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robertjackson's review against another edition
4.0
Great author!! A book full of suspense with lots of twists and turns. A vvery accurate insight into human frailties and relationships!
krazycatmom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
keller_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
qu33nofbookz's review against another edition
1.0
Advanced warning for trigger readers, this book contains rape and victim blaming and an outlook that promotes rape culture.
15 year old Billy is missing, disappeared one day never to be seen or heard from again. Six months after his disappearance his family is falling apart. His dad, Mark, a cold fish now icy shuts out his wife Claire and bullies his older son Jake. Jake has turned into a drunken mess and fights with his live in girlfriend Kira. Kira has turned into a frightened closeted recluse. Claire goes bat shit crazy (after being completely fine so far!) after reading in the paper a reporter's speculation that the family knows something about Billy's disappearance the day after a media appeal gone wrong.
Up until this point the book was getting along just fine. The story gets jumbled, and annoying from this point on as Claire becomes a hot mess of a narrator (also every chapter ends with a cliffhanger). The now cliche of unreliable narrator takes over as Claire blacks out and wakes up with no memory of what happened, as she does do things (much like a sleep walker and we have to wait to find out what). She also loses all sense of self preservation and does things even a five year old knows not to do. On her way to find out what is going on we learn a few disturbing things.
I find it very hard to believe that no one in this house noticed that for months this shit with Billy was going on. We learn that he's a little piss-ant/asshole who is a budding psychopath and sexual sadist who walks all over his parents and they do nothing about this or his behavior and actions. Claire goes on and on about how she will always love him and support him and never do anything to him no matter what he does including rape and murder but really? In the end she forgives him with the reasoning that all teenage boys go through a phase and act out and boys will be boys! Yes! Because acting like a shit to your parents, blackmailing and raping a girl repeatedly to the point she tries to commit suicide is just a phase in life and half of it is the girls' fault, that she brought this on herself. Way to go Mrs. Taylor!
I'd give this zero or negative stars if I could.
15 year old Billy is missing, disappeared one day never to be seen or heard from again. Six months after his disappearance his family is falling apart. His dad, Mark, a cold fish now icy shuts out his wife Claire and bullies his older son Jake. Jake has turned into a drunken mess and fights with his live in girlfriend Kira. Kira has turned into a frightened closeted recluse. Claire goes bat shit crazy (after being completely fine so far!) after reading in the paper a reporter's speculation that the family knows something about Billy's disappearance the day after a media appeal gone wrong.
Up until this point the book was getting along just fine. The story gets jumbled, and annoying from this point on as Claire becomes a hot mess of a narrator (also every chapter ends with a cliffhanger). The now cliche of unreliable narrator takes over as Claire blacks out and wakes up with no memory of what happened, as she does do things (much like a sleep walker and we have to wait to find out what). She also loses all sense of self preservation and does things even a five year old knows not to do. On her way to find out what is going on we learn a few disturbing things.
Spoiler
Mark almost got fired, almost cheated on Claire after kissing his son's teacher, and has a criminal record for sex with a minor when he was a teen and lied about it. Jake had been virtually cheating on Kira with a girl on Tinder and has downloaded child porn in order to lure in a pedophile so he can beat the crap out of him because a pedophile may have killed Billy. Claire has started going off to investigate things on her own and sees Billy everywhere and chases down random people because of this. Kira is closed off because Billy has been blackmailing and raping her continuously as he has become obsessed with her.I find it very hard to believe that no one in this house noticed that for months this shit with Billy was going on. We learn that he's a little piss-ant/asshole who is a budding psychopath and sexual sadist who walks all over his parents and they do nothing about this or his behavior and actions. Claire goes on and on about how she will always love him and support him and never do anything to him no matter what he does including rape and murder but really? In the end she forgives him with the reasoning that all teenage boys go through a phase and act out and boys will be boys! Yes! Because acting like a shit to your parents, blackmailing and raping a girl repeatedly to the point she tries to commit suicide is just a phase in life and half of it is the girls' fault, that she brought this on herself. Way to go Mrs. Taylor!
I'd give this zero or negative stars if I could.
pettjo's review against another edition
4.0
Absolute page-turner! I was about 100 pages in after the first hour. The narrative is cleverly written so that most chapters end with a hook that makes you want to keep going and going. The plot kept me guessing right to the end.
shonataylor's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
btpbookclub's review against another edition
5.0
You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them... Or do you?
When fifteen year old Billy goes missing his mother (Claire) blames herself and she's not the only one. All of Billy's family feel guilty! But Billy's family are use to keeping secrets from each other UNTIL six months later after an appeal goes wrong the truth begins to surface. Claire is adamant that Billy is still alive and non of her friends or family were a part of Billy's disappearance. A mothers instinct is never wrong... Or is it?
You'll have to read it yourself in order to find out!
C.L. Taylor has done it again and produced another outstanding thriller!
I awarded five stars to this book as I was hooked throughout and did not work out the plot until all was revealed (yes I was shocked). Thanks to Netgalley I got the chance to read this amazing story. The Missing will be released 21/04/2016 and I would highly recommend you buy it, this is the perfect story for readers who enjoy a great thriller, mystery and would make the ideal story to discuss if you are part of a book club. The Missing is easy to read, well written, fast paced and a page turner for sure which I highly enjoyed. C.L. Taylor has also written two other stories The Lie and The Accident, they are all stand alones and brilliant! I have read the Lie and also awarded five stars to that and have the Accident waiting for me on my kindle.
Amazing story. Enjoy.
When fifteen year old Billy goes missing his mother (Claire) blames herself and she's not the only one. All of Billy's family feel guilty! But Billy's family are use to keeping secrets from each other UNTIL six months later after an appeal goes wrong the truth begins to surface. Claire is adamant that Billy is still alive and non of her friends or family were a part of Billy's disappearance. A mothers instinct is never wrong... Or is it?
You'll have to read it yourself in order to find out!
C.L. Taylor has done it again and produced another outstanding thriller!
I awarded five stars to this book as I was hooked throughout and did not work out the plot until all was revealed (yes I was shocked). Thanks to Netgalley I got the chance to read this amazing story. The Missing will be released 21/04/2016 and I would highly recommend you buy it, this is the perfect story for readers who enjoy a great thriller, mystery and would make the ideal story to discuss if you are part of a book club. The Missing is easy to read, well written, fast paced and a page turner for sure which I highly enjoyed. C.L. Taylor has also written two other stories The Lie and The Accident, they are all stand alones and brilliant! I have read the Lie and also awarded five stars to that and have the Accident waiting for me on my kindle.
Amazing story. Enjoy.
kizzaix's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this but found the ending to be a let down :(