This was a captivating YA novel. Fast paced, with likeable characters. I'm a full grown adult who loves reading YA. This definitely felt like it was written for teens as opposed to adults who enjoy YA. Does that make sense? Of course, that's totally ok! I just wanted my fellow adults to be aware of this before reading. It reads young. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Ripley Jones for an advanced copy of this book. I offer my review freely.

Summary: In August of 1999, cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappeared from a party in the woods and is never seen again. Now, over twenty years later, the case remains unsolved. High school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron decide to start a true crime podcast as a class project, in an effort to find out what really happened to Clarissa. Small-town secrets begin to be revealed, and their investigation unearths truths that might have been better left untouched.

Thoughts: Although I had figured out had happened pretty quickly (due to an obvious clue), I tried to approach this like a YA reader. I think plenty of my students would enjoy the fast action and short length of this book. The characters were well written, and the whodunnit elements would certain keep a young adult reader's attention.

Read If you Like:
-YA thrillers/mysteries
-True crime podcasts
-LGBTQ rep
-Short, fast paced reads
-A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, One of Us is Lying

First off I want to thank @netgalley, @stmartinspress & @ripleyjones for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun, fast paced, thrilling read. I don't read much YA anymore but this one caught my attention and it delivered. It's a very bingeable read, you won't want to put it down.

The small town setting was great as everyone kind of mixed in together and there was so many secrets between all of them. It did feel a bit unrealistic for two teenagers to solve a cold case which the police couldn't in such a short amount of time, but for me it didn't take away from the book.

The characters were relatable, easy to get attached to. Cam was a bit harder to love but you end up loving her in the end. The story flowed perfectly and nothing felt out of place. I loved the fact that it kept me guessing all through the end.

If you're looking for a quick, easy, fast paced, YA thriller give this one a chance!

Missing Clarissa is a captivating novel that will keep readers enthralled from start to finish. The story follows Clarissa, a young woman who goes missing without a trace. As the story progresses, readers are taken on a thrilling journey as they follow the clues to uncover the truth behind Clarissa's disappearance.

The novel is filled with suspense and intrigue, as the characters grapple with the mystery of Clarissa's whereabouts. Jones' writing is vivid and engaging, drawing readers into the story and making them feel as if they are part of the investigation. The characters are well-developed and the plot is full of twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Missing Clarissa is a gripping and thought-provoking read that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. Jones' masterful storytelling and captivating characters make this novel a must-read for anyone looking for a thrilling mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free book in exchange for my honest opinion.

With Missing Clarissa, Ripley Jones adds to the growing trend of novels that explore podcasts that explore true crime. It’s a please structure for anyone who likes murder mysteries, true or fictional, written or podcasted.

This book is a well-paced mystery with a side of female friendships, woke ideologies, and small-town angst. It’s a perfect beach read for true crime lovers. Very enjoyable.

Missing Clarissa is a well-executed thriller that excels at playing with popular crime fiction tropes (small town, missing girl, true crime podcast). This novel is centered around the disappearance of a popular high schooler in 1999 from a small town and two high school students in present day who make this subject a topic for a journalism class podcast. In trying to solve the mystery, they find more questions than answers about Clarissa and the people who orbited her before her disappearance. The book explores themes of narrative authority, racial identity in coverage of crimes (white girls missing vs girls of color who go missing), consent, etc. most of this has been done before, yes, but the author finds a way to make it compelling through her two protagonists who give a fresh voice to these topic. The mystery itself is twisty and the pacing is just right with reveals coming at a pace that makes the reader want to keep going! Would recommend for anyone who loves a good mystery or for a mystery who does have something it is trying to say about some current topics.

Arc provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Missing Clarissa is a YA thriller about two friends who decide to host a true crime podcast as their journalism class final project. The subject of their podcast is their towns most famous cold case, the disappearance of teenage cheerleader Clarissa Campbell in the 90’s. To Blair and Cam, what at first is just a story soon evolves into a mission to get Justice, and find the truth at all costs, even when it may be dangerous to themselves.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! While the teenage podcaster solving a mystery trope has been done quite a bit, this author managed to bring a fresh perspective to it. There was a lot of discussion about the types of true crime stories we choose to pay attention too, what it means for the people close to a victim when we consider these stories as just entertainment, and whether we have the right to tell another persons story or not. I think this is a very important discussion to have, in a climate when true crime stories are very popular. I also thought the character development was very well done, the characters of this book felt so real to me, and I loved watching them grow through the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

Cam and Blair are best friends - and as opposite as can be. Which just works for them - they balance each other out. Then, they are assigned their 11th grade journalism class project, and chose to cover the disappearance of a local girl from 1999. No body was ever found, and the case is still open. Better yet? They decided to turn it into a podcast.

I want to start off with: having each character described first by their race was very distracting. I get establishing characters, but it was excessive IMO.

Secondly, this was tutted as a must-read for fans of Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder… for the whole first half, I was convinced Ripley Jones read those books while writing hers.

That said — toward the end, before the “meeting”, there are a few pages where we pop into each characters life. Like 10 lines each — short blurbs. I loved the pace! I was sucked RIGHT in.

After that, the action picked up, and I was flipping kindle pages faster than they could load.

I also had to google what a U-Haul was! For anyone wondering: it refers to the idea that lesbians tend to move in together after a short period of time. My mind was in the gutter 😅

I did think it ended rather abruptly… which I suppose means I was left wanting more. I could easily see Jones turning this into a series (which I would likely read!)

A solid

Ripley Jones starts with a great premise in Missing Clarissa . Two high school journalism students decide to try to solve a cold case from twenty years ago. Clarissa Campbell disappeared from a party in 1999. Despite an extensive search, no one knows what happened to her. She was a popular cheerleader and the mystery captured the attention of the nation for a few months. Blair Johnson and Cameron Munoz focus on archive research and interviews for their true crime podcast.

Cameron is intelligent, funny, awkward, and understanding most of the time. However, she can be impetuous and infuriating too. Additionally, she is jealous of the amount of time Blair spends with her boyfriend, James. Blair thinks of herself as boring and dull with patronizing parents who aren’t supportive, but more than anything, she wants to be a writer. However, she’s insecure and doesn’t have the courage to take a writing class.

The mystery has some twists along the way. The story builds momentum gradually and has a couple of action scenes. The last 20 percent of the novel has a brisker pace. Everyone seems to have agendas, but determining what they are and whether they are relevant to Clarissa’s case takes Cameron and Blair on some adventures. Set in fictional Oreville, Washington, readers get some feel for the community as the book progresses. One of the outstanding features of the novel is the diverse characterization. However, actions taken by one of the main characters are very immature. Would a typical seventeen-year-old act this way and not think about the consequences? Perhaps some would. Some of the items revealed in the interviews seemed unrealistic for adults to divulge to teenagers. Themes include family, friendship, cold cases, justice, grief, and much more. The author weaves several social issues into the story line. While most can’t be commented on due to spoilers, the one that starts it all is how news coverage varies based on a person’s physical characteristics or wealth.

The author did a great job in bringing together the past and present within the story. Despite plenty of conflict, I did not feel the intensity that I expected. The ending was more predictable than I wanted, but the final scene was dramatic and suspenseful.

Overall, this was intriguing, entertaining, and had an action packed ending with diverse characters. I enjoyed this novel with its fascinating story line. This is the first book I have read by this author. This novel should appeal to those who enjoy young adult mysteries or true crime podcasts.

St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and Ripley Jones provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for March 07, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Here I go being unpopular again. Missing Clarissa is about two young women who decide to do a podcast about a girl who disappeared a while ago from their town. Nothing new there. But these girls are in high school. I know there are a lot of reasons for making podcasts. I always hope they are at least a little bit interested in helping and educating. These two are not. They are after the most shallow people I’ve read in a long time. And rude. It is not quirky to treat your mother like this.

There are some “twists” and “reveals” that are completely obvious. No one seems to care about this girl. Instead they are looking for what she did to deserve being “disappeared”. The classic tale of finding out why the good girl was really bad and that’s why what happened to her happened.

Weirdly, this girl is supposed to be the bad girl, but the two protagonists are far worse-judgmental and mean. I just could not like them or get behind their blind and thoughtless investigation.

I was beyond excited for this book - I was really hoping for the second-coming of the GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE books. I wanted a true crime podcast and best friends solving the case of a missing girl. I love all that stuff! Unfortunately, MISSING CLARISSA was a disappointing and predictable read, despite being an overall enjoyable ride.

Cam and her best friend Blair come from a town with an infamous missing girl case - Clarissa Campbell. She was the popular cheerleader who left a party in the woods, never to be seen again. The two girls decide to focus on this case for their journalism class project and create a podcast about it. I loved this setup and the fact that both Blair and Cam had no experience in solving mysteries or making podcasts. The story went through the actual moments they had to figure out logistically where to even start. 

I didn't mind reading about Blair and Cam but they (especially Cam) made very stupid decisions a lot of the time, especially toward the end. It was terrible to read about Blair's shitty boyfriend. I didn't mind Cam's romantic arc but she was still frustrating. The writing was pretty good - I can't figure out if it was the characters that annoyed me because they were annoying or if the writing made them more annoying lol. Their internal dialogue was a little cringe-worthy but again not sure if that has to do with the author's writing or just the characters and how they were developed. I think I would read another book by Ripley Jones, if that's any indication!

I read a lot of mysteries where I have an inkling of who the kidnapper/killer is but I can’t put the full mystery/motive together. Those are still strong mystery books because I'm still trying to fit all the pieces together. Unfortunately with this one, I had the culprit and motive completely pegged from the very beginning. Like within the first chapter or two. I was shocked by how simple it all was. 

The synopsis has like 2-3 extra sentences that it shouldn't have. I know that's not why or how I figured out the mystery but I think it's a bit of a spoiler for some of the things they don't actually uncover until over halfway through the book, and the setup is interesting enough without those lines. Two girls create an amateur podcast trying to figure out a case in their town - period.

Another quick thing that was lacking - this book would have benefitted from some beefing up. When you write a book with a true crime podcast, I really am expecting there to be more mixed media elements. There were some "transcripts" sort of at the end of each chapter, but not really. This book is under 250 pages! There's no reason not to add some more oomph with fun formatting, images, podcast transcripts, newspaper articles, etc. Just a total missed opportunity IMO to make this more exciting.

Don't get me wrong, I blazed through this in a couple of sittings - it's very engaging. I enjoyed the journey more than the destination, of course, but I can't justify rating this much higher because of how obvious the mystery's resolution was to me.

I LOVED this book! I started reading and could not stop until I finished.
This is definitely a recommendation for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder! I will be recommending this to everyone.
I loved how it was a quick and easy read, the characters were likeable, and the twists were so good.
I gave this 5 out of 5 stars!

In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her—who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa’s beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found—dead or alive.

Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what—or who—happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa’s relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode…

But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man—and help the true killer walk free?

Love the mechanism of doing a podcast. Really fun mystery and a quick read....,......................................................

While the mystery and story was overall interesting, I had a lot of struggles with the main character Cam. She just annoyed me with her way of investigating and not really caring about the dead girl. Her opinions of the world also changed instantly when she got a girlfriend. I can tell this character seems to be written with an autistic mindset but you can have an autistic character without them being a trope of it.

"But people will mke a girl who isn't there into anything they want." -From Missing Clarissa

2.5 stars

This is like a chaotic, condensed version of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. If you love that book, you will probably enjoy this one, although the character's are harder to like. A kind version of why the narrative jumps around could be because Cam is such a hot mess. Blair has enough self doubt to drown half the town. Some of the diversity felt....for lack of a better word, forced. Some of the choices made at the end really made me enjoy everything a bit less. Cam is just lucky I wasn't her teacher, because she wouldn't be getting a passing grade.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book sounded so promising to me! I love the whole idea, and it sounds reminiscent of A Good Girls Guide to Murder which I loved.

For me, the pacing felt off here and the book seemed to really jump all over the place. I really wanted to love this, but I found it hard to follow and because of that I just became uninterested.

This book kept me on my toes, I couldn’t focus on any other book but this one, it was that gravitating. We meet Cam and Blair, best friends in high school, and in a town where there was a HUGE missing persons 20 years ago. Cam decides that their journalism class they create a podcast about the missing woman, and what a journey this will be. They were warned of the horrible things that can come out of this but they still went for it. I loved everything about this book mainly because it was a true crime style, they created a podcast which I LOVE, because all of the podcasts I listen to are True Crime, and some sleuthing, these young women do their thing and uncover more and more secrets, it was awesome. I will be reading more from this author. The ending was heartfelt, I almost cried. Totally worth the read.

Thoughts

I enjoyed this book. It's exactly what you expect it to be, in a good way. Ripley Jones nailed the premise. Is it particularly unique? No. But I don't think that's a problem.

Pros
Gal Pal Duo: So many YA mystery/thriller reads--and so many mystery/thriller reads in general--place a lone girl at the center of the mystery, tracking down the clues and inevitably putting herself in danger. Here, that is not the case. Sure, these girls end up in some (pretty avoidable, if you ask me) danger, but they do so together. At the core of this plot stand two best friends, and the book is stronger because it has both of them, foils to each other and excellent company to track down a murderer with.

Blair: The two best friends who stand at the center of this book are complete opposites, and against the stereotypical-for-the-genre Cam's particularly-on-top-of-things character, Blair is a nice addition. She's an Every Girl character, flying under the radar even in her own estimation, though she is dear to her friends and her family. But throughout this book, go-with-the-flow Blair comes into herself, learning to be confident in her own abilities and her voice, and I loved that growth.

Cam's Crush: Opposite to Blair, Cam is a prodigy of sorts, beyond her years and above her paygrade in a similar fashion to the main character of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and many other contemporary YA thrillers. What Cam has that these other MCs don't, however, is a sudden and overwhelming crush who just happens to Always. Be. Present. She gets distracted by her crush, and this throws a continual wrench in her plans... which is only to be expected, given the fact that she is, you know, a teenager. It is nice to have an archetype character like Cam feel a little bit more human than super-sleuth.


Cons
Long Chapters: I know why the chapters were long, and I like the idea of one chapter per episode of the podcast. I do. But this still made it hard to get through the book. Don't get me wrong. There are ample breaks in these very long chapters so you're not just stuck reading so much all in one go. But the completionist in me doesn't like to leave a chapter unfinished, even when there's a good stopping point, and so it was disheartening to have to push through so much at one time.

Too Academic: I loved Sophie's involvement in this plot. I love her character, and I love what she does for Cam, for the character development around her, and for the whole vibe of the book. I did not, however, like a lot of her dialogue. I get it. She's supposed to be an intellectual match for Cam, right? But the way she spoke felt very much like reading a term paper--not like listening to someone speak about a passion project. Even in the most academic circles, people don't actually talk like this. It felt off.

Too Quick to Share: This is the plot-hole-est critique I have, and it isn't a big deal. This is forgivable. My disbelief could be suspended. But the question did still occur in post-production. Why would these people, all these years later, start to share these little secrets and great testimonies with two random high school girls? They've held this close for decades, but these secrets aren't safe to share now. The case is still open, ready for more evidence. So why would they share, if they didn't think it was important (or safe) to share back in the day? What's changed? It doesn't make much sense, really.


Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10

Fans of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder will enjoy tackling this cold case. Those who loved Goldy Moldavsky's Lord of the Fly Fest will appreciate this new true crime podcast.

"Everybody loves a dead girl."

That may be so, but I didn’t love this book.

This book was pitched as being for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, which I absolutely am. But this...this was not it. I guess you can make that comparison if you take away all the charm, any of the logic from AGGGTM, and replace it with hogwash then sure.

Now I don’t expect all young heroines to be brilliant geniuses. That’s not realistic. But I do expect them, particularly ones who are intent on solving a crime, to have some damn common sense.

Anyways, let's get into it. This book is about two girls who don’t know the first thing about podcasting or crime-solving, who think they’re gonna solve what professionals couldn’t…😅 And before y’all compare these girls to Pip, Pip did her research. She knew how to make a podcast, and the rules and restrictions she would have to adhere to when meeting with or interviewing people. She had structure and a plan mapped out. Basically, Pip was the planner. These girls are pantsers and it shows.

They have no clue about interview etiquette.
They have no hypotheses of their own prior to starting this ill-advised journey, nor have they done any real dives into others' previous theories. At one point Cam asks her journalism teacher, who originally reported on the case if he thinks Clarissa could have been done in by Ted Bundy, only for her teacher to point out the man was executed when Clarissa was in middle school. Clarissa was in high school when she met missing. Like miss, a basic google search could have answered your question.

Speaking of Cam, let's talk about her. Cam is an inconsiderate bulldozer who does and says whatever she wants with no consideration for others. Blair explicitly asks her not to post her voice on the first episode podcast and what does she do? Posts it anyway and when Blair gets mad at her she’s not even sorry. She’s like oh well maybe I should have talked it over with her. But she would’ve said no and I wouldn’t have gotten my way. What was I supposed to do? Oh, I don't know Cam, maybe show consideration for the person you consider your best friend.

Blair, on the flip side, is an insecure people pleaser. She’s of the mind why try when I’m bound to fail, let's not leave my comfort zone ever lest I embarrass myself. She wouldn’t even take a writing class though she dreams of being a writer. She relies too heavily on others for validation. The opposite of Cam.

Together they will botch every interview.

This book is told in the third person, but somehow is the worst way? I generally enjoy third person but here I feel a complete disconnect. I think that had to do with jumping back and between the main lead's POVs and random side characters.

One thing I will say is I do think Blair finally found some confidence in the end so I’m happy for her that as least that bit of her character arc resolved in a positive way. Because everything else was either lackluster or a bit of a train wreck.

Missing Clarissa is a YA thriller that is fast paced and a fun read. When friends, Cam and Blair, decide to create a true crime podcast about a local missing girl for their journalism class they end up uncovering more than they bargained for.

This book held my interest from the very beginning and I was really intrigued by the whole premise. I really enjoyed the two main characters, Cam and Blair, and loved how they complemented each other. I liked how they turned all modern day Nancy Drew and took it upon themselves to figure out the cold case that had been haunting the town for years. I haven’t read many YA thrillers recently so I don’t have much to compare this with, but I thought it was a very well done concept and it kept me guessing most of the way through. I found this to be a good mystery and a fast read and would recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!