The Night She Went Missing by Kristen Bird, 4 Stars

An intriguing and twisty domestic suspense about loyalty and deceit in a tight-knit Texas community where parents are known to behave badly and people are not always who they appear to be.

Emily, a popular but bookish prep school senior, goes missing after a night out with friends. She was last seen leaving a party with Alex, a football player with a dubious reputation. But no one is talking.

Now three mothers, Catherine, Leslie and Morgan, friends turned frenemies, have their lives turned upside down as they are forced to look to their own children—and each other’s—for answers to questions they don’t want to ask.

Each mother is sure she knows who is responsible, but they all have their own secrets to keep and reputations to protect. And the lies they tell themselves and each other may just have the potential to be lethal in this riveting debut.

Advance Praise for The Night She Went Missing

“Pitch perfect suspense…The best debut I’ve read this year.” –Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author

“A great new voice in suspense… perfect for fans of Big Little Lies who thrive on stories of deceit in the suburban world. Beautiful writing and impressive character development anchor a truly devious plot.”
    —J.T. Ellison, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Her Dark Lies

““Atmospheric, twisty, heart-felt suspense…If you like small-town mysteries, dark secrets, moms with something to hide, beautiful prose and a tightly woven plot, this is the book for you.” —Amber Garza, author of Where I Left Her

“Bird’s gripping debut…does a good job dramatizing the extraordinary lengths mothers will go to protect their children. This twisty…tale of misdeeds among the privileged shows real promise.”–Publishers Weekly

My Review:

It took me a long time to get through this one. But it wasn’t for the normal reason. It really was a book I didn’t want to put down. But life kept happening and I had to time and again! It made me so mad. The Night She Went Missing is a fantastic read with amazing characters and an intriguing mystery at it’s core.

Emily doesn’t quite fit in. She’s gorgeous and smart, but a new transplant in her senior year of high school. It’s hard to meet friend when everyone has known each other forever and is busy making memories before college. Still, she has one friend, Alex. Never mind that half the town thinks he’s a rapist. She doesn’t believe it and he’s the only person who has been nice to her.

Still, when she disappears, her mom who wanted to trust Alex, her new friend’s son, is worried she made the worst mistake a mother can make. As everyone scrambles to figure out what happened to Emily, more secrets emerge. Secrets from years before and it’s hard to tell who is protecting who and if anyone is telling the truth.

When I learned that The Night She Went Missing was a debut, I was blown away. The book has everything. The characters are so clearly drawn it’s one of those that I wouldn’t be surprised to see a movie version of one of these days. Special thanks to Netgalley and MIRA for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now.

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