Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Girls Who Disappeared

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

17 reviews

drjoannehill's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Inauthentic book by numbers. More review coming soon.

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stewartl8's review

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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xabbeylongx's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Book Review:

I was really craving a thriller to read, one that would give me goosebumps and chill me, especially at night, and I can safely say that Douglas delivered that!

Honestly, I was dreading writing a review for this book (which is why it has taken me ages) because there was so much going on, it’s so hard to write about Everything lines up with everything in the story, and the plot is so carefully planned and thought out, it really is quite amazing. Douglas has a real knack with creating a thrilling atmosphere, and also writing realistic and exciting characters. I can’t even fault the plot.

I thought everything tied up so nicely at the end. Not in an unrealistic way; this actually felt real. Like everything was sorted, but not everything was a happy ending, you know? Which I quite like, especially for a thriller book. Of course, it would have been nice if those three girls had been found alive, but after all those years, it wasn’t likely. I like the absence of a happy ending, with the characters just getting by.

Overall, a really nice book, written quite well, and kept me gripped throughout with interesting characters and unique plot lines. Safe to say, Douglas is an author I plan to read more often!

Book Summary:

We follow Jenna, a journalist, as she’s investigating a case that happened twenty years ago, almost to the day. One day, Olivia and her friends, Sally (her best friend, whom she’s slightly jealous of), Katie and Tamzin, were driving along a road. The weather was pretty bad, and half of them were drunk. Olivia was driving, and she swerved to avoid hitting a man in the road. When she woke up, she was stuck in the car, but her friends were gone. For a moment, she thinks that they had crashed and her friends had left her, but then she realised that her friends were actually stolen.

Jenna is trying to make a podcast using this case, hoping to reopen it so that Olivia gets her say - although, she has never spoken to a journalist about the incident. There is a man called Ralph, who was at the scene of the crime and was a suspect for years, who also has a very odd relationship with Olivia. Not only that, but her Olivia’s boyfriend, Wesley, is very controlling, and also acts a bit suspect.

Whilst Jenna is trying to figure out what’s going on in the town where that incident occurred, there are people in the house next to her, when there isn’t supposed to be anyone living there. She reports it, but the owner of the house, Jay, says that it’s nothing and no one was there.

Unfortunately, everyone in the town seems to be lying. Olivia is drugged by her own boyfriend, Wes, and there are drugs being sold, which is what Ralph was arguing with Olivia about before he was murdered. She came to visit him the day it happened, and people all knew it must have been linked.

Olivia’s mum, Stace, and her group of friends, were the start of all this mess - conveniently, the parents of most of the people mentioned in the story. They all went on holiday together. At the time, she was dating someone, John-Paul, but then cheated on him with Derrick, someone who she quickly fell in love with. However, he wanted them to ship drugs across the border. John-Paul was accused of killing Derreck, after finding out that he was having an affair with his girlfriend. He was then arrested for smuggling drugs, which someone (we later find out that this was Stace) planted. The key word being ‘accused’, of him killing someone. In actual fact, after being released from prison, John-Paul found out Stace had had a child, and it was his. He tried to find them after he left prison. He accidentally crashed into Olivia’s cars, and he took her friends in his van. Because of the lack of attention and the loss of blood, they ended up dying. And Stace killed John-Paul in self-defence, as when he found out about the drugs, he went crazy, and tried to kill her. Samuel, John-Paul’s brother, moves into the house next door to Jenna. He was lead there because Stace and Jay would pretend John-Paul was still alive, and book into places using his name. Unfortunately, this got back to his brother, who was trying to find him, and that’s how they pieced all of that together. Jay was also part of the group that sold drugs.

Content Warnings

morethanmylupus's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

What happened to the 3 girls who disappeared one night on their way home - and what does the 4th girl who was left behind know?

I enjoyed this thriller. It kept me guessing for a fair chunk of the book. The POV is mostly between Olivia, the girl left behind, and a journalist who's come to town twenty years after the disappearance to do a story on the mystery. I liked both of their characters, but particularly the journalist, Jenna, was compelling.

I think this could have been a 4 star book for me if some things hadn't gotten in the way. For one, we suddenly get some flashbacks to a different group of people in the middle of the book. This was distracting and also gave away a lot of the mystery. For another, some the answer to the mystery of where the girls were was underwhelming although the mystery of why it happened was more interesting.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Content Warnings

ellal59's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

hematthews's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

ynaiita_5896's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This thriller is a nail biting, suspenseful read, packed with plot twists. The small town lends a perfect eerie atmosphere adding to the overall mystique of the storyline. The multiple POV and dual timeline help in creating a sense of urgency to unravel the truth behind the disappearance of three young girls who had their whole lives ahead of them.

I normally tend to dislike plots led by main characters that are detectives or journalists looking to unveil a mystery. This is usually because they tend to be unlovable characters. However, Jenna was believable. Her personal situation seemed irrelevant to the story but added colour to her personality.

Content Warnings

georg_11's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

vikiskiwis's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

clotalksbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This is an addictive listen, with me thinking oo just one more chapter! The switching timelines and POVs worked well, and added to the sense of mystery. I was shocked by every little twist/reveal. The narrators do a good job at the characters. Would recommend!

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