A review by jlaney
Local Girl Missing by Claire Douglas
3.0
This was a page turner but weirdly, there was a -ton- of product placement, especially closer to the beginning. Name dropping expensive brands makes Frankie come of as a little bit of a mary sue.
The writing is not horrible. It's very readable. There are many cliches, though, and while the differing perspectives were pretty good, I believe there were instances of different characters using the same phrasing about similar situations that just stood out for some reason Then again, I'm not from the country this book takes place in so maybe those are just far more common phrases there.
There were also plot points that were kind of odd. The one that's weirdest to me is centered around when //mild spoilers about one thing without naming any real names// Clearly I'm more bothered by this than I should be. lol
I'm sorry, I don't mean to tear this book apart because I did like it, I just have issues. Overall, it was still a good book and an enjoyable read.
The writing is not horrible. It's very readable. There are many cliches, though, and while the differing perspectives were pretty good, I believe there were instances of different characters using the same phrasing about similar situations that just stood out for some reason Then again, I'm not from the country this book takes place in so maybe those are just far more common phrases there.
There were also plot points that were kind of odd. The one that's weirdest to me is centered around when //mild spoilers about one thing without naming any real names//
Spoiler
the sound of a baby crying is played at night to bother Frankie. I'm sure that sound in particular was used by the person who did it because it's an annoying but feasible apartment noise, but that specific sound and the coincidence that she'd had miscarriages and trouble conceiving (which to be fair happens to many women) seemed too neat. The person who did it didn't find out until afterwards that she'd had fertility issues and it's never said why they choose that particular sound so it comes off as being shoehorned in just to have something for her to be weirded out about. Added to that, it's odd that the old woman in the downstairs apartment apparently didn't hear this sound whatsoever despite having seemingly fine hearing. She didn't like Frankie and gave her the old newspaper and possibly slipped some of the letters to Frankie, this is true, but those were technically from someone else and she wasn't blatantly in on any of the rest. She also has a pacifier which is brought in for spook value but there's no reason for her to have one. She says it was with the newspaper but then admits someone gave her the newspaper and she keeps the pacifier. There's no baby. Was she in on it after all? It doesn't say she was.I'm sorry, I don't mean to tear this book apart because I did like it, I just have issues. Overall, it was still a good book and an enjoyable read.