Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Missing Clarissa

❝ Marginalized people. Poor people, Native people, Black people, brown people, immigrants, queer and trans people. That’s who goes to prison, because that’s who the system is designed to hurt. ❞

I expected something more from this book, because I enjoyed the AGGTM series but turned out, that this book was a bit boring and just— OK. I can easily look over what will happen next, and what will be done next. Everything is easy to speculate. Although I agree that the plow in this book was committing but I still wish that this book was a tad longer to explore something so important because there are still plot holes even until I finished the book, even tho the last chapters were combusive. After all, Cam ( one of the MCs in this book. ) her outcome is something that I relish. Overall, will surely suggest this book for those who are inquisitive in the podcast-themed crime mystery genre, but still, if I can be honest, part of this story was missed for me.

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directorpurry's review

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

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sas_ram's review

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3.5

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itzbrianna's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

“But to miss something g also means to fail to teach it. A failure to catch. A failure to understand.”

Blair and Cam are two friends who take on the task of creating a true crime podcast around the biggest mystery in their small town-the disappearance of Clarissa Campbell. This story is incredibly chaotic in a very entertaining way.

The mystery of what happened to Clarissa is something I figured out very early on in the story but I kept reading to learn if I was right. Naturally, as mysteries do there will be paths that try to deter you from the journey but I trusted my gut with this one.

The characters are strangely lovable to me and they are young. Teenagers. So, they are also annoying and naive and sometimes self involved. This story was framed well and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. The climax happened very quick though and the ending of how everything played out was…..fast? Unmemorable? It was something but it’s not the good kind of something.

Up til that point though? It was a good story to read.

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fmr37's review

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medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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lilythebibliophile's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

This book is a perfect example of what I love about YA mysteries! I highly recommend listening to the audio version of this one, as the podcast episodes really come to life in that format.

♢ I loved our two teen detectives, Blair and Cam, and their relationship dynamic. They stood on their own as individuals with distinct personalities, and when they worked together their vastly different outlooks lent themselves to welcome comedic beats. They reminded me of Benny and Virginia in Strange Truth by Maggie Thrash, and I still think about how much I adore Benny and Virginia 5 years after reading the books.

♢ I also loved Blair and Cam’s friendship and how Ripley Jones took the time to develop their friendship on the page, even though they had been friends since middle school. It is rare in YA fiction that I come across a friendship pairing where I not only understand why two characters are friends, I also see how they are good for each other and make each other better people. I loved how they pushed and checked each other during their detective work.

♢ The podcast episodes were incredibly compelling. They added to the story and propelled the mystery forward. Now that podcasts are becoming more trendy to include in mystery novels, I sometimes feel that their presence in a mystery is unnecessary, but here it made complete sense and made the story difficult to stop reading (or, in my case, listening to).

♢ I just love Ripley Jones’ writing style. I feel like I was completely transported into the Pacific Northwest; the writing was atmospheric without using excessive description, and I can still envision each scene as if it was an actual place in my mind.

♢ The story moved forward at a fast clip, while still taking the time to develop the characters and their relationships with one another. I feel like Ripley Jones accomplished in 256 pages what some authors can’t accomplish in 400 or 500.

♢ I just want to restate how realistic and compelling Blair and Cameron were as characters. Blair’s dream of becoming a writer and her fraught relationship with her boyfriend, and Cam’s impulsiveness and her potential new relationship gave the story another dimension that I really appreciated. I also loved reading about Blair and Cam's family lives and how they impacted each of them.

♢ This book is engaging and funny (during appropriate moments). Do you know how hard it is to make words on paper funny? I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading Missing Clarissa.

♢ The dialogue in the novel felt realistic, too.

♢ I loved how the morals behind starting a true crime podcast were questioned here. Jones didn’t shy away from pointing out that true crime podcasts usually sensationalize crime and are only started to benefit the creator. Jones also explored topics like the taking of indigenous land by white settlers and how it is still going on today. There were so many complex themes in this book mixed in with its tight plot and lovable, realistic characters.

♢ Let’s talk about the ending of the novel (without going into spoilers). There was a lot I loved about it, and one thing I found disappointing.

I want to start off by saying that Missing Clarissa is an IP book, which means that the publisher had the plot idea for the novel (they own the copyright) and they hired Ripley Jones to write their idea. This means that Ripley Jones most likely had no control over who was the culprit behind the mystery or some of the other major plot points. Frankly, the fact that this is an IP book is mindblowing, because Ripley Jones made the novel feel fresh and alive, as if they had come up with everything themselves. Calling into question the ethics behind true crime journalism, and questioning the whole mystery genre as a whole?? Delicious. I’m sure Blair and Cam’s personalities came about organically during their writing process, as did all the other best parts of the book.

But the ending was a dead giveaway that this was an IP book. It was incredibly predictable to me, especially because of one glaringly obvious clue that is restated so many times throughout the book it would be ridiculous if readers did not take note of it.

The final faceoff between our detective(s) and our culprit felt innovative and unexpected. Ripley Jones is clearly a master at taking a run-of-the-mill mystery trope and putting their own spin on it, to the point where the idea feels completely theirs.

♢ Finally, I am so excited that this book is getting a sequel! When I saw it on Ripley Jones’ Goodreads page, it felt too good to be true. I hope this is the beginning of a long, 50 or so book series à la Nancy Drew. I’m not being hyperbolic; I loved this book that much.

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chymerra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

The disappearance of Clarissa Campbell shook the town of Oreville, Washington to its core. Her disappearance also intrigued the nation. A beautiful cheerleader with her life ahead of her disappears after a bonfire captivates the nation. Twenty years later, there are conspiracy theories and finger-pointing, but the case has gone cold. That is when Blair and Cameron (or Cami) come in. As part of a project for their journalism class, they decide to start a true crime podcast exploring her disappearance. As they start digging, they discover more about the case than what was reported. And what they ultimately uncover might kill them.

When I read the blurb for Missing Clarissa, I wasn’t impressed with it. I should have known not to judge the book by the blurb (or the cover if I am going to go there). This book was a great read. It kept me up late reading it. I was concerned about Cami and Blair (and their investigation), and I wanted to know what happened to Clarissa.

Usually, I would write the trigger warning at the end of the review, but I felt that these trigger warnings might be triggering more people. The trigger warnings are:

Adult/minor sexual relationships (off page-Clarissa plus other girls with her art teacher).
Sexual assault (off-page).
Murder
Rape (off-page).
Gun violence (Cami and Blair).
Violence
Murder
Cursing
Homophobia (off page, told by Clarissa’s boyfriend about what he did to a gay classmate).

If any of these trigger you, I recommend not reading this book.

What I liked the most about this book was how real it felt. The girls weren’t natural-born sleuths; they bumbled through the investigation with almost no tact (well, Cami did, Blair tried). They made enormous (and sometimes nearly catastrophic) mistakes. It made the book so much more enjoyable to read.

The main characters, Cami and Blair, were as opposite as they could get. Cami was brilliant, had no filter or tact, and tended to bulldoze her way through life. On the other hand, Blair was brilliant in her way, was cautious when approaching things, and moved along her lifepath cautiously. Their dynamic was perfect for the book. Together and separately, they clarified their investigation that made the book for me. Brilliant Cami made that final connection, and Blair figured out where Cami had gone and who she was with when Cami went missing.

I loved that the author made podcasts the book’s central focus (along with Clarissa’s disappearance). Again, Cami and Blair were not tech geniuses who knew how to set up their podcast. It was the opposite. Their podcast sounded like it was recorded in the bathroom, and they had zero editing skills. But even with that, they still got a decent following. I liked that the author included excerpts from the podcast at the end of the chapters. It tied everything together for me.

The main storyline of Missing Clarissa is the story of Clarissa’s disappearance. What I liked most was that it wasn’t cut and dry. It also showed that the investigation into her disappearance was bungled. I enjoyed watching it unravel as the girls tracked down witnesses, friends, and family. Each little bit of information gleaned was exciting. Of course, it did take a dark turn when the girls uncovered things about the sheriff, the former art teacher (who wasn’t as loved as he thought he was), and how that tied into the investigation. I wasn’t surprised at what was revealed (with the sheriff). To mess up an investigation that badly, there had to be outside forces in play. But I was surprised by what was revealed when they looked into the art teacher. I shouldn’t have been, considering the clues dropped and the sweep-it-under-the-rug mentality at schools in the 90s. What I was surprised about was the outcome of the investigation. I did not expect it to end as it did or the multiple investigations it spawned.

Several secondary storylines revolved around Blair, Cami, and their various relationships. I loved the one between Cami and her crush/soon-to-be girlfriend. Her coming out to her mom was hilarious. I was laughing my butt off that entire scene. Blair’s relationship with her boyfriend annoyed me. He was a jerk the whole book, and that scene towards the end gave me such satisfaction.

The end of Missing Clarissa was impressive. The twist on Clarissa’s missing person case and its fallout were well written. I did not see any of it coming. Several big revelations made me go, “No way.” It wasn’t a happy ending per se, but there was closure for many people and vindication for a man wrongly accused.

I would recommend Missing Clarissa to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and nongraphic sexual situations. Also, see my trigger warning paragraph.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, NetGalley, and Ripley Jones for allowing me to read and review Missing Clarissa. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

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katiemack's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is how realistic the teenagers are. Blair and Cam aren't professional podcasters, nor do they have expert insight into how to solve the twenty-year-old cold case of missing person Clarissa Campbell. They're just two seventeen-year-olds trying to complete a class project; their first attempt at podcasting goes awry, and their insecurities and lack of risk aversion permeate the story. I also love their concept of dating and romance and how to navigate that realm successfully (or, well, not-so-successfully). I'm glad Ripley Jones includes adults in the story, both as sources of information and levity; it creates some variety in perspective that's compelling.

The "villain" is predictable, but I still enjoyed solving the mystery with Blair and Cam.

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