3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

I wanted to like this contemporary mystery/thriller more, but it fell a bit flat for me. I liked the main character, detective Elise King, who is on medical leave as she battles cancer. She spends her day watching tensions rise between the local small town residents and the weekenders that invade the town each weekend. During a musical festival two teenagers suffer a drug overdose and are hospitalized and one well-liked elderly man disappears. Elise discovers his body a couple days later and she finds herself suddenly brought back to work and in charge of the investigation.

I liked Elise's neighbor Ronnie. She inserted some much needed levity in the story, although once Elise returns to work, Ronnie's character basically disappears from the story. Elise's grief over the break-up with an ex-boyfriend, a fellow detective, is brought up a couple times, but it's never explored and his mysterious disappearance from work shortly after she returns to work makes no sense. It's a loose end that is never resolved and served no purpose in the story. The addition of new characters mid-way through the story was a bit jarring. The mystery was fairly predictable, although I still enjoyed seeing how the author resolved it all.

I did enjoy seeing Elise's self-doubt and hesitation slowly disappear the more she threw herself into the investigation. It's clear that she equates her identity and self-worth with her job, and while some may scoff that a person shouldn't do that, it's truly what brings her joy, so to each their own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group. All opinions are my own.

Small Town

Big Secrets


I love a murder mystery and police procedural, especially with female detectives. In Local Gone Missing we get just that – we follow Detective Elise King who is recovering from an illness in small town of Ebbing. Hoping to keep things low key, she is drawn to an investigation when a well-known local goes missing, after a very controversial music festival takes place in town. With the help of her house cleaner Dee Eastwood and amateur sleuth Ronnie, she helps with the investigation.


I enjoyed the writing with its intricately weaved plot and sub plots. I enjoyed reading about multiple point of views and timelines, as well as some red herring thrown in that adds to the twists of the story, this was a fun read for me.


Part cozy, part police procedural, but wholly entertaining, I enjoyed Local Gone Missing a lot.

Fiona Barton has done it again in this masterful slow burn thriller that will have you guessing until the end. There are several red herrings, so don’t let yourself be fooled. The story takes place in a small town and is told from several different points of view. It took me a minute at the start to get all the characters correct but I plugged on and got it straight.

Thank you to #netgalley and #berkleypublishinggroup for allowing me to read an eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

The prologue grabbed me right in.

The story is told in multiple pov's and goes back and forth between now and before and each chapter is dated, so you'd think it would be easy to follow along, but at times it wasn't so you really need to pay attention. We have a couple of chapters told by others that really intertwines each character into the story bringing about secrets that everyone has.
But I'd say it's mainly told by Charlie, Dee and Elise.
Charlie is always around town chatting with everyone, probably trying to get away from his nightmare of a wife, Pauline. He goes missing after the music festival that many didn't want in their small town.

Dee is the invisible house cleaner for many homes in the town trying to make ends meet while her husband, Liam, is having trouble finding work. She sees and hears quite a bit, but she's not one to gossip and get involved, well not really.

Elise is out on medical leave due to breast cancer, but getting ancy to get back to work. She starts looking into the disappearance of Charlie on the sly with neighbor, Ronnie, and they slowly uncover more of who Charlie really is. When the lead detective has to step down Elise is back to work and officially on the case with partner, Caro.
I thought the police did a great job investigating and I enjoyed Ronnie 'Sherlock' as a side character.

This is my 4th book with this author and I enjoy her work. There's plenty on scheming and secrets in this suspenseful mystery.
Although I had some inklings along the way, I was happy with how it all played out in the end.

With con men and liars, how do you look for a missing man?
Berkley and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you.) This book is being published today.

Charlie is a happy, nice man. But he has borrowed a lot of money and lost it. Those he borrowed from are after him.

Elise is a detective that had cancer. When she goes back to work, she takes on this case. She asks lots of questions and look for connections. The more questions she asks, the more crime she finds.

This police procedural is well thought out. The more you learn, the less you know.

Where is Charlie? How many folks will end up in jail?

It's a good read.

I like Fiona Barton’s writing. This book kept me engaged wondering how all the characters lives would intersect to solve a crime in the intimate town of locals versus weekenders. While I didn’t find myself drawn to any particular character I enjoyed the story and the outcome. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout.

Detective Inspector Elise King has been on leave while receiving treatment for breast cancer. Her small seaside town, Ebbing, is roiling with conflict between the locals and weekenders, a simmering tension that threatens to erupt when a music festival is planned. The critics’ worst fears are realized when two teens are admitting to the hospital after overdosing on drugs at the event. The same weekend Pauline Perry reports her husband, Charlie, a man in his seventies, missing.

Although Elise should be resting in preparation for her upcoming return to work, she becomes drawn into the mystery when her next-door neighbor, Ronnie, starts asking questions and sets up an incident room in her kitchen. Elise feels sure that Charlie’s disappearance relates to events in his past but doubts her intuition due to “chemo brain.” Elise’s squad—gallingly led by her ex in her absence—is more inclined to believe he left due to financial pressures.

One person who may have insight is Dee Eastwood, Elise’s housekeeper, whose family relies on her income since her husband, a plumber, has been unable to find work. She’s a ubiquitous but invisible presence in households and businesses across the town. Whether she will reveal what she knows is another matter all together.

Fiona Barton’s first three novels featured journalist Kate Waters. LOCAL GONE MISSING, a standalone, has a phenomenal anchor in the relatable Elise King: a strong, competent, successful woman feeling vulnerable due to recent heartache and health issues. Ronnie is a wonderful foil. I can just imagine what it would be like for a mystery lover to get a taste of involvement in a real case! Dee enjoyed the only first person perspective. After describing her exploits, I resolved never to hire a housekeeper! It’s very interesting how some people become unnoticeable so privy to all kinds of secret and confidential information!

At the beginning of the book, the number of details, perspectives, and timelines felt confusing but I was very invested once things became clearer, and I thought the ending extremely satisfying!

Detective Inspector Elise King has been on leave while receiving treatment for breast cancer. Her small seaside town, Ebbing, is roiling with conflict between the locals and weekenders, a simmering tension that threatens to erupt when a music festival is planned. The critics’ worst fears are realized when two teens are admitting to the hospital after overdosing on drugs at the event. The same weekend Pauline Perry reports her husband, Charlie, a man in his seventies, missing.

Although Elise should be resting in preparation for her upcoming return to work, she becomes drawn into the mystery when her next-door neighbor, Ronnie, starts asking questions and sets up an incident room in her kitchen. Elise feels sure that Charlie’s disappearance relates to events in his past but doubts her intuition due to “chemo brain.” Elise’s squad—gallingly led by her ex in her absence—is more inclined to believe he left due to financial pressures.

One person who may have insight is Dee Eastwood, Elise’s housekeeper, whose family relies on her income since her husband, a plumber, has been unable to find work. She’s a ubiquitous but invisible presence in households and businesses across the town. Whether she will reveal what she knows is another matter all together.

Fiona Barton’s first three novels featured journalist Kate Waters. LOCAL GONE MISSING, a standalone, has a phenomenal anchor in the relatable Elise King: a strong, competent, successful woman feeling vulnerable due to recent heartache and health issues. Ronnie is a wonderful foil. I can just imagine what it would be like for a mystery lover to get a taste of involvement in a real case! Dee enjoyed the only first person perspective. After describing her exploits, I resolved never to hire a housekeeper! It’s very interesting how some people become unnoticeable so privy to all kinds of secret and confidential information!

At the beginning of the book, the number of details, perspectives, and timelines felt confusing but I was very invested once things became clearer, and I thought the ending extremely satisfying!

This was my first Fiona Barton book (but not my last)- I have been wanting to read one for awhile and I’m so glad I got the chance!
This was a solid 3.5 stars for me, but I’m rating up to 4 stars because I don’t think it would be fair to round down when I did enjoy it!

This was a slow burn suspense/thriller, but
I never found it boring and my mind never wandered. It did have a mystery element to it as well, which I think became more evident in the second half of the book.
I loved the mix of characters (it did take me a minute to keep straight who was who), and the alternating timeline really helped to keep things moving and flowing.
The writing style was great- I enjoyed the multiple storylines and POVs, and felt like there was good character development and enough background info given to feel invested in what I was reading.

Filled with surprises, twists, & endless guessing to solve this who dunnit story, this was an overall fantastic read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for this e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’ve recently began reading Fiona Barton’s novels and I must say, I enjoyed her stories! This one was no exception. There’s always so much going on and with lots of characters, you’d think you’ll get confused. But she makes her characters quite distinct so I didn’t have any issues while reading this. I especially love that aha moment when all the pieces of the puzzle come together and we get to see the bigger picture. Do check this out if you like:
💕Slow burn story
💕Small town mystery
💕Short chapters
💕Multiple POVs
💕Red herrings galore

Thanks to @berkleypub and @netgalley for my e-copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for gifting me a digital copy of the latest mystery/thriller by Fiona Barton - 4 stars!

Detective Elise King's life revolved around her job, until she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Recovering at home after surgery, her chemo brain makes her wonder if she'll ever be back to her pre-cancer self and be able to work. But when a local man goes missing the night of a neighborhood music festival, Elise's neighbor, Ronnie, pulls her into investigating themselves.

I really loved the characters of Elise and Ronnie - I could easily see a series of books involving these two. Ronnie was hilarious! This was a good mystery and police procedural and I adore Barton's writing. I loved the small town vibe where everyone seems to know everyone's business, for better or worse. My only negative was that there were so many characters and different time periods that I had some trouble keeping everyone clear.

From past to present, another storyline from twenty years earlier that held my attention was Charlie's story. Charlie has multiple names and lives and is a man of hidden secrets. He currently is married and she demands the best, but Charlie has some financial problems. His biggest worry is his daughter, Birdie, by his first wife.

Charlie's greed and lies cost lives. People were destroyed by him, and he has enemies and people who know things about him. They are about to catch up with him but who will get to him first?

I wasn’t sure about this one when I started, mainly because there were so many characters and my horrible memory couldn’t keep track of them. But as I got more into the story (and could remember who was who) I really started to enjoy the story! And the ending had a lot of reveals, so I was loving that fast-paced wrap-up.

I can’t even really tell you what it’s about because there’s so much packed into this one, but it’s definitely for lovers of crime/police work novels! There are so many layers to the story and they all fold in together and lead to a satisfying ending.

There are a few different POVs throughout and I loved them all. I’d say that my favourite was Dee’s (the cleaner). But I also loved working through all of the details with Elise’s storyline (the police officer).

Overall, I really liked this one! This was my first Fiona Barton novel and I have two more on my shelves that I’m excited to get to.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for my gifted copy! I have posted this review on my Goodreads and my Bookstagram account (@janinesbookcorner).

My latest buddy read was for Local Gone Missing, a suspense novel about a small vacation town in England where a local man has gone missing and a detective on medical leave has to figure out the case. This was a slow burn with many characters all interwoven and with several points of view. The suspense was palpable, every character was flawed, unreliable and a possible suspect and red herrings were everywhere. There were so many twists and turns with a bang for an ending. I loved seeing how all the pieces fit together and I loved that it went in a direction I wasn’t expecting

3.5/5 stars

This book is a standalone mystery thriller set in a UK seaside town.

The book goes back and forth between NOW and BEFORE (starting only a couple of weeks in the past, moving forward to the present).

There are multiple person POVs. But the main two are: house cleaner Dee and detective Elise.

My favorite POV to read was Elise's. She was a detective on medical leave. Elise and her neighbor Ronnie were the highlight of this book. I loved their detective work. It was so fun to read.

The book definitely had some interesting reveals. The book was part cozy mystery. The second half felt like a detective mystery. But there was definitely a thriller vibe too. There were a lot of characters and a lot happening. Overall it was an enjoyable read. But there was almost too much happening. And I just wasn't overly invested in most of the characters.

Having read three other of this author’s novels and thoroughly enjoying them, I was thrilled to read her latest “Local Gone Missing“. My reading time was rewarded once again with an impeccably paced thriller, rich in characterization, that I have come to associate with Fiona Barton.

I loved the character of DI Elise King and hope that perhaps she’ll return in a subsequent novel. Her next-door neighbour, Ronnie added some levity to the narrative, a busy-body whom you can’t help but like.

Charlie Perry was a swindler, but he was written in a way that made him sympathetic on some levels. His wife, Pauline I found to be quite odious and self-serving. His brain-damaged adult daughter, Birdie, was a tragic character who was made even more tragic once you learned her story.

As with any good thriller, there was a plot twist which did manage to surprise me. The denouement was thoroughly satisfying, and, truth be told, it also managed to be poignant and chilling at the same time.

Highly recommended!

3.5 for this who done it. I think the plot was intereting and intricate. There's a whole band of characters in this tiny sea town and while that makes it for a grand mystery, the many layers sometimes makes it a mockery of itself. There's too many circles on and circles around the different criminal activities going around such that the names all become a mess. However, once the beginning is over and it's fleshed out, you're treated to a real fast paced thriller with a very interesting ending. It's unexpected who you end up feeling bad for and I was surprised at the ending that I was wishing for. Still, it's a good thriller beach read.

Detective Elise King is out on medical leave, recovering from her battle with breast cancer. She misses her days solving crime, but now she spends her time watching the locals grow more resentful of the weekenders who are turning the town’s old bungalows into luxury homes. When Charlie, a local, goes missing, and two teenagers overdose at a music festival in this small seaside town, Elise can’t help starting up her own investigation.

I love police procedurals, and this complex, intriguing, dark and twisty mystery did not disappoint! The short chapters, alternating timelines, and multiple POVs also made it unputdownable! There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but their connections to one another were slowly and cleverly revealed. Elise and her nosy neighbor, Ronnie, were my favorite characters, and I loved that they teamed up to find out what happened to Charlie. I wish Ronnie had been a more prominent part of the entire story because she was very entertaining! That being said, I was rooting for Elise when she got called back to work to be part of the official investigation. There were so many secrets and lies to uncover, and I couldn’t figure out how all of the pieces fit together. Needless to say, the ending was a shocker!

Local Gone Missing is a fast pace read full of secrets, lies, deception and a small town where everyone knows everyone.

Or do they?

Elise is a DI on sick leave but returns to work (not 100 per cent fit) when two teens overdose on drugs at a local festival followed by a missing man that she herself saw there .

Every town has someone that knows things and everyone; here it is Dee . She cleans for a living and quietly notices quite a lot.

There are twists and turns that keep the lights on and the pages will turn themselves.

I thought I knew who was responsible but I was wrong. Great ending.

I hope we see Elise and her cohorts again soon.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group Berkley for a twisted read .

How well do you know your neighbors? Or anyone for that matter! Is anyone what they seem? Most of the characters have likable moments. With the exception of Pauline. At no point during this book did I like her or feel any sort of sympathy for her. She was absolutely despicable. I loved DI Elise King and really hope to see/read more of her in the future. It seems like this is set up to possibly continue as a series or stay a standalone.
This book has a ‘cozy’ feel mixed with police procedural. Not sure I would call it a thriller but it definitely kept me guessing and wanting more. The first half seems to build up the plot and the last half is a rollercoaster. Some things I predicted, some I didn’t see coming and some were partially what I had thought but with a slight twist. The chapters switched between characters and ‘before’/‘now’. A few times I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to check the date but overall, it was easy to follow the flow/date timeline.
Definitely recommend this if you are looking for a fast read. In my opinion, there were no overly graphic scenes so it’s a ‘clean’ read as well.