Before She Disappeared: A Book Review

Title: Before She Disappeared

Author: Lisa Gardner

Genre: Suspense Thriller

# of pages: 400

Date of publication: 21st Jan 2021

Published by: Random House UK

Frankie Elkin solves cold cases for missing people. The police had stopped looking into these cases. One such missing person case takes her to Mattapan, a rough Boston neighborhood. Angelique Badeau disappeared outside of her school eleven months back. Angelique Badeau’s disappearance felt weird to Frankie. And to top that, she faced reluctance from Angelique’s family and the local Boston PD.
But someone in Mattapan doesn’t want the truth to come out. They will go to any lengths to stop her from investigating.

Before she disappeared follows the story of Frankie Elkin, who is fighting her demons. Her strength comes from solving these cold cases. She is a recovering alcoholic and goes to AA meetings diligently and found one in Mattapan too. Her knack for solving unsolved cases takes her to different parts of the country. She does this for her fulfillment and doesn’t make money out of it. She has a flair for asking the right questions and makes mindful observations to solve the case. The book starts with a fantastic opening, and it is a window that gives the reader a glimpse of Frankie and her involvement in this investigative business.

Angelique Badeau is a Haitian immigrant with dreams of becoming a doctor. She is a dedicated student, and her family loves her. But the day she goes missing, her younger brother Emmanuel is in despair. He wants nothing but her sister to come back home. He plays an important in her search.

The story moves smoothly and keeps thrilled, moving from one page to other. The case is not complicated but, the close-knit community of Mattapan is tough to penetrate. There are few characters, and they are easy to navigate through. Det Lotham, who was reluctant to help Frankie, comes around to help her eventually.

Lisa Gardner’s writing is impeccable and pulls you to keep flipping the pages. The author also described the neighborhood with so many intricate details that the readers can imagine the scenes with ease.
The book deals with sensitive issues of the current times, and the author handled them well.

Before she disappeared is a crime thriller with an amateur detective with a rock-like determination to solve missing cases.