s grief, and I couldn’t wait to see who the bad guy was. Well done and worth the effort.

This story opens well, though as it was a translation from the original langusage, I assumed this was what explained the somewhat stilted style of writing. I found keeping up with the various characters, various PoV's and settings quite challenging as the author changed direction so often, so I had to keep going back and remind myself where I was in the plot.

The disabled Detective Claps with his hesitant speech pattern was distracting and made the pace even slower. There was no continuity in just how many bodies had been found or when, as both kept changing - maybe another translation problem. I don't normally give up on a book mid-way but I'm afraid I couldn't finish this one.

Marsden uses his debut novel to stir up chills in the reader while also developing a gripping murder mystery, unique for some of its characters and twists. I enjoyed this book set in Italy it's a police procedural crime thriller and centres around the disappearance of a young Senegal girl who vanishes on her way to school. It soon becomes apparent that she isn't going to come home and also that she isn't the first to fall victim to a killer who must be caught before he strikes again. Thank you for the ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and Aria for an ARC of “Missing” by Monty Marsden, in exchange for an honest review.

The daughter of an immigrant disappears from a small Italian town, and after a frantic search by the authorities and the townspeople, her body is later found. She is not the first immigrant daughter to go missing, but the first to come from a family in the country legally. The other families have been too fearful to contact the authorities about their missing daughters, which is what the killer was counting on; but now that they are aware of his existence, the hunt is on to find him before he kidnaps another.

This is a debut novel by the author, and it has a great premise, but perhaps due to the translation from Italian to English, I found the pacing slow and dialogue less than gripping, and had it not been a novel I agreed to read in exchange for a review, I likely would not have finished it. So I continued, and thankfully, about halfway through, the story finally began to pick up a little bit. It has some unexpected turns, and the author does a great job of including several possible suspects, so that the real culprit revealed at the end is still a surprise. He also provides glimpses into Dr. Trevis’ and Mr. Claps’ pasts that are intriguing enough to warrant their own novels, if the author was so inclined. I believe this is a good first effort by the author, and the quality will only improve with more experience. 2.5 stars

A good suspenseful read. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

I always have a weak spot for a good thriller and I have an (unhealthy?) obsession for stories about serial killers. Add an Italian setting and I was sold as soon as I read the blurb of Missing. The author Monty Marsden is actually Italian; something I didn't realize immediately, but it shows in the detailed descriptions and this book is in fact actually a translation. I was completely ready to dive into this serial killer mystery, but I ended up taking a very long time to finish it. I'm not sure if part of the essence of this story is lost in translation, but it all just felt way too chaotic and it took a long time before things started to make sense for me. The many POV switches distracted from the main plot and had me confused which characters were actually important in the story. That said, the introduction of Claps, suffering from aphasia (the struggle to comprehend and use words and verbal expressions) added a whole different level to the plot. He is a truly fascinating character and I enjoyed following his development. All in all Missing is not the best mystery I've read, although part might have been lost in translation and it did have its charm.

After a young girl goes missing on her way to school outside Milan, what begins as a missing persons case for the local police soon turns national. I think the Police investigations were rather slow and at times and the book kind of dragged in places. I wouldn't call this book a thriller but it was a very well written mystery and I was glad I persevered with it. Good read would read more by the author.

I have yet to post this review as was on the tour with a guest post

The story takes place near Milan, where a 14 year old girl of Senegalese descent vanishes one morning on her way to catch the bus to school. The investigation into her disappearance uncovers the unreported kidnappings of other young girls of African descent, and with the discovery of their mutilated remains, the hunt is on for a paedophile and serial killer.
This is a gripping crime novel, with lots of red herrings sprinkled throughout. I thoroughly recommend it and look forward to reading more from Monty Marsden.

I wouldn't call this book a thriller but it was a very well written mystery. A serial killer who abducts and kills children is on the loose and the killings go back many years. While I found the story to be a bit slow in parts, I really enjoyed following the police investigation and was quite impressed in the end. A good debut!

Missing is a thriller written by Monty Marsden. It came out late last year in December, and it is it is the authors debut.. It focuses on the disappearance and murder of underage girls, and the task to find their killer.

CONTENTS
The story starts off with an introduction, that tell us what happened to our main character, Claps, former psychiatrist and specialist in profiles of violent criminals. He was injured by a knife and lost his ability to speak. Since he is the narrator of this part, it becomes obvious that he just can't form his thoughts, rather than being unable to think straight.
The book also gives a definition of this state like in a dictionary.
We then jump back 100 days, and hear the story of Ami, a girl of senegalese origin that disappeared, until we are reunited with Claps who joins the investigation. Soon it becomes clear, that Ami is not the only little girl that was taken, and the search for the killer begins.

SOMETHING OVERALL
The book jumped between different points of view. At first we get to know something about our main character, Claps, and the police officer Sensi. But soon there are also parts written from the pov. of the killer, a psychiatrist, the girl that disappeared, and even her father. Most of the first part of the book, however, focuses on Sensi's investigation.

WRITING STYLE
The writing style was not bad, although something bothered me. Since the english version is in fact a translation this could be the reason, because it just felt...strange sometimes. There are expressions like "half twelve" that we have in German, but I never read them in any english book. This gives the impression the writer, or in this case, the translator was not a native speaker. The book does not have any big issues, otherwise, like spelling or grammar mistakes, it just did not feel genuinely english to me.
The beginning of the book was a little confusing. To me it was not always clear who was speaking and who was who, especially in the first 20 pages. Fortunately this chaged, and I had no problems following what was going on after that.

CHARCTERS
Claps as our main character ist very likeable. He is determined to help in finding the killer, although struggling with aphasia. I liked this quite a lot- it's something I'd never read about before.
Elaji, the father of Ami is also quite present. At some point of the story he decides to hunt down the killer of his daughter. At first he cooperates with Claps, but soon he acts entirely on his own. Personally, I think his senegalese origin and culture were described very well, but I hated the way he wouldn't talk to Claps and hide certain bits of information.
Professor Trevis, whose role becomes only clear as the story progresses (he treats the sister of a girl, who is involved), was not someone I liked at the beginning. But as I was past the middle of the book I slowly started to like him, now he's one of my favourites beside Claps.

OPINION
I liked the way the story was told very much. It gives a realistic account of how long it takes to solve a case, other than most thrillers, where everything happens in a few days time. I also love books where I get a few insights in the killers pov. It adds to the thrill.
I saw the end coming only in parts. I got one part right very early into the story, but I did not foresee the final plot twist, which is pleasing.
Also, while I think the author may have still a bit to learn, it's his first novel after all, there are some parts, (the one where the killer wants to kidnap another little girl and the pov changes constantly- I won't tell if he succeeds) that were especially brilliant.
Overall I can say, that I liked this book. The story is very good, and after the first 20-30 pages I had adjusted to the style of writing. I also have a soft spot for Claps. The fact that he has problems with his speech may be annoying while you read, but it's also something I've never read about before. I'm also a huge fan of books, where there is not only the police, but also some external (psychological) expert involved.

This means I can recommend this book to lovers of good crime fiction/thrillers. I enjoyed the story, as well as the characters, and I would without hesitation read a sequel.

Great read and easy to follow story line. Look forward to reading more from this author