The Girls Who Disappeared: From the author of No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller, ...

This is the second book I have read by the author and another great read! My interest was instantly piqued at how three women could just completely disappear. I felt sorry for Olivia who suffers not only with the physical injuries from the car accident but the survivor guilt that comes along with it. Along with the other women’s families, she is also left wondering as to what could have happened to them. Jenna is a great character. A reporter who is setting up a podcast into the disappearance of the women as it is the twentieth anniversary of the tragic incident. The town where it happened also as a history of odd and strange things happening which added to the mystery and scare factor. I was truly gripped as she interviews the different people and starts to get closer to uncovering the truth which puts her in danger. It had me racing through the pages! The Girls Who Disappeared is the second novel I have read by Claire Douglas and was another thrilling read. I was completely hooked and couldn’t put it down. The mystery and suspense had me hanging off every word and had the adrenaline coursing through my body. I was suspicious of everyone and I didn’t work anything out until it was revealed which led to some shocking reading. Loved it!

This is an intriguing mystery tale focused on a cold case. In 1998 Olivia Rutherford was driving three of her friends home from a night out when a dark figure in the road and a bright light caused her to roll the car. Some time later Olivia finds herself regaining consciousness in the car but her companions are nowhere to be seen. Twenty years later they are still missing. The arrival of Jenna, a journalist who has come to make a podcast about the mystery stirs up old memories and renewed interest in the case. Much of the narrative is told from Jenna's perspective with occasional chapters from Olivia and a few from someone who calls herself Stace, who is on holiday in Thailand with some friends. Jenna soon begins to feel that she might be in danger, and senses that Olivia and others are withholding information from her, Although the narrative mostly held my interest it was rather uneven and I began to feel bogged down around halfway through as Jenna's researches were yielding little other than a veiled sense of threat. I was glad I stuck with it as the pace picked up again and the second half was quite compulsive reading. Stace's story, while seemingly unconnected to the main narrative was interesting in its own right and at the finale of the novel the connection between Stace and the missing girls was laid bare. It was a clever plot with a fairly satisfying conclusion although I did think the ending was a little messy. especially regarding the deliberate misdirections that were revealed and which in hindsight had added little to the plot. However, these quibbles aside, I enjoyed the book and felt quite sad that I'd finished it. I will look for more from this author.

Loved this with all its twists and turns

Rating: 3.2/5 This is my second experience of the work of Claire Douglas, having previously read her impressive "The Couple at No.9". Although the storyline here is significantly different, there are a number of stylistic similarities. Like its predecessor this has a slow build-up (far too slow, in my opinion - but more of that later), the characterisation is reassuringly solid and there is a gradual disclosure of pertinent background information that relates to the eventual solving of the mystery. The narrative is told predominantly from two perspectives. There is Olivia, a woman in her late thirties, who was involved in a car accident some twenty years earlier along with three of her friends. Olivia survived the crash after being rendered unconscious, but her companions had all mysteriously disappeared when she regained consciousness. The second point of view is provided by Jenna, a journalist looking into the case with the intention of making a podcast about it. Intermittently, there is also a third viewpoint, written in italics, though it is not immediately apparent who is providing this account or when the events are taking place. Clearly, this will have relevance to the central mystery (because that is just how these things work), but the connection will not become clear until much later in the piece. Ultimately, I quite enjoyed "The Girls Who Disappeared". There are one or two aspects that stretch credulity a little, but I can live with that within the parameters of creative dramatic fiction. I was more concerned with the amount of time that the story took to get into its stride. It is only in the final third - and predominantly in the final quarter - that the pace really begins to pick up. It is also a touch worrying that Claire Douglas admits in the "Acknowledgements" that it was only after she had had the notes back from her editor that she "could see more clearly what I needed to do to make the book sharper, pacier and tighter, and I ended up cutting out nearly fifteen thousand words". When I read that, I found myself thinking, "Wow! If this is the souped-up, pacier version, I dread to think how much that previous draft would have dragged!" But hey! That's what editors are for, and even though I think the end product would still have benefitted from an earlier injection of pace, it is still an enjoyable and worthwhile read. (Provided that you are prepared to stick with it, of course!)

Never read any of Claire’s books before but the plot seemed right up my street for a holiday read. The pacing was good , one of my main criticisms of thrillers often is the slow pace but this hops along well- finished in just over 3 days . You really do want to know what happened to the girls the night they disappeared. There are just enough twists and details to keep it interesting . My only main criticism is the ending - even though there are references to the ending throughout the book, it still feels rushed and totally off beam with the rest of the book . Not in keeping with a couple of the character descriptions either making it even more unbelievable . That being said, if you enjoy these kind of thrillers, it is still worth a read !

GOOD VALUE

Wow this book had you on the edge of your sit right till the very last page! It was one twist after another from start to finish, and the plots kept on coming. Excellently well written novel, from Claire. I was recommended this book and I throughly enjoyed every page. I will definitely recommend this novel onto those keen readers who enjoy a physiological fast pace thriller.

I have read some other books by this author and enjoyed them. I was in the mood for a book that would suck me into the story and I wasn’t disappointed. In 1998, a teenage Olivia and her friends are in a car accident. When Olivia comes round, her friends are gone. Twenty years later, her friends have never been seen or heard from since the night of the accident. Jenna, a journalist, is making a podcast on the case but the locals don’t take kindly to her asking questions. What do they have to hide? This is a story with good characters and some real twists! I was suspicious of nearly everyone and had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. The description of the location is eerie and adds to the atmosphere of the story. I flew through this book and thought it was a good read. The ending is quite satisfying and there aren’t lots of loose ends. I would recommend this book and think it would be a good holiday read. Perhaps not if you’re staying in a cabin in the woods! Looking forward to more from this author.

Je viens de terminer la lecture de ce livre que j'ai beaucoup apprécié. Encore une fois je suis toujours tres étonnée de l'imagination de ces écrivains de polars qui vous tiennent en haleine jusqu'à littéralement la dernière ligne du récit.

I gave 4 Stars to Claire Douglas’s latest thriller, “The Girls Who Disappeared.” SUMMARY Jenna was planning to spend several days in a small town to investigate a very intriguing cold case for her true crime podcast. In 1998, there had been 4 teenagers involved in a car accident, but when the ambulance arrived there was only one girl, Olivia, in the car. The other three girls somehow disappeared while Olivia was blacked out and had never been heard from again. There were many theories about what had happened ranging from; them running away and starting a new life to an alien abduction. Plus, the town had a very haunted reputation which added a whole new element. Jenna was determined to find out what happened. Additionally, there are chapters with a seemingly unrelated story about a group of 20-something on a trip to Thailand staying at a mysteriously rich “friend or a friend’s” house. As Jenna starts asking around, talking to various residents of the town, she begins to realize that there is much more happening under the surface of the town. WHAT I LOVED I loved the possibility of a haunting! That was super fun! I adore Brit-Lit and this was Brit-Lit at it's finest. I loved the characters, Claire Douglas managed to create characters who were simultaneously strong but vulnerable. I loved trying to figure out how the Thailand story fit into the plot. It was just a fun story to read! WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE The ending didn’t seem super realistic to me. I was a little disappointed in it. OVERALL This was a very fun book to read. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves a twisty thriller with great characters, and the possibility of a haunting.

Claire Douglas has done it again. A brilliant plot and a flawless narration as usual. The mysterious disappearance of three girs and the effort of finding the truth after a time gap of twenty years is breathtaking. A must read for all lovers of domestic thrillers and five stars for me.

Until the end you could never guess

Interesante