Great read, sometimes thrillers are to easy to figure out but this one was twisty enough to keep you enthralled in the story and attached to the characters. I really like thrillers like this that cover the small town vibe

From my blog: Always With a Book

I have been a fan of Fiona Barton since discovering her debut novel, The Widow, which was part of her Kate Waters series. I read that entire series and while I have been hoping to see more books in that series, I was just as excited to see a stand-alone from this author.

This is a slow-burn of a mystery that has a lot of moving parts. Part police procedural, part murder mystery, we meet a whole cast of interesting characters which keeps the suspect list high. I loved the small-town vibes and how the detective, Elise King, who is supposed to be on leave due to illness, cannot help herself from being drawn into the case when a local goes missing.

Moving back and forth in time to before Charlie vanishes and the investigation, this story keeps you guessing as to where it is heading. While some things ended up being a bit predictable, I was surprised by a few twists. I’m not sure if this is the beginning of a new series or just a one-off but I sure would love to see Detective Elise King again! I really liked her grit and determination to solve this case despite not even being fully back to work yet. Either way, this was a clever story and I cannot wait to see what this author writes next!

I have read and enjoyed many Fiona Barton novels. This novel is not one of them. I struggled to stay interested in the story and the characters.

This book was ok. I found it fast paced while being slow paced... ??? I know... it seems weird to me as well.

It just didnt really keep my interest.

Another fantastic mystery by Fiona Barton. The tiny details of small-town life, the uniqueness of the characters... and she ties up everything in a way that the reader cannot foresee. Great job.

I really enjoyed this slow burn tale, I thought that the author did a wonderful job of creating that small town full of secrets vibe and though I had suspicions on where the story would go I was intrigued in putting together all of the little details and seeing where each characters story line went. I also really liked the main character Elise King. Fiona Barton is being an auto read author for me!

Elise is a detective on medical leave. She misses her work, but is uncertain of when she will return to her job. In the meantime, she spends her time watching the changes in her small town of Ebbing. One of Ebbing’s new residents wants to host a music festival in town. On the first night of the festival, a local man goes missing. Elise can’t resist investigating the disappearance.

Local Gone Missing is a slow-building story. The seaside town, atmosphere, and characters were all well developed. Elise’s detective skills were the highlight. This was a complex and clever mystery.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

good book and really enjoyed the characters and their journey. I liked the romance.. I enjoyed how the characters grew in the book and what happened.

Some books don't work for you, but you don't know why, other than they didn't grab you enough to hold your attention. This was one of them for me. When I think about it, nothing stood out for me to want to talk about, but I recommend giving it a try to see if it's one you would like.

LOVED this book! Alternating POV's and timelines, all centered around a local man beloved in his community who suddenly goes missing. What skeletons did he and other townspeople have hiding in their closets? Couldn't put this one down!

3 for neutral, was unable to access my netgalley account for months, until today. Because of this, I was unable to see which books I needed to read. I apologize for the inconvenience and hopefully will not have any more issues in future.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This seemed a bit hard for me to follow from time to time. There was a lot of bouncing between days and back again. In the end, it came together nicely. A bit predictable in some ways.

Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton is a psychological thriller. 

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Berkley Publishing and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Detective Elise King is on medical leave after a mastectomy, and wondering if she will ever clear her head enough to go back to work.

But when Charlie Perry goes missing, Elise starts investigating behind the scenes.  The residents of the small seaside town of Ebbing have all sorts of theories.  Everyone seemed to love the old man, and thought that perhaps his wife (who was having an affair, and spending all his money), may have done it.  They worry about how his daughter, who was attacked years ago and is now living in a care home will survive without her father.  They wonder if perhaps his disappearance had something to do with the controversial festival where he was last seen, and where two teenagers overdosed.

Dee Eastwood, Charlie's housecleaner seems to know everything that is going on in town, and she's a little worried about her husband's participation in that drug deal.   But she knows other things as well.

There are a lot of secrets in this small town, and not everyone is as they seem.



My Opinions:
I really enjoyed this one, and I hope Elise King comes back in many more books (hint, hint Fiona Barton).  

My only complaints were the quantity of characters and the back and forth timeline.  Normally these things work well, but for some reason, neither did it for me in this book.  Really, there were just too many characters to keep track of, and I wasn't a fan of the "14 days ago, 13 days ago...." timeline.  However, the story being told by alternate characters (Dee and Elise), worked well.

As well, I absolutely loved the plot, and loved the way the whole thing came together.  Some things were quite predictable, but there was a still a twist or two that surprised me.

I definitely loved Elise and Caro, and the addition of Ronnie added a little humour to the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, and am really hoping I find a series in the future....

I was once again skeptical when I started this book that I would not like it. The writing and the plot changed my mind, almost encouraging me to not give up, that this book was worth the read. In my opinion, it is.

Told from different characters points of view this narrative reminded me of an onion, each layer peeling back to expose the secrets, lies and greed permeating the small town where one of the locals has gone missing. Or is he?

Twist and turns all the way to the end. I think you will like this one.

DNF. I read about 1/3 of this book but it didn't feel exciting or gripping in the way I prefer my thrillers to feel. There was a lot of backstory bogging it down and the writing wasn't engaging.

A local man goes missing and a detective on medical leave investigates the case. Engaging characters, some surprising twists, and I had fun to putting together all the pieces.

This book just left me wanting more. The plot didn't seem to be going anywhere, and despite the dramatic prologue, there was really no sense of tension or suspense. The jumping back and forth in time confused me and left me wondering what was supposed to have happened and when it was supposed to have happened. And characters would be introduced and then dropped and then mentioned in passing and then brought to the forefront again, and I couldn't keep track of who was who, and what their personalities were like. I was just unsatisfied with this book and don't think I would recommend it.

Stevie‘s review of Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton
Psychological Thriller published by Berkley 14 Jun 22

I’ve read and greatly enjoyed two out of three of Fiona Barton’s Kate Waters books (I still need to find and read the first in the series), so I was keen to meet her new protagonist. Detective Inspector Elise King is on enforced medical leave following treatment for breast cancer but finds herself drawn into mysterious events taking place around a divisive music festival held in the seaside town to which she recently moved, following the break-up of her long-term relationship with her colleague Hugh. Hugh has been on secondment to another police force since leaving Elise for another woman, but now he’s back and heading up the team looking for Elise’s missing neighbour.


Also on the team, fortunately for Elise, is another colleague, Detective Sergeant Caro Brennan, a good friend who is fiercely loyal to Elise, even when working for Hugh. As the case complexity increases, Elise is brought back on duty early and is able to put her newly acquired local knowledge to good use finding out who killed Charlie Perry, why he was killed, and where he was hidden between being reported missing and being found dead. There’s no shortage of suspects. Charlie and his second wife have been employing local tradespeople to renovate their derelict mansion and have left multiple bills unpaid. Bills are also mounting up at the expensive care home, where Charlie’s daughter has been a resident since suffering a severe brain injury during a burglary at Charlie’s former home, and then there’s the matter of Charlie’s previous identity, which was shed when he moved down to the coast from London.

Charlie’s wife claims to know nothing about his enemies, but the couple share a cleaner with Elise, as well as with various other townsfolk with links to the case. Dee is nothing if not observant, but there’s a lot of baggage in her past that she isn’t planning to disclose to anyone on Elise’s Major Crimes team. Meanwhile, there is debate as to how the music festival, at which two teens overdosed, and where Charlie was last seen by multiple witnesses, is linked to the various goings-on in the town. Everyone has secrets, and it’s down to Elise to find out which are related to her case and which will turn out to be red herrings. As Elise digs deeper, she finds that unpaid bills were the least of Charlie’s misdeeds.

As with Barton’s previous books, I really enjoyed this twisty story. Elise feels very real, as do all those locals who have fallen victim to one or other of Charlie’s dodgy schemes, each with their own reasons for being tempted by his promises of easy money for only a ‘small’ initial investment’. As the story progressed, so did the list of Charlie’s misdeeds, but some of the witnesses are being economical with the truth – even those Elise regards as friends. I very much hope we get to see more of Elise. I’d like to see her at work when she’s back on duty for the whole of a case.

Grade: A

When a local man, Charlie Perry goes missing, Detective Elise King can’t help but investigate, even though she’s on medical leave from the department. What Detective King finds, makes her quite suspicious. It’s clear that there’s more to the story than the police initially thought. Soon she’s back in the fold and investigating with her team.

Told from multiple POVs and timelines, this one had several characters that frankly, I didn’t really care for, which made it hard for me to like the book.

Another aspect that I felt was a bit over the top, was the fact that Detective King allowed her friend and neighbor, Ronnie, to assist with the investigation and shared facts about the investigation with her.

While there were parts of the novel I enjoyed, this book simply wasn’t for me. To that end, I think it’s time for me to part ways with this author.
2.65 stars

A buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for an arc via NetGalley.

Fiona Barton is a favorite author but this story just didn’t grab my attention. Too many multiple povs, the shifting timelines got confusing, and some of the characters weren’t that interesting. 2.5 stars