Readers be aware, this book might tigger PTSD if you are a victim of sexual assault. Claudia tries to find what happened to her the night she was assaulted by two young men. Sexual assault happens all the time on college campuses. In this story, you add wealth and privilege the young men families believe they can make it all disappear. Claudia wants revenge. The writing was excellent. The plot is so relevant and the story is filled with lots of twist.
Thank you @NetGalley, @MinotaurBooks and @JuliaDahl for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

When I read the premise of this book, I was VERY intrigued. I loved every minute of this book. It captured themes of revenge, heartbreak, privilege, and pain. I would definitely recommend this book. Thank you, NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Missing Hours by Julia Dahl.

This is a story about a girl who goes missing. Her sister who just had a baby, and her freshly separated parents are getting more worried by the second. But Claudia isn't missing, she hiding out until she can figure out what happened to her. After waking up, knowing that she had been sexually assaulted, she seeks solace in a friend until she can face the real world.

I do love a good unfolding story, but this one just didn't quite have the punch it needed to be memorable. All of the characters were a bit vapid and uninteresting to me, and the plot seemed to drag. As far as thrillers go, I'd round this one up from 2.5 stars.

This was a quick and interesting read. By the title and cover, I expected a thriller (I rarely read the synopsis before reading books), but that's really not at all what this was. From the first chapter, I expected the book to have a different focus than it ultimately did, but that's not a bad thing.

There's so much I cannot say because it would be considered a spoiler. But essentially the book is about Claudia, a victim of sexual assault. The story addresses the fact that it is often the victims who are put under the microscope rather than the perpetrators, which I think is an important thing to highlight. It's so easy to judge others and it's ultimately really unfair to people that are victims of a crime to be examined and judged that way.

While the book kept my interest, it wasn't anything earth-shattering. There were some weak points and a strange repetition of the main character "filling a glass of water" and drinking it. It was repeated so many times that I actually it was somehow going to weirdly tie into the story...but...nope.

The character of Trevor was written in an interesting way. He was at times really kind and helpful, but in other ways really skeevy and a bit creepy. It bothered me a bit that his intentions really weren't all that pure, though I suspect this is sadly a realistic depiction of college friendships/relationships. It just made me feel that Claudia how so few people in her life that really had her best intentions at heart.

While I had sympathy for Claudia, she was not necessary likeable. I actually liked that though, because the reality is that victims of crimes, while absolutely deserving of justice, are often flawed people themselves. Claudia has her flaws and issues, but if anything, that just makes her real.

There were some aspects of the story that felt totally unnecessary, like they were just there as filler, especially in terms of Claudia's family.

Overall I would give this book a 3-star rating, meaning I liked it, but it's not one that will stick with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

this was a really enjoyable mystery novel, it had what I was looking for in this type of book. The characters were well done and I enjoyed reading this.

This thriller kept my interest through the first half and had a great New York City setting but there was something missing for me.

For those who are easily triggered, this book should be avoided because of a sexual assault that starts the story off. I assumed the painful event would set up a deeper character story but the focus turned to revenge and all the depth disappeared. The wealthy families didn't come across as interesting in a way that made me love or hate them. They were just kind of there. Honestly, I thought the "B-story" about a serial killer was way more interesting but it didn't really go anywhere.

Overall, it was a solid beach read, which was perfect since that's where I'm doing 90% of my reading these days, but I'd say it wasn't my favorite thriller of the fall.

I gobbled up this book in a few hours because of its fast paced plot and my (lacking) detective skills, but when you look at the overall picture, the story was lacking in depth. The bigger picture – Claudia piecing together what happened after an unfortunate and hazy evening is clouded over by, in my opinion, unfinished revenge plot points. Claudia disappears because she wants to seek revenge on the people who harmed her that evening, but the “how” and the aftermath was lost. It didn’t tie together as I had hoped. But overall, a really fun read.

I've been struggling to write a review of Julia Dahl's The Missing Hours. It took me longer to get through the book than I initially expected because the beginning of the book is so raw — I felt the protagonist's physical pain after reading it. That's a testament to Dahl's writing abilities. I had to put it aside for a bit and go back to it. But I found that the book went a bit off the rails for me in the second half. It turned into part revenge fantasy, part family drama, part social commentary. The combination didn't quite work for me but I'm eager to see what Dahl does next.

This was a fantastic character study of what happens to a woman (or to anyone) as a victim of sexual assault. It balances morality with revenge and how someone could survive and hopefully thrive in the aftermath. All with the page-turning characteristics of a thriller!

Wealth may shield the rich from many of society’s rules the rest of us face, but when Claudia Castro wakes up the next morning, she remembers nothing. Drinking led to a total blackout. And as she and a guy who lives in her dorm at NYU try to unravel what happened it turns out that she was videoed in a very compromising position. When the video makes it to the internet, she knows all hell will break out and she seeks revenge. She disappears and her family are desperate to find her. And if nothing else that being reminded that the internet has changed what is seen by the public is “revenge is best served cold.” Claudia makes sure of that.

I was given an advanced copy of this text by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was not my favorite. A serviceable novel, but Dahl brings nothing new to the genre.

LOVED this book! So good and it was so intriguing. Julia's storytelling is amazing and you truly get wrapped up into the lives of Claudia and Trevor.

Lot of TW in this book, including sexual assault, abusive relationships, violence and substance abuse.



Claudia Castro is one of NYC's it-girls. With a famous family, trust fund, closets full of designer cloths, a ton of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU's freshman year class, it looks like she has it all. Then one drunken night changes it all and Claudia comes homes battered, bruised and confused. She decides to lay low and then a video surfaces that can change it all.

Trevor, another fresham from Ohio stayed on campus for Spring Break, and unexpectedly makes friends with the infamous Claudia Castro, who is so out of his league. He knows she's hurting and someone wronged her, but doesn't quite know how to help.

Next thing you know, Claudia is missing. Now everyone is trying to piece together that fateful night to see if it provides any hints as to where Claudia can be.

This book was super engaging - absolute page turner. You don't always know who to trust and what's going to happen. Great book for the fall season!

I flew through this and found the prose to be addictive. The main character, Claudia, has led a privileged life. But nothing can protect her from predators who commit heinous acts towards her. It was heartbreaking to read at times hearing about what she went through. The story has a lot of action and moves along quickly. Claudia’s character is inspirational and I loved her tenacity, strength and resolve. This was a good one with a unique plot.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A little late to review this one after reading, but I do remember it rather well, which in and of itself is a good sign. Could be misconstrued as a simple rich girl gone missing thriller, there's more to this mystery than meets the eye. Claudia is missing - missing at first of her own accord. Seeking to find solace in something new and discovering herself to be more than meets the eye, her sudden disappearance may not be of her own volition. It's a gripping storyline and suprisingly realistic look at the vulnerability of women even when they seem to have it all. Difficult subject matter at times with potential reader triggers. Recommended reading.

The Missing Hours by Julia Dahl is a thriller about Claudia, a girl who has it all but is still extremely lonely. She has been through a lot but doesn't want to talk to her family about it, so she just runs away. There was a lot going on in this book, and much of it was unbelievable. So many bad decisions and so many unlikable characters. I felt bad for Claudia, but everything else about this book was unenjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a pretty short and sweet suspense novel about a girl who exacts revenge on some boys who sexually assaulted her. The book started out really dark which I was very here for but then it took a turn and the rest of the book focused more on her revenge plan which I didn’t enjoy as much and it wasn’t as thrilling as I wanted it to be.

I found this a very compelling and thought-provoking read.

On the surface, this is a thriller with youthful points of view aimed at a new adult audience. (The brutal subject matter shifts it just beyond the boundaries of young adult, though the narrative style fits that category.) But it's also an insightful if fleeting look at gendered violence, the role of social media in amplifying misogyny, and the corrupting influence of wealth and privilege. Claudia doesn't interrogate the role ready cash plays in her vanishing act. She doesn't recognize what helping her is costing Trevor, who isn't wealthy and risks his future. Trevor, too, is a complex character who is deeply sympathetic but is oblivious to his perception that having Claudia as a girlfriend could be an awesome sexual status booster. The adults in the lives of both the assaulted and the assaulters are drawn in sure, devastating full color.

Some readers may recoil at the subject matter. Others may find the way Claudia's initial attempts to reclaim her agency too close to the problematic rape-and-revenge trope that indulges in vigilante violence under a thin veneer of feminist rage. But Dahl doesn't make things simple. Claudia is not a very nice person. The criminals have their all-too-common excuses. The conclusion withholds a sense of justice served.

There's a lot to think about, but the pacing is so fast it's likely most of that thought will happen after the story ends.

I found this book to be trying to be too many things, was it primarily a mystery, revenge, or family dynamic based? However, I enjoyed the writing and would definitely pick up something else by this author.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for a copy of the arc in return for my honest review.

I found this firmly in the category of “ok” - not one I would read again or particularly recommend as nothing seemed to set it apart from others in this genre .