thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
3.0
Read for Review/Listened for Fun (Edelweiss/Audible)
Tracking Books Read Review (Short)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 3.50
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: I can see why Girl Missing is what Tess Gerritsen calls a "bridge" novel. The mystery was strong, there was a romance, but the characters are more along the lines of her more recent novels (takes awhile for you to warm up to them but when you like them they are fantastic).
Overall Thoughts: I really enjoyed reading Girl Missing. I knew that Tess had written romantic suspense in the past but had never tried them. Tess is a brilliant mystery writer and her case work is stellar. The methodical way she takes you step by step through solving the crime with the characters is a big reason she is one of my favorites. In Girl Missing, the case was super strong and fun to figure out. I wasn't a fan of the romance but also didn't think it distracted from the story. This is early Tess but still very good Tess!
Audio Thoughts:
I am a fan of Susan's narration. She has a great tone for procedural books (she does the JD Robb series too) and strong/smart women are right up her alley. She did a very good job with Girl Missing!
Final Thoughts: I would recommend this to fans of Tess even if you aren't a fan of romance. It was a darn good case!
Tracking Books Read Review (Short)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 3.50
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: I can see why Girl Missing is what Tess Gerritsen calls a "bridge" novel. The mystery was strong, there was a romance, but the characters are more along the lines of her more recent novels (takes awhile for you to warm up to them but when you like them they are fantastic).
Overall Thoughts: I really enjoyed reading Girl Missing. I knew that Tess had written romantic suspense in the past but had never tried them. Tess is a brilliant mystery writer and her case work is stellar. The methodical way she takes you step by step through solving the crime with the characters is a big reason she is one of my favorites. In Girl Missing, the case was super strong and fun to figure out. I wasn't a fan of the romance but also didn't think it distracted from the story. This is early Tess but still very good Tess!
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated By Susan Ericksen / Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
I am a fan of Susan's narration. She has a great tone for procedural books (she does the JD Robb series too) and strong/smart women are right up her alley. She did a very good job with Girl Missing!
Final Thoughts: I would recommend this to fans of Tess even if you aren't a fan of romance. It was a darn good case!
spiralinghallways's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, and Murder
Moderate: Grief and Gore
emmyshaws218's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
sennowa's review against another edition
3.0
This is just fine for what it is. Of this genre and format, this is probably one of the better books I've read over the years. I like the characters, though it occasionally felt like the male lead was following whatever the situation needed rather than an actual consistent character (several scenes with him felt almost like he was replaced by someone else, though the characterization was more or less ironed out towards the end of the book).
Some characters and their related subplots feel like a late addition to the story that wasn't properly mapped out and got into the final script without a previous draft - the flip-flop relation of the characters towards Maeve is one that felt like that to me. I do like that the 2 main characters have chemistry, but some of their romantic moments, especially at the very beginning, came entirely out of nowhere and were awkwardly placed in-between no romantic dialogue/thinking whatsoever, so I still placed it on my "poorly paced romance" shelf even though I feel like it's a solidly structured relationship at the end.
The book does suffer some pacing issues - the beginning and the last third feel pretty solid, but a quarter through to the middle it starts dragging and scenes don't connect well with each other, subplots get introduced one after another in a way that overshadows the previous ones, but it's not too noticeable, so for all I know this is just a personal issue for me.
One thing I did enjoy is that this book has relatively okay(-ish) politics, which I never expect of this genre. But cops aren't monumentally good guys, the main characters care about addicts and poverty-stricken people, at least a bit, and all the people who don't are portrayed as not really good people altogether. All in all, that's more than I have expected of this, even if there are undoubtedly still issues. The male lead is a political blank slate though, which I guess is a way to avoid a conversation about wealth and inequality, which in retrospect the book exploits but does almost nothing with and has no legitimate conversations about. Oh and the main character drinking and driving? Definitely didn't like that.
Overall, this is, again, a perfectly okay book for what it is, and it doesn't pretend to be more than that. Quick and easy, I found it still enjoyable to read even with all that I've mentioned above.
Some characters and their related subplots feel like a late addition to the story that wasn't properly mapped out and got into the final script without a previous draft - the flip-flop relation of the characters towards Maeve is one that felt like that to me. I do like that the 2 main characters have chemistry, but some of their romantic moments, especially at the very beginning, came entirely out of nowhere and were awkwardly placed in-between no romantic dialogue/thinking whatsoever, so I still placed it on my "poorly paced romance" shelf even though I feel like it's a solidly structured relationship at the end.
The book does suffer some pacing issues - the beginning and the last third feel pretty solid, but a quarter through to the middle it starts dragging and scenes don't connect well with each other, subplots get introduced one after another in a way that overshadows the previous ones, but it's not too noticeable, so for all I know this is just a personal issue for me.
One thing I did enjoy is that this book has relatively okay(-ish) politics, which I never expect of this genre. But cops aren't monumentally good guys, the main characters care about addicts and poverty-stricken people, at least a bit, and all the people who don't are portrayed as not really good people altogether. All in all, that's more than I have expected of this, even if there are undoubtedly still issues. The male lead is a political blank slate though, which I guess is a way to avoid a conversation about wealth and inequality, which in retrospect the book exploits but does almost nothing with and has no legitimate conversations about. Oh and the main character drinking and driving? Definitely didn't like that.
Overall, this is, again, a perfectly okay book for what it is, and it doesn't pretend to be more than that. Quick and easy, I found it still enjoyable to read even with all that I've mentioned above.
tessa_g's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
justelw's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
aberman's review
4.0
A quick read, the story will keep you on the edge of your seat. I'm not a big fan of every mystery including a love story, but I did enjoy the characters and their interactions. Definitely worthwhile to read. An excellent book for the beach or when you are looking for something fun and fast.
(I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.)
(I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.)
amykearney11's review against another edition
4.0
This was good I enjoyed reading this :) not as good as the Rizzoli and Isles series but I love Tess Gerristen’s style of writing :)