Liked the reality of the story that this could happen which the way social media is now heavily dominated. Very upsetting too that Chloe had to endure everything for her mother to feel good about herself. Definitely heartbreaking.

Chloe Cates is Missing grabbed my attention because of the intriguing plot. Teenage social media influencer goes missing. Our culture is so intrigued by the daily hum drum lives of the few who have figured out how to chronicle everything via social media. And I wish it was just fiction, but so often everyday life (and tragedy) does touch the untouchable and we are all fascinated by that.

McHugh does an amazing job spinning the tale of a girl whose mom started a blog to stay relevant and as the years went on, became obsessed with the blog to the point where she no longer really cared about the welfare of her own child. I normally don't have deep feelings about characters and it's been a really long time since I've disliked a character as much as I hated Jennifer.

In a lot of ways, the way we share on social media is a generational thing. And many parents don't hesitate to share every aspect of their family's (and children's) lives via social media. I can't say I've never been guilty of it, even my seven-year old will ask me not to post specific things to social media. Chloe Cates Is Missing brings up some important issues surrounding how much of our children's social media identify should be determined by us instead of them.

I highly recommend Chloe Cates Is Missing to readers of suspense and mystery. The character development is spot on and the story keeps getting better as it progresses. Special thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out January 18, 2022.

I really struggled to get through this one. While the storyline was interesting and I wanted to see where it went, I couldn’t get past how much I disliked the main characters of the family! Maybe that’s just a sign that the author did such a good job portraying them as awful people that I wasn’t rooting for them at all! It is a well written book and I would love to read more by this author.

DNF. I could not get over the narrator saying "fork" all the time and whatever other euphemisms she came up with. Just not for me.

What did I just read?! It’s been awhile since I found a book I enjoyed so much!Just when I thought I knew where the story was headed, I’d turn the page and be dead wrong! I loved the unpredictability and the complex relationships between the characters.

Thirteen year old You-Tube sensation Chloe Cates is missing. Her crazy mother Jennifer, who is the ultimate stage mother, as well as the rest of her family are worried sick. At this point you think you know where it’s going. You’d be wrong.

Enter Detective Emilina Stone who is almost as shocked as the reader to realize the connection she has to this crazy case.

As the search for Chloe intensifies, so does the craziness of the relationships between these characters. Secrets are revealed. People are thrown under the bus multiple times. The ending was the ultimate twist.

I had a lot of fun reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Meet the Scarborough family - mother Jennifer, father Jackson, son JJ (15 years old) and daughter Abigail - aka Chloe Cates (13 years old). This was one messed up family! Since she was very young Abby, in the persona of Chloe Cates, has been an internet star strictly managed by her mother. I got a bit confused with their ‘brand’ was it CC and Me or Chloe Cates Spectacular? Never mind - either way Chloe had to perform like a seal. There was lots of pink, glitter and bows involved, enough to make me shudder. And as if that weren’t enough Chloe doesn’t even get to socialise at school as she is home schooled so she has, literally, no friends.

After an embarrassing incident at a live show where Chloe got her period for the first time, her mother made her go back on stage and finish the show. She later capitalised on the publicity that surrounded the incident. Chloe was mortified and tried to quit the whole business but mum wasn’t having a bar of it.

One morning Jennifer is yelling for Chloe, they’re going to be late for some other event but Chloe is not in her room and her bedroom window is open. Has she been kidnapped? Or did she run away? So we have a missing child, soon after we have a murdered child who may or may not be linked to Chloe. We have the lead detective, Emilia Stone who has a rather dark and secret history with Jennifer and we have the toxic brew of dangerous internet exposure.

An amber alert is issued but Jennifer can’t help herself from seeing Chole’s disappearance as another way of raising her profile! What sort of monster is this mother? Oh it gets worse, much worse. Jackson is no help as he just goes along with whatever Jennifer wants. Everything is pitched as to how it affects Jennifer as if she is victim of everything that befalls anyone in her family. Well, the biggest victim in this sorry tale is the truth. Unreliable narrators abound. Most of the characters were quite loathsome, I didn’t even like Chloe that much. JJ was about the best of them.

I kind of guessed the ending eventually and I was happy to see the back of this family. I’m still not sure if I enjoyed this book or not so I’m giving it 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley and Penzler Publishers for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of this book is exchange for an honest review.
This was a suggestion from @cabingirlreads who never lets me down! My favorite thing about this thriller was that it was one of the most current in terms of pop culture that I have read to date. The mother is trying to stay trending for likes, but it was actually Abby's journal entries as well that were so full of juicy references! I have mentioned this before, but I especially enjoy thrillers with a narrative from a detective/case worker/cop/lawyer or whoever is actually working on a case. I love the way the story can blend from the logistical side with those narratives to the emotional side of the other characters. It's harmonious to me in the best way! I blew through this quickly and enjoyed it!

3.5 stars rounded up
This is a captivating and intriguing story about a thirteen-year-old social media superstar who turns up missing. Abby Scarborough, known online as Chloe Cates, is the star of the viral vlog "CC Spectacular". She's managed by "momager" Jennifer who likes everything to be filled with sparkles and magic. When her parents discover she is missing, they contact the police and Detective Emilina Stone is brought in to investigate. There's quite a history between Emilina and Jennifer and everyone involved with the case has secrets they are trying very hard to keep hidden.

At times, this book reads as if it is a YA novel. It's told from multiple points of view, one is Abby/Chloe's diary entries. The way those are incorporated are awkward at times, because they reveal things that the police don't seem to find out until later. You'd think that they would read the entire journal right away in order to try to figure things out, but it doesn't seem like that from the way the narrative is structured.

Other than that, I really liked the book and the many things it has to say about social media, influencers, and the effects of fame on different people. I was pretty heartbroken for Abby every time Jennifer would correct the police for not referring to her as "Chloe". And as the storyline unfolded and the horrific manipulation that took place in this young girl's life was truly abusive if you look at it. The ultimate resolution of this novel is partially shocking but also wholly believable because of the conditioning that this girl had to endure.

There are some unbelievable situations here (I seriously doubt that the police would ever let two suspects hang out in the same room together while being questioned), and some of the social media references are already a bit dated as it changes so quickly. However if you can overlook those, this is a fast-paced tale that kept me completely invested to find out exactly what happened to Chloe Cates. I had a suspicion in the beginning about what was going on that I'm very happy was not fulfilled, because I had read another book a number of years ago with that particular premise and I really hated it.

Overall, if you can tolerate a YA feel to the book, I do recommend this one as a captivating mystery shrouded in the message about the high price of fame.

I couldn't put this book down - I had to know exactly how it ended. Excellent book! Looking forward to reading more books by Mandy McHugh.

I wanted to like this but it missed the mark. The plot twists were obvious and things were not flushed out.

Jennifer is an Influencer: her daughter Abby goes by the stage name Chloe Cates and is on her rise to fame. But Abby is now 13 and doesn’t want to be in her mom’s control anymore. Then Abby goes missing and her family is undone: did someone take Chloe?
Detective Emilina knows Jennifer from her own childhood and know what she is capable of. She sets off to find Abby and the truth.

This was not as well done as the influencer thriller “People Like Her” that came out last year. This book strived for the crazy plot twists but most of them I saw a mile away. The characters were also two dimensional. All in all it was a quick forgettable read.

I quite enjoyed this book but really struggled to like any of the characters. Felt like I couldn’t relate to them and they just annoyed me. It had a good ending and a few twists that I didn’t see coming.

AHH! What did I just read and why can't I read it all over again for the first time? Chloe Cates isn't what she seems, CC as she's known to many is a product of the internet, of her mother, and of the many many who are following her life. When she goes missing, it's more than just a missing child case, it's the unraveling of everything, mother Jennifer has been working for. This book had me trapped from the beginning in a world not too different from our own, and made me really think about who the real people are behind the online personas we often see.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Scarlet for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Chloe Cates Is Missing - Mandy McHugh

Chloe Cates is a teenage social media influencer, an internet phenomenon since the age of four thanks to her ambition mom's determined efforts.

Chloe Mates is missing! Has she been abducted, kidnapped or run away to escape the brand she's become?

There's an original dynamic between the characters, Emilina, the lead cop specialises in missing children, and Jen (Chloe's mom) were at school together and have history.

I thought the book started brilliantly, fast, fun, original and characterful. The first half is my favourite. Every thing is set up very well and we learn the characters' backstories, Jen's obsession with Chloe's fame, and the blurring being mom and brand manager

I found the second half slowed down, and perhaps the interrogation went on a little too long.

Overall, excellent character writing, a great setup, a strong plot and a fascinating view into the world of an internet child star. Recommended and I'll be looking out for Mandy McHugh's next book.


Thanks to Netgalley and W.W.Norton & Company

Thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book had me hooked from the start. It is told from four perspectives. Abby/Chloe's diary, Jennifer, the mom, and Emilina, the police officer in charge of finding Chole and Jackson, Chloe's father. Chloe is an internet famous 13 year old who is pressured by her mom to keep doing sponsorships and keep being CC (Chloe Cates). Jennifer and Emilina go back as they were childhood friends until one horrible night made them cut all ties with each other. Jennifer wakes up in the morning and goes to wake Chloe for another sponsorship photo session only to reason Chloe is gone and her bedroom window is open. The lies build up between the family and Emilina. While the search for Chloe is happening there is also another missing girl in the area who looks a lot like Chloe and people start to wonder if the two cases are related. From the second I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. Mandy McHugh did an amazing job with this book and I highly recommend it to all the mystery/thriller/whodunit reading fans out there!.

Mommy blog gone wrong.

Look. I'm not a mom and I have no desire to be one. Do I read mommy blogs? No. In fact, I actively avoid them. This book kind of proves my point. The power struggle between the parents, the spotlight, the behind the scenes drama...it's all really messed up.

CC and Me is a web series/blog created by Jennifer Scarborough for her daughter Abby. See....right away, you see that there's a 'character' rather than a real person. Abby goes missing and the CC story kind of unravels...

Jennifer's one time pal investigates the missing girl and finds more than she bargained for...

It's a predictable story full of unlikeable people. It's going to be a book that will be hit for people who enjoy reading blogs about other people's families and watching shows about other people's kids.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It's hard to believe that Chloe Cates is Missing is a debut novel. The sometimes complicated story is told from the point of views of the many characters, each truly with his or her own voice. I've read too many novels that have failed at this approach and too many authors of lesser abilities who could not pull off anything as accomplished as McHugh not to be dazzled by her accomplishment. The only issue I have was that this book kept me up reading into the wee hours to reach its ending. Readers who can manage a complex story that is told in different voices - and not all or even many can - will join me in looking forward to this talented author's next work.

I requested this ARC on Netgalley after finding the description really interesting. The premise of influencer culture in a contemporary novel as well as how that fits into the mystery/thriller genre ws extremely promising t0 me.

The book follows the disappearance of 13-year-old Chloe Cates, a child internet star carefully groomed into her status by her controlling mother Jennifer. In an effort to bring back her perfect life she worked so hard to cultivate for herself and her daughter, she takes to social media for help bringing her home. After a country-wide buzz ensues, investigative detective Emilina enlists her services. However, Emilina is much more intertwined in the case and the Cates family than she initially realized, and it'll take everything she's got to be objective and find Chloe before it's too late.

In general I liked the book. That is to say, there was nothing in particular that made it unreadable. I did enjoy that the characters were unlikeable because I found that it fell in line with the whole idea of internet personas or on-camera personalities and how cutthroat the industry is. However, that's the only specific thing that I can say that I liked. Unfortunately, there were things that fell flat for me. I didn't like how long it took for me to actually care about the story and for the action to pick up. I almost DNFed it but seeing all the 5 star ratings convinced me to keep going. I didn't enjoy how many side plots and the number of characters being introduced at once because it was a lot to keep up with. There was also a lot of pacing issues for me, where it never felt consistent and was either too fast or too slow.

That being said, if you like stories about the perils of social media or stories with a complex web of events and interpersonal connections, this could be for you.

I could not put this book down! Jen, a momager and blogger, wakes up to find her 13-year-old daughter missing. Chloe Cates is a You Tube sensation who has been exploited by her mom since she was a toddler. The police are called, and the detective assigned to the case shares a past with Jen. It turns out Chloe’s family is very dysfunctional, and each family member has secrets, including Chloe. Where is Chloe and who took her? Was it her horrible narcissistic mother? Her father? The boy she was secretly messaging? Even her brother is a suspect. This is one of those books that you cannot put down because you have to find out what happened to Chloe. I could not turn the pages fast enough!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A narcissistic tale of a woman's obsession with social media and the need for fame above all else.

Chilling and timely novel.

Chloe Cates, alter ego of 13-year-old Abby Scarborough, is the popular internet star of her mom's blog, CC and Me. Abby/Chloe's entire life is curated by her mother to get more views, more clicks, more attention, and Abby just wants to be Abby. When she disappears, Detective Emilina Stone, who also has her own sordid history with Abby's mother, Jennifer (Who still cares more about views than finding Abby), investigates her disappearance. This was filled with unlikable characters. The story wasn't bad but it also was pleasant to read. 3 stars.