Title: The Missing
Author: Daisy Pearce
# of pages: 304
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Expected date of publication: 9th June 2020
Published by: Amazon Publishing
“Hope can be paralysing!”
– Anonymous
Samantha’s daughter Edie went missing 18 years ago. She was 15 years old, troubled child. But did she not deserve to be found? For the neighbours and the authorities, the answer was yes. She was a troublemaker and people could not care less. They never found her!
Frances lives in Swindon with her husband. They go to Lewes to look after Mimi, William’s mother, who met with an accident. She meets Samantha and feels for her. She can see Samantha lives hoping to see her daughter again. Frances feels drawn to the case of Edie’s disappearance and starts asking questions. But few mysteries are better left buried because they are precious than life!
This is my first book by the author and I loved how she portrayed how the society judges people based on their social and economic status. Edie’s disappearance did not raise any eyebrows. Even the police said, “Girls like Edie… come back after her stint on the road”. There was no help from the authorities or the neighbours. Samantha could see the blatant discrimination but could not raise her voice against them. She had her secrets to hide.
The author vividly painted the picture of a mother who lived in hope, desperation and in constant pain. She did not just lose her daughter, but everything along with it. She keeps looking back at her past to understand what clue she might have missed or the worst if she didn’t treat her daughter well. She appears distraught, lost friends and job.
The book is a slow burner. It takes time to build upon the story and the mystery. Through the chapters, we read about Samantha and Frances (it’s not as descriptive as Sam’s but still a fair share).
The Missing is a grim tale of judgement, lies and being cocooned in hope forever only to drain the life force out of you.
My rating 3.5 stars.
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