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Just Another Missing Person: The gripping new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author

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This is full of twists, and from quite early on in the book too! It's engaging, a bit thrilling and really quite clever. Told in multi-POV, the pace of the book is great. While the mystery is quite mysterious, there's a significant focus on the characters as well. Although Julia is the MC, I found her character the weakest. The whole situation with her family was quite repetitive and I'm just never on board with a man who 20+ years DEEEEP into your marriage still has issues with your job and then blames you when he acts a fool. Either get on board or get tf outta the way is all I have to say. I thought Lewis' character was well-done. His all-consuming grief was demonstrated in a unique way and his motives are understandable.

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister

Let me get this out of the way. I’m trash for books that have so many identities I’m not sure who I am by the end. Just as I love books that bank hard to the right when you think it is going left. For instance, see my review of The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan for proof. I love books where you might have bits and pieces figured out, but the big picture twists? They slap you in the face and, most importantly, fit into the confines of the story. To be fair, Just Another Missing Person’s twists all fit within the story. They make sense. I won’t argue that piece.This was a buddy read with Mary Beth! Be sure to watch for her terrific review to see if this was also a four ⭐️ read for her! Dually, within the story, banking so hard to the left that I drove off a cliff, the character identities piled up into a mess. And again, I love identities within identities. So, for me to complain about characters having a multitude of identities and motives (known and unknown)? There is a serious problem. I was with the story for the first half, and then I just… lost. Completely lost. I even tried relistening to chapters, but nope. I couldn’t tell why the reveals mattered or connected (most of them, anyway). Part of me thinks there was just too much story in this story. Gillian McAllister just tried too hard.

Just Another Missing Person - Penguin Books UK

Told from multiple POVs in different timelines, I frequently found myself in a state of constant confusion. Julia is a detective who investigates missing persons cases. Most recently, she learns that 22 year old Olivia has disappeared. Olivia has no history of running away and was last seen on a CCTV mysteriously entering a dead end alley but never leaving. Julia thinks she knows what to expect with this case but has no idea what’s about to come. I have read 3 other Gillian McAllister's books. I have loved every other book, so naturally I dropped the other book I was reading and started Just Another Missing Person. This book did not disappoint while begging the question "how far would you go for someone you loved?" It was a slow burn at first but then continued to gain momentum while you drop your jaw at every corner you turn. Just Another Missing Person" was "just another book" that was waaay too disjointed and "all over the place" for my fastidious palate.When the book ended, I appreciated and applauded the author's clever twists, but felt that the book's storyline could have been better executed. While the start of the case looks to be rather bewildering at first blush, Julia, thanks to twenty years of service, knows what this kind of case will entail—plenty of long hours, desperate loved ones, and often way too few answers. What she doesn’t realize at the outset, however, is that this case is poised to barrel headlong into her personal life, challenging her long held beliefs in ways she never imagined.

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister Editions of Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister

One element that stood out, apart from her obvious gift of writing the twistiest twists, is the way McAllister writes her characters. So often, what makes a good thriller is feeling as though the reader can see themselves in the shoes of those characters involved, McAllister executes this with perfection. I can very easily see myself in any one of the characters at the heart of the story. This helped me to feel connected on an emotional level throughout. And made those twists hit extra hard (which is always a plus). The plot revolves around Olivia, a 22-year-old who disappeared without a trace, leaving behind many inconsistencies that rub Julia, the detective, the wrong way. During the investigation, she encounters a mysterious man who seems familiar, and soon she finds herself facing a difficult decision: to corrupt evidence to protect her family or risk losing her daughter forever by exposing the truth. And what if this case is connected to her past demons, the other missing women cases she still couldn't solve, all leading to her own destiny? Because there's a man out there. And his weapon isn't a gun, or a knife: it's a secret. Her worst one. Each character in this thriller must grapple with the decision to “do the right thing.” They are fully developed and flawed in unique ways. However, they are all intriguing and I was invested in their individual quests to find out the truth. There are two major twists in this plot, one at around 50%, and the other near the end. Both are satisfying, but not over the top. I was very surprised to learn that McAllister is about to become a mother for the first time, because the plots in her books always involve protective mother characters, who will do anything for their children.The plot is riddled with mysteries like Easter eggs that you have to uncover one by one, all interconnected. Just when you think you've solved the main mystery, the author throws another puzzle piece your way, leaving you screaming in surprise as you start theorizing all over again. Remember how I just said it could have been a half-hour sitcom? Truly that isn’t just because of how the book ended. It should have been a half-hour sitcom because it was so repetitive. And repetitive is always bad, but repetitive confusion? If that isn’t the saltiest salt in the biggest of wounds. Cut down the repetition, and this book would have benefited from being shorter. Hell, maybe it would have been less confusing. #5 The Pacing… What Even Is Pacing? Repetition -- oh my gosh, so much repetition of what is in Julia's mind. they also keep asking each other "are you okay", not sure why that was repeated so many times but it irritated me.

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