The Missing by C.L. Taylor

Out now

Published by: Avon

Purchase from Amazon here

What’s it all about?

You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them.

But should you…?

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire, blames herself. She's not the only one. There isn't a single member of Billy's family that doesn't feel guilty. But the Wilkinson’s are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn't until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.

Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.

A mother's instinct is never wrong. Or is it?

Sometimes those closest to us are the ones with the most to hide…

So what did I think?

Excuse me whilst I fangirl over C.L. Taylor. I love her work!! I have read all 3 psychological thrillers that she has published, and I have not been disappointed in any of them. In fact, my only criticism of her work is how tired I am when reading her books as I can’t put them down and sleep!

Another creepy cover that hinted before I opened the first page that I was in for another roller coaster dark and gritty plot which was exactly what this turned out to be. As usual with the authors work things are not straight forward and as you read you wonder what parts to believe and what to question. Like many books in this genre the story revolves around a child that is missing. In fact, they have been missing for six months as we meet the family and it is certainly every parent’s worst nightmare. So it no surprise that the family are feeling scared, devastated, guilty and dumbfounded. But like lots of families, all is not what it seems on the surface, and there are questions to be asked.

Claire is the Mum and main character in this book. Much of what we see is from her perspective. However, what can we believe and who is she really? Suffering from blackouts and memory lapses there are situations that just seem odd and make no sense to her or others around her. Is she insane or ill?

The story is also interspersed with text messages between two people, but we don’t know their true identity as they use alias names. How much of a bearing do these messages have and who are behind them?

I know this book has had a mixed reception, but to me it was a tense page turner that kept me engrossed from start to finish. As with the authors other work, this plot has twists as well as casting doubt on many of the characters. What happened? Who was involved? Where is it all leading? I love books that are not always what they seem, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to suss everything out, so this was right up my street.

I would definitely recommend this fast moving, engrossing tense thriller and am looking forward to reading The Escape when it is released later this week.