Nothing bad to comment, but nothing to rave about. I read, enjoyed, and moved on.

An average read, done well, and the plot flowed but nothing special. Enjoyable. Average.

In small town Oreville, Washington nothing exciting ever happens - except once. Twenty years ago Clarissa Campbell, a recent high school grad, vanished without a trace after attending a summer party. Current high school journalism students, Blair and Cameron, choose Clarissa’s story for their capstone project and decide to create their own podcast, Missing Clarissa. In the tight knit community it is easy for the girls to find interview subjects. In fact (almost too conveniently), Clarissa’s entire inner circle: her parents, best friend, favorite teacher, and popular boyfriend all still live locally. The reporting duo, and Blair in particular, starts to push hard for answers to this cold case and the consequences of her podcast speculation could not only cost them their GPA, but also an innocent person’s freedom. Ripley Jones does a good job with plotting and pacing of this YA thriller, while also creating memorable characters. Blair and Cameron are particularly well-realized and feel like two authentic teenagers not only trying to solve Clarissa’s cold case, but also figure out their own paths in life. The one character that unfortunately reads a little flat is Clarissa herself, so the title plays out for the reader as well.

Missing Clarissa is a fascinating debut from author Ripley Jones. I absolutely loved the premise of two girls getting in over their heads when they get a little too involved in their school assignment of trying to uncover the mystery of a missing girl case from 20 years ago, The podcast idea was perfect, and I appreciate the research that went into certain aspects of the novel. I was not expecting the 'who done it' at the end. My only gripe, is the near constant need to point out every characters race every time we see someone new. It didn't relate to the story at all and felt a little unnecessary.

Blair and Cam are doing a project together for their teacher’s assignment. They have decided to do a podcast about Clarissa Campbell. She was the captain cheerleader for Oreville High School. She disappears at a party in the woods in 1999. Carissa is never seen or found anywhere again. The police question her friends, teachers and adults who knew her. No one knows anything. Blair and Cam uncover dirty small-town secrets. Finding out Carissa’s secret with her boyfriend and high school art teacher who became a figurehead has a good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Did one of them do it?

The author gives the reader an awareness of problems withe the police and their prejudices. The characterizations of Blair and Cam made me want to know what they were going to do next. This young adult novel is an intense suspense/mystery with thought-provoking themes that took me for an unexpected ride.

Two teenagers decide to start a podcast for their journalism class assignment and decide to try and find out the truth about the town’s most famous cold case, the disappearance of Clarissa Campbell who vanished 20 years ago.

I really wanted to like this as this was recommended to fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder which I loved, but.. it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

Both main characters kind of annoyed me unfortunately and I guess it just wasn’t credible enough for me?

I recognize Im not the target audience. I would maybe recommend this book to teens but there are TW in this story such as SA.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

(3.75 stars)

The main characters felt very overwritten at the beginning. It was almost as if the author was trying to convince us they were teenagers which felt a little odd. However, as the book goes on, this definitely gets better.

I see how for some people Blair and Cam's decision making skills would seem outlandish and
unrealistic but personally, they felt very in character for two ambitious teens.

Because of the short length of the book, we don't really get a ton of time to be in the mystery of Clarissa Campbell's disappearance, but we do get to see a more human and emotional side of it through the interviews with the people she left behind. That's not necessarily a common occurrence in stories like this and it was an interesting perspective to read from.

Overall, it is a fast read and a fairly well done mystery that I think would appeal pretty widely.

I enjoyed this one but feel it was a bit too short. The timeline went by pretty fast so it sometimes felt like the book was rushed. I enjoyed the alternating POV and the personalitie of Blair and Cam and the story was interesting, I just wish there's been a more in-depth mystery.

Completely enjoyable young adult novel.
Full Murder in Common review here:
https://murderincommon.com/2023/03/19/ripley-jones-missing-clarissa/

I’m not sure what got me interested in Missing Clarissa—whether it was the general description, the podcast element, or I just felt like taking a chance. Thrillers aren’t normally my genre of choice. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by Ripley Jones’s debut novel. It was darker than I expected yet also has plenty of light character moments. Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

Clarissa Campbell went missing in 1999. The cheerleading captain at Oreville High, Clarissa was in many ways a town darling. Yet even after nationwide coverage, no one turned up any trace of her—dead or alive. Now, over twenty years later, two students at Oreville High decide to make Clarissa the subject of their journalism project. Blair and Cameron start a true-crime podcast, Missing Clarissa. As you might expect, there are many in their small town that don’t want this mystery stirred up again. As Blair and Cameron dig deeper into Clarissa’s disappearance, they find that it’s one thing to talk about a mystery and another to actually solve it.

As I intimated above, I wasn’t expecting to be so engrossed with the narrative. There’s something about how Jones crafted this mystery, however, that kept me engaged. I like how, even as the book dangles an obvious culprit in front of us, it’s also clear that we’re not expected to believe this person is the true culprit—we are led to expect a twist, which is indeed forthcoming in the final act. Honestly, the way that our intrepid podcasters uncover the true identity of Clarissa’s assailant, and the action-packed climax that follows, was the least interesting part of the book for me. It’s the journey to that moment that had me hooked, especially when Blair and Cameron are investigating their various leads.

Jones’s writing reminds me of another Wednesday Books author, Courtney Summers. Missing Clarissa feels a little bit like Sadie, one of my favourite Summers novels. Both involve podcasts about missing girls whose fates are unknown. Both ruminate on how our society treats lost girls, how we romanticize them, how we give them more attention if they are white and pretty. Sadie is much darker than this book. However, Missing Clarissa still has its moments of asking hard questions about misogyny and patriarchy.

This is apparent in how Blair and Cameron interact with the many male characters. Blair and Cameron are well aware of how their age and gender might lead most adults, particularly men, to underestimate them. At times they exploit this to their benefit; sometimes it is more of an impediment than anything else. Jones also explores how the power and privilege that many men accumulate—especially in a small town like Oreville—mean that they can avoid the consequences of their past actions, even if those actions might have landed someone else in jail.

I also love the respective characterizations of Blair and Cameron, the way they play off each other as best friends and then also the romantic subplots each of them has. Blair’s delusions about her relationship are classic. Cameron’s obliviousness to Sophie’s interest in her is adorable. The way that the two of them support each other, even when they fight, makes for such a compelling duo—I would read more stories featuring these two. Jones writes with humour and empathy. Blair and Cameron are two very distinct personalities with sharply different voices, and it comes through. As a podcaster myself, I greatly enjoyed the running gag wherein other characters criticize the sound quality of their podcast!

While it has many rough edges—especially in regards to how rushed the ending seems to be—Missing Clarissa is that rare thriller that held my attention. I literally didn’t want to stop reading it. This is high praise from me. I recommend it for fans of mysteries set in small towns, as well as people who want to read about intrepid girls setting out to investigate the disappearance of another girl. It’s not true crime—which, fortunately for us, means we get the closure inherent in the ending.

Best friends Clair and Cameron are looking for a fun way to complete their next journalism project. They start a true crime podcast around their small town mystery, Clarissa Campbell. She went missing in 1999 and no one has seen her since. Unfortunately for Blair and Cam, this story is more than they ever expected. They find themselves navigating sordid secrets and complicated relationships. But will these two teenagers be the ones to solve a case the case that tore their community apart?

I became so obsessed with these characters, especially Cam. She was so relatable and funny and awkward and I couldn’t get enough! I also loved the way social justice topics were discussed and education provided so seamlessly throughout the book. I was incredibly surprised by this YA novel!

This was a good YA mystery/thriller that captured my attention for the duration of the story. The last 1/4 of the book moved really quickly and wrapped things up, and although I wish a few things had been answered, I was satisfied with the way Jones ended it. Although Cam was a bit over the top as the protagonist, it was quite clear to who she was as a character and the book was well written overall.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book!

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one. It feels like it was meant to be compared to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but it wasn’t executed nearly as well. It seemed like the author was trying to tackle too many issues in a short amount of time and it made the book feel cluttered and unfocused. This was also exacerbated by the constant switching of perspectives between the two main characters with no indication that it was happening.

The central mystery, itself, was interesting, but it was hard to believe that these two girls were going to solve this decades old cold case that took the nation by storm and had forums of armchair detectives stumped. It was a short, entertaining YA mystery, but it was also totally unbelievable.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books, and Ripley Jones for an e-arc of Missing Clarissa in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this story. Two high schoolers deciding to create a podcast to solve a cold case of a missing teen from the 1990s gave me A Good Girl's Guide to Murder vibes in the best way! And the plot was so fun! The twists and turns were excellent and kept me intrigued throughout the entire story. I also loved how the book included clips from their podcast episodes mixed into the story. The last "episode" of their podcast was heartbreaking and inspiring! I enjoyed that the story followed both Blair and Cam, but it was sometimes hard to tell who the chapter was focusing on, which made the story hard to follow at times. Overall, it was a fun story and an intriguing mystery!

An intensely good and compelling thriller! One of those exciting and well-written stories that draws you in and makes it so that you can’t stop reading until you know what’s happened.

Best friends, Cam and Blair, are making a podcast about the twenty-year-old cold case of Clarissa Campbell, who’s been missing since the night of a senior graduation party in the local woods of Oreville, Washington in 1999. Clarissa was a popular cheerleader dating a popular football player and her life seemed perfect to outsiders. Mr. Park, journalism teacher, has assigned a project to his students and that’s why Cam came up with the cold case podcast idea. Blair and Cam are dealing with their own personal struggles but become devoted to figuring out Clarissa’s story. They soon realize they’re in over their heads and that they’re in danger themselves.
5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: The story is so interesting that I didn’t want to put the book down. Overly political statements are a bit confusing when Cam’s friend Sophie blurts them out. I enjoyed the character development throughout the story.
Mature Content: PG-13 for mention of sexual assault on a high school student by the teacher, off page sex, nondescript brief kissing, underage drinking and underage drinking and driving undescribed.
Language: R for 51 swears and 4 f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody gunshot wound, and purposely run off the road by another vehicle.
Ethnicity: mixed and includes Black, Mexican American, Korean American, white, and Filipino

This was my first time reading this author and it was quite fun and very interesting. At first I wasn’t that into it. It was somewhat hard to get into and wasn’t really catching my attention. However, I’d say about 30%-35% into the book is about where things really started to turn around and after that, the book had me.

This story was intriguing and told in such an interesting way. I also had the chance to listen to the audio of this book (that was not gifted by the publisher or author) and that made the book even better. I had my suspicions of who might have done it but in the end I was completely wrong with who I thought it was.

I do have to say that Cameron got on my nerves so much, especially in the beginning. I honestly wanted to strangle her at some points, but thankfully, Blair was able to even things out and make it much more enjoyable.

For this being YA book, I thought it was a pretty decent read! Did I think the overall plot was unrealistic? Absolutely, but that’s why I love reading, because it can be realistic or not.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a great thriller. I love me some YA thrillers and this book gave me everything I could want!!

I was given this book by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. My honest review is that it's 3.75⭐ for me.

Can and Blair are making a podcast about a girl named Clarissa that went missing in their town over 20 years ago. Obviously right up my alley true crime, podcast I'm in.

First, I almost put it down for the blatant race descriptions. The way it was done just kind of our me of "a white man", I dunno that just seems like an easy way out in regards to describing them. White comes in many shades, so do all the others. I dunno for some reason this rubbed me the wrong way but eventually it stopped.

Second, Cam is annoying and kinda unlovable as a character. I know she's supposed to be headstrong and possibly on the spectrum but she makes so many bad choices and NEVER learns from them at all, literally no character growth.

Other than that, the plot is okay a little predictable. It's decent enough but would probably never warrant a re-read.

There are a ton of pod cast books out lately. I have some questions for you, the last housewife, and this one. Clarissa is in its own category of those because it’s a YA take on the podcast. Two teens decide to explore a decades old case of Clarissa, beautiful and popular, going missing. The teens explore the case all while learning about themselves, their friendship, their sexuality. The book gripped me in the beginning and my interest waned a tad toward the middle but there was a lot of good stuff here. If you’re into ya thrillers this is a good one to add to you list. It was also fun on audio which I also listened to. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

A good young adult mystery!

Best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast for their high school journalism class project. They decide their podcast will focus on the 1999 disappearance of popular cheerleader, Clarissa Campbell. Clarissa had attended a party in the woods with her fellow students. No one has seen her since that night over twenty years ago. A huge investigation was launched but Clarissa was never found and the case went cold.

Blair and Cam's podcast may bring new light to the cold case but it may also put them in great danger.

After reading the description for this book, I was intrigued and I knew I had to check it out. There's plenty of books about podcasts but I'm not sick of the theme yet!

I thought this was a well written quick read. It held my attention and though I guessed one of the twists it didn't change my enjoyment of this novel.
This book is being compared to Sadie and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and I think it's a good comparison.

I read a lot of adult thriller/mystery novels and to compare this to those doesn't seem fair. I liked the fact that it wasn't extremely violent. It definitely deals with violent issues but it was handled gently. I wouldn't have any problems letting my young adult read this book.

All in all I thought this was an entertaining read. The story deals with many important issues. There were a couple of things I thought were a bit unlikely but honestly that's usual for most books. If it was too realistic many readers would likely be bored.