I really did enjoy this new domestic thriller by Ripley Jones. Great premise with awesome characters. So many lies, twists and turns. Seemed to veer of into white supremacy and abolitionist theories unnecessarily. Just felt out of place in the story. But overall I really liked it.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

I kept hearing a lot of great reviews for this book, so I bumped it up my TBR and boy was that a good decision. I began reading this late at night thinking I would read a few chapters and ended up staying up way too late to get to the end.

Cam and Blair are an unlikely duo.. at least from the outside, but they make a perfect team. For their journalism project, they have come up with the idea to do a podcast on one of the most famous cases in the history of their small town. Missing teenager Clarissa, walked into the woods one night after a party, and no trace of her was ever found. I really liked that these girls hey felt like real teenagers, flaws and all and it made me root for them all the more. They really had no idea what they were doing, with investigating the case and recording the podcast itself, everything was kind of fly by the seat of our pants. Especially with Cam, who is a lot more impetuous, and once she gets an idea in her head nothing will stop her from running with it.

This story is full of twists and turns, a whole mess of suspects, and a thrilling mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. I can't wait to see what this author will write next!

Two best friends in high school start a podcast to explore a teenage girl's unsolved murder from 1999. Along the way, they revisit the story, and as you can imagine, there are still secrets aplenty throughout town. This is a YA read, and it definitely has that vibe. What I mean is that I as an adult who takes in true crime in various mediums wanted even more thrills, AND I could also see I wasn't the target audience for this one. For the target crowd, I think it has some good suspense to keep them reading! Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this March 2023 release!

I picked this book up because it claims to be for fans of “A Good Girls Guide to Murder & Sadie” both of which I really enjoyed. This ARC was provided by the publisher and Netgalley.

It’s 1999 and Clarissa, a popular cheerleader goes missing. The police do all they can, but ultimately the case goes cold. The cheerleaders body is never found. It’s 2020 now and two of the high school students start a true crime podcast. They are determined to figure out what happened to this it girl. They think that they have a great lead, and they are making the podcast fit that narrative, but what if the man they think did it is innocent?

I had such a fun time with this book. Something about teenage true crime is very entertaining to me. Is this the most unique or twisty story? No, but it is a fun and quick read. Perfect for fans of AGGTM and Sadie. It definitely did a good job in the comparison!

Did I just basically binge read this entire book? Yes, yes I did. I could not put Missing Clarissa down. Missing Clarissa was quick, entailing and the perfect read for crime mystery lovers! It reads like a true crime podcast and you are in the thick of it!

Thank You, Wednesday Books, for alllowing me to read Missing Clarissa early.

What a great mystery story! I sat on the edge of my seat and couldn't put my Kindle down. Definitely one of my new favorite YA books!

Clarissa Campbell goes missing without a trace in Oreville, Washington right after her high school graduation. Twenty years later, two high school best friends, Cam and Blair, decide to make this case the object of their podcast project for their journalism class.

This book attempted to tackle a lot of hot button issues in a short span of time & I appreciated it. I do think the synopsis on the jacket gives too much away, so best to go into this one blind.

I loved the friendship between Cam and Blair and how they balance one another out. I also appreciated that they call each other out on their BS.

Was every part of this totally believable? No way, but none of it was so over done that I couldn't suspend disbelief. Overall, this was a fun and empowering novel. I read it in one sitting (does a plane ride count as a sitting?).

Read if you like
- young adult
- female friendships
- cold cases
- empowering female leads
- podcasts

This novel hits shelves in March!

It seemed like a good idea at the time - Blair and Cam, two high school juniors, start a podcast to discover what happened to a popular cheeleader who vanished from a their small town in Washington state 20 years ago. Many of the students who went to school with Clarissa have remained, and the would-be Verionica Marses have surprisingly good luck (maybe too good) interviewing Clarissa's former friends. They come across as Breakfast Club archetypes - the nerd, the jock, the best friend who was equally blonde and popular.

Then there's the worst-kept secret, an enigmatic art teacher whose interest in his prettiest students went beyond their painting skills.

There must be some suspension of disbelief here as Blair and Cam seemingly unravel a mystery police, reporters and friends could not solve for decades. But in the end, this bright and fast-paced read is just as much about Blair and Cam finding their voices as it is about them finding the Missing Clarissa.


Thank you Netgalley for this preview!

Book Title: Missing Clarissa
Author: Ripley Jones
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press ~ Wednesday Books
Genre: Teen/YA -Mystery
Pub Date: March 7, 2023
My Rating: 4+ rounded up!

Aww one of my favorite reads! In fact, this is the my best YA read for 2022!

Clarissa Campbell is a beautiful cheerleader and is dating Brad Bennett the handsome captain of the football team - both are high school seniors. However, 20 years ago Clarissa disappears from a party in the woods after graduation. Everyone is there - Oreville, Washington is a small town – naturally a lot of underage drinking going on. Party goes witness Clarissa crying and Brad kissing Renee Munoz. Foul play is assumed and Brad is thought to be guilt.
Story made national news ~ everyone is curious. Friends and family are questioned regarding Clarissa’s whereabouts. But Clarissa is never found!

Cam Munoz and Blair Johnson are high school juniors and have been best friends since sixth grade. They are noting alike ~ Cam is very intelligent, self-assured, risk taker, but socially awkward. Blair is the opposite but they balance each other: Blair is bright, logical, and kind but has insecurities about her abilities.
It has been twenty years since Clarissa went missing and Cam and Blair decided to take on her disappearance as their project for journalism class.
With the help of true-crime podcast, they set out to interview friends, family etc. and they do find out some things that weren’t revealed earlier.

This was a surprise read for me. As a high school guidance counselor, I like to read YA novels and make recommendations or even just be aware of what my students are reading. I have found that most YA stories follow a formula ~ excessive graphic sex, profanity, bulling, drugs, drinking, and suicide.

I 'go-to' novels are mysteries and psychological thrillers. Love the twists and turns and trying to guess Whodunit. In this case, the mystery of whodunit wasn’t a shock. However, I found Cam and Blair to be such a delight – they made the story enjoyable. I am hoping they will be in another adventure.

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press ~Wednesday Books for the pleasure of reading this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 7, 2023

I had been seeing this book advertised quite a bit so after receiving an email from NetGalley I decided to request it and I'm glad I did. This book took me by surprised and I immediately liked it! It was a quick and enjoyable young adult mystery! Cam and Blair need a project for their journalism class, so why not a podcast? They decided to research a teenage girl that went missing from a party in the woods after graduating high school 20 years ago. But what makes them think they can figure out what happened to Clarissa Campbell?

Missing Clarissa is an action packed book. The characters are well written and not without flaws but they work well together. It's YA because the main characters are doing a school assignment, a podcast about a missing girl. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the copy of Missing Clarissa.

EVERYBODY LOVES A DEAD GIRL.
Let me just start by saying that I love smart teens, crime, podcasts and parents who have no idea what their kids are doing. MISSING CLARISSA by Ripley Jones provided oodles and oodles of all the above.
Blair and Cam decide to produce a podcast as a journalism project in their Oreville, Washington high school to investigate the disappearance of a popular cheerleader years ago from a party in the woods. As they start asking questions, they learn more about Clarissa and some of those people at the party. They also stir up a hornet’s nest of possible suspects and begin making some people very nervous. And what starts as a school project begins to get a lot of hits on social media, only egging the girls on when they get closer to the truth. I really thought that I had it all figured out but Cam certainly made a fool of me! She correctly got it, which led to her being in a very dangerous position.
I loved this one. This is my first Ripley Jones book but I will certainly be looking for more. Bravo!

Thank goodness it subverts the genre.
Set in Washington state, Missing Clarissa features two teenagers, high school students and besties, Blair and Cameron (what used to be male names), who do a podcast as their journalism class project. Twenty years prior, Clarissa Campbell, a beautiful and popular cheerleader and budding artist, went missing at a high school party in the woods bordering the rural town of Oreville, Washington. The police regarded her boyfriend, Brad, as the main suspect, but he was never charged as a body was never found. Despite this, Oreville residents judged him the culprit without a court case or evidence.

In their podcast, Blair and Cam decide to open up the events leading to and surrounding Clarissa's disappearance, with the aim being that someone might recall something pertinent that reveals the reason and Clarissa's whereabouts.

Blair and Cam interview all those near and dear, and those not so near including her then teacher and classmates/ school mates about their recollections of the days surrounding Clarissa's disappearance. The novel also explores Clarissa's personality, and whether she did something that led to her possible death. Was she really such a talented artist and very kind, or is this people in Oreville being respectful of the dead? There are a few dodgy characters, some secrets within Blair's and Cam's wider family and some red herrings thrown in.

Though at first Blair and Cam do the podcast for journalistic learning and experience, they end up wanting justice for Clarissa, and closure for her grieving parents and then-boyfriend. They forget what we readers of crime know that in unsolved cases, the amateur investigators might become the culprit's next victim. This is potentially edge-of-your-seat stuff. However, was a bit glossed over in this book.

Personality-wise, Blair and Cam could not be more different. Blair is tactful, discerning and a good observer of people. She is dating the school heart-throb. Meanwhile Cam is discovering her sexuality. Cam is extremely intelligent and on some neurodivergent spectrum so she blurts out what she is feeling with no idea of the consequences. This, with her impulsiveness, gets her into constant strife. Though Blair criticises her parents in favour of Cam's solo Mexican mother, they seem normal, caring parents.

Some cons. This complaint of her parents, and Blair's constantly-expressed neuroses about her looks, her good-looking boyfriend and whether she can be a writer, sets up a theme of teenage angst and dissonance that is not really conducive to the story. It alienates the reader somewhat, as it sounds like an inauthentic teenage voice from an adult author.

Another con is that most characters are described as white. If not describing different races, I don't think there is much point in pointing out the ethnicity of those in the majority. Other than Cam's Mom, the other non-white people are of mixed ethnic origins, of which one race is white. Not as diverse as Ripley Jones would have us believe. The author states as a reason for visiting the characters' race is that the nationwide press had objectified Clarissa as a missing white girl, when more young black men are murdered in the USA than any other ethnic group.

Pros. Thank goodness this YA crime mystery subverts the genre in that isn't told in two timeframes, one in the present and the other revisiting Clarissa's last days and hours. I hate that; and was very glad for Ripley Jones's choice not to. The second pro: (mild spoiler) the second half of the book isn’t spent with one or both protagonists locked in a dungeon. Yay! Third and major pro is that the pacing was good and enough red herrings were in the melting pot. I'd like to read more Ripley Jones' books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review also appears in Netgalley.com, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5098866958 and https://thereadersvault.blogspot.com/2022/11/missing-clarissa-ripley-jones-4.html.

Well this was just not it for me. It was a huge struggle to finish and I honestly only didn’t DNF because doing so wreaks havoc on my anxiety disorder.

Not only was this very much geared to high school students with the MCs and their next-level nonsense, but it was entirely unrealistic! I get it, it’s fiction, but c’mon now. You can realistically write a fictional story. Authors do it all the time.

Clearly I’m not the target audience and that’s fine. But shoo. This is a big ole nope from me.

⭐️⭐️ since I reserve singular stars for DNF.

Thanks NetGalley for the ebook!

4.5 ⭐️

This was an excellent mystery story with podcast elements that was done so well! I loved the writing and the characters but the overall conclusion I could see coming but it was still so entertaining to read. Blair and Cam were an excellent duo to read about. Definitely can understand the comparison to Sadie (Definitely reccomend that book as well)

Thankyou to Netgalley for allowing me access of a copy in exchange of an honest review

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! I couldn’t get enough of this book and absolutely devoured it in days. The mystery was pretty solid (I was kind of annoyed I didn’t guess who dunnit), and the characters were likable. The main character is flawed enough to make her interesting but not so flawed I didn’t like her. I did find some parts a little unrealistic, but it didn’t ruin it for me. It just had me take down a star. The style was good for YA readers and adults alike, and it would definitely appeal to the true crime lovers of Chichester there are many these days (I’m not one of them but liked it anyways.) can’t wait to recommend this one to the students I work with when it’s published. FYI profanity and some scary murder elements

I was thoroughly entertained and read it in two short sittings. I was suprised at how easily people told them information and was kind of annoyed at how bad they were at podcasting. They never really tried to get better. I can see how they were able to solve the case but in that way I wish it was more of an investigative journalism piece done just by Blair. Cam was a cool character but didn't add much to the podcast, only the investigation. I tried to look past it and just enjoy the story because it was fun. I didn't like that once again a teen thriller book had the trope about the teacher though - as a former teacher it's a bad stereotype and negatively affects other teachers.

Missing Clarissa was an enjoyable quick mystery. Although a little predictable, the author kept the story line moving. Two teenage girls trying to solve a decades old mystery in a small town with corruption and cover ups. While trying to navigate high school life and relationships. Overall I would give this book 3.5 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy to review

nothing really happened in this book until the end and the chapters should of been shorter but I did still enjoy this book and I read it in a day

I think that teens who are fans of thrillers and true crime will find a lot to love in Missing Clarissa, but for me it fell a little flat. The concept is interesting, but the characters felt a little cliche--Cam, the brazen and rather clueless genius, and Blair, the ingenue who doesn't realize how special she is. The ultimate reveal of the killer was pretty predictable, in an always-the-one-you-least-suspect kind of way. There was also a lot of weird, shoehorned-in description of characters in racial terms, which I think was an attempt to put together a diverse cast, but ended up feeling forced because the characters all felt the same, they were just described as being different races. None of the side characters really felt 3 dimensional at all. Finally, there were some side plots that I would have liked to explore more.

Overall, Missing Clarissa felt like it was written by a skilled teenager, rather than a professional writer. That being said, I'm giving it 3 stars because it did hold my interest until the end, and I do think readers in the target demographic will enjoy it more than I did.