This one was not for me. I found a lot of the writing to be either confusing or too simplistic. The point of views were a little hard to follow and the general mystery of the book was not enough to save it.

Unfortunately I will not be recommending this one.

In 1999, Clarissa disappeared from a party and her disappearance has never been solved. Fast forward twenty years and best friends, Blair and Cameron, decide to do a true crime podcast for a class project with focus on Clarissa. But they don’t want to just discuss the case, they want to solve it and it becomes very clear very fast that someone will do anything to prevent that from happening.

Missing Clarissa is a YA mystery by author Ripley Jones. It is a fun fast read and, for the most part, kept my attention throughout. I did find the character, Cam, somewhat annoying and the story, at times, stretched my willing suspension of disbelief almost to the breaking point but I suspect that may be down to me being way past the age of the target audience. Overall, despite these criticisms, a very entertaining read. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Missing Clarissa was a roller coaster of emotions for me. I have a lot of technical thoughts that conflict with emotional thoughts that conflict with content thoughts. I will do the best I can to discuss each of these sides to the story—but I really am at a loss for how to review this book. I loved it. I hated it. It was everything it promised to be. But it could have been so much more.

Let’s start with overall story structure, characters, plot, and writing. (There are spoilers.)

From a story structure standpoint, it was pretty unremarkable. The story starts in first person plural as a means of conveying the emotions, thoughts, and experiences of a town during the summer a girl went missing. It had one of the most promising prologues I’ve ever read—and it had me yearning for more of the stunning writing and the eerie descriptions. The book then switches to third person omniscient, head hopping between the two protagonists fast enough to give me whiplash. With the beautiful eerie setup the prologue gives, it felt like a missed opportunity to tell the story from the various POVs of the people at the party the night Clarissa went missing, which could have included some unreliable narrators to really make the reader doubt the stories—and to make the secrets these characters hold all the more tantalizing.

Speaking of the secrets: many of the secrets the suspects hold are divulged before the story even starts. Whether in the prologue or the blurb, you go into this book knowing almost every single plot twist you’ll encounter. I didn’t mind what the prologue divulged; but whoever wrote the blurb ought to omit the last three sentences.

The characters were well-developed, in my opinion (if irksome at times). I liked the way the story set up parallels between Clarissa/Brad/Jenny and Blair/James/Cam, although I wish there had been more of a resolution between Blair and James at the end. It felt like he hadn’t grown enough by the end for the parallels to really work. Both Blair’s and Cam’s arcs felt satisfying to me. I especially loved the way Cam’s relationship with Sophie developed. There could have been more depth to the characters; but overall they didn’t feel lacking within the narrative. Blair was a little less developed than Cam, but I didn’t mind that.

Allen was an interesting villain. I’ll talk more about his mom later. But Dan Friley felt very one-dimensional, and at times made him unbelievable. He existed as a red herring, which would have worked if the blurb didn’t give it away.

From a plot standpoint, I felt like the story was gripping. I couldn’t put the book down once I started it. Again, I wish I hadn’t read the blurb because it gave nearly everything away. The book was a little bit too predictable for my taste, although if it weren’t for the blurb, maybe that wouldn’t be the case. I also felt like it was foreshadowed that Clarissa was pregnant—and the baby was Dan’s. But nothing ever came out of that and it makes me wonder if it was just done as a way to subvert the audience’s expectations. Either way, Dan Friley ultimately had no reason to want Clarissa dead and it made it difficult to believe he was the culprit, even if the blurb hadn’t given everything away.

Unfortunately, I felt like the resolution of the book was rushed, and as a result I still don’t fully understand what happened to Clarissa.

Moving away from the story structure/writing/character/plot thoughts and into my thoughts on the content:

This book was, at its heart, a commentary on true crime and how systems of oppression play into society’s obsession with true crime. As an abolitionist, I thought so much of this was well done. But the author had one massive oversight that left me feeling a little disheartened.

The story addresses the hyper sexualization of white women who go missing, and the horror fantasy society loves to buy into. It addresses how the prison system works to primarily harm marginalized communities—including Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color, immigrants, impoverished people, and queer and trans people. It even gets into the corruption of the justice system. There were multiple BIPOC characters and queer characters, and there was a lot of intersectionality within this. I don’t want to downplay the representation or conversations in this book.

But as someone who is disabled, I was also disheartened by the way Disability is treated within the narrative.

When Cam is coming out to her mother as a lesbian, Cam thinks, “Perhaps [Cam’s mother] will send her to live in the loony bin herself, which does not hold much appeal.” The mental health hospital where Cam’s mother, Irene, works is repeatedly referred to as the “loony bin” and is regularly looked down upon by both the main characters and several side characters. There is no discussion about how advocating for abolition includes advocating for better mental health care and medical care—or how pervasive racism, ableism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia are within America’s medical system, which only furthers the marginalization of marginalized groups and denies care to those who need it.

In addition to this, our villain, Allen’s mother, has MS and is in a wheelchair. At the end of the story, we find out that when Allen killed Clarissa, he brought her home and his mother helped him. Not only helped him—but kept and still wears the necklace Allen took from Clarissa when she died. While his mother ultimately did not go to prison, she was the only physically disabled character in the story with a named disorder (Jenny was bald and it could have been because of Cancer or Alopecia, but neither was ever named and therefore, I can’t count it as disability representation; even if that was representation, the only character to use a mobility aid was still a villain). There was so much care that went into writing many of the BIPOC/queer/trans characters. I wish the same care was given in writing disability.

The book also addressed minor/adult relationships so incredibly well; for that alone, I would recommend this book to teenagers. Too many books in YA normalize sixteen year old girls dating old, immortal 100+ year old men. I loved seeing these conversations done well in a YA book.

Finally, I wanted to end this review with my emotional thoughts, because I like to end a review on a good note and I went through all the emotions while reading this.

I said previously that I felt like Cam and Blair could be irksome at times—and they could; they were often reckless and made Very Big Very Easily Avoidable Mistakes—but at the end of the day, I loved them both dearly. Their arcs made my heart happy, and I wanted nothing for the best for them. This book made me laugh and grin and tear up. It gave me chills and it warmed my heart. It was not a perfect book. But at the end of the day, I did enjoy reading it. And I read it in under 4 hours this morning from start to finish.

Do I recommend it? Yes, especially for teenagers.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books/Netgalley for the ARC. All views reflected are my own.

The quick cut: Two teens start a podcast as a journalism project centered around the disappearance of a girl 20 years ago. Chaos ensues as it turns out everyone had secrets to hide about her.

A real review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review.

It seems like you can find a podcast on any topic nowadays. If you have a unique or quirky hobby, chances are that someone else will share it with you. When juniors Blair and Cameron decide to start a podcast on the 1999 disappearance of popular girl Clarissa, they bite off more drama than they can chew the more episodes they release.

Blair and Cameron have a journalism class that requires a project, with a wide spectrum of topics to choose from. Their choice? To discuss the disappearance of Clarissa from over 20 years ago, a topic that is practically urban legend in their town. It starts slow and unknown, but as they uncover more secrets, the topic gets more awareness. Can they discover the truth about Clarissa? Or get themselves in trouble instead?

Generally speaking, this debut is a quick and enjoyable read that anyone can enjoy. If you like a mystery that is fast paced, you'll be plenty satisfied. The issue for me though is that I read the similar book "A Girl's Guide to Murder" and it made for a far more satisfying story with it's well developed characters and plethora of podcast snippets. If you have read that book, there's a solid chance this one will disappoint in comparison.

Character wise, I liked Blair more than Cameron. It felt like Cameron was written to be annoying and will likely be the case for most readers. Personally, I think making both of them being likeable would have been better overall. You root more for a character you like and enjoy going on a journey with.

The mystery itself is solid with enough clues and turns to make you wonder what happened. The fast paced means the end is quick and short, but that didn't bother me in the least. This story definitely will rate better with the younger end of the teen audience it's geared toward.

A mystery story with a fast pace.

My rating: 2.75 out of 5

High schooler Clarrisa Campbell went missing 20 years ago at a party. The story made national news and there is still no trace of her. Fast forward to the present day, Blair and Cameron are high schoolers in journalism class. They decide to start a podcast surrounding the disappearance of Clarissa.

Blair and Cameron do some research and find a list of people to talk to regarding Clarissa. The podcast then starts gaining momentum.

I loved the plot of the story but sadly the ending was a bit too rushed.

I found Cameron to be unlikeable and selfish most of the time. she would not take her actions into consideration and how this may affect her mom, friends, and girlfriend.

I did however like Blair but not enough to compensate for how I felt about Cameron. This had a very promising plot, I just wish it had a better character to go along with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press For an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and I thought the author did something with a familiar plot line I haven’t seen done before. These teenagers started a crime podcast… and they were bad at it. They made so many mistakes and their sound quality was awful and they were overly confident - that feels very real re: how my teenage self would have handled a similar high school project. My only wishes for anything different in this story is that we would have seen our characters alone a bit more, gotten to know them on a deeper level. They were both incredibly likeable and I wanted to see more of their thought processes. And also that the ending had been drawn out a little bit more. The action was all packed into the last ten pages, and I wanted more tension. Overall, a fun thriller that touched on many social issues - especially the concept of everyone loving a beautiful (usually white) dead girl, because she makes the perfect victim to elevate on a pedestal without ever acknowledging the humanity of victims, nor the reality that most victims of violent crimes are people of color.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Ripley Jones for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn’t put Missing Clarissa down.

While I found the mystery to be engaging, what kept me hooked were Cam and Blair. I loved their characterizations. They both just felt so real. So many times Cam’s thoughts made me laugh out loud, or think back to my teenage years. In short, those two perfectly encapsulated how I remember teenagers feeling and acting.

I thought the concept of a podcast was a great way to tell the story, and unfold the mystery as well. It isn’t something I’ve read much and I thought it was well-written.

Missing Clarissa is a fantastic debut by Ripley Jones, who I’ll definitely be watching out for.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Wednesday books for the review copy from NetGalley.

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. This book will be publised on March 7, 2023.

I was initially called to this book because I loved Sadie. This unfortunately did not live up to the expectations of being anything like Sadie other than there was a podcast. There was no suspense, the plot was predictable, and the characters were very immature even for teenagers. I had a lot of problems with this book, but it seems I'm in the minority.

This follows two best friends, Cameron aka Cam and Blair as they work on a project for their high school journalism class. Cam is genius level smart and decides they are going to do a podcast focusing on their small town unsolved case of Clarissa Campbell. Clarissa disappeared 20 years ago during a party without a trace, and Cam has decided that she and Blair can blow the case wide open with their investigative prowess and rudimentary podcasting skills. Despite their teacher reminding them to do their research and take care with the investigation they push ahead without abandon. This makes them both look impulsive, irresponsible, and unintelligent. Young women don't need that type of representation in literature. Cam being really smart and Blair being a good athlete and people person was a great combination for them to be a wonderful investigative team. Blair's constant self-depreciation. lack of confidence, and need for validation from her boyfriend that she's pretty because she is all made up got on my nerves. Both characters lacked development and I feel that was a missed opportunity. Maybe this was the author's attempt at satire, metaphor, or allegory. I feel like the author was trying to make a political or social justice statement but I'm not sure what it was. The social commentary aspect needed a bit more well commentary. The author mentions white people alot in this book, but again I'm not sure what message the author was trying to convey by mentioning skin color for every character. I think it was a clumsy attempt at representation and diversity. I love good world building and that includes developing your descriptions of your characters into more than tan and white. There are other political mentions but none of them were well developed. If you are going to make a statement and have an agenda, I feel like I should know what you are trying to tell me. Again I think the author was trying to call out inequality and marginalization but I don't feel it was well developed into the main storyline.

The author does a decent job trying to throw you off the trail of who the actual culprit is while the girls are investigating if you can get past their over the top teenage impulsive behavior. There are enough red herrings to keep you interested, but I did figure out who did it very early on. I thought the plot was pretty predictable.

I'm hoping that the abrupt transition from novel to inserts of podcast script will be fixed in the final edits. In other mixed media you clearly know when you've transitioned from novel to podcast, email, text message, etc. Here there are some excerpts of the podcast between Cam and Blair and those are obvious by the formatting. Later in the book we switch to a different format mostly at the end of each chapter more in a script or blog format that isn't always obvious that is part of their podcast. A quick format in the final version will hopefully fix that, but you never know how that is going to go. I actually thought the podcast script pieces were well written and really enjoyed those sections alot. I needed more of what we got in Blair's final post.

I feel like I was really harsh in this review. I was really hoping to love this book. I think alot of people are going to enjoy this, but this particular style is not my cup of tea. I think this is perfect for readers new to the mystery/thriller genre and those who want something without gore and violence. This is also going to be perfect for the young adult reader. I'd let my middle schooler read this.

#MissingClarissa:⁣
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“Everybody loves a dead girl” ⁣
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Thank you @wednesdaybooks and @macmillan.audio for my gifted copies.⁣
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I really enjoyed this one! This reminded me in the beginning a lot of like The Agatha’s, but gave it a 90s vibe. It may be since the actual disappearance was done in 99, but this gave me all the 90 feels. ⁣
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I really liked how the audio was done with the podcast format. Really great choice there. I liked their train of thought into each interview and also how their mistakes were very teenage since they were actual teens. I wish the acknowledgments were added into the audio because it was really wonderful and had great info from what Sophie said previously. ⁣
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I kind of wish we could’ve almost had Clarissa’s perspective of that night she disappeared towards the very end because I feel like that would’ve really just kind of pulled all of this in. I know that’s not realistic for a podcast, but I kept imaging her walking away and vanishing in the woods and would have loved to know what was going on in her mind.⁣
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Overall, a great read. I wish we could have delved deeper into the “why” but overall I loved it. Thanks again @wednesdaybooks @macmillan.audio for the copies. Missing Clarissa is out March 7th!⁣
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QOTD: What’s a “throwback” song you will always love? ⁣
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#ripleyjones #MacMillanAudio #MilesOfPages #wednesdaybooks

torn with this one

…well not really. It was fine but there were elements I liked and really disliked.

what I liked
- this author was pretty inclusive! I liked the diversity among the characters - different races, different sexualities, etc. and that the author would just state those to us without flowery descriptions (like that’s fine but I don’t think that would’ve worked in this book - to the point descriptions worked best here).

- there were important topics that were brought up (although a bit randomly, I still think it worked for a YA novel as it would give younger readers (any reader, really) some food for thought) such as prison abolition, Indigenous rights, sexual assault, etc.

- the overall mystery. This was what kept me going. I just wanted to see who killed Clarissa. It didn’t really make sense to me why she was killed and I wish we’d gotten a deeper dive into the reasoning behind the killer’s motivations.

what I didn’t like
- the main character, Cam. For someone who was supposedly a genius this girl made a lot of stupid and impulsive decisions. She was so irritating and annoying and so damn clueless about a lot of things that should’ve just been common sense. I didn’t connect with her nor did I understand (or really care to try and understand her). She was annoying af.

- the writing style. This really took away from my enjoyment. I think this was written in present third person so there was a lot “Cameron thinks that is weird” or “‘I don’t think that’s a good idea’, Blair says”. It was just sooo odd and took me out of the story

- also no adults are just gonna start spilling their old dark secrets to kids. The book even acknowledges this with the kids being like “why are they talking to us?” which the book tries to explain as essentially the adults needing to let the weight of it fall off their shoulders. Yeah, whatever.

Anyway 2.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release day is March 7 2023 so make sure to grab a copy

This can easily be read in a couple of hours.
Not enough podcast for my opinion.
It took me a bit to get into but once I did I couldn't put it down.
Uping my stars to 4 because I didn't see the ending coming I thought it was headed down another path and the twist and turn was great.


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This short YA thriller started slow but I found myself really getting into it the more the girls delved into a girl from their hometown who went missing 20 years before. I felt like the book tried to illustrate the discrpencies between why certain people have more media attention drawn to them then others, teenage sexuality and many other things. Overall the book kept my interst and I didn't see the end coming.

There are so many books about teens using a podcast to solve a cold case - any new story needs to bring something different to stick out, which this one didn't do for me. It was entertaining but I felt like I had read it before.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Clarissa is a girl who disappeared twenty years before our story starts. Now, two high school seniors have decided to do some amateur sleuthing for a podcast as a journalism assignment. Their investigation leads them to a few different suspects, but also puts them in danger.

Honestly at first I was prepared to DNF. I am really choosy about my true crime and even though this wasn't a real crime (it's a fictional story, after all) I did NOT like the attitude that the girls had, or the fact that they were using the disappearance of a teenaged girl for a grade. Eventually, their attitudes changed, so I'm glad that I stuck with it, but I was initially put off by it.

I had my suspicions from the beginning, and was correct, though there were a few things I didn't see coming. The story was well fleshed out and I think by the end it wrapped things up pretty neatly, which I always appreciate. I'll definitely read more by Ripley Jones.

Missing Clarissa is a fast-paced YA thriller.

For their journalism class, two high school students start a true crime podcast about Clarissa, a popular cheerleader who went missing in 1999. Cameron and Blair, mostly Cameron, believe that they can find the person responsible for Clarissa’s disappearance. The podcast quickly grows a dedicated following, and the situation becomes dicier as the girls get deeper into their investigation.

This YA thriller is a short and easy read. It follows Cameron and Blair’s perspectives. Most of it was well-written, but a few sections were starkly repetitive and juvenile.

Cameron wasn’t the easiest character to like. She’s super impulsive, jumping into things without thinking of the consequences. Blair has low self-esteem and has always been Cameron’s trusty sidekick, but she is becoming tired of that role.

I did like that this book raised the issue of pretty dead/missing white girls receiving the most media attention over people of colour.

But it’s still unrealistic to believe two teenagers could solve this cold case and not the authorities. If I were younger, maybe I’d be able to overlook it.

Overall, this was a fun and adequate thriller, it just won’t stick with me for long.

2.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

We’ve all seen the headlines, the breaking news, the faces on the front of newspapers and magazines of people who have gone missing without a trace and, perhaps who are suspected to be dead. Who gets the full-page coverage, the top story on the news? Girls like Clarissa Campbell, a beautiful, Caucasian cheerleader with a football player boyfriend who comes from a good home. What happened to her back in 1999? Could she still be alive? Who could have wanted her dead?

For their journalism class, Cameron and Blair decided to do a podcast aptly named Missing Clarissa. What better subject to discuss than the mystery of a missing girl who attended their small-town high school over twenty years ago. Nobody ever forgot about Clarissa. The mystery surrounding her disappearance has haunted the town, her family, and her close friends.

A book is nothing without its characters, and this book had some great ones. I loved Cameron and Blair and their friendship. While they seemed like opposites, their bond was solid. Cameron was extremely intelligent (and she knew it), but she was socially awkward. Blair was athletic, had a popular boyfriend, and was thoughtful, but she lacked self-confidence. Their journey was not limited to just discovering what had happened to Clarissa Campbell, theirs was also a journey of personal growth.

This duo found themselves uncovering town secrets, taking some risks, being brave, and making some big mistakes. What began as a school project ended up turning into a passion project, leaving these girls needing to know what became of Clarissa. I was equally as invested and read on with my suspicions raised and my own theories swimming around in my mind.

Missing Clarissa was riveting, compelling, and dealt with relevant subject matter. I caught myself saying that I would just read one more chapter, but I was just lying to myself, because I did not want to put the book down. I am already looking forward to reading this author’s next novel.

*4.5 Stars

DNF at 10%

I normally try to give a book closer to 30% before deciding to DNF, but I cannot read any more of this writing. Maybe others will get on better with it, but the choice to use present tense in this way is weird, the characters are irritating, and the jumping around feels chaotic. In addition I am a big supporter of diverse representation in books but this is EXTREMELY heavy-handed and awkward in the way it's doing that. And I didn't even make it very far in. Again, others may like this better. The premise of high school students doing a podcast to investigate an old missing person's case is interesting but my brain just cannot deal with the writing style.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review but unfortunately this one is a miss for me. All opinions are my own.

Short and Sweet Review
20 years ago Clarissa Campbell went missing after a party in the woods. Everyone was questioned and seemed to have something to hide, because of Clarissa’s status as a cheerleader and her beauty her case made national headlines. None of the leads led police to find Clarissa or arrest a suspect so now her case is cold.
20 years later high school juniors Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast and decide to cover the Clarissa Campbell case. The podcast is for a project for their journalism class, and Blair and Cameron realize that digging for information isn’t as easy as they thought it would be. The girls learn more about Clarissa, even a secret boyfriend, when they decide to make him the topic of their next podcast they could be letting the actual killer walk free.
The synopsis of this book sounded really good, who doesn’t want a cold case from 20 years ago to be solved by two teens from the same town who just decided to start a podcast. Granted the podcast is basically for their class project. I really wanted to like this book but there were just a lot of problems and my biggest one is the characters. Cameron would just go off and do things that aren’t ethical in the world of journalism and she knows they’re not because its what she’s learning about in class, also its like she’s too impulsive she’ll do things without realizing how it’s going to affect those around her. Blair on the other hand is like Cameron’s lackey she’s filled with a lot of self doubt and just about goes with anything Cameron wants to do. The girls do interviews with people who were the closest with Clarissa to find out more information about her life and what happened at the party. I feel that the girls got the information easily, no one made them work for it or even seemed like they were trying to hide something, they were all just spilling their guts. The thing that bothered me the most was when they found out that Clarissa was secretly seeing a teacher and Cameron decides he’s the murderer. The man was guilty of other things but not murder so I thought the girls got what they deserved when he retaliated.
Missing Clarissa was unrealistic and predictable and the ending was rushed. The plot was good but the way things were executed just didn’t work. Cameron and Blair were the biggest let down, I couldn’t relate to either of them and the decisions being made by the two of them were just impulsive and showed no care for a career path people actually take seriously. I personally wouldn’t recommend this book, but maybe someone else would like it.

The idea of Missing Clarissa had me from the start! There’s nothing like a good murder mystery that involve podcast and being advertised for fans of Karen McManus, Holly Jackson and the podcast My Favorite Murder. Truly all of my favorite things. But the execution? It just wasn’t it for me unfortunately.

The writing style was very much all of the place, there was no clear indication of which of the two POV’s were talking ( as in a chapter heading or something along those lines), so at times, it was hard to keep up with. While we’re talking about chapters, this book had the LONGEST chapters I’ve ever read in my life. There essentially weren’t chapters, just 7-8 sections in a book that’s about 250 pages. That definitely through me off. The writing style felt very choppy at times as well so I had a hard time getting into the story.

As for the story itself, the characters truly felt like teenaged sleuths. They weren’t spectacular or extremely smart so it was actually believable tbh. I thought they were well written. However, the adults in the book? For some reason one girl calls her mother by her first name, and I don’t believe the author ever says why. I thought it was strange tbh lol. Also the fact the these adults have no problem spilling their life long secrets to two teenagers but not the police or anyone else?

Overall, didn’t love the writing style but I really didn’t know who did it until the end somehow so that’s a plus! There’s also LGBTQ rep and maybe some triggers!

Missing Clarissa is the story of two teens in a town of about 20,000 people, who have grown up hearing stories about a teen who disappeared one night in 1999. The case has never been solved. Cam and Blair decide to make a podcast about the disappearance for their journalism project; they have no idea how many people want this case to go away.

I very much enjoyed the characterizations of the main characters. Cam is highly intelligent, raised by a single mom, a minority in a mostly white town, socially awkward, and in the closet to her mom and friends. Blair is a pretty girl who is dating the school’s basketball star, and she thinks any day people are going to find out she’s really not that interesting. She has such low self-esteem, she’s never shown anyone her writing, which is what she wants to do with her life. Her parents are very traditional and keep her on a tight leash. You really get the small town feeling as the teens investigate and upload their podcasts, frequently being referred to as “Nancys Drew,” which I got a kick out of, of course.

The young ladies’ investigation into the disappearance of Clarissa starts off slow, with neither of them knowing who to interview or what to ask them when they do figure that out. As a teen journalist-wannabee, I remember the same feelings the girls feel, but naive enough to not let that stop them from charging forward. The girls get a few key players in the disappearance to talk: Clarissa’s mother, who still lives in a fantasy world that Clarissa is out there somewhere, Allen, a geeky man who was friendly with Clarissa back in high school and was helpful to her parents in the months following her disappearance, the boyfriend, who was the only suspect police pursued at the time, the best friend, recently returned to the area, their journalism teacher, who, it turns out, was the reporter for the local paper at the time of Clarissa’s disappearance, the sheriff, who was the lead officer on the case, and a major artist, who was the art teacher at the high school in 1999. Almost all reveal parts of Clarissa’s personality that never seemed to make it into the national coverage that the case received when it first happened and in subsequent years.

I figured out who the murderer was as soon as the character was introduced, yet that didn’t prevent me from enjoying the teens’ journey to find out what really happened to the popular teen.

There is a substory worth mentioning about the indigenous people of the area and wish the author had gone a little more in-depth with the discussions the young ladies were having about the subject. It seemed out-of-place at first, but then it was brought up again by Cam’s love interest. I wish the book was a tad longer to explore something so important.

I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from NetGalley and Wednesday books through St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.